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Being a music artist who is trying to make it in the music industry, going solo might not be the best for you. You obviously cannot handle all the logistics, recording, administration and still handle creating good music all at the same time. Hence the need to build your music team.
You might think it gets easier as the internet has given you a platform to reach millions of people all at once, but unfortunately, with the huge number of competition using the same tools as you, it gets really tough. Music is a team sport, having the right team in place is crucial to an artist’s success in today’s environment.
The right team can take you to the next level of your career whereas the wrong one can hinder your career, creativity, finances and drain the life out of your career. That’s why it’s recommended to carefully build your music team.
With the right team, you get motivation and support. Tasks are distributed and completed when you have more people working together for you. To build your music team as a band is of course a lot easier than being a solo artist, each band member can take up specific tasks in order to get things done.
To build your music team, you’ll need to carefully look out for recommended qualities so as to have the right team that plays a vital role in the success of your music journey.
Qualities You Should Look Out For To Build Your Music Team
There are certain qualities you must look out for to successfully build your music team. These qualities include:
- Make sure you hire members you trust or can get to trust.
- They should be enthusiastic about your music. They should sincerely believe in you as an artist.
- Hire members with good reputations, do extensive research on one each of them. Ask for the word on the street about them. Speak to artists they have worked within the past and gather information about them.
- They should have some sort of experience in the job you’re hiring them for or at least some connections.
Important Members You Need To Build Your Music Team
To build your music team, there are important members you must consider that play very vital role to the success of your music journey. These members are said experts in their respective roles and they understand and carry out their responsibilities effectively as they’re experts in the role. Here are the following members required to build your music team:
A Music Manager
To build your music team, a manager plays an important role as he guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. He oversees the day-to-day business affairs of the artist he manages, gives advice and counseling. He works hand-in-hand with all other members of the team and oversees their activities.
The manager works on behalf of the group or artist to promote the artist’s career and run their business affairs. They secure the best work for their clients for the best fee. The manager handles the business aspect. He strategizes in a way that meets the goals of the artist. He has to be up to date with the ongoing in the music industry, keeping up with trends.
Responsibilities;
- Seeking and securing recording or publishing deals.
- Making recommendations of members needed to build your music team.
- Making connections with other music industry types (music licensing firms, booking agents, producers, other artists and possible music collaborators).
- Improving your press kit and following.
- Negotiating contracts and fees.
- Works together with all other members of the team to oversee their activities and working on the overall image of their artists.
A music manager should be beside you in everything you do. A manager is more like your friend and partner in the game. You should be able to open up on a lot of things, discuss music related issues and plans while having fun too. That’s how the whole process should feel; exciting, trustworthy and fair.
You should have a natural rapport with your manager, a natural connection. You don’t have to be best friends with them, but you both should get along just fine, you both need to see eye to eye on things.
Trust is essential because they will be handling your career and finances. Some people have the ability to tell when they are being deceived while some can be too trusting.
The music manager also strategizes with the artist and suggests other required and effective members you’ll need to be a part of your team to build your team.
A Publicist / PR Manager
While you build your music team, A PR manager cannot be excluded. The publicist handles the media and public relations on behalf of a musician or music group. They usually work hand-in-hand with the musician’s booking agent, the manager and the record label in maintaining the image of an artist.
They handle promotional campaigns of an artist’s music, album releases and tours.
The media usually goes through the publicist first when they seek an interview and the publicist oversees everything about the interviews.
Responsibilities
- They develop strategies to promote and create buzz around a new music release, album and tour.
- Create and execute publicity plans for clients.
- Pitch new stories to media.
- Create and edit press releases, media alerts and press kit materials.
- Build and maintain relationships with various media outlets.
- Arrange and flesh out points for press visits, interviews, appointments and press conferences.
- Build relationships with journalists in order to place stories with them.
There are always going to be good and bad in everything, just like there are good and bad publicists so you need to keep your eyes wide open, do extensive background research on whoever you consider for the job.
The business model of the publicist is fee-for-service; this makes it one of the easiest team members to get on board. The contract usually lasts for a few months while a project is going on so if the relationship doesn’t seem to flow well, you can always hire a different one next time.
An Agent
They are also called booking agents, live agents and talent agents. They are responsible for booking shows, they work together with promoters to ensure that your events go smoothly, negotiate with contractors for live performances. you’ll need this person on your team to build your music team successfully.
A good agent with the right connections and networks in the industry will get you the right gigs and get you in front of the right audience.
Responsibilities
- They discuss with the labels and management to agree on the window for tour dates, the financial logistics and requirements of the tour and the overall goal they hope to achieve with the tour.
- They contact promoters and venues to pitch artists and agree and schedule performance dates.
- They arrange contracts with promoters regarding pay, rider, guest list and equipment.
- They work with photographers and videographers to help create promotional content on behalf of the artist.
- They also scout other talents as recommended members to help build your music team successfully.
Music Publisher
The music publisher handles anything royalty in your music. They work as independent owners or as employee of a larger company. They use software algorithms to collect royalties on your behalf, whenever your music is used for commercial use. It is their responsibility to make sure you receive payments anytime your music is used by someone else other than you like a TV commercial. See how a music publisher is important to build your music team now?
They are responsible for submitting necessary copyright documentation. They secure publishing contracts with artists and actively seek means to exploit the rights obtained.
In simpler terms, they handle licensing out of your music. To know more about this and music licensing, read our article “Getting Your Music Licensed – Everything you need to know”.
Record Label/Distributor
A distributor distributes your music to all parts of the world, online and helps organize sales, merchandize for festivals and tours. These persons are important in the build of your music team because they spread the word out about your music.
They sign deals with record labels or artists who then give them the right to sell their music. They handle the placements of music on online platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, Vevo and others.
I’m sure you already know what a record label does. Getting signed to a label is one of the top aspirations of artists just starting out their journey, although some controversies have come up as to if an artist really needs a record label these days, but the honest fact is that most successful artists out there today are all backed up by record labels.
The record label manufactures, distributes and promotes the recordings of a signed musician. They have the necessary connections to sell the brand of an artist, they fund the creation, distribution and marketing of music releases.
Although you can be an independent artist without a record label, hence you’ll need a distributor to be a part of your team. Hence, to successfully build your music team, you need either of these two.
Social Media Team
To build your music team, you need social media strategists. Social media these days is essential in music marketing strategies. Who isn’t on social media today? You need a team of social media experts who work on your branding online.
They should fully understand how each social media platform works and which would is suited for you as a music artist. They should understand their algorithms, they should be able to run social media campaigns, understand each feature and grow your fan base.
People these days are glued on social platforms, it is a great way to grow your audience, create buzz around your music, fill up spaces at gigs, increase sales of merch, direct your audience to your website and online streaming services to generate revenues.
