I have spoken at length about the importance, the necessity and the lack of artist development in the music industry today. I have spoken about how and when artists should look into getting a manager to assist their career and what to look for in said manager. I have spoken about what the manager and A&R should do, what their role is and what to expect from working with them as an artist. I have walked you through and explained the process of becoming an artist, and what is needed to succeed as an artist in the music industry. I have touched on through examples of the major artists that have gone through artist development and the variety of time periods it has taken these artists to become ready in the eyes of their labels, A&Rs and mangers. But, how long should artist development really take? Is there even an expected time period? If you are scouted as an artist by a label, A&R or manager and they tell you specific things that need to occur before you can be ready for release, what type of time frame should you be looking at?
Before I answer those questions let me add this caveat first. Each artist is different, each artists situation is different, each artist starts at a different starting point, each artist is in need of different things, and because of all this, each artists time frame will be different. At this point I am sure you are saying, “If every artist could expect a different time frame, how could you say what time frame to expect, and why would you be writing this article?” I answer you with this. I recently had the chance to speak with Don Richardson, manager/A&R in the music industry for an episode of TheBlogAnR Podcast (now streaming on Spotify) where we spoke on this exact topic. Of course he gave his perspective of the stipulations based on how he operates and works with artists, but during the podcast he gave his explanation on why the time frame he gave is a good way to operate, and thus is the basis of this article.
True artist development is a complete process to build an artist from the ground up. How to look, how to act, how to sing, how to construct a song, how to write a song, how to sing a song, how to dress, how to create a brand, media training, choreography, vocal training and much more is what true artist development is. Today, due to the rise of social media, true artist development is very rare, and only done by a select few people. Independent labels, production companies and publishing companies are the only music establishments that will still even attempt the undertaking of true artist development with an artist they see potential in. All the major labels won’t even consider the thought of true artist development. If an artist is presented to them, the artist needs to be at least 95% of the way to being a complete artist, otherwise the label won’t bother working with the artist. This true artist development process is a grave undertaking that takes months and some times years to complete in order for the artist to be truly ready. This is a hard concept to explain too artists, especially ones in todays music industry, partly because they see artists everyday become popular on social media and partly because they are in the younger generation and their attention span is next to nothing. (meaning they want everything to happen now and are not willing to wait, and if you make them wait they believe you are not doing what you are supposed to, or that something is wrong)
As an A&R, manager or company how do you combat this? To answer that we have to answer the first proposed question of this article, how long should artist development take? First, to answer this I will tell you the explanation Don gave me during our sit down on the podcast. (which you can listen to the full interview on episode 9 now streaming on Spotify) He said that the process should take no longer than 18 months. For some artists this may seem like a long time, because telling an 18 year old artist that they have to work non-stop for a year and a half for the possibility to make it in the music industry is the equivalent of telling a child they can’t play with that toy in the car and have to wait until they get home. However, if you told a manger that the process should only take 18 month, they would look at you sideways because that is a relatively short period of time, and most managers don’t sign contracts with artists of anything less than 3-5 years. So why 18 months? He says because if we are working non-stop over that time, with the connections an established manager (himself in this case) has in the music industry, they should be able to get their artist in front of the right people to gain their attention at least enough to propel the artist. If it doesn’t happen in that period of time, maybe it’s not supposed to happen, or something else is not working right and it is time to cut ties. I am not saying that this is always the case, (as I have stated above that all artists will begin their work with a manager and artist development process at different places, but this can be used as a general rule for artists that begin to work with managers in regard to artist develop as long as they are not totally starting from ground zero and the manager has to build the artist completely from the ground up)
When it comes to his method of working with artists, as a manger he won’t sign an agreement with an artists of longer than a year. He believes that in artist development it is better to take it year to year because the industry and new artists are unpredictable. Most managers won’t even contemplate a contract of this length, and anything less than 3-5 years is not worth their time. These types of managers are looking at the money more than the artist. (at least for the most part, if the manager looking at this is associated with a company or label they maybe actually looking at the artist’s potential after the development process) They are thinking that if I have this artist for this period of time, at some point the artist will make money (whether it is because of the manager or not) and when this happens the manager will get their 20% cut of the profits. This is where artists become upset and begin to have problems with their managers, but that is a conversation for a different article. The year to year contract makes sense for both the manger and artist if you think about it. As an artist, why tie yourself to a manager for a lengthy period of time, not knowing if the manager can or will be beneficial to you and your career? Same goes for the manager, why tie yourself to an artist for a lengthy period of time without knowing the work ethic and drive of the artist? In the five year period any myriad of things can happen that would make either the artist or manager want to end the agreement. The artist could decide that the music business isn’t for them and change their career path. The manager could get fired from the company they are working with when they first signed the artist. Personal situations could occur for either party that hinders their ability to perform their job duties. What happens if in year two the artist doesn’t think this is the right fit, but the manager wants to maintain the relationship due to the financial ramifications, the artist is now stuck for another three years or until the manager decides to let the artist go. (unless you would like to undertake a legal battle) On the flip side, what happens if the manager wants to cut ties but due to language in the contract, they lose music rights to the artist? (meaning all the work and money the manager did and spent developing that artist is now gone and won’t be recouped, where this is rare and in most cases this will happen to the artist before it will happen to the manager, it is still a possibility) These longer contracts in the development stage, (to me anyway) just don’t seem like a good idea for either party. Gear yourself more towards the shorter contracts, this way you can judge each party and the whole situation as things either progress or don’t, rather than being tied to a bad situation for a long period of time.
Now, you are probably thinking, “Ok, 18 months is what I should expect as an artist working with an established manager before something happens. What happens if it takes longer? Or what does it mean if it takes a shorter period of time? Does this mean the situation isn’t the best?” If you are working with a manager I implore you to make sure the manager you are working with is the right one for you. An example I use a lot is in regard to Tyler the Creator. He is a different type of artist, both in his artistry and in his personality. (not different in a bad way, he is incredibly talented both as an artist and as a producer, but he has a strong personality and a very strong artistry that has to be marketed properly in order to work) Personally as a manager I would have no idea how to work with and market him. It would take a specific type of manager to have the correct vision (especially at the start of his career) to work with him at a capacity that would benefit him. (probably why he and his crew were independent and did such a fantastic job marketing and promoting themselves to the point they all got to now) So, assuming you are working with the correct manager for you as an artist and as a person (as you have to connect on both levels or there will be problems in your relationship with your manager, because even if the manager is great professionally doesn’t mean you are a good fit personally) then this time frame is perfect. If the manger is able to get you a situation prior to the 18 month mark we have established for this article, then most likely it is because the manager has developed you and presented you to a point where people are taking notice and want to sign and/or work with you before someone else gets a hold of you and they lose the opportunity. However, if the process takes longer than 18 months, it doesn’t necessarily mean that things are not working or that something has gone wrong. It could just mean that some more work needs to be done. Just because you don’t have a situation in 18 months doesn’t mean the manager has failed, it could mean that the people the manger has presented you too aren’t ready to work with and/or sign you just yet. You could be on their radar but they want to see a little more first. Remember, major labels don’t want to develop artists at all, they want the artist to be completely ready before signing them. If the manager has got you 90% ready in the labels eyes in the 18 months, you are still way better off then you were when you started with the manager, but you aren’t fully formed yet and maybe one aspect isn’t quiet ready for the label to be fully on board. Remember music is subjective and the preference of each person is different and so is their opinion. Just because person A isn’t ready to work with you, doesn’t mean that person B feels the same way. A&Rs and labels pass on phenomenal acts all the time, only to watch that artist sign with another label or work independently to superstar status.
The true artist development process is not one that can be rushed, and if it is rushed, it has not been done fully and/or correctly. Rushing an artist out is a sure way of crippling the artist in the long run. Think of how many artists (especially young ones) you have seen come out before they or their music was totally ready. Now, this of how many of those artists are still around today. Better yet, think of how many of those artists were around a year after their initial release. Like a premature baby, if an artist comes out before they are fully formed and ready to take on the music industry, they could and most likely will have major issues. Nothing in the music industry happens overnight, and every “overnight success” you have seen took years to take to that point. Just because you have never heard of that artist prior to their first major release, doesn’t mean that they haven’t spent months in artist development and years prior to that developing themselves before getting the attention of the manager that put them through the rest of their artist development to get ready for that first major release. The artist development process is and will always be different for each artist, and in most cases never truly stops. As an artist you have to keep adapting with the times. You have to continually reinvent yourself while continuing to grow or your music will become stale and sound dated. (and even if we all love to nostalgically listen to our favorite songs from the early 2000s and the 1990s, these songs for better or worse, except from the truly exceptional artists, don’t compare to the music and sound that we are accustomed to listening to today) Know this, if you are approached by a manger that wants to work with you, even if they tell you you still are in need of some development, the manger sees something in you that can be great. The harder you work in the development process the more you will get out of it.
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