Parent Managers Gone Wrong

In expanding my knowledge on artists managers, I decided for this blog post to focus on a number of famous childhood stars who had parents as managers and what happened as a result. Being a manager is a difficult job, exacerbated by managing your children. Trying to differentiate between manager and parent can be challenging. Take for example, Macaulay Culkin, Gary Coleman and Jackie Coogan.


Macaulay Culkin is a famous childhood star who made it “BIG” in Hollywood by the age of 10. By 15, he was caught in the middle of his parent’s divorce (over managerial responsibilities) and the following year was emancipated from both.

Gary Coleman is another child star whose fortune was supposedly placed in trust only to be squandered by his parents and managers. Gary Coleman ended up suing his parent and winning.


Both artist’s at a young age had to become independent and learn some very difficult lessons about parent managers. It is because of the famous childhood actor Jackie Coogan’s experience in entertainment with his parent managers taking his money, that the Coogan Law was established. The law became effective in 1939 as a means to help protect minors wages and since has been revised to correct any loopholes that were once in it. Presently, this law makes sure that 15% of a minor’s salary is put into a blockable trust until they are 18 or otherwise able to take care of their financials. 

However,  not all parent managers have stories like Macaulay Culkin, Gary Coleman and Jackie Coogan. There are some great parent managers who have proven themselves as key figures in the development of their child's careers, such as Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift and Ashanti.  Parent managers can and do often work, however, knowing when to relinquish responsibilities to a skilled professional might be the key.

Sources

Kaufman, G. (2011, March 29). Beyoncé Fired Her Dad But Kept It In The Family, Just Like Usher And Chris Brown. MTV. Retrieved from: http://newsroom.mtv.com/2011/03/29/beyonce-fires-matthew-knowles/

Linfield, S. (1995, November 5). Trouble in the House THAT Mac Built : A Custody Battle for Macaulay Culkin by His Parent-Managers Offers a Glimpse Into What Can Happen in Hollywood When a Son Is Also a Star. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://articles.latimes.com/1995-11-05/magazine/tm-64948_1_macaulay-culkin/4

McLellan,D. (2010, May 29). Gary Coleman dies at 42; child star of hit sitcom 'Diff'rent Strokes. The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/29/local/la-me-gary-coleman-20100529

Screen Actors Guild. (2011). Coogan Law. Screen Actors Guild. Retrieved from: http://www.sag.org/content/coogan-law

Who Are Your Idols?

This month I am taking a very interesting class on Product and Artist Management. I find the topic intriguing because it gives me an opportunity to examine some of my own idols  that have managed various talent in the entertainment industry. I have been impressed by these three managers (Robert Thorne, Benny Medina and Larry Rudolph) that have brought their artists to much success in their careers and helped managed to keep their bonds of manager and artist tight despite adversity in life. 

The first one is Robert’s Thorne. He has been the driving force behind the Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen brand since they were babies and has managed to keep his artists in the spotlight for over 20 years. He helped build the Olsen Twins company “Dual Star Entertainment” that has 1 billion dollars worth of sales annually (Givhan, 2011).

The second manager is Benny Medina. He continues to manage Jennifer Lopez since her career launch in 1999. He has helped her career evolve over the years allowing her to take her brand and pursue different venues such as clothing, movies, music etc. Through various times in her life they have parted ways but have always found a way back to each other as they realized their work together creates successful projects (La Porte, 2011). 

The last manager is Larry Rudolph, who manages Britney Spears.  Larry Rudolph met Britney Spears during her Mickey Mouse Club days and continues to manager her today. Even through hard times in her life, Larry has stood by her as a friend and then a manager. He has transformed Britney’s career over and over again making her the star we still see today (Lester, 2008).

I have found these three managers to be influential in my life because I have seen them carry their artists from the beginning of their careers up till now and I have been impressed with their management strategies. I have found these managers to be great role models for up and coming artist manager's because they have a proven track record of success and longevity with these artists. However, the most important thing is that all these manager's believed in their artist from day one which help them guide their artist onto successful career paths. 


Sources

Givhan, R. (2011, April 24). Look, Ma, We’re Fashion Moguls! The Daily Beast. Retrieved from: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/04/24/look-ma-we-re-fashion-moguls.html

La Porte, N. (2011. May 13). J.Lo:The Sequel. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/fashion/jennifer-lopez-the-peoples-pop-star.html?pagewanted=all

Lester, S. (2008, November 18). Britney Spears says life is like a jail sentence in 'Britney: For the Record.’ NY Daily News. Retrieved from: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/11/18/2008-11-18_britney_spears_says_life_is_like_a_jail_.html