Artists usually come to a first meeting with a manager ready to be asked questions. They should come ready to ask them. A manager is going to have a say in your career for years, and the time to find out how they work is before you sign, not after.
If I were the artist, these are the questions I would ask. Some of them are uncomfortable. A good manager will answer all of them without flinching.
About their record
1. What have you done with artists like me? Not the most famous name on the roster. The artist closest to you in genre, size and market. What did the manager actually do for them, and what changed?
2. Can I see it? Ask for things you can check: chart positions, TV bookings, label deals, press coverage. For my own record, the results are public. US managing partner for BTS from 2016 to 2018, working alongside Big Hit Entertainment, with the 2017 American Music Awards performance and the Platinum "Mic Drop" remix. Manager of Monsta X since 2018, with the Epic Records deal, the iHeartRadio Music Festival, a Staples Center headline and All About Luv at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. It is fair for an artist to ask me to point to the coverage, and [the press page](/press) is where it lives.
3. Can I talk to artists you manage, or have managed? Current clients tell you how the manager works. Former clients tell you how the manager handles the end.
About the plan
4. What would you do in my first year? A good manager will have a view after one or two conversations. Not a finished plan, but a direction: which song, which market, which first steps. If the answer is "we will see," that is the answer.
5. What do you think is not working right now? You want a manager who will tell you the hard part. If everything you are doing is perfect, why do you need them?
6. What would you say no to? The manager's first job is often turning down the wrong offers. Ask what kind.
About the work
7. Who will manage me day to day? If you are signing with a company, find out which person picks up the phone. Get that person's name in the contract as the key person.
8. How many artists do you manage now? There is no right number. But a manager with a long roster and a small team has less time for each artist. Ask how they divide it.
9. Who would you bring in, and when? Agent, publicist, radio promoter, label, publisher. A manager should know which of those you need now and which come later. They should also know the difference, because [a manager is not a booking agent](/blog/music-manager-vs-booking-agency/).
10. How will we communicate? How often, by what channel, and how fast do they reply. This sounds small. It is a big part of whether the relationship works.
About the money
11. What is your commission, and on what income? In general practice it is 15 to 20 percent. The rate matters less than what it applies to. Ask about gross versus net, and what is excluded, like recording costs and tour support. I wrote [a full post on how managers get paid](/blog/music-manager-commission-and-fees/).
12. How do expenses work? What do they bill back, and what needs your approval first? Ask for a limit in writing.
13. Who collects the money? Best practice is a business manager or accountant, not the manager. If the manager collects, you need the right to see the books.
About the contract
14. How long is the term, and is there a trial period?
15. What happens after it ends? This is the sunset clause. How long do they keep earning on deals made during the term, and at what rate?
16. How can either of us end it early?
17. Will you put all of this in writing, and can my lawyer review it? The answer has to be yes. Your lawyer, not theirs.
For international artists
If you are coming to the US from abroad, add three more.
18. Have you worked alongside a home label before? A US manager for an international artist usually works next to the home team. Ask how they split the work and who decides what. With BTS, the label stayed the label and the American campaign was my side.
19. Which US contacts would you use first? TV bookers, radio programmers, US labels, promoters. Ask for the kind of contacts, not a list of names to impress you.
20. What has to be true for this to work? A good US manager will tell you what US demand, songs, budget and time in the country they need. If they promise results without asking, be careful.
What you are listening for
Specific answers. Results you can check. A manager who asks you as many questions as you ask them. And someone who is clear about what they will not do.
More on [what a music manager does](/blog/what-a-music-manager-does/) and [what an international music manager does](/international-music-manager/).
More from the blog: What to look for in a music management contract · What a music manager charges · How to get a music manager · Do you need a music manager yet?.