An Insight Into Artist Management
By: Simon Parton
Like many things I do and have done in the world of working in music, I fell into the whole artist management thing with no intention of becoming a manager. This meant that I often learnt the hard way as I embarked on the journey. With this in mind, I thought it’d be handy for me to put together a rough guide of some of my top tips for anyone who might be thinking about the world of artist management.
It’s worth at this point saying that I’ve taken no specific “management” course or read any “how be a manager” - but I think that’s the beauty of the role. I tailored it to my strengths and the artists I worked with.
“JUST BECAUSE YOU’RE NOT IN THE BAND, DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE NOT IN THE BAND”
Dewey Finn aka Ned Schneebly (School of Rock)
This was my starting point, and something you really need to consider if you’re thinking about becoming an artist manager. Especially if you’re starting with a grassroots artist or someone who similarly is at a relative early stage of their career, you need to be prepared for just as much hard graft as the artists themselves.
Long rehearsals and songwriting sessions will be replaced with emails, strategy planning, marketing plans, networking etc... often (in the early stages) for very little to no return. Often, when projects and artists are not turning over any profit, you’ll find yourself dedicating a lot of time and not getting paid - that’s the harsh reality of the game you’re getting into.
Like most artists experience from time to time, you’ll find yourself questioning the reason why you’re doing the whole music thing - which brings me on to my next main point (which hopefully will stop me from scaring you off!)
BELIEF IN THE MUSIC AND THE ARTIST YOU WORK WITH IS PARAMOUNT.
You’ve got to be fully invested in the music that your artist is making and also the personalities and characters within the artist/band. It sort of relates back to my School of Rock reference, but it’s so important. If you’re not fully backing the artist then you’ll be fighting a losing battle. Ultimately, management as a venture should be as fun as being in the band, so you’ve got to be backing the project and fully involved.
This belief also comes over time. I’ve been asked by artists that I’ve met for the first time at shows whether I’d manage them. I might absolutely love their music, they may be pulling in massive audience numbers to shows and streaming stats and getting big opportunities but if I don’t know someone it could end up becoming a disaster. Get to know your artists. Work with people you trust. Work with someone that you know won’t drive you nuts. Establish a relationship before committing to any business ventures.
PLAN AHEAD. STRATEGY IS KEY. DEFINE SUCCESS.
This is something I picked up on the journey of working in the music industry in general - the importance of planning, the importance of strategy and defining success between artists, members of the band (if you’re working with the band) and your team.
When I was making music and in bands, once I’d created your music, artwork, music video etc… (and naturally believing it’s going to change the world) I was so set on just releasing it immediately and wait for all the opportunities to come flooding my way. This never happens. Plans around EVERYTHING (not just releases) are so important and shape the way you work with your artists.
I find plotting out a 3 year strategy with everyone involved in the project is really useful. I usually colour code key dates / things (live dates, festivals, release plans, tours, studio time, writing sessions etc…) in 3 sections:
- Confirmed plans - things that are definitely happening
- Likely plans - things that aren’t concrete, but are definitely within reach
- Dream plans - festivals, album plans, tours, things that you as a project would love to achieve.
The third colour coded element (dream plans) is really important, because it establishes what everyone wants to achieve and what “success” is defined as. I’ve seen artists and bands in sticky situations when things like tours or international trips get offered and have to be turned down because everyone isn’t 100% able to commit.
As a manager, you’ll also have to deal with “failures” or things that don’t go quite to plan, so it’s also really important to reassure and remind your artist why you’re all working towards the same goal and that luck plays a big factor in the music game.
STAY ORGANISED
The most important element of management I think is organisation. Stay on top of emails, keep all folders on a cloud based file storage (e.g. Dropbox / Google Drive) so you can easily link to promoters, festivals and other industry personnel. This can / should include electronic press kits, press photos, music videos, links, bios, tech specs.
Staying organised also relates to the “plan” you put in place. Keep referring back to it, update it as you go (the goalposts will constantly move) and keep in touch with your artists. Regular meetings definitely help and keeping communication channels open with everyone involved is really important. If you’re working with a band (where all members are as invested as each other), keep everyone in the loop - don’t single out one member for all comms.
Artists are famously unorganised (the amount of times a week I have to DM someone on instagram to say “hey did you get my email) - so prepare to fully take the role of chief organiser and run with it.
TAILOR YOUR ROLE AND UTILISE YOUR OWN CREATIVITY
One thing, (maybe a lot of long standing artist managers may disagree with this) is that you can literally tear up the rule book and work in your own way as an artist manager. Utilise your own skills and creativity, even if they don’t fall into the role of a typical music manager. That’s what I did!
I, for example, am a dab hand at graphic design, video editing, event management and social media marketing. This means with the artists I’ve worked with I’ve been able to create assets, edit music videos and muck in that way on top of everything else. It all contributes to the project and if there’s a job that you can do without having to spend money and outsource, it’s definitely a positive!
Sometimes this isn’t possible and you can’t do everything. This is when starting to form a “team” around your artist is important…
FORMING A “TEAM”
I always wondered what a “team” behind an artist looks like and how it works. For me, essentially it’s a group of go-to people/businesses that you go to that are fully invested in the band as much as you. This can be modular, this can change and this can be flexible to what you’ve got going on.
In early stages, it’s not really important to have this in place, as a lot of the time you can fill these yourself as a manager. Alternatively, you can utilise the skills and talents of friends / people around you. If you know someone who’s good with a camera, get them to take your artists press photos. If you know someone who loves going to gigs, get them on the guestlist of shows and get them to collect content on their phones to post afterwards. If someone you know can create a logo, get them to make one for your artist. It goes without saying - use the skills of your artists if they have hidden useful talents!
My point here is that you can easily form a “team” who can help with the strategy of your artist and become as invested in the project at an early stage. If things kick off and you start getting some cool things, these people will stick around for the ride and prove to be really valuable.
The further you go in your journey, roles within a team will start to snowball and you’ll begin to find and form new relationships with people you trust and work well with.
THE IMPORTANCE OF NETWORKING AND EMAIL ETIQUETTE.
I’ve always found networking really tricky. Even now, if I’m in a room of music industry delegates, my instinct is to gravitate to the people in the room I know or have met before. It’s hard to do, but so important! Getting into rooms with people who could one day become part of your team (be it a PR Agent, Booking agent, record label) and selling not just your artist and project but yourself as a manager is really important.
Be brave. Most people are lovely and are in spaces to do exactly the same - network! Also most people are also probably feeling awkward and nervous too (you’d be surprised!). At gigs, chat to people in the crowd watching your artist - you never know who’s in the room. Be friendly, be passionate and be driven - this will win a lot of people over.
When networking isn’t possible, emailing key stakeholders is a good second option - but don’t fall into the track of the copy & paste email. As a recipient of a copy & paste email you can spot it a mile off. Be personal - do some research into who you’re emailing. If you don’t know them prove to them you’ve actually gone out of your way to find out who they are.
Also, adopt the double email rule. Email once and follow up a week later. Often I open a non-urgent email, read it and think “I’ll reply to that later” and then it’s gone. A reminder or follow up a week later will often embarrass me into replying immediately, apologising profusely.
KEEP LEARNING
As a manager, you need to be flexible. Not only because the climate that is the music industry is constantly evolving, but you also are as an industry professional as well.
You can never know everything. Be open to new ideas and be prepared to get things wrong.
DO ALL ARTISTS NEED A MANAGER?
Alternatively, if you’re reading this as an artist, you may be thinking “well, I could, at this point, manage all this myself” - and for most artists, this is the most sensible approach at the start of your career.
If however you think you do need a manager, this person doesn’t have to be an already established manager - it could be someone you know already who has no intention of being a manager but you know would do an awesome job. Are they organised? Do they answer emails? Do they go to your shows? Are they passionate about music? You could have a manager ready to go and not even know it!
Like I mentioned earlier, this is what happened to me. It was a case of “could you be our manager?” or “do you think I could be your manager”. What I do remember is that it happened very organically and it was a slow burn to actually start identifying as an artist manager. Imposter syndrome sometimes creeps in, but that’s also really fun, because I can tailor things to what and how I want them to be.
I had a pretty decent grasp on the workings of the music industry before working in artist management but had no real clue in what I was doing. But trusting my instincts, working hard and remaining passionate about artists has taken me and the projects I’ve worked on to some mad situations: international travel, world renowned music festivals and industry events, successful campaigns and more.
I’ve learnt a ridiculous amount about the inner workings of music in the couple of years I’ve done it.
This very much a unique snapshot into how it’s happened to me and what I’ve learned along the way. Good luck, don’t rush things and most importantly have fun with it!