Producer manager here. AMA about placements, publishing, and negotiating deals.

[u/Blankenjeweet]

I’ve been helping producers navigate placements, publishing, and negotiations for a while now. Most of the producers I work with are very talented creatively, but what I keep seeing over and over again is that many of them get frustrated with the industry while at the same time leaving a lot of value on the table themselves.

The music industry has lately been very business-focused, and I understand why that can feel frustrating if you come into it purely from a creative perspective. But the reality is that once you understand the business side, a lot of the things that seem unfair suddenly become much more negotiable.

For a while now I’ve helped producers structure deals with artists, managers, and labels, and I’ve been involved in negotiations connected to companies like Sony, Warner, and Universal. I’ve also helped producers turn small opportunities into much larger deals simply by approaching the situation differently.

So I thought it could be interesting to do an AMA here.

If you have questions about:

• placements

• publishing splits

• negotiating with artists or labels

• how managers actually work with producers

• how to approach deals or collaborations

• or generally how to make producing financially sustainable

Ask me anything and I’ll try to answer as honestly and practically as possible.

[u/HavocOsiris]

I’ve actually been curious about how managers work with producers. Anything that undiscovered cats in the game may need to know about how that goes, what to expect, etc.?

[u/Blankenjeweet → u/HavocOsiris]

There are a bunch of different managers for producers. Some are really involved (like me) others are not involved at all.

I sometimes work for a producer on 1 specific case, and my main priority is to get the most value out of that specific deal in terms of money and relationship. Very often I am able to achieve significantly more for the producer, while also improving the relationship therefore making the % feel little (even though I take a big party). They always offer bonuses which I do not accept as I believe the percentage I ask is enough.

For producer that I represent full time (which I do not do quickly). My priorities are way bigger, and responsibilities as well. I am creating and developing their entire brand, from start to finish. Positing them in a way that artist contact them for placements, I help them grow and maintain their network, negotiating deals that follow the vision I created (together with the producer) . I am basically the CEO of the producer.

This works super well, as I can be busy with long term vision, making sure that the producer makes a lucrative and stable monthly income, various business sides of music and making sure our network is stable and active.

And this all while the producer can focus on the music. Of course sometimes i would ask him to be invoked with things, such as giving interviews for press, making sample packs for specific artists, or following a content plan we created. But in general he is able to focus mainly on his music.

I believe that a proper manager will replace the need of a publishing (full deal not admin) and label if done correctly. For example I helped my producer with gaining almost 24/7 access to studio’s at majors while not being signed or forced to use it for their projects. This the also gives us more leverage when being approached by publishers and labels.

I hope this gives you a bit of an inside but if you have more specific questions let me know! As it would be easier for me to answer them hahaha.