You have now completed the entirety of the creation process in regard to your songs. You have the records, you have the final mix, you have the copy-writes, you’re afflicted with a PRO, you have a distribution channel and/or have begun releasing your music on streaming platforms for public consumption. Now comes arguably (other than the recording and mixing process) the most important part of beginning your career as an artist. It is time to assemble your team.
Now it can be argued that you should have your team in place before you have done any of the previous steps in the previous articles. Where yes, to a certain degree I can concede to that, for sake of these articles, I am putting this step here because the former can be done by yourself, and the later steps will be harder to complete alone, and will ultimately take a team, so you as an artist can focus on being an artist and not the business side of being an artist (although as the artist, you should at least have a basic knowledge and understanding of the business side of being an artist, because this is what effects your career and how your career is run).
If you don’t already (and considering the previous articles, I am assuming you don’t) partner with one engineer and one or possibly a few producers. Having these people as part of your team makes a huge difference in your execution and growth creatively as an artist. Every major artist in the world (and those on the brink) work with one specific engineer exclusively (or the engineer they work with has a few assistants so the artists will work with that team of engineers, but this is rare). They do this because one, they feel comfortable with this engineer, but two, and more importantly, because working with and gaining a report with this engineer will allow for smoother workflows because the engineer knows how the artist likes to work, how they should sound vocally, how the final track should, what efx and plugins to use for the artists voice and the overall sonic direction the artist likes and/or wants to go in. A producer is the same way. Now, a lot of artists work with a variety of producers because they are sent many tracks and can ultimately find a track from any producer that they and can write too. However, those same artists also have a few or one specific go to producer when they want to lock in. If you think about some of the major artists today, when they release projects you only see a handful (if that) of producers on the project. If you were to look at the credits for each song on the album (if you are even able to find them anymore) you will see generally one producer on 90% of the tracks, with a few co-producers and maybe one or two songs by a different producer. Drake has 40, Ty Dollar has Mustard, Wyclef had Jerry Wonder, most New York rappers have Alchemist and Araab, Meek had Jahlil, and Rick Ross had the Justice League. Yes, these artists and producers don’t exclusively work with one anther but on a majority of these artists tracks you hear these producers. This is because together they make the best songs because they understand what the artist is looking for and can construct the beats to compliment the artist. Working with a specific engineer and producer can take your musicality to the next level.
Second, is your manager. This is by far the most important person on your team. The right manager can get you in places and next to people that will make astronomical differences in your career. However, on the flip side, the wrong manger can be the reason you are still on the couch in your parents house wondering why nothing is working. At the Midem conference (the biggest music conference in the world, held in Europe each year) on a panel that consisted of A&Rs and label owners of some of the biggest labels in the world, they spoke about the importance of the manager that the artist has. Each person on the panel said relatively the same thing. If your manager is good and the right person to represent you, your career can skyrocket. Labels will take a chance on an artist simply because of the reputation of the manager. They have done business or worked with artists from this manager before, and because of this they know how the manager operates. Knowing the manger and personally liking the manger the label will work with an artist they may not have even looked at before. However, the exact opposite can be the case as well. If a label sees that an artist is associated with a specific manager, automatically they will dismiss the artist. The relationship they have with the manager from doing business in the past or seeing how the manger has worked in the past, has soured to the point where they want nothing to do with the manager. Regardless of how talented the artist is, forgetting what the songs sound like, and disregarding the artists potential, the label will walk away or worse, not even take a meeting because they are working with or associated with that specific manger. Choose your manager wisely. It isn’t always about the one with the most connections or the one that says that can give you the world, it’s more about the one that believes in you and is willing to work tirelessly for you. How can you as an artist, have a manager that doesn’t work as hard as you do? Why would you trust someone with the future of your career, if they aren’t as invested in your career (or theirs for that matter) as you are? Choose a manager that will go the extra mile to help you and further your career. If this means that the manager is just starting out like you are, so be it. Sometime this is better because they are just as hungry as you and will grind with you day and night to make it work. Be realistic with your goals and what you ask of your manager. If you are just starting out, regardless of the notoriety of your manager and their connections, don’t expect them to get you to a label or the biggest deal right away. It is a slow build, just because you have a manager doesn’t mean that you should now be making money hand over fist and the manger is responsible to put you in all the right positions. You still have to work too. Your manager can only support the work and effort you are putting forth. If you think getting a manager is the end all be all, and once you have one your career will go to the next level, it is not that simple. The manager you choose maybe able to get you into places you couldn’t before or be able to work in a different way letting you focus on being the artist, but if you sit back and stop your work ethic because you believe it all lies on the manager now you are wrong. Also to this point, just because you want a manager doesn’t mean you need one. Don’t be in a rush to get a manager because you think that is what you need. If you rush into getting a manager and sign with the wrong one, you may now be contractually obligated to this manager for things that you get that the manager doesn’t deserve. The manager may only want to sign you because if you do become a major artist they now get a piece of what you make regardless of what they did for you. Lastly to this point, don’t continually jump from manager to manager, team to team because you think the grass is greener on the other side. Just because that team over there or that manager seems like they are doing better, or have more going on, doesn’t mean they do, or doesn’t mean they can help you the same way. Pick your team, stay with your team, build with your team. Only switch teams if the team you are with isn’t working for you. That doesn’t mean they are not getting what you think you deserve (because sometimes your expectations are non realistic) but rather that the chemistry isn’t right, the vibe is wrong, and overall you aren’t meshing. If these things occur then it is time to look at changing the team and possibly switch it up.
I am going to put these next few positions together partly because for some artists they aren’t needed, but also because for the most part these positions don’t become necessary until as an artist you reach a certain point in your career (and for sake of this article and the point we are at in this series, you as an artist may not be at the point in your career where you need or even can afford to hire people for some of these positions). First, the social media manager, this positions has only recently become needed with the rise of importance of your social media following. This person is responsible for running your social media, from taking the pictures (unless you have a photographer, which can be another person to add to your team although not necessary in the beginning stages, although I will say they are helpful to document the process for a later date) posting the pictures, creating content, engaging with fans, creating and implementing ads, creating engagement, and keeping your pages on brand and up to date. For the most part this can be done by yourself as you know what you want to look like and portray, as well as interact with fans yourself, but once you get to a certain point this person is helpful because it takes one less thing off your plate. Second, PR/media specialist. This won’t be needed until you start doing regular media appearance. They will get you the media appearances, as well as coach you on how to act and prepare for them. Third, is your tour manager, this is not necessarily needed for local shows (although it can sometimes be beneficial if the booking managers connections supersede yours), but this is needed when you begin to do regional, national, and international tours. This person will set up the dates, ensure your travel and accommodations are correct and handle the money (advances, down payments, after the shows, etc.). Fourth, wardrobe (and make up if needed). This person usually comes in handy when you are going to tour dates or public appearances. Again, this is not a person you need right off the bat when you are up and coming, but is necessary when public appearances and tour dates become more regular as you will always need to be in image and that image needs to be on brand (however, if you’re a female act, unfortunately unless you or a close friend knows how to do your makeup perfectly, you will most likely need a makeup artist and stylist as soon as you begin as an artist, for male acts you can get away without a person in this position until your public appearances are regulated). Lastly, your lawyer/legal representation. This is extremely important (probably second to your manager) because this person will assist you in all contract negotiations. Don’t rely on a lawyer from your label or your manager (if you signed with a management company) obtain your own lawyer, one that works specifically for you and is not associated with your label. They will ensure you are getting the language in your contract correct and not getting screwed (or getting the least amount of screwed you can hope for as an artist) because you don’t fully understand contracts, contract language and negotiations. Never sign any type of contract or agreement without getting a lawyer to look it over and explain everything to you that you don’t understand. This is where a lot of new artists get themselves in trouble, signing contracts because of the advance money, without fully understanding the entirety of the contract and what they are signing. This is why you hear so many artists begin to speak out against their labels and the contracts they signed, because once they get a big single, or project they want more money or to renegotiate the terms of the initial deal. Think of this in sports terms. A rookie gets drafted in the first round and signs their first rookie contract. Now, depending on where in the round they were drafted will depend on the initial terms of the contract (the length for all first rounders will be the same but the money and signing bonus will differ if you were the first overall pick or the last pick on the round). As a rookie, you have an amazing first year and win rookie of the year. Now, you want to go to your team and renegotiate the amount of money you are getting because you feel you deserve more based on your performance. However, it has only been one year of your four year deal (or one album of your four album deal in the case of music) so why would the team (or label) renegotiate now? What happens if you have a down year in year two (the sophomore slump as it has been termed)? Or think about it from the other side, would you as an artist be willing to renegotiate the contract terms in favor of the label if you had a bad first year? Probably not, so why would the label do this for you based on your first year? Always read the contract and understand what you are signing because if you don’t, you could be signing an unfavorable deal in the long term, for a nice upfront signing bonus that will be gone in a few months to a year.
There it is, that is your team (for the most part, I am sure depending on the artist and the needs of the artist, these positions will change and some will need to be added that aren’t mentioned above). If you have these people in place, and they are the right people, willing to work as hard you, together you will reach great heights. However, if one your link in the chain doesn’t work or is out of place, the whole thing can come down. There is a reason that most artists have their team in place when they are on the rise (most of them being people they know and have an extremely close relationship with and would trust with their lives) because they know these people won’t go behind their back and do something shady (Dame Dash to Jay-Z). The right team with the right mindset will always win. One bad apple spoils the whole bunch.
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