One of the key components of the Artist’s Team is management. This editor’s guide will help you navigate the significant amount of content we have on this topic. Management is a hugely broad topic. Under the rubric of management is everything from business management (which is primarily an accountant function); tour management (which focuses on assisting the artist with maximizing their live gigs); and, of course, personal management, which is what most people think of when they think about management. This editor’s guide will focus on personal management. When trying to define what it is a personal manager does, it’s almost easier to state what the manager does not do. Typically, for example, a manager will not book gigs for the artist—this is the purview of the booking agent. Also, a manager will usually not act as the artist’s publisher. While, in many cases, the manager will book gigs, and the manager will act as the publisher, this guide will track the more common roles of the manager. To put it clearly, the manager’s job is to maximize their artist’s career. The manager must constantly be looking for ways to help their artist attract and retain fans. Doing so increases the chances that the artist will have a sustained and profitable career. How a manager helps their artist attract and retain fans is of course an art form that, like any art form, takes a combination of strategy, hard work, and perseverance. This guide will give you insight into the strategy, the hard work and perseverance are up to you. For a very broad overview of the importance of having a manager, and what a manager does, check out this video:


To dig a little deeper, you can see that there really are three essentials of an artist manager: (1) Passion; (2) Connections; and (3) Capital. Of the three, passion is the most essential, and can sustain you while you build the other two. This series of articles provides an overview of this important concept: http://www.artistshousemusic.org/articles/the+three+essentials+of+manage... Mathieu Drouin and Francoise de Grand, the founders of Equator Music, an independent music company based in Canada, further elaborate on these essential qualities, as well as provide information on how these qualities apply in practice in the following video:

If you feel you’ve got the passion for an artist (and, perhaps, some of the other essential qualities too), check out this video of Pete Galli, an artist manager and owner of the Los Angeles-based Galli Management who oversees the careers of The Bravery, Damone, and Andrew W.K., talking about his role. It will give you some great perspective:

Management is certainly one of the most challenging jobs you can have, but it can also be one of the most rewarding. Michael “Blue” Williams, artist manager and President of Family Tree Entertainment, which oversees the careers of hip-hop artists such as Outkast, Scarface and Killer Mike, among others, talks both about the challenges and benefits of artist management in this video:

So, after all of this, you hopefully feel inspired to get out there and start managing an artist, check out this great video interview with Sam Feldman. For some additional concrete advice on how to succeed as a manager, check out Jeff Castelaz’s video where he emphasizes the importance of focus and balance in management:

This is just a small sample of the vast amount of management information available on Artists House Music. For more, type ‘manager' in the search box in the upper right hand corner of every page. I hope the ideas presented here will arm you with the tools you need to succeed in the increasingly important role of management.