Straight answers about music management
Every answer here leads with the answer, including when it's "no," "not yet," or "walk away." Numbers are sourced. Nothing is here to sell you a course.
What does a music manager actually do?
A music manager runs the business of an artist's career so the artist can make the work. In practice that means building the strategy, hiring and firing everyone else on the team, negotiating deals with labels, publishers, promoters and brands, and being the one person accountable when something goes wrong. They usually take 15–20% of the artist's gross income and typically have no salary, so they are paid only if the artist earns.
How much does a music manager take?
The standard music manager commission is 15–20% of the artist's gross income, with 15% more common than 20%. Sliding scales are now normal — often 20% in year one stepping down to 15% by year three. Established artists sometimes negotiate 10–15%. Anything above 20% is unusual and should come with an exceptional track record.
Do I need a music manager?
Probably not yet. You need a manager when you have more opportunities than time — inbound offers you're too slow to answer, shows you can't route, deals you can't read. Below that line a manager has nothing to manage, and the good ones will tell you so. Build something first; management is a response to traction, not a way to create it.
How do you get a music manager?
You get a manager by being a problem worth solving — visible traction a manager can multiply — and then by being introduced rather than by applying. Managers almost never sign from cold emails. They sign from a lawyer, an agent, an A&R, a producer or another artist saying you're worth an hour. Build the traction first; the introduction is much easier to get than the traction.
What's the difference between a manager, a booking agent, a label and a publisher?
The manager runs the whole career and takes 15–20% of everything. The booking agent sells live shows and takes around 10% of live fees. The label funds and distributes recordings and takes a share of recording income. The publisher administers and exploits the songwriting copyright and takes a share of publishing. One person is strategy; the other three are functions.
What are the red flags in a music management contract?
The five that matter: any upfront or monthly fee, a term longer than about three years with no performance-based exit, a perpetual or near-perpetual sunset clause, commission on income from deals you signed before they arrived, and a power of attorney letting them sign on your behalf. Any one of them is worth walking away over if they won't move.
What makes a good music manager?
A good manager tells you things you don't want to hear, has a specific plan rather than enthusiasm, is reachable when it's inconvenient, and is willing to destroy something that currently works if the next version is better. Track record matters less than judgement, because every artist's situation is different and enthusiasm is free.
How do you become a music manager?
You become a music manager by managing someone. There is no licence, degree or credential required — you find an artist whose career you can measurably improve, agree terms in writing, and do the work. Most working managers started with an unknown artist and grew with them rather than being hired onto an established one.
How do music managers promote songs on TikTok?
By paying editors to make videos using the sound, at scale, and measuring what comes back. The reach on a track is largely a function of how many creators are cutting to it, so managers now run paid clipping campaigns — either through private creator networks or public bounty boards where the purse, the per-view rate and the verification rule are posted before anyone starts.
The people who worked all this out first are on the roster: the greatest music managers nobody knows.