Artists & Managers, Watch Out!
Industry Liabilities:
An artist manager must be aware of how the artist's image is being used in every circumstance. The artist manager should protect the artist representation in other medias that the artist may not be directly involved with. For example, in the gaming industry, games that have to do with music, use artist avatars to represent their physical appearance. There is a case where the group No Doubt is suing the videogame publisher Activision for allowing players to use their avatars to sing other artists songs in Band Hero. No Doubt said they were unhappy because they've been turned into a "virtual karaoke circus act". Their avatars are doing dance moves that the original band don't really do and Gwen Stefani's voice can be change into a man voice if her avatar is being used to perform a song from another band. I think this is where an artist manager has to be aware and defend the artist's image because this could change the perception viewers have about them. Even if the situation only bothered the artist, the artist manager should step in and support the artist's request to eliminate this type of representation.
A big responsibility for an artist and artist manager is to fulfill the deal of giving a performance once it is established. Setting up a concert takes a lot of time, effort and money. It is the artist responsibility to show up the day of the event, especially if he or she has been paid. The singer Flo Rida is being sued for canceling a concert in Australia the same day it was supposed to be given. Flo Rida says it was due to him not being happy with his accommodations.It is understandable that artists have requirements for their performance, but this should be detailed in the ryder and agreed to before the day of the show. "The legal action likely centers on the promoter's claim that Flo Rida breached his Australian concert contract. In the United States, and apparently in Australia as well, a breach of contract by one party generally entitles the non-breaching party to sue for damages." states Andrew Chow, JD in FindLaw. For now, Flo Rida is being held responsible for breaching the contract and is being sued to cover damages such as compensatory damages and punitive damages. My opinion about the facts found upon the case, is that if Flo Rida already had being paid to perform, it is going to be really hard to overcome this lawsuit by just saying he wasn't satisfied with his accommodations. Flo Rida and his manager should go over the contract and indicate exactlly want went wrong with the requirements and give a reasonable excuse for his cancelation at the last minute.
