Ex Pat Files: Angus Vail Of The New Jersey White Hats

The unlikely name given to ex-pat Kiwi Angus Vail's New Jersey-based music business management firm stems from an equally unlikely story.

White Hat Management looks after contract negotiations, tax and insurance issues, publishing matters, music rights, tour budgets and finances. "All the very unglamorous but essential stuff," says Angus, a lawyer by profession.

The company earned its name after helping an established songwriter win a long and bitter lawsuit against a music publisher.

"He'd said we were like the 'good guys in the cowboy movies who rode into town wearing the white hats and saved the day'.

"We felt good about that, hence the name."

Formerly from Hawkes Bay, Angus gained a BComm and LLB from Victoria University before leaving New Zealand in 1985. He lived in London for three years before heading to Sydney, working in both cities for BNZ corporate.

A blanket CV drop to the Australian music industry led to a life-changing gig with INXS who were looking for a business manager at the time.

Angus says that starting work with INXS in 1988 was one of his biggest challenges because at that time their 'Kick' album had sold more than 13 million copies and the band was embarking on major world tours.

"I had not had any experience with looking after a big band so it was a bit of a trial by fire!"

By 1993 he had learnt a lot and moved to the U.S., joining a music business management firm and then moving on to the business office for KISS. In 1996 he established White Hat Management with accountant and business partner Aaron Van Duyne III.

Among the acts they currently work with are KISS, 3 Doors Down, New Blood Revival and our very own Shihad/Pacifier/Shihad and Steriogram.

His experience with New Zealand artists in the United States is that they have to put in a lot of work if they want to crack the market because often they do not have the basic essentials that most US bands have when starting up.

"They arrive with nothing - no credit history, no credit cards, no driver's licence, no bank accounts.

"There's also a lot of time spent with Kiwi bands just in education, telling them how the US biz works."

His advice for those wanting to break into the United States market is to be inquisitive.

"Ask everyone, read everything, don't be arrogant and think you know it all, be idealistic but realistic at the same time. Get a good artist manager, a good lawyer and a good business manager - that's the team you'll be working with for a long time, if all goes well."

Not too surprisingly Angus counts working with KISS as one of the major highlights of his career.

He began working with the band in 1995 just before they reunited in make-up and started an enormous world-wide tour that eventually grossed more than US $65 million.

He says it was "...a lot of work, but an incredible learning curve to jump on".

"The good thing about working with both established and long standing bands is that the band members are generally very professional, hard working and have been round the block many times. Also most of the people working with them know what they are doing, are experienced and very competent, so the 'drama' factor is very low."

On the 'drama' factor Angus is professionally coy.

"I am going to have to be very boring and not go there. Let's just say that celebrities are absolutely worshipped in the US by a lot of people, so yes some strange, and sometimes disturbing, things have happened.

"But in terms of strange demands by the bands - well, as I said the good thing about dealing with major long-term bands is that they are pretty professional and efficient machines."

To be signed up with White Hat Management a group should have a record or music publishing deal done - or on the table.