 
|
|
|
Page 1
|
|
|
For many artists, employing a parent as manager simply boils down to the issue of trust ...
|
|
|
Page 2
|
|
|
Having your parent manage you carries some heavy risks, a child psychologist warns ...
|
|
|
Page 3
|
|
|
Believe it or not, people have told Beyoncé's father, 'I think your daughter sucks' ...
|
|
|
Page 4
|
|
|
Most parents don't know how to manage, dawg, 'American Idol' judge Randy Jackson says ...
|
|
|
|
Browse Bands by Name
|
|
Or enter a band name below to search:
|
 Bands Main
|
|
|
|
|
|
Music manager (for Nikka Costa, among others) and "American Idol" judge Randy Jackson rarely recommends artists let a parent manage them, although he fully endorses Knowles.
"The music business is slightly different, but it's still a business and Mathew is a businessman," he said. "So is Joe Simpson. He was a minister but also a businessman as well. They learned really fast and they listened a lot and they really took their time, and they were very careful and methodical how they did things, so those two situations turned out amazing."
In most circumstances, however, Jackson would suggest that the parent hire a veteran manager to co-represent their child.
"Parents don't know how to manage an artist, all they're doing is [being] there to protect their kids, especially if their kids are minors," Jackson said. "I don't even think the parents should really be called managers. They should just be there to make sure their kid is OK and let someone else with the expertise manage."
 |
|
|
|
"My mother deals with the business, as far as the acting world, all that stuff." — Bow Wow (pictured with mom Teresa Caldwell)
|
|
|
Caldwell, Bow Wow's mother/manager, does more than just protect her son, but she does work alongside a co-manager, Michael Marvin, the father of Bow Wow mentor Jermaine Dupri. After years of working as a team, she recently tried doing it on her own only to rehire Marvin a few months later. "We make sure we talk at least once a week and run things by each other before we make big decisions," Caldwell said. "It's a great scenario."
"She doesn't get too much involved in the studio," Bow Wow said of his mom. "Michael deals with that side and my mother deals with the business, as far as the acting world, all that stuff."
Mathew Knowles has also gotten to a point where other managers take care of Destiny's Child's day-to-day duties and the girls oversee their recordings, and Patton has a similar situation with Usher, leaving the music to a creative team of label execs. "That's just not what I do," she said. "I'm just there to make everything happen."
Psychologist LeGagnoux considers parent co-managers a way to compromise. "Not having your parent as a manager doesn't mean that you can't have them as co-management or a watchdog situation," he said. "But ideally somebody has a professional who is managing them who can do all the things and be very clear about their role."
In the end, LeGagnoux is against parent managing, although he stops short of giving medical reasons.
"There's no direct link of pathology between a Hollywood mom and a mental illness, there's no condition, however that doesn't mean that anybody can't exaggerate a role and become maladaptive," he said. "Undoubtedly, there are some individuals who go across the line into pathology, only that's not the typical situation. ... Are there obsessive parents? Certainly. But there are obsessive parents in Little League. There are obsessive parents in preschool. But the majority of parents are not."
Mathew Knowles makes a similar point. "Remember, there are managers in this industry who aren't parents who do a really poor job, and there are managers in this industry who are parents who really do a poor job," he said. "To me it's not about if you're a parent or not a parent."
As someone who is against a parent managing his own career but has watched his father-in-law make superstars out of his wife and her sister, Nick Lachey offers a unique viewpoint.
"I think that if you have chinks in the armor in your personal relationship, then those things will get exposed when business goes bad," he said. "The biggest thing [the Simpsons have going for them] is that it's successful. I mean, if you're not getting anywhere as an artist, you're going to blame your manager. You don't care who they are. As long as you're successful and those things are going well, then those relationships tend to continue to do well. ... Not to say that it would fall apart on other circumstances."
|
|
|
|
