Talking Business with Sean Sheahan

Sean Sheahan is head of management for Gold Coast Music Group, a independent management/publicity firm based out of Orlando Fl, and took a few moments to sit down with me and talk about what goes into negotiating artist contracts.  Sean represents Every You, Madeira, and The Anytime, as well as producer/engineer Jason Aaron Adams.  He is a Full Sail graduate with a passion for new music and helping small bands get heard.

Over the last 6 months Sean has worked to develop his business into a model where bands get support and priority based on the quality of their work and the drive they show, not how much money they are willing to spend.  Because of that the roster has seen a lot of press in recent months and have had many high profile features including sites such as PureVolume.com and Kings of A&R.  Sean describes his job as a glorified babysitter to musicians, but clearly takes things more seriously than that!

After talking a bit about what goes on day to day for Sean, we got into the contract negotiation information and he talked about various problems and solutions that have come up along the way.  "The most important thing to remember is that you are doing them a favor but you need to close the deal to get paid so both parties have leverage."  Often times Sean would find himself in the middle of negotiations and a member of the band or family member of the band would say "15%? that sounds like an awful lot when you can't promise anything." which is true however the thing they are forgetting is that if no deal is made then no money is exchanged and therefore the determined rate is meaningless.  The only time Sean's percentage means anything is when the band is getting paid.  After making that point they usually follow with "Well still then you are taking 15% of our money."  This is a very real concern for many artist as they feel like they are getting ripped off and Sean is making off with money from their music.  But they are paying Sean to get them the opportunity to get paid, and often times this argument can be settled by simply saying, "The 15% is my payment for finding you work, if you feel like you can do it on your own, then management is not something you need. However since we are here I assume that you have tried and failed or just felt like it was too much to handle."  As long as you keep a calm level head and always treat clients respectfully, they usually will come around and agree with you terms.

"A lot of the back and forth isn't because they think something is unfair, but because they think they can get away with a little less.  Once they realize they can't, they more or less just give in."