Becoming a music manager is such a rewarding and adventurous job that can you can start by doing it as a side hustle. There are a few important elements and concepts to understand and take into consideration before you go on to spread your wings.
To become a music manager you can either study for a music business degree, or you can develop your knowledge and experience by managing a beginner band with potential. Either way, networking and making a name for yourself in the music industry are key.
There’s no official qualification to becoming a manager, other than the ability to spot talent and convince them that you can further their career by representing them.
Glyn Johns
Before you continue, artists are often unsure when it’s the right time to find a manager to help them. Don’t miss the article I wrote about When is the right time to find a manager for your band.
Here are a few guidelines for the trait to give you an insight into what to expect when you’re considering becoming a music manager:
The Artist-Manager Relationship Explained
Being an artist manager means that you will become intensely close to the life of an artist, and see them grow and develop on stage and in their daily lives.
There’s virtually no aspect of the professional or personal corners of an artist’s life that a manager doesn’t encounter on a regular basis.
Prof. Paul Allen
This is a business relationship where the manager takes the career of the artist further. The manager might have several clients in the form of bands of artists that they need to take care of. Whereas the artist has one manager that takes care of their administration, development and well-being.
It’s important to understand that artist managers also have their own dreams and aspirations for their futures. They build experience and contacts as they take their journey through the music industry. Therefore it’s not an employer-employee relationship, but rather a partnership that’s built on trust.
The 4 Corner Stones of Management
In all areas of management, we speak about these four principles to make sure that our projects lead to success.
Planning
Sitting together with your artist and setting future goals is the first step in creating a vision for your artist. Focus on having reachable long and short period goals. Address the following aspects:
- What material do we have and what can we expect soon?
- What does a live performance look like and what type of variety can we offer?
- How is our social media doing? Are we active and do we interact with the fans?
- Which venues have we performed so far? What would a next-level venue be like?
Organising
After you set your goals, it is time to work on the mission, and that is how you are going to reach these goals.
- What worked in the past?
- Can we run a competition with our fans to get the venues filled?
Directing
On your mission to reach your goals with your artist, you will need to reach out to the parties to share your wishes and execute the desired goals.
Controlling
This is the most unpredictable one since one can not control all the aspects of the delegated work. You might want to stay in constant communication with these people to make sure that everything falls in place, but having a plan B in place will make you stand out above the rest.
This post was written and posted by De Wet from startingmyband.com on 12.02.2023. The content was stolen from me if this blog post is seen anywhere else.
The Artist Manager’s Skillset
Being an artist manager means having a special set of skills where you will interact with plenty of different people and you will find different ways of reaching your goal.
Networking and Mingling
During your career, you will get to know many different people with different skills or positions in their jobs. Be sure that you stay in good contact with people to make use of them in the future.
We speak about the “Gatekeepers” in the music industry. These are people that will make your journey easier and can help you grow your band for your artists. This is people like:
- Venue owners
- Radio personalities
- Artist bloggers
- Record labels
- Music and artist promoters
Proper Communication
There are many different ways to say something, but choosing your words carefully to get what you need is a skill that not many people have.
Requesting something urgent in a kind and polite manner will most likely get the job done better for you than sounding rude and short-tempered.
Problem-solving and Creativity
To make your artist stand out will take some creativity from the management’s side.
Problem-solving is the golden skill that will not always be recognised by all but felt when you are absent. You will come across plenty of problems where creative ideas will need to come to solve them and keep the shows on track.
Being Persistent and Staying Positive
You will receive way more “no’s” than “yes’s” from all the emails and requests that you will be sending. Be prepared for this. But don’t give up!
By staying in contact and regularly checking in, you will find your way to reach your goal.
I remember wanting radio play on a certain station so badly, that we kept being persistent and asked for a date far in the future at an awkward time. We got it, and many more interviews came because of this one chance. Just don’t give up.
As a manager, it’s important to push the limits of the band to keep them progressing as fast as possible. One way to do it is to organise gigs for them with successful artists. Don’t miss the article I wrote about Landing an opening gig for a successful band that will share some of the experiences I used to achieve this goal.
What Qualifications Do I Need to Become an Artist Manager?
A Music Business Degree is the qualification that artist managers study to learn the skills of music publishing, music licencing, music law, artist management, touring, marketing your artists and entrepreneurship.
Keep an eye out for distance education so that you can study and work. Implementing your learned skills as you support your studies also with assignments and tasks while you gain the needed experience.
Do I Need a Degree to Become an Artist Manager?
No, you definitely do not need a music business degree to become an artist manager. You can start by managing a beginner band with potential and grow with them.
Find a mentor that you can follow and ask questions along the way and start building your skillset as you go along. Sometimes learning by experience is invaluable.
If you’ve gained some knowledge and insight from this article, don’t miss the one I wrote about What makes a good artist manager that will help and guide you a little further in your journey to becoming the real deal.
Until next time, Rock ‘n Roll Boys ‘n Girls