Music 101: What is a Music Manager and How to Find One

What do The Beatles, Taylor Swift, and Beyonce have in common? They all had great managers helping them guide their career. As an artist of any medium, a manager can either make or break your career. Your manager should be your right-hand man when your days become overwhelmingly busy with meetings, press, and more. But how exactly do you find a manager? And more importantly- how do you know when it’s time to find one?

WHAT DOES A MANAGER DO?

You may be asking yourself a few questions about artist managers. One of them being- what does a manager do? Although a manager may not be in the spotlight as much as the artist, they are always behind the scenes working on a plan to help the artist’s next project. They are someone who advises and organizes important events or commitments in an artist’s career. A good manager also helps steer their client’s career where they want it to be.

For DIY artists, the role of a manager is going to look different than someone with an established team. However, generally speaking, responsibilities of an artist manager include (but are most definitely not limited to):

• Building an artist’s team
• Scheduling appointments, interviews, and day-to-day responsibilities
• Establishing their client’s image, sound, and identifying their fan base
• Actively seeking out opportunities to share their client’s music
• Setting clear goals and solidifying a plan for reaching those goals

In essence, a manager helps relieve stress by handling the business side of the artist’s career so that they can focus on the creative side.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU NEED A MANAGER?

Far too often, an artist thinks that having a manager will solve all of their problems and their career will suddenly be successful. However, the truth is that a manager can only do so much for an individual’s career. If the passion and drive isn’t present, it’s highly unlikely that they will be able to guide the career to a successful place.

So how do you know when it’s time for a manager? The answer is when you begin to make enough money to pay for a manager or when you’ve found someone passionate enough about your art to do it for free. The role of a manager should be filled when the artist finds themself having far too many commitments than they can handle on their own and when managing themselves is interfering too frequently with creating music.

One of the final signs that an artist is ready for a manager is when they start being approached by management.

HOW DO YOU FIND A MANAGER?

If you ask anyone in the music industry for the best way to find a manager they will most likely tell you this: The best way to find a manager is to stop looking for one. Many artists have trouble following this piece of advice due to impatience and because they have the wrong idea of who a manager should be. Unfortunately, this often leads to an artist being taken advantage of and getting caught in contracts that don’t favor their music.

In order to avoid this scenario, a good manager should be someone that you confide in, get along with effortlessly, share common values with, and who cares about your art as much as you do. And so, it’s best to continue networking without actively seeking out a manager but to always keep an open mind for potential candidates to fill the role.

Here are a few ways to make sure you’re ready to take on a manager:

• Network across your peers and above in the industry
• Understand what a manager should do for their client
• Research artist management companies
• Release music and establish a following

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, an artist manager might be one of the most important roles to fill on your team. However, not all artists may necessarily need one- especially if you’re still in the early stages of defining your art. As I’m sure you’ve heard before, “Don’t try to fix what isn’t broken”. There is more than one way to cross paths with a manager- it’s just a matter of waiting for the right time and person.

Contributor: Daniela Herrera