Audiomack ARTIST GUIDE
Artists 101
How do I build my team?
A good team can open up doors for your career and help you reach your goals quicker. A bad team can derail your efforts and leave you worse off. Take the time and effort to build your team strategically. The music industry is a people business—you need people you can trust, and people that trust you. While there’s no set blueprint for who to hire when, it’s important to consider hiring a manager, a lawyer, a booking agent, and an accountant when you’re ready.
“You don’t necessarily need a full-time lawyer from day-one. It shouldn’t be too, too costly. And it’s really asking other artists you know or like—taking initiative at that first stage. Don’t reach out to global superstars, but if there’s a local artist a few steps ahead of you in your career, reaching out and saying, ‘What do I do? How do I get my team assembled? How did you do it?’ Gain that knowledge that way. It’s a hard industry to break into if you don’t know people.
“The first hire is always gonna be the hardest one, just to get your foot in the door. Once you hire a manager that has some experience, that person is going to be able to suggest some attorneys, and they’re going to be able to suggest booking agents, and things like that.”
—Greg Norman, Major Label Attorney
“Once you’re getting into multi-year deals, it’s worth spending money on a lawyer. If you’re getting a one-off EP release from an indie label, you could probably do it yourself without a lawyer. If you’re talking about signing to a company for multiple years, that could affect a lot of your career.”
—Adam Freedman, Entertainment Lawyer
“You gotta convince other people to put blood, sweat, and tears, and sometimes money, into chasing your dream. That’s not an easy thing. The team should be built when it’s needed. Why pay a retainer to a law firm when no one’s offering you deals? Do you really need a manager taking a cut of what you do? Is there enough to manage? Or, should you get the homie, the ‘Running Mate’ to keep things running along?”
—Michael Kolar, Engineer
“When you’re starting out, expect to do a lot on your own. Learn from this experience, as it’ll help you hire—and understand when to fire—people who work for you in the future. As you grow and begin to generate income, don’t be afraid to pay people to do the work. Delegating will free up time to be creative, as well as give you better results, especially with technical or complicated tasks that may be outside your ability. Whatever you do, build strategically; only take on people when you can afford it, or when they can offer more impact than you can get on your own.”
—Mark Tavern, Music Industry Educator
“A good, early team is a manager that believes in what you’re doing. That manager doesn’t have to be hugely successful, but is someone organized, who can communicate, and believes in you. Having a lawyer early on is very important, because you don’t wanna get yourself wrapped up in agreements or things that will hinder your growth. You don’t have to retain them, but when something comes up, you know who you’re going to. It doesn’t have to be super expensive.
“Of course, I think a label can be very important, but if you don’t have those other pieces in place, you won’t be able to… If you don’t have someone to represent you on the day-to-day talks while you’re being an artist, it’s very, very challenging. Having those pieces in place are very important.
“Before the manager and lawyer, maybe, comes a producer you really meld with, so you’re starting something a manager can manage. The inner creative team often comes before. Then you get the booking agent, the label, and the merch company. In an ideal situation.”
—Benjy Grinberg, Owner of Rostrum Records
