Artist Managers: The long arc of history

Funny thing, writing this column all these years. You chronicle moments and milestones in the artist management world as stories crop up, but rarely reflect on the long arc of history into which those stories fit.

I was reminded of this by one of the first videos to be recorded in a run of many which, from this month, will be posted to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the British Association of Concert Agents, which in 1996 transmuted into the International Artist Managers’ Association (IAMA). The video of a quiet, civilised conversation between four individuals each recalling that transmutation process, of which more in a moment.

The interview series (which will at first be accessible only to IAMA members, but has a wider viewership envisaged in due course) is to feature a string of significant players in the history of BACA/IAMA. The scope will be fully international, pulling in memories from IAMA members in the USA, Austria, Italy, Australia, France and more.

The project is the brainchild of IAMA chief executive, Atholl Swainston-Harrison. It reflects, he says, the need for him, as part of his job, to enhance the wider appreciation of what artist managers do. ‘After all, they’re very much involved with the way the wheels turn in the classical music business… they’re significant influencers. Some people might say that we should hear artists talking about artist managers, but they always get the spotlight!

‘History always interests me… seeing how today is today because of yesterday. So many artist managers have great stories to tell which are valuable in their own right but also illuminate ongoing matters of importance and concern within the business.’

BACA was formed in 1954 in part as a breakaway from the European Association of Artist Managers (Association Européenne des Agents Artistiques). But, as the conversational quartet remember, by the 1980s its reach and influence were somewhat confined. I’m prompted to call one of the four, Susan Rivers (pictured below), to hear more. Rivers ran BACA in that decade and remembers things ‘weren’t going all that well. The root problem was that the association didn’t have much money. Then artist manager Norman McCann had the idea of linking BACA subscription amounts to the number of staff each member company employed. This was an important development.’

Susan Rivers: ‘We wanted to find ways of making BACA more proactive and relevant.'

Vocalists’ manager Neil Dalrymple recalls BACA meetings in the distant past as ‘small gatherings which some might describe as talk-shops — only fifteen to twenty might attend. It was “homey” in a way. But you did learn things and exchange ideas… and the development of IAMA hasn’t surprised me. The vision was there.’

Certainly, says Susan Rivers, ‘we wanted to find ways of making BACA more proactive and relevant. The significant advance here was the creation of a range of committees on a variety of subjects of relevance to artist managers. This brought association members closer together.’

When the late David Sigall took over as chairman, Rivers recalls, a one-day BACA event in the Midlands opened eyes as to what conferences could achieve and promote. ‘This really stirred the imagination. It was a very focused event, dealing intensively with very particular practical problems faced by artist managers. When the yearly BACA conferences got underway, we could charge higher attendance fees from those who weren’t BACA members… people from record companies, for example.

‘David also encouraged the passing on of artist management knowledge from senior members of the association to smaller, newer companies. This brought yet more coherence to the association. Artist managers had a much greater sense that they weren't battling on their own. They could share difficulties and seek advice.’

Why the creation of IAMA, then? Clearly, the larger the organisation (and the larger the conferences) the greater the income and the greater potential to enable networking with major players in the international music industry as a whole. There were thorny international issues which were easier to bite on within a collaborative organisation — such as tax and visa matters in each country.

Another contributor to the video, Richard Steele (pictured below), was executive director of the organisation in the transition from BACA to IAMA. He recalls trips to arts industry conferences around the world at which he signed up new IAMA members. ‘There were people who needed some sort of larger body to help with particular issues and yet couldn't see where that help was coming from. Not everyone in Europe was in the European Association of Artist Managers, so there was a gap there which we could fill.’

Richard Steele: 'Not everyone in Europe was in the European Association of Artist Managers, so there was a gap there which we could fill.’

The business of creating a truly international guide to ‘who managed whom’ was both a crucial device for settling disputes and a way of generating IAMA income via subscriptions. There had previously been a BACA directory listing around two thousand artists. ‘This went up to ten thousand with the creation of the Classical Music Artists directory,’ Steele tells me. ‘A crucial element in this was collaborating with the EAAM. There were three years of negotiations. I well remember the great moment in the final meeting when Madame de Valmalète of the European Association rose to her feet, late at night, and said, “We have a deal”.’

All this and much more to come as the IAMA video series unravels. Look out, for example, for a fascinating, deeply insightful interview with veteran artist manager and multi-media creative Stephen Wright. Why so many interviews? ‘Two people can read the same book and talk about it quite differently afterwards,’ Atholl Swainston-Harrison observes. ‘The same thing applies to artist managers. There’s value in hearing many voices on the same subject. We can listen to people from around the world with different experiences in different markets. And what we’ve seen already is that even though people may be reluctant to take part initially, they then have a completely enjoyable experience and can't stop talking on subjects about which they feel so passionate!’

All are agreed that this sweep of BACA/IAMA history is something remarkable. Susan Rivers sums it up. ‘I’d never have believed that what has happened could happen. The association is ever more joyful in its outlook, based on the idea that all these competitors can freely learn from each other… and, of course, be friends.’

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Readers in the Netherlands (and others) may like to note that the first of several IAMA 70th anniversary seminars around Europe takes place at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw on 20 February. Artist managers will gather with Dutch promoters and others to discuss such issues as meeting/developing audience taste in the years ahead. Other seminars are scheduled for Berlin and Vienna.