Time for a Music Manager?

Here is the truth that no one says out loud.....

May 16, 2025

“I just need someone to take over and make it happen for me.”

It’s a sentence we’ve hear often. So many Artists are asking for Management, looking for next steps in their Music Career. And while it’s said with hope, experience has taught us that it can sometimes mark the beginning of a challenging path—for everyone involved.

Over the years, we’ve worked with many artists - in our label, agency and management company. All of them were incredibly talented, passionate, and full of heart. Many arrived at our door at a similar crossroads:

Managed by a devoted parent or partner (hey this was me too so I get it!)
Re-entering the scene after a long pause
Carrying a deep and very human desire to be seen, heard, and valued

They weren’t always looking for business support in the traditional sense. More often, they were looking for someone to believe in them—sometimes to fill in the gaps that life, or the industry, had left behind.

We were always upfront:

“This is a long game. We’ll build your weekly income through local gigs, release your music with intent, develop your digital presence, build relationships with media, and connect you to the right people over time.”

But what we often found ourselves doing was something quite different:

Listening more than strategising
Offering free support that went far beyond a contract
Taking calls not about next steps, but about feeling stuck or unseen
Navigating discomfort around the commission structure—even when income had grown

The truth is uncomfortable, but important to acknowledge:

🎯 Many Artists didn’t want to build a business.
🎯 They hoped someone else would “make it happen.”

Even when visibility grew—when streaming numbers climbed, when the gigs got bigger, when media started to pay attention—it didn’t always feel like enough. External validation often meant more than internal growth. And when other managers or labels expressed interest, that attention seemed to provide the very thing they’d been searching for all along.

Eventually, most chose different paths. Today, many are thriving in new roles—as parents, as business owners, as creators in other fields. For some, music has become a cherished memory. And perhaps, for that chapter of their life, that’s exactly what it was meant to be.

But for us, that history holds valuable lessons—for artists, managers, and anyone working to build something real in this industry. It reminds us that music is not just about the dream—it’s about the structure that sustains it.

What This Tells Us About the Music Industry (In Australia, Especially)

Let’s break the romantic illusion.

Australia is a tiny market.
Major label deals are unicorns.
A viral song ≠ a career.
Visibility is not viability.

The role of an independent label or manager is not to gamble on emotional need. It’s to invest in viable businesses. And too often, original artists aren’t businesses.They’re high-risk passion projects with no structure, no consistency, no margin. And they blame the industry for their lack of results.

If You’re an Original Artist, Read This Twice:

Before you ever ask for management, here’s what you need in place:

1. Income

No manager will sustainably work with an artist who isn’t generating revenue. Covers, syncs, merch, royalties—something must be coming in.

2. Infrastructure

ABN. Copyright registration. Bookkeeping. Calendar. Tech stack. Admin. If you’re not running a business, don’t expect someone to invest in one.

3. Execution

Have you booked your own gigs? Released your own songs? Posted content consistently? If not, you’re outsourcing accountability.

4. Emotional Intelligence

If you’re looking for fame to fill a void—please, go to therapy first. Managers cannot carry your unprocessed trauma.

5. Workload Capacity

Being an artist is a full-time job. Writing, rehearsing, filming, scheduling, pitching, producing, publishing. If you're not doing that already, you're not ready.

7-Step Artist Readiness Checklist

✅ Gig Every Weekend – Covers, originals, paid work builds real data
✅ Release Music Consistently – One song a year won’t cut it
✅ Build a Niche Brand – What are you about? Why should anyone care?
✅ Own Your Story – Stop waiting for the industry to give you one.
✅ Build an Email List – Followers are borrowed. Emails are yours.
✅ Know Your Numbers – Gross, net, costs per project, ROI
✅ Have a 24-Month Plan – If you don’t know where you’re going, neither will we

What Does a Manager Actually Do?

Let’s demystify the role.

A professional Artist Manager:

Builds strategy
Brokers opportunities
Protects your time and reputation
Drives consistent execution
Measures, reports, adjusts

What they don’t do:

Babysit your dreams
Fund your lifestyle
Create a business from thin air
Chase you for content, meetings, or accountability

Final Word

Artists: before you ask someone to manage you, manage yourself.

Don’t pitch your potential. Pitch your proof. If you can’t yet run a music business, you are not ready for one.

To my fellow managers, bookers, and indie labels: Protect your time. Don’t fund fantasy. Invest in those who are already investing in themselves.

And remember: attention fades. But businesses scale.

If you're ready to build something real—not something shiny—a professional Artist Manager worth their salt, will meet you at the strategy table, not the wishing well.

Written by Nichola Burton. I work in partnership with Agents, Artist Managers and Event Producers, who juggle a diverse range of relationships in the Muso

The Musoverse

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