ABSTRACT
When the artist and the manager are ready to shake hands and begin their business
relationship, it means they have agreed in principle to a contract and are prepared
to exchange promises. Artists agree to have their careers managed and by no one
else, and the manager agrees to manage artists’ careers and exploit their talents
for commercial gain. That is the short version. As in all business matters, agree-
ments are formalized within a contract in order to have a record of what responsi-
bilities each has pledged to the relationship. This chapter is not so much about law,
but rather about reviewing key provisions of a contract between the artist and their
manager and understanding the importance of those provisions in defining the rela-
tionship between the two. Although there are some artist-manager relationships
that are not memorialized with a written contract, something as brief as a written
management summary can provide at least a measure of understanding of the pro-
mises the artist and the manager are exchanging.
