How to become a music manager? Role, duties and average salary
A business professional who works in the music industry as an artist manager is known as a music manager. Many people pursue professions as music managers to break into the music and entertainment industries while doing non-musical administrative tasks.
If you enjoy music and have strong negotiating and people skills, being a music manager may be the perfect profession for you.
In this article, we discuss what it could be like to be one of these managers, including their typical job responsibilities and compensation, and we look at a list of steps on how to become a music manager.
What is a music manager?
The commercial parts of a musician's career are managed by a music manager. This might involve coordinating promotional activities, including public appearances or record signings, negotiating pay, and planning tours.
Music managers can operate alone or in groups, and they frequently deal with artists they anticipate will become well-known once they break into the market.
Music managers may launch their own management firms, but they can also work for larger firms that handle a number of musicians simultaneously.
What does a music manager do?
The following are some common responsibilities of a music manager:
- Arranging concerts and travels.
- Coordinating recording studio sessions.
- Discussing goals with clients during meetings.
- Contract negotiations with music labels and venues.
- Understanding the royalties flow is critical when learning how to become a music manager.
- Promoting the artists they represent by connecting to other industry peers.
- Increasing an artist's fan base using social media and other advertising methods.
- Completing artist documentation, including contracts, budgets for tours, and legal papers.
How to become a music manager
Be passionate about it
You need to be passionate about what you do to succeed in any creative job. Your chances of success in any venture will be greatly increased by having enthusiasm. Without it, you'll frequently wonder why you're doing it, and your career in music management would end before it really gets started.
You may develop confidence in yourself and display that confidence to others by exhibiting passion for what you are doing and trusting the process. Creative people are more willing to work with someone who genuinely enjoys what they do.
Build relationship
Connections are crucial in the music industry. Many effective artist managers got their start in the business by contacting people they already knew through personal relationships.
The greater your network, the more likely it is that you will discover a possible gig or joint venture for the artist you are managing.
Get involved in your local scene
Just being surrounded by your local music industry can help you overcome the entry barrier needed to become an artist manager. The first step is to attend performances, interact with the performers, and become familiar with the venues in your city. Find out what places promote the music you are interested in and go there as often as you can.
Earn a bachelor's degree
Many job candidates decide to obtain a college degree, even though some music managers may find employment without one. This is to ensure that applicants may learn about business procedures, knowledge of the music industry, and negotiating strategies.
Commercial management is often the most popular major among these students since it may equip them to represent customers' business interests. Additionally, certain colleges may offer courses in music administration, which can provide students with a more in-depth understanding of how to conduct business in the music industry.
Find internship opportunities
Many aspiring music managers find internships with record labels or music management firms where they may learn about the business and witness seasoned experts at work.
Making relationships in the business can be quite beneficial for new professionals, and this is especially true for music managers. This is so because talking to other industry experts to find out about new artists and trends helps many music managers land new clients and projects.
Update yourself with all the relevant music industry trends
Knowing the trends in the music business is a crucial component of becoming a music manager. A music manager may use this to locate new clients and sign musicians they think have a chance of succeeding based on current trends.
The internet is one of the finest places to conduct research on the music industry since you can go through blog posts, articles, and other sources for the latest music news.
Skills needed to become a music manager
Be eager to know
Continue your education in the music business. Recognize the function that agents, promoters, labels, and PR firms fill in the industry. Keep yourself up to date if you really want to know how to become a music manager.
Even if you don't have to be an expert in music, managing musicians might be a good opportunity to continue your own personal development.
Interpersonal and communication skills
You'll need to network, pitch, and make cold calls if you want to create possibilities for your artists. The most important thing is to follow up with everyone you interact with politely and persistently.
If you struggle with interpersonal skills like networking and communication, you should either work on them or look for another employment because it’s just too important if you want to know how to become a music manager.
Be focused on the business side of the job
You'll be with your artists often, so you could be tempted to hang around and go out with them. Don't go too far, though. Work comes first when there is work to be done. Put work first; don't put enjoyment first.
Multitasking skills
You will effectively be in charge of every element of your artists' careers until a team is in place. Early on, you'll probably need to handle duties that would traditionally fall within the responsibility of PR firms, agencies, labels, and so forth. Be prepared to be exhausted.
Music manager salary
Currently, the average yearly income for a music manager in the United States is $85,400. However, this sum may change based on a person's degree of education and experience.
According to Comparably, music managers may frequently make more money depending on where they work. For instance, music managers in San Francisco can expect to make an average of $129,000 annually, while those in Salt Lake City can expect to make an average of $68,000 annually.
On the other side, in the UK, according to Indeed, the average salary for a music manager is £31,264 per year.
How to become a music manager - Conclusion
Even if it's not always easy, managing music artists is rewarding and fun. It may even be lucrative if you prioritize the right things. Therefore, a job in music management can be a good fit for you if you like listening to music and want to see other people succeed.
We hope you enjoyed reading this post, and if you'd want more career-related guidance, on our blog section, there are many more beneficial articles, advice, and recommendations to be found.
You are undoubtedly here because you love music, so please take advantage of the chance to listen to it while interacting with other users via webcam in CalypsoRoom.
In CalypsoRoom we believe music is the most powerful tool to bring people together, and that’s why we created a safe digital music social network online where you can meet friends or new people starting from the same song, listening to the music simultaneously connected by webcam.
Are you a music artist or label and do you want to give your music a further dimension? Do you own or co-own the master and publishing rights to your music? Consider to post it on CalypsoRoom listening to it together with your super fans, at the same time, connected by webcams.
Thanks for reading,
CalypsoRoom Team
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Written by CalypsoRoom Editorial Team
The CalypsoRoom Editorial Team is a skilled and diverse group of writers, researchers, and industry specialists who have access to Calypso's data and information in order to give you broad knowledge about the music industry as well as helpful advice to help you manage your music and dancing career.
Updated January 2023
