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Artist Management by Andy Zhang

Managing your career can be a daunting task. That’s why the artist management profession exists! If you actually break down what a manager does, you start to see that he/she has to do a little bit of everything. For those of you who are unsigned or simply don’t plan on signing with a label, a manager then must do a lot of everything in order to compensate.If your band is just starting out, the following article may not apply to you yet; you should be playing out quite often and have a solid original repertoire to warrant the need for a manager. For the following 3 reasons (and many more), I strongly suggest hiring a fantastic manager that is a master of all trades to solidify and to further your career.

1. TIME

You cannot manage and pursue your career at the same time. Have you ever tried job hunting while working 12-14 hour days? I’ve done it, and it’s pretty much impossible! While this is a bit of an exaggeration, in many cases it applies to a musician’s career. If you’re playing a few shows here and there, a manager may not be all that necessary. However, if you’re touring every few months, interviewing on TV and radio, plugging your songs into advertisements and video games, and visiting your grandmother every few weeks because she’s in love with your band, you’ll find a manager to be quite useful. Not only will the manager make life easier, but he/she will make sure you don’t lose out on any of these opportunities because you were too busy to call anyone back (including grandma). These opportunities could mean the difference between a stagnant career and a rising star.

2. FOCUS

Your focus should be on the music and on performing it well. A manager’s focus should be on your career and on guiding it well. The average human brain can only keep track of a limited number of things consistently. Reading advice on how to direct your career is certainly useful but you should never let it take away from what you got into this business to do: play music. [Please keep reading this column, of course. Instead, it’s the manager’s job to constantly seek advice on how to boost your career. For example, do you need more online exposure? If so, your manager may look into cheaply producing videos to release on Youtube. Do you lack a strong local following? In that case, your manager might try pulling some strings and getting you to open up for a popular band playing in your area. All you have to do is play.

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