The position of an artist manager plays an important role in the success of countless musicians across the globe. An artist manager’s role encompasses a range of tasks from orchestrating projects, planning releases and booking shows, to taking care of their client’s wellbeing, helping them pursue their goals and much more.
Finding and nurturing great artists is essential to succeed in the artist management industry. Below are some of the key points any artist who wants to appear more desirable for management, or artist manager who wants to sign a new act to their roster, should consider.
If you’re looking to make a career for yourself in the artist management industry, or run your own successful record label, become a global booking agent, work with music copyright law and much more, we’d highly recommend checking out our online Music Industry Management Degree programme. This course is led by industry professionals with years of experience in the field and will provide you with the skills to stamp your mark on the ever-changing music business. Find out more about this course and sign up here.
What Should an Artist Manager Look For?
1. Talent
In the industry, talent speaks for itself. This is a necessity when signing someone to your roster and will reflect positively on your A&R skills to boot. Some artists may be a bit rough around the edges, but your instincts will tell you when you’re onto a winner. Great talent is undeniable and can be strengthened with the right attention.
2. Individuality
As more and more artists begin to emerge each year and tens of thousands of songs are released each day (around 40,000 to Spotify daily, according to Business of Apps), it’s more important now than ever to find a unique-sounding artist with an individual spark. This will help your artists shine bright amongst the competition and entice more distinctive creators to join your team.
3. Drive
Finding an artist with a powerful drive to succeed will make your job not only easier but more exciting. Having a passionate artist will radiate inspiring energy and ensure that they stay on top of your directions when pushing them to further their career.
4. Vision
An artist with a strong vision of where they want to take themselves professionally will help you and your client easily set out goals, and a career timeline and help manage expectations. If the vision is clear for both you and your artist, success will come naturally as you will both have the same aspirations for the future. You can spend more time putting the wheels in motion for new projects, leaving your artist to get creative and focus fully on the work at hand.
5. Dedication
Along with drive, dedication is the key to success. You need to find someone who is willing to put in the work, pull out all the stops and be passionate enough to give it their all. Working with a dedicated artist will take the strain off you when it comes to providing direction. It’s not always easy managing and carving out new opportunities when you have to spend time constantly prompting your artist to put in the work.
6. Communication
Like with many professional and social relationships, communication is paramount to keeping everyone happy. Good communication between yourself and an artist will speed up the workflow process and help spawn new ground-breaking ideas. Honesty and respect also play a key role here, as an open dialogue about what you think is best for the artist and the ability to compromise with their needs will build a strong bond. In other words – listen to each other.
7. Success
Last but not least is success. It’s important to sign someone you think has what it takes to excel both your careers and notoriety simultaneously. Artists with a proven track record of success will certainly possess many of the characteristics listed above and already have a good idea of what works for them musically, as well as what their audience demographic is.
These are all great tips to keep in mind from the perspective of an artist manager but if you’re an aspiring musician who is at the stage of your career where you’re seeking management, these tips can be easily applied to your own persona – all you need to do is look at it from the position of the creative. Below, we have a video that focuses specifically on getting signed and finding management so if it’s your time to take this step, we’d highly recommend checking it out.
At Point Blank, we have a wealth of resources to help both music entrepreneurs and artists kick-start their careers. Whether it’s our Lead Student Mentor and in-house record label A&R, Kwame Kwaten, who has worked alongside the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince and James Brown to the multitude of instructors comprising well-respected DJs and producers, we’ve got it covered. Find out more about our courses in London, Los Angeles and Online here and be sure to get in contact if you have any further questions.
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The post Artist Managers: 7 Things to Look For in an Artist appeared first on Point Blank’s Online Magazine.