Contract Negotiations in the Music Industry

On September 18, 2011, I spoke with Brad Stewart, Founder and CEO of Dynamic Artists Management, LLC, San Pablo, California.  Dynamic Artists Management, LLC, has provided management and booking services for eclectic music clientele since 1999.  Brad has worked in the music industry since 1990 and has been involved as a booking agent and manager for a variety of music artists such as rock, blues, R & B, jazz, world, reggae and pop. Brad believes that Dynamic Artists Management (DAM) is built on offering potential clients a go-getting work ethic and personal attention.  Brad referred to DAM as a boutique agency; a smaller, specialized agency servicing a specific group of artists for highly focused industry needs in California’s Bay Area.

Brad has had plenty of experience in negotiating contracts, as a large part of the business is contract negotiation, finding the best “buyer” for the artists.  The buyer would be the promoter or venue, and can be anything from a smaller club to a large festival.  Over the years Brad has established good relationships with the buyers and this is a very important part of negotiation. 

I asked Brad how often he used objective criteria to come to a mutual benefit when negotiating contracts for the artists and his response was that all negotiations should result in a mutual benefit.  He stated, “In realistic contracts you have to first understand who your buyer is, what their needs are, and what their capability is before bringing up what he needs.  This way you know if they are in the same ballpark.”   Brad also stated that part of mutual benefit is making sure that the artist is as comfortable as possible and that they receive high profile visibility.

Of course when negotiating contracts with the buyer, mutual benefit is also about the money.  In negotiating contracts it is important to find a mutual cash benefit for all of the parties involved.   


A few of the artists that are represented by DAM are: George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic; Peppino D'Agostino and Frank Vignola.

Peppino D'Agostino