Building your team; Agents & Managers, Marketing and Producers

Agents & Managers

Agents and managers are important partners that can help you grow as an artist. While both help handle logistics, they deal with different aspects of the business. An agent’s job is to help you book live performances and other promotional activities. More often than not, agents come and go as your career progresses. However, they are useful to artists at all levels of their careers.

For newer musicians, it’s a good idea to research smaller, local agencies first. They can help you build a fanbase at home before expanding. Often, smaller agents have connections to bigger agencies and can invite them to your shows. If you can book and sell out local shows, it demonstrates your selling potential to bigger agents.

A manager’s job is to handle logistics outside of deal-making, although many will leverage their connections to get your name out there. Managers become more useful as your career grows and responsibilities expand. Ultimately, their job is to take care of business so that you can focus on the music. Managers can act as your right hand, which is why many choose family and friends to manage their careers. However, the most beneficial managers are those who already have strong ties to the music industry, specifically with people in your genre or niche. Ideally, a manager is someone who is well connected and shares your vision for your career.

Marketing

Marketing has always been an essential part of a musician’s career. However, with the rise of streaming and social media, it’s more important than ever to make your brand stand out. There are plenty of ways to do this for free, but paid digital marketing can take your career to the next level.

Digital marketing for musicians consists of strategic activities like playlist placement, digital ad campaigns, and social media campaigns. All of these are intended to push your music to a wider audience.Some of these are easy for an artist to do on their own, like paying for promoted posts. Activities like campaigns and playlist placements, however, can be more complicated and time-consuming to set up. Marketing agencies can help by providing their media expertise and running campaigns for you while you focus on making music. Marketing professionals know the best ways to maximize your presence across media platforms. This can give you an advantage over other artists who may not have the same level of marketing experience.

Overall, it is important to financially invest in marketing the same way that you invest in other aspects of your music. Social media and the Internet are constantly growing as promotional tools, and marketing professionals can help you utilize that tool to its full potential. Many companies–like Twentyfour-Eight & Co.–even focus specifically on promoting independent artists, regardless of what level of attention they’ve already achieved.

Producers

Producers are key partners in the creation of your music. They are in charge of recording, mixing, and mastering music and vocals. Some work in all of these stages, and some specialize in one part of the process.

It can be intimidating to find a good producer without knowing where to start. A good starting point would be to check out local recording studios to see if you connect with their producers. Get a feel for their musical background and interests. If things go well, try working with them for a studio session. There are also websites like SoundBetter that can help you find producers. As a newer artist with limited resources, it can be tempting to go with the cheapest available option.

However, you should save up for someone who has proven experience with your genre. You don’t have to hire the most expensive producer, but it’s better to work with someone who knows what they’re doing. This also applies to aspects of the recording process that go beyond the music. Think about your budget, whether you and the producer have compatible work styles, etc. It may be time-consuming to find the right match, but the end result will probably be worth it. The process will go more smoothly with a producer who can understand your vision.