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While artist and talent management companies exist in most countries where there is a music industry, they have long played an especially unique and integral role in the world of music in Japan. Running the gamut from gigantic production companies to small one-person offices, there are many types of management companies, but each type has its own unique function, with the aggregate providing a range of services that can fit the needs of almost any artist.
Traditionally, management company functions have ranged from finding new artists and promotion, roping in work for artists, negotiation of fees, and even overseeing the personal lives of the artists to overall production work for music, videos, and film.
Arguably simpler in the past, the roles of management companies have become more distinctly segmented in recent years, and can be roughly divided into three main types, which we will briefly look at below.
1. Small Scale Management Offices
This type of managment company focuses booking artists and other core functions of artist management. The small scale management office will usually begin to bring up new artists soon after signing, working to raise their exposure through promotions in various channels with the hope that these artists will someday hit it big, subsequently bringing home the big paychecks for the management company. These small scale companies usually comprise a president and small number of staff, forming tight bonds with a small stable of artists for whom they provide the basic management services.
Until recently, artists were glad to pay the lion's share to management companies in return for the significant investment made in discovering, grooming, and promoting them. Recently, however, artists are better versed in the workings of the music business than their counterparts of 15-20 years ago, and are more willing and able to negotiate regarding contract terms, some even choosing to manage themselves. As a result guaranteed upfront money as well as royalties are on the decrease for this type of company in general.
The work done by small management offices requires persistence and ongoing effort, but even a small organization can hit the jackpot if things go well for them. Another merit of this type of management company is that it is comparitively easy to manage, but this also has a downside, which is that the low barrier to entry has prompted literally thousands of people to form such offices in Japan. Recently, even major artists like Yosui Inoue (Camp) and Kaori Okui (Allspice Company) have formed these small companies, hiring just one manager and a few staff members, with the intent of managing themselves rather than working with an outside company.
2. Large Scale Management Offices
While the small scale management offices focus primarily on the basic artist management functions mentioned above, the large scale offices extend their reach to internally manage the various rights issues that are generated from many artist activities. Whether or not music production and management of copyrights is done in-house, most large management companies now have departments handling production, sales, promotion, and general management, and as a result have the ability to provide a wide variety of services for artists.
Generally, the production department is responsible for discovering and bringing up artists, recording, and schedule management. The promotion department is responsible for promoting artists, generally through the mass media. The sales department takes care of planning events and other activities that generate revenue.
It should be noted that at present very few management offices have true rights management professionals on their staff, but as there is good money to be made from this kind of management, companies are rushing to beef up their skills in this area.
3. Agency Type
The major difference between agencies and the above management offices is that they place most of their focus on rights management, sales, and other activities directly tied to revenue, and do not participate in artist development, production, or any of the other "soft" functions. As such, their contracts with artists are extremely clear regarding the kind of work they will do, as well as their compensation, which is often fee-based.
Without having to deal with the more time consuming and risky functions dealt with by many management offices, agencies are able to work with a large number of artists simultaneously, thus providing the better ones with ongoing revenue streams and lower risk. Additionally, many agencies in this category have moved into the business of creating television and radio programs, as well as commercials, having been granted the right to produce and sell them from artists, further increasing the number of potential revenue streams.
As budgets for artist promotion and development shrink along with the size of the packaged music market, the roles of management companies are likely to continue to morph quickly. In addition, the emergence of the internet and the ability to run more personalized marketing campaigns will foster a whole new set of possibilities that will need to be addressed either by the existing types of management companies, a whole new breed of management companies, retailers, or even the artists themselves.
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