Steve PMHHaving a career in the music industry is a dream for a lot of people. In the majority of situations, the skills needed to have a job in this sector includes having a great voice or being able to play a musical instrument like a true professional.
Yet, since music and entertainment is one of the largest industries in the world, the scope of musical careers includes a variety of jobs that don’t even need you to play any instrument whatsoever!
Enter the music manager. So, what is a music manager, and what do they do? Today, we’ll walk you through a brief guide about the career of a music manager, so you can see whether it’s the right job for you. Let’s dive in!
The Short Answer
A music manager is responsible for advancing the career of an artist from an enterprise and artistic point of view.
Managers are also responsible for generating opportunities for artists by using their expansive network of connections.
They can either be a personal music manager that works closely with an artist, a business manager who oversees paperwork and documents, or even a road manager that plans the tours, transportation, and scheduling.
What is a Music Manager?
A music manager is a professional who works closely with musicians and artists to manage their business affairs and help them meet their projected goals.
A music manager is typically an ambitious character with an artistic background. They help musicians in all enterprising aspects of their career, such as promotions, music production, performance, and earning gigs.
However, some music managers will have an artistic background by starting as artists themselves.
Others will usually work their way up through management firms and build their own network of connections in the music industry.
Although music managers typically work behind the scenes, some iconic names have gathered a lot of media attention due to their massive success, such as:
- Colonel Tom Parker (Elvis Presley, Eddy Arnold, and Hank Snow)
- Peter Grant (Led Zeppelin)
- Sharon Osbourne (Ozzy Osbourne)
- Brian Epstein (The Beatles)
- Scooter Braun (Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato)
- Jonas Goldstein (KISS, AC/DC, The Bee Gees, Clint Black, and Ben Folds)
What Are the Responsibilities of a Music Manager?
A music manager’s responsibility will vary depending on the type of music manager, as there are personal, business, and road music managers. So, let’s have a quick look at each one of them:
Personal Music Manager
As the name suggests, a personal manager will typically work close to the artist, whether they’re a single person or a band.
The manager’s responsibility here is to make plans for music production, manage live performance and arrange gigs, handle the work with record labels, and even grow the artist’s fanbase using social media.
Business Music Manager
A business music manager is more focused on the artists’ paperwork and logistics than the music projects themselves.
This involves bookkeeping responsibilities such as handling taxes, payments, income, expenses, etc.
Road Music Manager
Road music managers are also known as “tour music managers”. As you might’ve expected, this type of manager is usually responsible for handling the artist’s logistics while on a tour.
This includes accommodations, transportations, setting up venues, scheduling of the artist’s work, etc.
What Are the Skills and Traits Needed to Become a Music Manager?
Due to the variety of tasks that are given to a music manager, it’s not simply a job for anyone. A music manager needs to enjoy a wide range of skills that will help them expand their career as well as the artist they represent.
There are many skills and traits that a music manager needs to have. For example, a manager needs to have an incredible ability to multitask and a relentless drive to succeed.
A music manager also needs to be an honest and trustworthy figure, since they’ll be responsible for finances and handling the money earned by the artists.
Here’s a quick list that includes some of the most important characteristics of a good manager:
- Deep understanding of logistics, finance, and business running
- Able to create a powerful network of connections in the music and entertainment industries
- Ample background of the music industry
- Exponential organizational skills
How to Become a Music Manager
Now that you know more about the career of a music manager and the skills needed to become one, you might be interested to go all the way!
Of course, the route to becoming a music manager may vary from one experience to the other. However, here’s the most common channel that today’s music managers go through:
Step 1: Get Proper Education
As previously mentioned, getting into a management career means that you’ll need to have a wide understanding of today’s economics and business as well as marketing strategies. That’s why you’ll need to have proper education about these concepts.
The routes here may vary. Back in the day, times were simpler, and music managers only needed to teach themselves by internships and being already in the music business.
But today, college education has become a standard for the career and anyone who wants to become a music manager should earn a 4-year bachelor’s degree.
While earning the degree, you can either major in business, economics, or marketing. However, you can also find some schools that offer a degree that specializes in the music business.
One thing you should know is that these degrees are highly competitive, so you need a relatively high GPA for admission, which is usually about 3.0 or higher as well as a letter of recommendation.
Step 2: Gain Experience
After graduating with the degree, you’ll need to earn some professional experience to hone your skills.
Finding a full-time music management job right after graduation is a bit difficult without a proven track record, so you have to earn some credentials by building professional experience from behind the scenes!
The best way to do that is by applying for internships or entry-level jobs, which are usually in record labels, studios, radio stations, public relations firms, and more.
These jobs may not pay high, but they give you hands-on experience by working up close to music managers and building a solid foundation for your professional career.
Step 3: Make Connections and Build Your Network
Working in music management requires someone who is always trying to expand their network of connections.
That’s why you’ll always need to meet other professionals in the industry and find ways to collaborate and communicate on supporting an artist’s career for the mutual benefit of all parties.
Keep in mind that you’ll be exposed to other professionals from the first moment you set foot in this business.
Maintaining a relationship with those you meet during your early internship and entry-level job day will pay off as you’ll get other professionals to vouch for you, which helps in building your reputation in the business.
Step 4: Represent Artists and Musicians
The next step is to find musicians and artists that you’d like to represent. Of course, working with an established artist is typically difficult, since they’ll have their own music manager.
The general practice that most new music managers follow is finding new talents and upcoming musicians, which you’ll get to meet a lot of during your internship and entry-level job.
Working with new artists will help you benefit from the experience and connections you have made in your music management career.
Step 5: Apply for a Professional Music Association (Optional)
Joining a professional music association is another great way to quickly expand your network of connections and make a good name for yourself and your enterprise in the music industry.
There are plenty of music associations that will offer valuable research data and webinars to help you grow, such as:
- Music Business Association
- American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers
- International Music Managers Forum
- Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP)\
- North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA)
How Can a Musician Find a Manager?
Almost all musicians and artists nowadays opt for music managers rather than manage their own business, which helps them focus on their artistic career, especially that they leave the job to certified professionals.
When an artist is seeking a music manager, they’ll look for a manager that is specifically enthusiastic about what they do and the type of music and art they play.
They’ll typically look for managers with a decent record track, which is why you need to build your experience and connections as soon as possible.
A good tip here is to advertise yourself on online music forums, as upcoming and new musicians will usually start their searching efforts by checking online for potential managers.
Are Music Managers Satisfied with Their Career?
Career satisfaction is typically measured by multiple surveys. According to CareerExplorer, music managers are among the most satisfying careers in the US.
In the same report, music managers rated their happiness with their jobs at about 3.8 stars out of 5, which puts them ahead of 86% of other careers!
