Jan. 2, 2026

How Music Managers Get Artists Signed

Show Notes
Transcript

In this episode of the Music Business Newsletter with Matthew Rix, I read an email from a 24-year-old music manager who’s doing everything right but still feels invisible.
He’s managing a band he truly believes in.
They’ve released music.
They’ve toured regionally.
They’re growing a small but engaged fanbase.
But he’s running into the problem almost every young manager faces:
How do you get artists noticed and eventually signed when you don’t have industry connections, money, or a roadmap?
He’s hearing the same advice over and over:
“Network more.”
“Build relationships.”
“Get in front of the right people.”
But no one explains how to actually do that when you’re young, unknown, and trying not to look amateur in rooms full of veterans.
In this episode, we break down:
• What labels actually look for before they sign artists
• Why most young managers focus on the wrong metrics
• How managers build credibility without a resume
• When chasing a label makes sense — and when it doesn’t
• The difference between artist development and industry validation
• How to avoid burning bridges early
This episode is for:
-young managers
-self-managing artists
-bands wondering why “being good” isn’t enough
Have a question about the music business?
Please send it in at https://MatthewRix.com include as many details as possible so the answer helps others too.
#artistadvice #artistmanager #musicbusiness #musicbusinesstips #matthewrix

Listen to Mattrix Minute for daily Music Business insight without the music industry hype.
Spotify
Apple Music
Amazon Music
YouTube

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.480
Hey, this is Matthew Ricks, and today on the Music

2
00:00:02.480 --> 00:00:05.200
Business newsletter, we got an email from a manager who

3
00:00:05.200 --> 00:00:07.519
wants to know how to take his band from where

4
00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:10.480
they're at locally to get in front of the right people.

5
00:00:10.519 --> 00:00:13.759
But before we answer that question, if you have a

6
00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:15.519
question on the music industry that you'd like for me

7
00:00:15.560 --> 00:00:19.079
to answer, just go to Matthewricks dot com click submit

8
00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:21.440
your question. I don't need you to become a member,

9
00:00:21.640 --> 00:00:24.239
join a Patreon, or buy a book. All you gotta

10
00:00:24.280 --> 00:00:26.280
do is go to Matthew Ricks dot com click submit

11
00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:28.679
your question, give me as many details as possible, and

12
00:00:28.719 --> 00:00:32.079
we'll answer it here on the channel. Now for the email,

13
00:00:32.320 --> 00:00:36.000
he says, Hey, Matthew, my name is Bob. I'm twenty four,

14
00:00:36.039 --> 00:00:38.280
and I've been managing a band for about a year.

15
00:00:38.320 --> 00:00:41.039
Now. I'm coming at you. You're coming.

16
00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:45.320
I'm coming at you because I honestly feel like I'm

17
00:00:45.320 --> 00:00:47.960
trying to build a rocket with no blueprint.

18
00:00:48.039 --> 00:00:48.719
I don't really know.

19
00:00:48.679 --> 00:00:51.039
Who else to ask, and I've been binge watching your

20
00:00:51.119 --> 00:00:54.600
videos and listening to the Matrics minute on Apple Music

21
00:00:55.520 --> 00:00:57.640
trying to find all the advice I can get. Well,

22
00:00:57.679 --> 00:01:00.880
thank you for binging. Thank if you listening to them

23
00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:03.200
new to the Matrics Minute. We got New Matrics Minutes

24
00:01:03.200 --> 00:01:06.159
coming out every Monday in twenty twenty six, so you

25
00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.400
can stream that wherever you listen to music.

26
00:01:08.519 --> 00:01:10.280
But he says a.

27
00:01:10.239 --> 00:01:12.920
Little background first. I've started working with this band out

28
00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:15.879
of college. We met through shows and mutual friends in

29
00:01:15.920 --> 00:01:18.799
the local scene here in Seattle, and from the first

30
00:01:18.879 --> 00:01:21.760
time I saw them, I knew there was something worth developing.

31
00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:25.840
Great songs, tight energy, and a sound that feels honestly different.

32
00:01:26.599 --> 00:01:29.200
You are only twenty four years old, but you sound

33
00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:31.120
exactly like a good manager.

34
00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:34.519
Oh so much fluff, Oh great.

35
00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:37.920
You know many times i'd meet with a manager and

36
00:01:38.079 --> 00:01:39.519
you know, you're an A and R and they're calling.

37
00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:40.359
You don't really have.

38
00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:43.200
Any interest in this band, but they're a nice guy.

39
00:01:43.560 --> 00:01:45.079
Or you just want to take a meeting and see

40
00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:47.560
what's going on. And you'd say, with these managers and

41
00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:50.959
they'd be like, my band is so different, this artist

42
00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:53.599
is so different. Wait till you see the energy that

43
00:01:53.640 --> 00:01:56.560
they can do, and then you they sound like everybody else.

44
00:01:56.640 --> 00:01:59.640
I'm not saying this band does, but you know it's

45
00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:02.359
it's a good manager right here. Is to have all

46
00:02:02.400 --> 00:02:06.239
these buzzwords because you want a manager who truly believes

47
00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:08.840
they have great songs. You want a manager who truly

48
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:10.960
believes that the energy of the show is tight and

49
00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:12.520
that their sound is so different. You don't want a

50
00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:19.280
manager be like, yeah, they're like everybody else running the mill.

51
00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:20.159
Let's continue.

52
00:02:21.360 --> 00:02:24.800
Actually, there was one time I was very close with

53
00:02:24.879 --> 00:02:29.280
this manager. We were friends outside of the business, and

54
00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:31.479
he picked up this group. They got signed by a

55
00:02:31.560 --> 00:02:34.560
label and I looked at him and I go, what

56
00:02:34.599 --> 00:02:37.960
were you thinking? And he was like, the label begged me.

57
00:02:39.199 --> 00:02:40.840
And I was like what And he's like, the label

58
00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.919
begged me. They needed a manager for this band. And

59
00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:47.719
what happened was, and our director signs this band, he

60
00:02:47.800 --> 00:02:51.599
gets fired. They're stuck now with this artist. They've already

61
00:02:51.599 --> 00:02:53.199
put money and they wanted to try to recoup some

62
00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:56.680
of their money. So they were just like calling in favors.

63
00:02:57.400 --> 00:02:59.560
And when the band came out, I understand why the.

64
00:03:00.039 --> 00:03:05.439
Our director got fired. They were horrible. Anyways, I digress.

65
00:03:06.560 --> 00:03:06.960
He said.

66
00:03:07.039 --> 00:03:09.719
I decided to try managing them because there was nobody

67
00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:10.800
else stepping up.

68
00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:14.400
I mean, your motives right there are actually very pure.

69
00:03:14.439 --> 00:03:16.240
A lot of managers get into it because they're like, oh,

70
00:03:16.280 --> 00:03:18.240
gotta get a girlfriend and this will be a cool

71
00:03:18.280 --> 00:03:20.120
thing and I can make millions of dollars like you

72
00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.680
did it because you're like, hey, I genuinely want to

73
00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:25.479
help this artist out, this band out. Nobody else is

74
00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:28.599
willing to do it. So you know, I didn't get

75
00:03:28.639 --> 00:03:30.800
signed up for this mission. You know I didn't sign

76
00:03:30.879 --> 00:03:32.319
up for this mission. I got drafted.

77
00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:34.879
He said.

78
00:03:34.919 --> 00:03:36.639
I wanted to help them figure it out how to

79
00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:39.680
actually make this work as a career while being in

80
00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:42.400
a band. But the more I dive into this business,

81
00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:47.319
the more confusing it gets. It Only this is why

82
00:03:48.360 --> 00:03:50.159
I tell you, guys, if you want to send an

83
00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:52.840
email in you don't have to join anything or buy anything.

84
00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:57.240
Because there's a lot of good people on the internet

85
00:03:57.280 --> 00:04:01.240
helping artists, giving advice, TikTok all that. Then there's some

86
00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:05.759
people who are like there's one in particular, not gonna

87
00:04:05.759 --> 00:04:08.400
mention his name, I'm not going to send him any strays,

88
00:04:09.159 --> 00:04:13.680
but he promotes heavily on Facebook, really heavy on Facebook,

89
00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:18.759
and his you know, got eight hundred million streams a

90
00:04:18.839 --> 00:04:24.600
year on Spotify and he's got the Spotify Cracking Book

91
00:04:25.319 --> 00:04:30.040
and it's like eight bucks or whatever, and he wants

92
00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:33.000
you to buy it, And all it is is this

93
00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:35.879
guy was signed to a label, put two three albums

94
00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:39.720
out fifteen years ago, he got dropped because nobody cared,

95
00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:43.480
and now he wants you to buy a book to

96
00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:47.079
tell you how to have his success, which his success

97
00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:51.920
is mostly bots because he don't play any shows and

98
00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:56.920
he's a weird looking dude, and he's hawking his music

99
00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:59.920
business success books for like eight bucks.

100
00:05:00.040 --> 00:05:07.040
Yes, my question is if you're successful and you're getting

101
00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:10.000
hundreds of millions of streams a year.

102
00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:16.079
And you got the key, why aren't you just giving

103
00:05:16.120 --> 00:05:18.759
this information away free. You should have so much heat

104
00:05:18.839 --> 00:05:21.759
going on that you can put this out on YouTube

105
00:05:21.839 --> 00:05:25.120
or Spotify or whatever. You're gonna make more than eight bucks.

106
00:05:26.639 --> 00:05:28.160
And that's the thing, is that there's a lot of

107
00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:31.040
people in the music industry who want to tell you

108
00:05:31.079 --> 00:05:32.800
they got the secrets, but then you got to buy

109
00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:34.120
it's all behind a paywall.

110
00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:38.240
Well, if you're that successful, you don't need to put

111
00:05:38.279 --> 00:05:39.079
it behind paying wall.

112
00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:42.199
This is why I'll never do sponsors or any of

113
00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:45.560
that stuff, like I do this to help you guys out.

114
00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.120
The Matric's Men has always been about helping you, the

115
00:05:48.199 --> 00:05:51.160
artists It's never been about me making money. I do

116
00:05:51.319 --> 00:05:54.040
enough stuff in the music industry. I don't need to

117
00:05:54.120 --> 00:05:57.319
nickel and dime artists who are hanging on by a thread.

118
00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:01.279
And what happens is back to the email. What happens

119
00:06:01.360 --> 00:06:03.079
is is that you got guys like this who have

120
00:06:03.560 --> 00:06:07.040
pure motives and they're just getting bogged down in the

121
00:06:07.040 --> 00:06:09.360
Internet from guys who you know.

122
00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:12.360
One will tell you to focus on playlist, but.

123
00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:16.600
It probably has a link for a legit quote unquote

124
00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:20.920
company for your playlist. Then you got, you know, you

125
00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:23.120
got other guys like me who are telling playlist are

126
00:06:23.160 --> 00:06:26.439
a joke, like there's no such thing as promotion companies,

127
00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:29.399
and and so you get very confused. So this is

128
00:06:29.439 --> 00:06:31.600
where this kid's at twenty four years old. And I

129
00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:34.199
don't mean a kid as a derogatory term. I mean

130
00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:36.639
I got I mean I got twenty years on you

131
00:06:36.680 --> 00:06:40.439
at this moment. But you just get kind of weeded

132
00:06:40.519 --> 00:06:43.319
down with all the information. And so my thing I

133
00:06:43.319 --> 00:06:47.240
would tell you is vis goes for anybody, anybody who

134
00:06:47.639 --> 00:06:50.959
wants to be a coach or be a mentor to you.

135
00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:52.680
And they've got it all figured out, and they got

136
00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.560
the gold records and everything and they have all the success.

137
00:06:56.639 --> 00:07:01.120
Why are they charging you? Then? Just the just the thought,

138
00:07:02.279 --> 00:07:03.000
he says. Uh.

139
00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:05.600
About back to his band, he says, we've put out

140
00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:08.839
a few singles, we haven't toured regionally yet. We're building

141
00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:12.240
a small but engaged fan base in the Seattle Tacoma area.

142
00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.800
Good market for a band to build build.

143
00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:15.160
A fan base.

144
00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:19.959
And he says, we post regularly on social which I

145
00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.560
don't know what regularly is.

146
00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:22.079
You don't tell me.

147
00:07:22.120 --> 00:07:24.800
You don't even tell me what what genre band this is.

148
00:07:24.879 --> 00:07:28.199
But what is regularly? I can tell you what regularly

149
00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:32.720
isn't daily. You're not posting daily, so you are you

150
00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:35.560
are screwing up there. I don't know what regularly is,

151
00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:40.040
but if it's not daily, then you're screwing up. Uh.

152
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:42.680
He says, we get good feedback from people at shows,

153
00:07:43.199 --> 00:07:45.040
but the really frustrating part is that I don't know

154
00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:46.600
how to get them in front of the right people.

155
00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:48.560
You don't focus on getting them in front of the

156
00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.199
right people. This is a green manager right here. So

157
00:07:51.199 --> 00:07:54.079
we're gonna go. He's listening, he's trying to get the information.

158
00:07:54.160 --> 00:08:02.639
So I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go nice on you. You're

159
00:07:59.560 --> 00:08:03.560
their manager, So you shouldn't be trying to get them

160
00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:06.040
in front of right people, because you are the right people.

161
00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.759
As a manager, your job should not be trying to

162
00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:13.680
pimp these guys out to get them in front of

163
00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:17.240
the right people. Your job should be to keep growing

164
00:08:17.360 --> 00:08:20.800
this so that the right people come to you. So

165
00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:24.399
what you're doing right now is kind of It's an

166
00:08:24.399 --> 00:08:26.920
amateur move. A lot of people do it. What you

167
00:08:26.920 --> 00:08:29.959
should be doing is growing your fan base. You're in Seattle,

168
00:08:30.040 --> 00:08:33.559
Tacoma area. Shout out to Bremerton, which is like one

169
00:08:33.559 --> 00:08:34.879
of the coolest cities ever. You got to take a

170
00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:37.240
boat to get there. But you should be trying to

171
00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:41.320
grow your profile. Your band should be and you as

172
00:08:41.320 --> 00:08:43.759
a manager should be trying to grow your profile in Seattle.

173
00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:46.000
Get enough of a ground swell going. You're in a

174
00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:50.320
good market. You're not in Jackson, Mississippi. No offense to Jackson, Mississippi,

175
00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:53.320
but it's not really like a thriving music place. You

176
00:08:53.399 --> 00:08:55.440
have a ton of people at your disposal. If you

177
00:08:55.480 --> 00:08:58.559
guys are playing, your goal should be just the ground swell,

178
00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:02.200
get enough people in seat. Seattle is a market that

179
00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:07.480
has historically broken artist. Okay, there are a ton of

180
00:09:07.600 --> 00:09:09.799
labels that's still to this day. I mean, I can

181
00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:12.399
think of a label right now, an indie label. They're

182
00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:15.799
they're scooping up everybody in a certain genre of music

183
00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:17.279
out of the Seattle area.

184
00:09:19.600 --> 00:09:20.799
You know, are they a major? No?

185
00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:22.600
But I don't think you need a major anyways. You

186
00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:24.679
just need a label that is competent and knows what

187
00:09:24.720 --> 00:09:27.919
they're doing. But you are going out here trying to

188
00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:29.480
get them in the in front of the right people,

189
00:09:29.559 --> 00:09:31.639
which you're also telling your band is you're not the

190
00:09:31.679 --> 00:09:34.559
right people, so they're kind of renting you. And I

191
00:09:34.559 --> 00:09:37.320
would hate for you. This happens all the time. I'd

192
00:09:37.360 --> 00:09:39.039
hate for you to put all this time and effort

193
00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:40.919
to get this band in front of the quote unquote

194
00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:43.840
right people and then they're gonna they're gonna they're gonna

195
00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:46.840
dump you. Yeah, because you've told them you're not the

196
00:09:46.919 --> 00:09:49.720
right people. So what you need to be doing is

197
00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:53.039
is ground swell. You guys just worried about Seattle, worried

198
00:09:53.039 --> 00:09:56.200
about Tacoma. Maybe you take this to Portland, Maybe you

199
00:09:56.240 --> 00:10:01.159
take this to other major cities around the Seattle area.

200
00:10:02.279 --> 00:10:05.240
I can't think of the capital of Washington right now,

201
00:10:05.720 --> 00:10:07.639
but that's like what four or five hours away. You

202
00:10:07.639 --> 00:10:10.799
could take them they're much smaller market. Of course, you

203
00:10:10.840 --> 00:10:13.399
can take them to the northern California, but I would

204
00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:16.919
focus right now on Seattle Tacoma. That is a huge market.

205
00:10:17.440 --> 00:10:21.600
People love music there and it's historically broken artists. You

206
00:10:21.720 --> 00:10:25.600
do that properly, you're posting regularly, you're putting out great music.

207
00:10:26.159 --> 00:10:29.759
The people in LA that you're looking to entertain will

208
00:10:29.799 --> 00:10:32.440
find out about you. But let's continue, he says. I'm

209
00:10:32.480 --> 00:10:34.759
told over and over that I need to be networking,

210
00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:38.039
building industry relationships and getting in front of record labels

211
00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:42.120
and ours promoters, booking agents. But in practice that's harder

212
00:10:42.159 --> 00:10:46.399
than it sounds. I would never tell you to do that.

213
00:10:46.480 --> 00:10:49.279
This is where you get caught up in a bunch

214
00:10:49.320 --> 00:10:52.639
of the music business junk on the internet. I would

215
00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:55.600
not be telling you to network. As a manager, you

216
00:10:55.639 --> 00:10:58.399
probably should be networking, but right now you don't have

217
00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.480
anything that's really going to make people stop in their tracks.

218
00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:05.519
Most managers get invited to the parties. Most managers get

219
00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:09.519
invited to the dinners. Most managers create a profile because

220
00:11:10.039 --> 00:11:13.200
they have something the industry wants. But to go out

221
00:11:13.240 --> 00:11:15.960
there and try to network, I live in Nashville, Tennessee.

222
00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:17.960
Artists move here every day to try to network, and

223
00:11:18.000 --> 00:11:20.320
it never works. From they always flame out because there's

224
00:11:20.320 --> 00:11:23.919
nothing that gets you invited in. Now you being a

225
00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.559
nice guy, Now you thinking you have a great song,

226
00:11:26.679 --> 00:11:27.559
not you thinking you.

227
00:11:27.519 --> 00:11:28.600
Have a tight show.

228
00:11:29.159 --> 00:11:32.639
That doesn't get you invited in the music industry is leeches,

229
00:11:33.200 --> 00:11:34.879
So they want to be with winners. They want to

230
00:11:34.879 --> 00:11:39.159
be with people who can benefit themselves, and right now

231
00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:41.240
you don't have anything to benefit, so there's no reason

232
00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:44.879
a network. I have never said that your goal should

233
00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:46.840
be trying to get in front of record labels A

234
00:11:46.879 --> 00:11:50.399
and R. My goal I have always said, you build

235
00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:52.360
your fan base. When the labels come, you're gonna get

236
00:11:52.360 --> 00:11:54.799
a better deal. Anyways, you're gonna get a fair deal.

237
00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:56.759
Booking agents.

238
00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:00.000
I mean, right now, you guys are playing Seattle Tacoma,

239
00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:03.840
you don't really need a booking agent. When you need

240
00:12:03.879 --> 00:12:06.159
a booking agent is when the demand is so high

241
00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:11.399
and you want to expand because you've kind of exhausted Seattle,

242
00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:17.039
and you haven't exhausted Seattle Tacoma yet. He said, good

243
00:12:17.080 --> 00:12:19.960
context don't just hand themselves out. And I'm constantly having

244
00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.919
to figure out who to talk to right now, you're

245
00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:25.960
a manager and a local of a local band. The

246
00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.480
only context you should be worrying about is in Seattle.

247
00:12:28.879 --> 00:12:32.159
Whether it be local radio stations that play local bands,

248
00:12:32.200 --> 00:12:34.240
a lot of a lot of rock stations. If you

249
00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:36.440
are a rock band, you could be a country band

250
00:12:36.440 --> 00:12:39.200
for all I know you didn't tell us, but a

251
00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:43.200
lot of the more like non Clear Channel iHeart stations

252
00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:46.039
will play. They'll have a rock show, they'll have an

253
00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:48.399
indie show, they'll have a local show whatever. Usually it's

254
00:12:48.440 --> 00:12:52.559
on Sunday nights. Try to make take them out to lunch.

255
00:12:53.360 --> 00:12:57.679
Be talking with promoters in Seattle. Promoters in Seattle booking,

256
00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:00.799
like the people who book shows that venues and clubs

257
00:13:00.840 --> 00:13:01.480
and all this stuff.

258
00:13:01.559 --> 00:13:02.600
They should know who you are.

259
00:13:03.039 --> 00:13:06.720
Why because when there's an opening spot on a tour

260
00:13:06.759 --> 00:13:10.039
that's coming through, you want them to call you. Now

261
00:13:10.080 --> 00:13:12.639
you're probably gonna unfortunately, probably have to sell thirty fifty

262
00:13:12.679 --> 00:13:15.200
tickets whatever, but you want to be their first call.

263
00:13:15.320 --> 00:13:17.519
You might not take every call. I wouldn't take every call,

264
00:13:17.559 --> 00:13:21.320
but you want to be known to these people. But

265
00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:26.039
right now, you want to be known in LA but

266
00:13:26.279 --> 00:13:30.000
you're not known in Seattle. So Why would a bigger market,

267
00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:32.879
one that's got a ton of attention of people trying

268
00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:36.200
to always bid for networking, always bid for good contexts.

269
00:13:36.960 --> 00:13:38.720
Why would they take you serious when you're not making

270
00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:43.200
a name for yourself in Seattle. Yet, he says, I'm

271
00:13:43.200 --> 00:13:45.240
constantly having to figure out who to talk to, how

272
00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:46.879
to reach them, and what to say so we don't

273
00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.879
come off like amateurs. I want to be worried about

274
00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:51.919
coming off as an amateur. People are gonna see the

275
00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:53.759
numbers your band is doing, They're gonna see that you're

276
00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:54.480
twenty four years old.

277
00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:55.639
They're gonna know you're an amateur.

278
00:13:56.159 --> 00:13:57.960
I think a lot of problems that people make when

279
00:13:57.960 --> 00:13:59.399
they get into this industry is that they try to

280
00:13:59.399 --> 00:14:02.039
act like they know everything, and then they actually embarrass themselves.

281
00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:03.919
And then you come across like a pompous jerk, and

282
00:14:03.960 --> 00:14:04.600
nobody wants to.

283
00:14:04.519 --> 00:14:04.919
Work with you.

284
00:14:05.320 --> 00:14:07.600
There's nothing wrong with you sitting down with somebody who's

285
00:14:07.639 --> 00:14:10.480
more seasoned and be like, I don't know anything, or

286
00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:11.559
I'm just learning.

287
00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:11.759
What you know.

288
00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:14.879
Can I take you for lunch every couple of weeks

289
00:14:14.879 --> 00:14:18.200
and you can just kind of like download information into me.

290
00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:20.360
And I mean I do that for people now.

291
00:14:20.399 --> 00:14:22.559
I actually just earlier today, I had somebody was like, hey,

292
00:14:22.559 --> 00:14:25.000
my son's moving here. Would you meet with him. I'm like, absolutely,

293
00:14:25.279 --> 00:14:27.080
because if you're a good person, I'll definitely do that.

294
00:14:27.720 --> 00:14:29.559
You say, I'm constantly having to figure out who to

295
00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:29.919
talk to.

296
00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.759
You talk to everyone. Don't play this game of like

297
00:14:32.799 --> 00:14:33.679
are you worth my time?

298
00:14:34.159 --> 00:14:37.159
This happened to me years ago where I had somebody

299
00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:39.320
I was I don't even know where I was at.

300
00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:40.960
I think I was at an event, and as this

301
00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:44.840
guy and girl walk up to me, we start talking.

302
00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:47.919
She asked me straight up, who do you work with?

303
00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:49.399
And I said why.

304
00:14:49.600 --> 00:14:50.759
She's like, because I want to know if I want

305
00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:52.519
to keep talking to you, And I'm like, don't worry

306
00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:54.240
about it. Then, I think at the time I was

307
00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:58.200
with one of the majors. Don't don't have this attitude

308
00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:00.600
that people are only worth your time if they can

309
00:15:00.639 --> 00:15:01.080
give you.

310
00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:03.799
Something, maybe you can give them something. You don't know

311
00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:04.399
who people.

312
00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:07.399
You could be talking to somebody who technically is a nobody,

313
00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:11.080
but it could be the spouse of somebody, it could

314
00:15:11.080 --> 00:15:14.720
be the friend of somebody you don't know. So never

315
00:15:14.799 --> 00:15:17.799
have that attitude of like, who's worthy of me? Of

316
00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:21.120
my time to talk to he's how to reach them.

317
00:15:21.120 --> 00:15:22.559
You're not gonna reach them. You need to wait for

318
00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:24.639
them to reach out to you. Get your numbers up

319
00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:27.559
post daily. If you've got a band of four guys,

320
00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:29.759
give them each a day, they have to post every week.

321
00:15:30.159 --> 00:15:34.080
Then you fill in with the more you know, polished band,

322
00:15:34.279 --> 00:15:38.440
Spotify links, whatever. But that's how you get people to

323
00:15:38.440 --> 00:15:40.159
reach out to you. You don't reach out to them

324
00:15:40.200 --> 00:15:43.960
because right now, if you contacted somebody at Sony, let's say,

325
00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:45.919
in an are you think they're gonna contact you back.

326
00:15:46.039 --> 00:15:48.279
No, don't know who you are. You're not worth your time.

327
00:15:49.720 --> 00:15:52.200
But if they're interested, they're gonna definitely reach out to you,

328
00:15:52.440 --> 00:15:54.879
and they're they're gonna make sure that they hear from

329
00:15:54.919 --> 00:15:59.240
you and what to say. But you don't really tell

330
00:15:59.320 --> 00:16:01.840
your numbers, Like you don't tell me what you know,

331
00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:04.039
how many people are playing a show, what your Spotify

332
00:16:04.120 --> 00:16:04.679
numbers are.

333
00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:06.279
I don't even know how many members are in a band.

334
00:16:06.279 --> 00:16:07.080
I don't even know what genre.

335
00:16:07.200 --> 00:16:09.879
So I really can't tell you what to say, but

336
00:16:10.360 --> 00:16:12.000
I would tell you don't come in acting like you

337
00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:13.919
know everything. You're twenty four years old. Everybody knows you

338
00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:15.720
don't know everything. And if twenty four you think you

339
00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:17.759
do know everything, you go have a long career in

340
00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.840
this thing. Anyways, he says, there's so much to juggle

341
00:16:21.919 --> 00:16:26.440
as a manager. Strategy, day to day logistics, coordinating releases,

342
00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:30.360
figuring out sponsorships, trying to keep the band focused on

343
00:16:30.399 --> 00:16:33.759
their craft, also while growing their presence and career. Okay,

344
00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.200
you're doing way too much here as a manager. You're

345
00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.600
juggling as a manager. The strategy, I don't know what

346
00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:42.960
the strategy is. Like, are you guys playing every night

347
00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:44.639
in Seattle and you guys are coming up with like

348
00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:47.720
this massive game plan. Well, if you were, you probably

349
00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:51.080
wouldn't be emailing me day to day logistics. It's a

350
00:16:51.120 --> 00:16:55.799
local band. What are you doing every day? Coordinating releases?

351
00:16:55.919 --> 00:16:58.159
How many releases are you guys putting out? You're putting

352
00:16:58.159 --> 00:17:02.840
something out every week? Figuring out sponsorships. Bro, you got

353
00:17:02.879 --> 00:17:05.559
a local band in Seattle. You don't need to be

354
00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:08.319
worrying about sponsorships right now. That's a waste of time

355
00:17:09.160 --> 00:17:12.319
and trying to keep the band focused on their craft. Well,

356
00:17:12.759 --> 00:17:17.039
probably you got a band who's trying to get sponsorships

357
00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:20.039
right now and putting out releases all the time, and

358
00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:21.680
they aren't focused on their craft.

359
00:17:21.400 --> 00:17:21.799
He says.

360
00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:24.039
But making sure the band and I are aligned on

361
00:17:24.160 --> 00:17:28.599
goals and image is another thing altogether. I will say

362
00:17:28.599 --> 00:17:31.759
this with any successful band I know, I would say

363
00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:36.400
sixty percent of the relationship they they're always talking internally

364
00:17:36.440 --> 00:17:37.839
about we should get rid of our manager.

365
00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:39.759
Publicly they'll say they love them.

366
00:17:39.599 --> 00:17:41.920
But they because the manager's job is to sit there

367
00:17:41.920 --> 00:17:43.880
and be like, we're not getting sponsorship right now, don't

368
00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:47.480
be stupid, or you know, we're not going to fire

369
00:17:47.519 --> 00:17:50.200
this email off to a record label, or we're not

370
00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:52.720
gonna go and you know we're not gonna go to

371
00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:55.440
Germany and play a festival for free.

372
00:17:55.640 --> 00:17:55.960
Okay.

373
00:17:56.640 --> 00:18:01.119
That is what a manager's job is, to manage them,

374
00:18:01.319 --> 00:18:03.480
and that's not being a rubber stamp of being like, oh,

375
00:18:03.519 --> 00:18:06.440
every idea is great. The managers who always fail in

376
00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:07.920
this industry are the ones who are trying to be

377
00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:11.759
best friends with the artist. Your job sometimes is to

378
00:18:11.759 --> 00:18:13.200
be the bad guy. You need to be the bad

379
00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:14.680
guy in the industry, but you also need to be

380
00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:16.400
the bad guy with your artists at times too. Go no,

381
00:18:16.440 --> 00:18:18.400
that's a terrible idea. We're not gonna do it because

382
00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:20.039
most of all, I feel like I'm doing a lot

383
00:18:20.039 --> 00:18:23.680
of the right stuff, but still somehow invisible. I mean,

384
00:18:24.519 --> 00:18:27.759
I don't know what you're doing. I don't know what

385
00:18:27.799 --> 00:18:32.079
your numbers are to help you. Sounds like you guys

386
00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:35.920
are doing some good stuff. So I would just keep

387
00:18:35.960 --> 00:18:37.720
doing that right now. But you gotta be focus. You

388
00:18:37.759 --> 00:18:40.359
can't be focused on getting signed. You can't be focused

389
00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:42.920
on an R and booking agents. I mean, has your

390
00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:44.680
band played out of Seattle and you're worried about a

391
00:18:44.680 --> 00:18:46.920
booking agent? Like, and that's what I would tell the band, Like,

392
00:18:48.119 --> 00:18:51.599
we're not selling out eight hundred people in Seattle. We're

393
00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:54.200
not selling out five hundred people in Seattle. We're not

394
00:18:54.319 --> 00:18:59.000
doing you know, thirty thousand monthly listeners on Spotify. You

395
00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:00.839
don't tell me what your Spotify numbers are. So you

396
00:19:00.920 --> 00:19:03.160