For an emerging artist, finding a manager can feel like the missing puzzle piece. It’s someone to help you navigate the industry with, it’s a trusted sounding board. Ideally, they bring long-term music industry experience, they understand how contracts work and have contacts to help position you in the right places. It’s a trusted partner to build your dream with.
Also from an industry perspective, having someone officially on your team gives you credibility as it signals that others believe in your potential. In fact, many labels won’t work with artists who aren’t managed, as it means labels are inevitably taking that role on.
As an emerging artist earning very little money while you’re getting your career off the ground, asking someone to manage you is essentially inviting someone to invest their time in you before there’s a clear financial return. It’s a bold ask - so it means the opportunity needs to feel exciting, purposeful and worth their time. To be very blunt, most managers won’t be interested in working with you until you have some real momentum behind you, and there’s a financial incentive there to join your team.
I’ve spent some time mulling over a scenario: if I was an emerging artist looking for a manager, how would I go about it?
Here’s what I’d do.
Start With a Self-Assessment
Beginning with a brainstorm will give you clarity on what you actually need.
Provide a snapshot of the reality of today: do you have a full time job and do music on the side? Are you a full time musician earning some income already? If applicable, insert a table of how much you earned over the last 12 months and where this income came from.
What is your plan over the next 12-18 months to release music?
What are your numbers across socials; how active are you? What is your strategy here for growth?
Who has supported your journey so far? Media, DSP’s, promoters, etc.
Is there anyone on your team already (Lawyer, live agent, publicist, or someone in the industry advising you on strategy)?
What can you bring to the table: Are you self-sufficient with the music/writing? The creative?
What do you really need help on? Is it booking shows, negotiating contracts, growing your brand?
What is your vision as an artist? Where do you want to be in 1/3/5 years time?
What are your goals over the next 12 months and how will you go about this? (List 5-8 key goals, e.g. signing to a label, 100K monthly listeners, supporting an artist in your genre on tour)
What do you offer your audience as an artist? Why should anyone care, what makes you unique?
What world are you building around your music creatively - what is your vision for your brand?
(Click the link below to download this as a checklist)
Having this clarity for yourself first will give you the ability to create a compelling case for why someone should come on and join your team.
Package Your Pitch
Next, turn this into a pitch document - keep it short, personalised and clear - and include any relevant links.
Make sure you end this with something powerful - talk about your ambition and work ethic as an artist (e.g. when an artist tells me “there’s no Plan B” I find that incredibly compelling because it means they’re going to do this with or without me).
Remember, managers don’t steer the ship - you should be working at least twice as hard as them to be in the drivers seat of your career. Find a way to let them know that you understand this.
Understand the Business Model
The typical model for a manager to join your team is to take 20% of your business, net receipts. So for example if you’re earning an income of £15,000 over 12 months from your music, that’s £3,000 over a 1 year period that this person can invoice you for (if there were no changes to your earnings).
For the sake of a bit more math - if this person is really experienced and their value to you is worth £100/hour, that £3K equates to 30 hours of work over a 12 month period, or 2.5hrs per month. Is that realistic?
It’s worth doing this exercise to understand how you can model your current revenue in a way that makes sense for this person to be on board.
Managers will be aware of the low financial uptake in the initial period of working together and some will be able to work for free, but others may want to be paid in exchange for their time which could be another model to consider.
How many hours a week or month do you really need from them right now? Could you start with just a 1-hour check-in every two weeks, to review progress, get input and set short-term goals?
Write a Shortlist of Dream Managers
Once you understand your goals and what you can offer someone, now it’s figuring out a wish list of who you want to target. Look at other artists in your genre who are slightly more advanced and find out who manages them. Tap into your network, ask producers, writers, venues or other industry contacts to see if they might know anyone. Go to as many industry events as possible to meet new people and put yourself out there.
Build Your Foundation First
The actual reality in the industry is that the best managers will find you when you’re ready. When assembling a team, whether it’s a label, live agent, publisher or manager, there’s a common saying in the industry: “Build it and they will come.”
So if you’re reading this and you realise that your plan needs work - it probably does. In fact, most emerging artists aren’t ready when they first think they are. But putting in a solid 6-12 month plan of focused preparation can completely change your trajectory.
If you’ve done the groundwork but feel stuck turning your plan into action, I can help. I work with artists in an advisory capacity helping them build a plan for the next 12-24 months, which includes branding, strategy, goal-setting, marketing and audience growth, so that you can approach the right manager when the time is right.
Please reach out at hello@goodtwin.ai for a 1:1 session or to learn more about how I work.
Finally, give yourself time. This will likely take quite some months and many conversations to find the right person, so stay positive, ask for help where you can and trust the process. Work through this checklist to give yourself clarity first, then put some plans into action. After all, no one can argue with a solid plan.