Getting into the music management industry without experience.

July 24, 2006 8:40 PM

My friend is interested in getting into the music management industry without experience.

She's talked with a professional artist who's suggested A&R would probably fit her skills/interests. Questions are 1) what's the best route for a 26-year old to get into this field, 2) what should she know before attempting to break into music management, 3) are there resources out there she can read and explore, and 4) are there other great indie labels out there in the vein of Barsuk and Subpop that would hire someone without formal education/experience?

posted by junesix to media & arts (9 answers total)

I'll be able to answer further comments and questions on her behalf though my account (and yes, I'm going to get her a MeFi account!)
posted by junesix at 8:41 PM on July 24, 2006

as someone whos been very involved in the indie music business for a while, i'd say that unless she wants to be a corporate shill, its not a very promising career.

if shes really passionate about an indie sort of scene and working for a true indie lable, getting involved in that end of the "business" is pretty looked down upon, especially for percieved latecomers. if shes interested in working for someone big time business style, her best bet of getting a job without a field related degree or similar real life cred (like being in a serious band, running her own indie label, etc), would be for her to get an internship.

indie lables generally hire people that come up through the scene they consider themselves a part of, bigger lables generally go for experienced (college or other) people.

but, depending on how passionate and DIY she is about it, really, she should just start hustlin and make it happen for herself.
posted by teishu at 9:01 PM on July 24, 2006

The only way she's going to get in is with experience, be it college classes or real world experience. I would suggest she hook up with a starting-out local band, and "learn" with them....then graduate to successively bigger bands.

Then, just maybe, she could get an internship at a small indie label.
posted by chrisfromthelc at 11:18 PM on July 24, 2006

Internship at an indie label or management company is a good suggestion. Depending on where she is, there may be some small management companies that are looking for some office help, etc. She should find those companies and approach them directly.

Does she know anyone in the music industry? Connections and networking are a big part of it.

The other way in is for her to find a local band that she likes and simply ask to manage them. She'd obviously have to sell herself as to why she's right for the job but many managers have started off with nothing more than a dedicated belief in a band and the enthusiam to go out and make things happen for them.
posted by gfrobe at 4:47 AM on July 25, 2006

Also, since the perceived skillset required for an A&R position is basically "Have good taste in music and go to a lot of shows," it's not exactly an unpopular career choice for those who think they have good taste in music and like going to a lot of shows for free, so you're not going to be without competition from both random people and industry vets for the low numbers of actual a&r jobs available in the biz at any one time.

My advice would be to do something impressive (start a label, manage a band, etc) before applying for jobs so you have something to work off of in an interview that shows you have talent beyond liking you some music.
posted by softlord at 6:36 AM on July 25, 2006

Artist management and A&R are two completely different things.

There's a zillion bands out there -- to get started in management, you just pick one you like and ask to manage them. She'll get paid 15% to 20% of the $8 they got paid for that Wednesday night gig at Sticky Floor Rock Club, but over time, and if she gets lucky, it might turn into something. Mostly, though, she'll just be a babysitter. If she has experience in that field, it is more applicable than you think.

To get started in A&R on the indie level, she needs to start her own label. There's really no two ways about that. To get started in A&R at a major, she should start in the mailroom or get a gig fetching somebody's coffee. Or have a famous relative. Or be smokin' hot.

Or she could go to law school and become an entertainment attorney.
posted by spilon at 7:19 AM on July 25, 2006

I had a friend who did just this. We've lost touch in the past few years, but he started out in about 1992 or so managing my brother's band, and quickly started working with another group and moved with them to a bigger city. As I recall he rented the band house and worked with them 24/7 for a couple of years.

They eventually fizzled out, but one of the guys in that original band was an accomplished cellist in addition to guitar player so he very quickly got work doing sessions, which I believe was helpful for my friend.

In the meantime he'd met the guys in another band and they brought him on as their manager. That band had a lot of national (Canada) touring experience and he took care of that for a couple of years, and also in that time he met a solo performer he really liked and gave her her early shows opening for his bigger act. The bigger act made a CD and got some buzz but eventually broke up (all of the members still have decent careers though, either as musicians or management).

Then the solo performer he worked with started a band, he was managing them and they did OK, touring and making money, but eventually that band dissolved and he managed the original solo performer's career, which has been and continues to be very good - she's a B-list or better Canadian act who also has good traction in the US (Letterman appearances and stuff but not a huge star).

Managing that solo artist also put him in touch with another similar performer who has since done extremely well and has received a ton of critical acclaim and I believe (we're out of touch now, remember) that he manages her as well.

So the story is as others have said - start small, find a way to do it for the love of it and try your best to develop a good nose for real talent, because even overnight successes take years to develop, and to get a hit artist that will make you money can take a while to attact.
posted by mikel at 10:05 AM on July 25, 2006

Just saw this posted on a music industry message board. Any chance your friend is in NY?

Job Description:
Magus Entertainment is a boutique artist management company based in New York City. Our roster includes several high profile artists in the Pop/Rock and Electronic music genres. We are currently looking for interns who are responsible, comfortable performing basic administrative tasks and have a love and enthusiasm for music. Our office is small but fast-paced – You should be comfortable multi-tasking. This is a great opportunity for someone looking to gain music industry experience and/or to receive internship credit for school.

Requirements:
Ideally, interns should have a working knowledge of most Microsoft Office programs (such as Word and Excel) and be comfortable working on Mac computers. General tasks include but are not limited to handling phone calls politely and professionally, creating and maintaining office logs, filing, web research, assembling and appropriating press kits and running various errands. Please be able to commit 2-3 full days in the week. Normal office hours are 10am – 7pm. This is an unpaid internship.

Please check out our web-site to get more information on our company and artists. www.magusentertainment.com

You can e-mail resumes to [e-mail]
or
Fax [phone] - Attn: Melissa Aubert

We look forward to hearing from you!
posted by gfrobe at 2:10 PM on July 25, 2006

At the risk of sounding jaded...

The music business is really, REALLY rough. It doesn't pay well, the hours are poor, it's one of the more cutthroat industries out there, and it takes years to break a good artist - if it happens at all.

As softlord said, people who want to go to free shows / think they have good taste in music are a dime a dozen - so much so that there's usually a waiting list for unpaid internships at even the smallest indie label.

Why does your friend want to get into this business? If it's because she "loves music", tell her to run: nothing will ruin her love faster than pulling back the curtain. Just do a search for "payola" to see how many crap artists were hits (and imagine how many great artists went nowhere) because of graft and corruption.

All that being said, if she's really set on getting into the business, the advice here is good: go to shows and offer to manage the band that you think has the most potential, or start a label and put out their music. Just don't mortgage your house.

But while she's at those shows, have her go say hi to the jaded types at the bar - odds are they're in the business. Buy them a beer and ask them how they got into it / if they like it.

If she's still interested after talking to the people in the trenches, may the stars be with her.
posted by nometa at 9:05 PM on July 25, 2006