Behind the scenes of any great artist is a great manager working to create a great brand. This course explores the role and importance of an artist manager, what they do, and how they impact the career of the artist and their brand. The course begins with the basics: why an artist needs a manager, the keys to finding the right partner, and a typical management contract. From there, you'll cover the details of planning an artist's career, money management, and what to do when things go wrong. You'll also examine the principles of leadership dynamics and motivation in order to focus and empower current and potential managers.
Upon successful completion of this course, aspiring managers will have the tools to embark on managing artists' careers, and artists will better understand the critical importance of choosing the right manager, what they do, and how it will impact their potential and career. This course is designed to help those interested in a career in artist management, current managers attempting to improve and grow their business, self-managed artists who want to take control of their careers, record label owners looking to improve their effectiveness in dealing with their artist managers, and anyone passionate about music seeking to gain entrée into the business.
The course also contains detailed information and first hand accounts from managers who have represented artists such as:
Liz Phair, J.J. Cale, Robert Cray, John Lee Hooker, Throwing Muses / Kristen Hersh, John Hiatt, Motion City Soundtracks and Boston
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Implement key methods for success in management, whether you are interested in managing other artists or are a self-managed artist
- Create innovative, values-based strategic plans to increase the chances of success for the artists with whom you work
- Understand the important contractual and financial documents required in artist management
- Identify artists at various stages of their careers who are good candidates for your management venture
- Present concrete strategies to your artists in order to help accelerate their growth
- Utilize your strategic core document—which you will create in the course—to guide you to success in the management field
Syllabus
Lesson 1: Artist Management Basics
- The Artist as a Brand
- What Is an Artist Manager and What Do They Do?
- Why an Artist Needs a Good Manager and When They Need One
- Being Your Own Manager
- Artist/Manager Relationship
- Creating Success
Lesson 2: Finding the Right Partner
- Mutual Goals
- Trust, Understanding, and Communication
- Artist Perspective
- Manager Perspective
Lesson 3: The Management Contract
- Term
- Money Flow
- Variables
- Contract Forms and Issues
- Post-Term Considerations
Lesson 4: Building a Musician Business
- You Don't Need a Manager If You Don't Want to Make Money
- Business Entities—Sole Proprietor, Partnerships, Corporations
- Building a Team
- Principals of Good Business Management
Lesson 5: Making Money in Music (Quick Overview)
- Licensing
- Touring/Performing/Merchandise
- Recording/Distribution
Lesson 6: Harnessing Technology Across the Musician Business
- Aligning Technology with Your Core Principles
- The Brave New World
- Leveraging New Technology to Expand Your Marketing Strategy
Lesson 7: Planning an Artist's Career
- Assessing the Artist
- The Artist Brand
- Creating a Strategy
- Setting Milestones
- Budgeting
- The Plan
Lesson 8: Launching and Developing an Artist
- Creating a Culture of Discipline to Successfully Launch and Develop an Artist
- Passion and Innovation: The Secret ingredients in Artist Development
- Strategic Concepts to Launch and Develop an Artist
Lesson 9: Marketing and Publicity
- Why the Manager Is the Chief Marketing Officer
- Branding the Artist
- Connecting with Fans
- Leveraging Your Partners
- Sponsorships, Joint Ventures, Partnerships
- Creative Self-Promotion
Lesson 10: Money Management
- Business Management
- Finance Basics
- Secrets to Getting Paid
- Keeping Your Money
Lesson 11: What to Do When Things Go Wrong and How to Avoid Problems
- Potential Conflicts in the Business and What Can Be Done
- Case Studies
Lesson 12: Evaluating Team Progress
- Measuring Success and Progress/Milestones
- Coping with Success
- Artist/Manager Relationship Over Time
- Checklist for a Successful Relationship
Requirements
Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements
Prerequisite Courses, Knowledge, and/or Skills
This course does not have any prerequisites.
Textbook(s)
- All You Need to Know About the Music Business (Ninth Edition) by Donald S. Passman (Simon and Schuster, 2015)
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don't by Jim Collins (Harper Business, 2001)
- Getting Signed! An Insider's Guide to the Record Industry by George Howard (download provided in course)
Student Deals
After enrolling, be sure to check out our Student Deals page for various offers on software, hardware, and more. Please contact support@online.berklee.edu with any questions.
General Course Requirements
Below are the minimum requirements to access the course environment and participate in Live Classes. Please make sure to also check the Prerequisites and Course-Specific Requirements section above, and ensure your computer meets or exceeds the minimum system requirements for all software needed for your course.
Mac Users
PC Users
All Users
- Latest version of Google Chrome
- Zoom meeting software
- Webcam
- Speakers or headphones
- External or internal microphone
- Broadband Internet connection
Instructors
Author
George Howard is the founder of GHS, which advises a wide-range of clients on how to integrate technology with strategy in order to increase awareness and revenue. A partial list of clients includes: Intel, National Public Radio, CVS/pharmacy, Easter Seals, Alticor/Amway, Ora, Inc., Townsend Energy, Comstar, Monegraph, Composer Mark Isham, Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, Wolfgang's Vault, Brown University, Paste Magazine, The Estate of the Platters, Rednote, and Daytrotter.
Additionally, George is the Co-Founder of Music Audience Exchange. Prior to this, he was the President of Rykodisc (the world’s largest independent record label), manager of Carly Simon, and original co-founder of TuneCore (the world’s largest independent music distributor).
George is an Associate Professor of Management at Berklee College of Music and Brown University where he teaches courses in entrepreneurship, marketing, copyright law, and leadership. He is the 2014 recipient of the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence.
George is a columnist for Forbes and a frequent contributor to the New York Times and numerous other publications. Mr. Howard holds an MA, MBA, and JD. Read Less
Instructor
Jay Coyle is the founder and "Music Geek" at the digital marketing firm, Music Geek Services. His company provides artist services for the music industry and has been a Topspin-certified marketer since 2009. Built upon a life-long omnivorous obsession with marketing bands and mixing in equal parts of knowledge gained from an advertising-focused Journalism degree at the University of Georgia along with his skills running a Marketing consultancy for 5 years in Atlanta, Music Geek Services was finally created in 2008 immediately after Jay left a marketing position at the EMI CMG label in Nashville.
Jay's first project under the Music Geek moniker was doing work as band archivist and label product manager for Canadian music veterans, Barenaked Ladies. Since then, Jay has worn a lot of hats including sales, marketing, artist development, business development, tour management, and product management. Jay is currently working with Sloan, the Presidents of the United States of America, Jars of Clay, and Carbon Leaf. Jay's core focus is to help further the careers of artists while partnering with them in a "D.I.Y. +" sort of way to have long-lasting and fan-focused careers. Read Less
Instructor
Ardie Farhadieh started his career in touring at The Windish Agency. Ardie was responsible for a roster of over one hundred DJs and artists overseeing immigration, contracting, tour routings, in-house tour management, and internal processes. Shortly after Windish, Farhadieh ended up at The Billions Corporation heading the marketing division and being the corporate, branding, and sponsorships agent for the whole agency. The roster Ardie was working with at Billions was Arcade Fire, Mumford and Sons, Bon Iver, The Head and the Heart, Glass Animals, St Vincent, Sufjan Stevens, and many others. While at Billions, Ardie was crucial in helping build the Fans First presale program alongside Spotify, which is now used industry wide. After Billions, Ardie started Wick Management and represented artist Marian Hill where he took the band from one song and developed them into a major label signed, platinum selling, international touring artist. It was during this time that Ardie gained recognition by Billboard Magazine for being a 40 under 40 Rising Star in the music industry. Three years ago, Ardie partnered up with LoyalT Management and now represents Marian Hill, Slenderbodies, Berhana, and DJ/producer Michael Brun.
Instructor
Montserrat (“Montse”) Andrée Carty has worked in various areas of the music industry: artist relations, programming, and global marketing for music companies including Sony Music Entertainment, Pandora Media, Amazon (Goodreads) and a few non-profits (including the San Francisco Symphony and Boston Ballet). She has also worked in artist management – both as an independent manager for artists including Misty Boyce (Lord Huron, Sara Barielles)'s solo career and as a Day-to-Day at a management company for artists including Mary Chapin Carpenter. She recently worked for CD Baby as the Community and Events Manager where she managed the DIY Musician Conference and DSP (Spotify, Amazon, Pandora etc.) Partner Virtual Sessions. Montse is the Interviews Editor for the literary journal Hunger Mountain, and the host of the podcast “Musings of the Artist,” where she interviews musicians, writers, and other artists. Montse received her B.M. from Berklee College of Music, M.S. from Boston University and M.F.A. from Vermont College of Fine Arts.
What's Next?
When taken for credit, Artist Management can be applied towards the completion of these related programs:
Related Certificate Programs
Related Degree Majors
Related Music Career Roles
Employers look for skills learned in this course, when hiring for the following music career roles:
Questions?
Contact our Academic Advisors by phone at 1-866-BERKLEE (U.S.), 1-617-747-2146 (INT'L), or by email at advisors@online.berklee.edu.
