Being an independent artist doesn't mean you have to do everything by yourself. In fact, you shouldn't.
The best advice Tierra Whack received was from Andre 3000 (Outkast). He emphasized the importance of building a strong team to help boost her career. This support system not only handles specific tasks for your business but also helps you plan your next steps, keeps you grounded, and provides emotional support when needed.
If you truly want to elevate your music career, you will eventually need a team. They don't have to be individuals you hire exclusively. At the very least, you should form relationships and a network with skilled people who excel in their fields. As someone who works on various artist teams, I will discuss the types of people you may need as an independent artist, how to find them, and what qualities to look for in each team member.
Why is a team necessary?
The secret to growth lies in assembling a team to assist you in areas that either consume your time as an artist or require skills you currently lack. While you might be among the few artists who enjoy handling their entire business operations and excel at it, achieving exponential growth this way is challenging.
The reality is that you can't do everything yourself because your time is finite. By hiring others, you're essentially investing in your future, allowing you to save time and focus on what you do best and love the most.
Of course, not every artists will be able to find and pay others to join their team early on. Beyond financial resources, you need to establish some value to attract people to work with you. Whether it's releasing quality songs, demonstrating fan base growth, or building a strong brand, you want to draw others to join your journey. You need evidence that others want to invest in. Until then, you'll have to manage on your own.
DIY First
In the beginning of your career, you'll need to handle things yourself because you likely won't have any other option. While it may seem burdensome and labor-intensive, being hands-on and learning firsthand is crucial. You don’t need to be an expert in every aspect of business side, but you should know enough to understand what to expect from those you will eventually hire.
As you advance and gain more experience as a musician, it’s important to look for potential collaborators. Keep in mind the new people you meet or those already in your network who might become part of your team as you expand.
The goal is to eventually delegate tasks that aren’t your strong suit or that distract you from focusing on your strengths. This initial stage is an opportunity for you to understand how things are done, determine your exact needs, and learn to communicate your expectations.
What roles should you look to fill on your team?
Below is a list of roles you should consider adding to your team eventually, or at least establish connections with reliable individuals who can assist when required. The order of importance is not specified.
If you find yourself performing more than half of these roles to varying extents for different artists, it might be advantageous to have someone capable of fulfilling multiple roles. It's increasingly common for entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creatives to take on multiple responsibilities.
Booking Agent
A booking agent's role is to connect with the right contacts to secure gigs for you. Depending on their area of expertise, these gigs can range from standard live performances (such as concerts, festivals, and tours) to speaking engagements and corporate events.
Booking agents typically have strong connections or relationships with talent buyers, promoters, and venue owners in certain regions or cities, making it easier for them to arrange shows. They also manage the logistics, negotiations, and financial aspects of the gigs they arrange.
Booking agents usually work on commission, taking a percentage of the opportunities they obtain for you. Unless you are a well-established act with a significant following or some level of buzz, you probably don't need a booking agent early in your career. You should demonstrate that you can attract fans and sell tickets before it becomes worthwhile to collaborate with one.
A booking agent will need a well made Electronic Press Kit or EPK to pitch on your behalf.
Music Marketer / Strategist
This is someone who understands music marketing to grow your fan base and how to keep them engaged. Based on your goals, a marketing strategist should be able to develop a strategy and plan that is most effective to reach those goals. It’s a major plus if they can handle the technical aspects like managing a website, building your email list, analyzing data, and setting up social media ads to find you new fans.
This is the area that I’m trained in and recommend all artists to be familiar with as well. In order to be most effective, a music marketer is heavily dependent on content, like photos and videos, a release plan and an ad budget.
Temporary Alternative: There’s a lot that goes into music marketing so there’s no all-encompassing temporary solution to use that can replace a human to do the same tasks. Start with learning the basics yourself. To help you, there are a number of tools for online marketing.
Check some of these links out:
For tools to help with paid social ad campaigns, try these:
Social Media Manager
A social media manager is responsible for creating a posting schedule, crafting content, and interacting with your audience to ensure your social accounts remain active. Some artists enjoy handling this themselves, so it isn’t always necessary to have someone solely dedicated to managing your social media presence.
If you don’t find it enjoyable, it might be wise to outsource it to someone who understands your communication style and can represent you online. As you become more established and popular, there is often more negativity directed at you, which is why some artists prefer to delegate this task to someone else.
Personally, I usually take a hands-off approach to social media for clients, unless it involves posting pre-planned content or managing paid ads. Otherwise, I believe it’s crucial for artists to engage directly and authentically with fans on social media whenever possible.
Photographer
Visual content is essential for every musician. You require photos for your website, flyers, bio, EPK, album art, and social media. Consistently generating new photos is vital for maintaining a fresh and relevant brand that aligns with your branding and any current promotions.
Arrange regular photo shoots with a photographer or have them accompany you to capture content during studio sessions and/or live performances. This allows you to concentrate on your work while someone captures valuable moments for your fans.
Fortunately, you can find photographers who are looking to build their portfolios and are open to a barter arrangement.
Videographer
One of the most significant investments artists can make is in producing video content. As a new artist, having a great song alone isn't sufficient in today's music industry. You need a music video to capture people's attention, especially on social media and through paid advertisements.
Similar to a photographer, a videographer possesses a keen eye for visuals and the use of colors and tones to brand your image, along with expertise in editing software. It's beneficial to have them present at gigs and recording sessions to capture behind-the-scenes footage.
Similar to photographers aiming to enhance their portfolios, videographers are open to barter arrangements.
Graphic Designer
Whether it's for cover art, logos, or social media, maintaining a consistent design aesthetic is crucial for branding. Your brand is what your fans emotionally connect with, so you want visual elements that reinforce your desired perception. Presenting yourself consistently often distinguishes amateurs from professionals. While you don't need a graphic designer all the time, having access to one for projects or releases is beneficial.
Temporary Alternative: Create your own graphics using a app like InShot (Affiliate Link Disclosure). Although having a professional designer is ideal, this is an excellent free option because you can create virtually anything with numerous free templates, and it's very user-friendly. I personally use and recommend it.
Producer
A music producer plays a crucial role in the song creation process. They oversee the creative and technical aspects of assembling and recording a song. This includes organizing recording sessions and bringing in additional musicians required for a track.
In essence, a producer takes a song you've written and collaborates with you to enhance it according to your vision.
A proficient music producer is well-versed in various styles and knows the elements needed to infuse a song with energy, dynamics, and flow. Producers often create or compose their own beats and instrumentals, but not all beatmakers are necessarily producers. Producing a track involves a variety of skills, so it's important to find someone who suits your needs and musical style.
Mixing / Mastering Engineer
Mixing and mastering engineers ensure your songs sound their best when released for listening and downloading on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Sometimes, the producer can also manage this task.
It's crucial to hire an experienced engineer who understands your vision. A skilled mixer with the right tools distinguishes professional-sounding songs from others. You might write and record excellent songs, but without a good mix, your song might not reach its full potential.
Many artists have a clear vision of what they want but lack the technical knowledge to express it effectively. Understanding mixing basics such as panning, EQ, compression, and reverb is recommended, as it can help you convey your vision more clearly to your mixing/mastering engineer.
Temporary Alternative: For mastering, there are automated services like Landr that can assist. Several artists we collaborate with have used them for smaller projects.
Publicist
The role of a publicist is often misunderstood. People usually consider hiring one to promote a new release and reach potential fans. However, a publicist's true function is to enhance your brand and maintain a positive public image. They primarily craft and pitch compelling stories about you and your music through press releases to shape public opinion. They achieve this by leveraging their connections with various media outlets, including blogs, magazines, news publications, print, and radio.
Another perspective is that a publicist advocates for you by pitching to different media platforms to create content centered on you for their audiences. This content can increase your visibility through blog stories, articles, interviews, videos, or even TV appearances.
Therefore, if you have a new album release or a tour, a publicist's role is to help spread the word.
This role is one you'll want to consider hiring for once you've established yourself as a professional artist with a significant following. A publicist's worth lies in the professional connections they've cultivated and their credibility in promoting what they pitch. Without something newsworthy, their impact is limited. Additionally, bringing a publicist onto your team is quite costly, with a reputable publicist often costing several thousand dollars per month.
Temporary Alternative: Although the mainstream music publications (Rolling Stones, Pitchfork, The Fader, Complex) are usually only accessible through a reputable publicist. However, there are thousands of independent music blogs out there you can reach.
94.2 Blazin provides affordable services for pitching to music bloggers, playlisters, and influencers. Our in-house writing team delivers captivating music reviews and interviews
.that services emerging talent.
Managers
The right manager can significantly advance your career by managing the business aspects of music that you may prefer to avoid. This includes finding the best business opportunities, keeping you aligned with your goals, organizing a feasible schedule, acting as a liaison between you and your team, negotiating contracts, and even managing some marketing tasks. They offer support and advice, whether personal or professional.
Managers come from diverse backgrounds. Some musicians, who enjoy the business side, transition into artist management. They benefit from a better understanding of the artist's perspective and can find compromises when necessary. Conversely, some managers focus on entrepreneurship without a musical background. They can offer a fresh perspective and help run your business more professionally.
Similar to booking agents, music managers earn through commission, taking a percentage of your earnings. The typical rate ranges from 15% to 20%. If you're not an established artist capable of generating income from your music, it may be challenging to attract an experienced manager.
While having a manager can be beneficial, it's arguable whether an independent artist truly needs one to achieve success. Many mistakenly believe that a manager is essential for reaching stardom. In reality, an experienced manager with the necessary connections and expertise is likely to approach you only after you've made a name for yourself in the industry.
In my experience acting as a pseudo-manager at times, I believe the most crucial aspect for an artist is having someone to assist with the business side, regardless of whether they hold the title of manager.
Music Attorney
Regarding the legal aspects of music, having access to an attorney is essential. This is particularly important for signing contracts, music licensing, and managing copyright issues. Numerous horror stories exist where artists have been disadvantaged by record labels due to not having a lawyer review the contract. While you may not need an attorney early in your career, it's beneficial to know someone you can consult for legal advice or guidance.
Remember, lawyers can be costly.
You can learn some basic aspects of music law, such as copyrighting your songs and creating contracts for co-writers or hired musicians. There are many resources available that cover the basics, and it's advisable to spend some time familiarizing yourself with this area.
Temporary Alternative: Find a local VLA (Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts). These are nonprofit organizations that work with volunteer attorneys to provide free or low-cost legal services for artists.
How to recruit people for your team
Once you have established yourself to some extent you will be able to recruit volunteers that are motivated and skilled individuals to collaborate with. Ideally, if you've adopted a community-oriented mindset in the early stages of your career, you should already have some potential candidates within your network. That is experience and willing to work in exchange for something you can offer them (or hire them at a low rate).
You are more likely to find other creatives such as photographers, videographers, and graphic designers to collaborate with in this capacity.
Here are some ideas to help to get you started:
Start inquiring within your own personal network. Ask your friends or other fellow artists if they know anyone they can refer you to.
Make a post on social media to your fans with what you’re looking for. This was exactly what Butterscotch did and how I ended up working with her.
If you’re a college student or not , see what kind of clubs or organizations are on campus. There may be videographers, photographers and graphic designers who need more experience and would be willing to do unpaid work.
Search in your local community for an art or music collective. You might find potential people there or other artists who might know people in their network.
Ask on music online communities and forums with other artists like a Facebook Group or Reddit.
Look around on professional networks like LinkedIn.
Check freelancer marketplaces like Landr’s Network (My Profile),Fiverr and Upwork.
Post an ad on Craigslist or look around to see others who are looking for opportunities.
If you’re looking for producers, find musicians you like on platforms like SoundCloud. This was how Alina Baraz ended up working with Danish electronic producer Galimatias and created the Urban Flora EP that launched her career. You can also try browsing producer related hashtags on Instagram or X.
What should you look for in a team member?
As someone who works as a member of other artists’ teams, here are my suggestions on what you should look for to work with someone long-term.
Do they have their own personal goals and aspirations that motivate them? You don’t ever want to bring on someone who just needs the money or doesn’t have a drive of their own. Their goals should align or intersect with yours in some way so they stay motivated.
Are they fans of your music? Clearly if they don’t like your music, they won’t have any faith in your career. This is something that may not be obvious or apparent, but something you need to be cautious about. Personally, I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t like the music of an artist I worked with or at least saw the potential for them to make good music.
What are their values and perspectives? I find that it’s nice to work with people who see the world similarly to us and even share our interests and hobbies. Do you actually get along with them and like spending time with them? Keep this in mind, as long-term partners can be hard to come by.
How well do they communicate and respond? This is a crucial aspect to consider when working with anyone. Being able to communicate your expectations and have the other person understand them is a valuable skill set. You also need someone who can respond to you promptly and isn’t afraid to share their honest thoughts.
Lastly, are they good at what they do? This might seem like an obvious one. A factor you should consider, however, is that the more knowledgeable someone is in their field, the more likely they will be expensive. You may be dealing with someone new to a field or less experienced, but that is not a bad thing necessarily as it might be lighter on your pockets. Either way, you want to have people who are excited about learning and getting better at their craft.
Certainly, there are additional factors to weigh before collaborating with someone, but in the end, you seek individuals who are prepared to put in the hard work, rather than those looking to exploit you for quick financial gain.
Use Additional Music Promotion to Make a Name
You need to present your music to the world and increase engagement to make your music recognized. If you choose to incorporate paid promotion to boost organic engagement, 94.2 Blazin Marketing and Promotional Support team offers a service to elevate your online music presence.
Achieving visibility is best accomplished by being featuring in articles, getting interviews, and various media platforms. Our promotion campaign packages is designed specifically as your one stop shop, by offering you the most optimal reach by combining multiple platform together.
A combination of paid services and paid promotion is a great power-up for your music. When you optimize your profile, receive verification marks, and add a high-quality promotion, you will blow the whole platform and see your songs in various charts, including daily and weekly playlists!
Conclusion
The best way to find people to work with for the long term is to continually work on your craft and be really good at what you do. People who are truly fans of your artistry will reach out or find ways to work with you.
This is how it started for Pat Corcoran who became Chance the Rapper’s manager despite not having any real experience managing artists. The same goes for Chris Zarou who became Logic’s manager with little music industry experience.
When I began, I had no knowledge of the music industry. However, with my background in media relations, I contacted musician friends and artists I admired, launched my podcast, and offered to assist them with promotion. Six months later, we hosted our first live show.
The early stages of a music career are rough. It’s not easy to develop as an artist, grow a fan base, release music and run your music business all at the same time. But this is part of the journey that requires the most patience, drive and consistency. Keep putting yourself out there and continue to put the work in to develop as an artist.
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