Production Consulting for Artist Managers

The production side of touring will surprise you if you do not understand it. Riders, advancing, budgets, and settlement are areas where managers routinely get caught off guard, not because they are not good at their jobs, but because they came up through the music business side of the industry, not the production side. Those are two different disciplines, and not knowing the second one will eventually cost you or your artist in real, measurable ways.

You do not need to be a production manager. But you do need to be able to read a rider, recognize when an advance is not going well, understand what is actually in a budget, and know enough about settlement to protect your artist’s interests when you are sitting at that table or reviewing what came out of it. We close that gap so that by the time a production issue surfaces, you have already seen it coming.

What We Cover

Rider Education. We walk you through how to read a technical and hospitality rider, what is actually non-negotiable versus what is a wish-list item, and how to have the right conversations before those items become day-of problems that nobody told you about.

Advancing Oversight. We teach you what a complete advance looks like, what questions should have been asked and answered before show day, and how to recognize when the venue or promoter side is not advancing correctly before it is too late to fix.

Production Budget Literacy. We help you understand what production actually costs, which line items get underestimated most often, and how to evaluate a budget with enough of a critical eye to know whether you are looking at a realistic plan or an optimistic one.

Settlement Fundamentals. You do not have to run settlement yourself. But you should be able to read a settlement sheet against the deal memo, recognize where disputes typically start, and know when to ask questions. We give you that foundation.

Venue and Promoter Communication. We help you understand professional norms on the production side, so your artist’s team is not creating friction by asking the wrong questions at the wrong times or pushing back on things that are not pushback situations.

Who This Is For

Managers moving an artist into more serious touring who want to get ahead of production issues before they surface. Established managers who have been burned before and want a more confident foundation. Management teams hiring their first production manager who want to know what good looks like before they start evaluating candidates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a production mistake actually cost a manager?

One production disaster on a major market show can cost more than a year of consulting fees, in real money, damaged relationships, and the kind of reputation that follows you across markets. A mishandled rider, a settlement dispute, or an incomplete advance can damage promoter and venue relationships that took years to build.

What are the most common production mistakes artist managers make?

Forwarding a rider to a venue without reading it closely first, which means the manager has no independent basis for knowing whether the venue’s response is reasonable. Not asking for confirmation during the advance process. Sitting at or relying on settlement without understanding the deal structure well enough to recognize when the numbers do not match expectations.

Do I need to attend the calls myself, or can my team handle it?

Either works. Some managers attend personally to build their own fluency. Others send a tour manager or junior team member and review the material afterward. The right approach depends on how hands-on you want to stay with the production side long term.

What if my artist already has a production manager?

Consulting is still useful when your artist already has a production manager. A manager who understands the production side independently can evaluate the production manager’s work more effectively, ask better questions, and catch problems before they reach the artist, rather than relying entirely on a single point of expertise.

Can CCG review a specific rider or contract I have already received?

Reviewing an active rider or contract in a session is one of the most common and useful starting points with CCG. We walk through what is standard, what is negotiable, and what needs follow-up before you respond to the other side.

Book a free 30-minute introductory call. No pitch, no pressure.