BBC Introducing

A manager will oversee every aspect of an act's career; from finding the right producer to getting signed to dealing with your finances. They'll help define every aspect of your sound, look after your day-to-day dealings with record labels and develop a strategy for your future. A manager will also deal with the business side of things like A&R and getting gigs. Many acts liken the relationship to a marriage due to the intensity of it. Here's Steve Taverner, who has managed Ash and the Ting Tings:

Here's part one of The Long Report, in which Jen Long from BBC Introducing in Wales speaks to Alex Bean (former manager of Marina and The Diamonds) and gathers advice from UK bands like Pulled Apart By Horses, Kids in Glass Houses and Los Campesinos! to find out the basics about management: