Artist Managers New Role Is Business Development

If you happen to be somebody working out a music career, Artist Management or Artist manager are not unfamiliar words to you.

In fact, it’s probably not far-fetched for you to be toying with the idea of seeking the services of an artist manager. The real good artist managers have impressive track records that include successes of now famous and rich names. You should know though, that artist managers’ role has evolved into one that now involves business development.

The New Role Of The Artist Manager

Like most things in the music industry, the artist manager’s role is quickly changing. The good old days had him mostly concerned with helping the fledgling artists, singers, songwriters or bands with whom he works, to secure a good record deal and then after the deal is finalized and is active, to serve as liaison between his artist and the label.

This sounds simple enough, but it’s not. Of course it’s an oversimplification. It’s no picnic getting the artists a record deal nor working with a label. This was, however the real essence of an artist manager’s role, at least for a large majority of them.

Today, that has changed. Their key role is different. They’re no longer concerned with getting the artists under their wings signed. Instead, they now should be concerned with developing and creating value for their artists and bands, as in “business development.”

While they continue to view their artists and bands as something for which they must build brand equity, such brand equity is not so much for leveraging it into a record deal, but leveraging it to create direct revenue units and build strategic partnerships where he again creates exposure and impact, (thus enhancing the brand equity) and revenues.

All that time spent mailing things and items out to people at the labels outfits, those meetings with the A&R people and all those hours spent fighting and arguing about marketing budgets and promotions and everything else, must now be concentrated on “business development”

The thing is … most artist managers are not fully prepared for business development. They’ve got no proper business training and through no fault of theirs will probably move about unsure, in a market where those without the requisite skills are punished. Some of these guys won’t make it. Some will be smart enough to learn the business fundamentals and will change the paradigm.

If you’re into pursuing your music career, as a singer or member of a band or a songwriter- composer, it would be good for you to understand this evolving role of an artist manager. Before you wind up with one, make sure he/she is coming from a reputable, results-oriented outfit that knows what’s happening with artist management.