Some artists do not particularly like business matters. Some find particularly difficult to ‘sell’ themselves. Normally, a musician’s career is so complex (composing, recording, live performing…) that an artist or a band could hardly find the time to deal with the business side of music, relying on himself only. But music IS a business, and if a band wants to succeed as a professional, than it must face a competitive business environment. A band often finds its manager ‘at home’: a relative, a friend, or a band member himself. This latter situation can be potentially dangerous, as it may lead to arguments over money and power imbalance. Many non-professional bands prefer to divide management responsibilities between all the members. Typically, the first step towards a record deal (that is, towards professionalism) by a band is the research of an ‘external’ manager. On one hand, when negotiating deals, most A&R prefer to deal with managers rather than artists; on the other hand, the involvement of a well-known manager brings additional validity to a musical project. Obviously the band has to be quite pro-active: check with managers associations, with contacts in the music industry or with other (admired) musicians. Nevertheless, sometimes is the manager who finds the band. It may look like fiction, but it does often happen that, after a gig, somebody comes into the backstage and propose himself as the man who can make the band rich and famous. In the event that this little miracle happens (and for a bunch of other good reasons), the artist has to keep ready a presentation package, that is: a demo cd, a biography, a little press kit (in the future we’ll go into the matter thoroughly). Here follow some points a band should consider about the ‘right’ manager: * How long has he worked in the music field? With which artists? * How experienced and how successful he has been? * How is his reputation in the field? * How extensive are his contacts? * Does he have experience and contacts outside the country? * How much time will he be able to dedicate to the band? * Does he have good communication and negotiating skills? * Is he more the kind of a business or a creative manager?