Managing the Grateful Dead

Danny Rifkin & Rock Scully - 07/31/1966

Photographer: Herbie Greene

When the words Grateful Dead and Corporation are uttered, one would feel that they are not inclusive of each other. Well the business of music was well played by the band through the management team that would take a group of hippies with talent to become icons of their generation with a profitable brand. Joshua Green wrote Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead an article published in The Atlantic, which lifts the curtain and shows the business side of the Grateful Dead. Insight into how early on the incorporated their band and trademarked brand images. Just like any other corporation had a board, CEO and divisions. The board not only included band members but according to Green’s article roadies and other members of the artist’s team. He also goes onto describe innovations as a corporation that would be adopted by the greater marketing world like targeted marketing. Until the death of Jerry Garcia the Grateful Dead were continuing concerts and one of the longest running profitable brands in the industry.

This says a lot about the organization and their band manager Rock Skully. He served as the band’s manager from 1964 until his eventual firing in 1985 due to personal drug use interfering with his duties. Regardless of his personal problems, of which he was able to eventually overcome, he and the team that developed the organization that is the Grateful Dead excelled. For 20 years Skully traveled with and managed the band, in 1992 he wrote a book on the subject titled Living With The Dead: Twenty years on the road with Garcia and the Grateful Dead. As a manager he also managed other Grateful Dead spinoff acts. Further insight into Skully, and his experience during the period managing the band can be found in an interview by Fine Art Magazine. One noteworthy part is when Skully talks about how they made the decision not to play clubs for in which they earned very little and create their own events. This move created growth for the band as profitable events allowed for further equipment purchases and investment into the band.