A Managers Foundation

Over the last 2 years I have gained some great experience as an artist manager. The excitement of overseeing a music artist career from its beginning stages to even the smallest amount of success is very rewarding.  I look at myself as sort of a life coach on top of music manager. There is a certain level of guidance that an artist looks towards their manager for that is not found in any other realm of their life because its dealing with their profession. After successfully managing various artists the last 2 years I can share some of my successes that will help anyone new to artist management gain some basic understanding of how to deal with artist.

Tunnel Vision

This is a key attribute that any manager should make sure that their artist has, and if they do not have it then we must develop. What do I mean by tunnel vision? It’s the ability to block out all the surrounding distractions that have no bearing on the overall goal. Artists sometimes get caught up in watching what other artists are doing and feel that they must keep up with them. The more energy an artist puts into developing their own sound, fan base the more benefit to them in the long run.

Decision Making

As a manager I explain to each of my artists that their careers are ultimately in their own hands but a great manager will layout the information necessary for an artist to make key decisions. I compare it to coaches of professional teams. The players are the talent so everyone judges them based off of their performance on the field/court. What the coach does is prepare the players as best possible and put them in the best positions to succeed with their ability. Same thing applies for artist managers. It is our duty not to make the decision for the artist, but guide the artist into making the right decision through proper research and planning.

Handle With Care

Every successful artist is passionate about his or her craft. With that passion also comes a certain level of sensitivity. The ego of any artist must be handled delicately because every artist is giving the listener a first hand look into their diary of lyrics which in most cases have some personal meaning or effect on them. Now I don’t suggest you baby any artist because the worst thing an artist can have is a “yes man”. However when critiquing or making changes that an artist may not fully agree with gives rationale and reasoning for your input.

These are just a few main tips I’ve chose to pass along as a foundation for any successful manager to build that good relationship with their artist. The better the relationship the more in tune you are to help the artist grow as a professional.