INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: Tania Wilson of missmanagement & paranoidbydesign

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There sure are quite a lot of managers out there in the Melbourne music scene, but nothing quite says "awesome" like a veteran who's been in the industry since 1995 (when most of the musicians on this blog were probably infants or toddlers), has rubbed shoulders with some pretty illustrious shoulders and has two businesses to her name.

Melbourne artist manager Tania Wilson has seen everything and done it all - everything from large scale international tours, artist development, mentoring, events management, promotions, booking and publicity. She's set up paranoidbydesign, her successful events company, and missmanagement, a management firm set up to help young, budding female managers gets a leg up. 

Paper-Deer listened to Tania's wise words, because honestly if there's something that you want to know about the Melbourne music scene it's probably in her head.

 

What job title do you go by?

Slave to the grindstone.

Sounds violent. And what exactly do you do?

Solve problems, find answers and make sure I have an educated, well-rounded and informed opinion.

What are your plans for 2011 for paranoidbydesign and missmanagement?

missmanagement is working on releases and tours for its artists for 2011 and paranoidbydesign has a heap of events coming up that we’re working hard on.  We’re also establishing our record label so we’ll be sourcing good upcoming artists to release.  Plus we’re expanding the team and welcoming some great girls into the crew which is exciting.

What artists do you currently work with?

I currently manage Fare Evader (VIC)and i, said the sparrow (WA). 

What do you love about them?

I love both bands because they fulfill the checklist of everything you want in a band – they work hard, they’re creative and innovative, they’re young, fresh and unjaded by the industry, they write great songs that I love and will happily play over and over, they have huge potential ahead of them, they respect advice, and they are both a pleasure to work with.

Fare Evader I love because they just make me happy. Working with them is a joy plus it’s always great when the sound guy in every venue gets into your band and gives you his card at the end of the gig asking if you ever need him again. Sparrow is a new challenge and also has a lot of potential. I’m dying to see them live again as I’ve only seen them once (the difficulty of managing an interstate band).

Fare Evader’s new EP is out next year. Has it been exciting and rewarding watching this Melbourne three-piece go from strength to strength?

Fare Evader are always going to be a pride and joy because I’ve known them from the early stages of their career when they were a fledgling band. They are one of those bands that make the hard-yards-and-no-sleep part of management worthwhile. With them, being a manager became a positive experience again and I’m like a happy parent every time they achieve a new milestone. I can’t wait to see where they go from here.

You’ve travelled the world and worked with bands from other Australian cities and other countries. What do you think about the Melbourne music scene and our bands?

I’ve been working in the scene since 1995 and have always thought it was amazing and always appreciated its health and vitality.  No matter where I’ve been I always say hi to my baby again.  But over the years we’ve fallen afoul to things like errant ill-informed legislation and the residentalisation of entertainment precincts.  Venues have struggled against dwindling numbers and increasing costs. 

On the band side I think the scene had a tendency to take itself for granted and other cities have recently overtaken us in successful bands coming out of their towns.  Plus interstate there is greater organisational and government support for the industry in terms of export and education.  I think with things like SLAM and Music Victoria that will start to change hopefully but with the change in local government it will be interesting to see what pans out in the near future. 

I’d strongly disagree that violence was as prevalent as the media and government wanted to make out but I think there is an increasing lack of respect for your fellow patrons when people are out these days. I’d encourage young bands and people entering into the industry to work on not just their individual careers but the Melbourne music community as a whole. Join in with things like Music Victoria so you can work on supporting your industry on a day-to-day basis before it comes to a head like with The Tote. All that being said I think we’ve been lucky and haven’t had as low lows as other states had in the past. Melbourne will always be my favourite just because it’s where I came of age into the industry.

What advice would you give to bands looking for managers?

Just do the job yourself. Too many bands want a manager simply to do the jobs they don’t want to do. If you want to have a mate manage you then just grab a mate who’s good with numbers and on the phone. If you want a proper manager then you have to establish your band as a viable business that a good manager will be interested in.

A lot of bands say they have a manager when really what that person does is book the band gigs – that’s a booking agent and there’s a shortage of those too. A manager manages the business of the band and works on the long term career of the band. A band shouldn’t be too fast to hand over their management as they should be invested in their futures from the ground up and the better job the band does of that the more ready they are to have a proper manager who can take them to the next level. There are different kinds of managers too so you have to work out what kind of support you need and what direction you want to take the band in before you can decide appropriately what kind of manager you need.

On the other side of the coin, any advice for budding artist managers?

Reverse of the previous question – if a band can’t manage themselves you’re not going to be able to manage them and if they’re not prepared to work hard on their careers you’re going to be the only one doing any work and that is just well… stupid. Trust me. It’s okay to say no.

Avoid rockstars. If they’re acting like rockstars when they’re on the way up imagine how they will act when they get to the top, and then when they’re on the way down. The more experience you get in the industry the faster you will spot the fledgling rockstar and the quicker you will walk the other way.   

Aim to be the kind of manager that progresses a band’s career not one that fetches water. At the end of the day the band’s career rests in your hands and it’s a great responsibility. Management often doesn’t receive the overt credit it is due but without a great team that performance never gets onto the stage. 

Find good mentors and managers to network with. I am incredibly lucky in that I have a great set of people I can reach out to and ask advice from and who encourage me.  Find every avenue you can to expand your knowledge base and make new contacts – music conferences (Fuse, Big Sound, One Movement) and industry training (JB Seed Management Workshop, Austrade Masterclasses).  Diplomas and degrees in the industry can be great but make sure you are doing internships and work experience while you are studying. All of the best managers in the country learnt through actually doing it.

Work out what skill sets you have and which ones you’re missing. Make a list of what you have to learn and what you can get someone else to do. These days a manager has to be everything from business manager to personal manager to record label manager. Some things you can just oversee rather than micromanage if you have another person you can trust – like an amazing FOH guy or a great booking agent.

In the early days of a band’s career spend money wisely.  Don’t rush to outsource everything; do what you can yourself in terms of publicity, releasing, branding and marketing. There are great avenues like Amrap/AirIt for sending your songs to radio so save money on a publicist until all elements of the band are ready for the next stage and the money is worth spending. Plus the more you and the band do to develop your personal connections to press/radio, they will do to help you as the band grows the more.  It is always about the authenticity of your business and connection for long terms careers versus one hit wonders.

The most difficult advice is that if things just aren’t working out it’s okay to walk away. Even though you’ve invested your heart and soul and sleepless hours into something it just isn’t working right. You can’t trade your happiness for the “what if next week it breaks out into something big” because it really just isn’t worth it. It’s the hardest lesson to learn.

UPCOMING SHOWS:

• Thursday December 23: Melbourne Fresh Presents Xmas Gig, Revolver Upstairs
• Friday December 24: Fare Evader supports Goldfields, Karova Lounge, Ballarat
• Friday January 21: Summertime Goo, The Palace
• February - March: Fare Evader east coast tour and EP release
• March: i, said the sparrow east coast tour and single release
• Saturday March 12: i, said the sparrow, Rock The Bay, The Espy
• February 7 & 15: Melbourne Fresh Grand Finals 2011

LINKS:

• paranoidbydesign official website
• paranoidbydesign on Myspace
• paranoidbydesign on Twitter
• Fare Evader official website
• i, said the sparrow on Myspace