Here is a breakdown of the different roles you may encounter at the beginning stages of your career and when and why they are important. If you feel like you may need to find some team members after reading this article, don’t hesitate to send your music to current music industry professionals on Groover! There are hundreds of curators & pros on the platform that will help you promote your music and aid you in the development of your career… who knows, maybe you could find some lifelong partners.

1. Manager

One of the most common roles in the music business and very often the first position to be filled is that of the Artist Manager. Traditionally, an artist manager is a representative of the artist that helps build, promote, and direct the artist’s business affairs. The responsibilities of a manager are quite flexible because they essentially adapt to the artist’s needs. They can negotiate contracts and fees, book performance and studio opportunities, help the artist develop their branding, create business plans, provide feedback on music, manage an artist’s social media, promote music and events, and more! The manager is essentially the artist’s go-to person; whatever the artist needs, the manager will figure out how to provide. This usually means that managers are working 24/7 and cultivate one of the strongest bonds with the artist along their journey.

J. Cole with his college friend and manager Ibrahim Hamad

The question is, do YOU need a manger? And if you do, how do you choose the right one? It is completely logical to think that you may not need a manager given how well you’ve been doing on your own. There are a lot of self-managed artists out there, however artist managers allow for artists to focus on their music. By having them cover the business side of things, they allow the artist to have all of the creative freedom and space to create; at the end of the day, who needs a manager if you don’t have music? So, if you’re feeling slightly overwhelmed by the administrative duties you’ve accumulated as your career has progressed, maybe you should consider partnering up with a manager to focus on your craft.

If someone is offering to be your manager, ask them who they know, who they’d introduce you to, and why they want to work together. A manager, just like all other roles within your team, needs to help accelerate your career and not just take a cut of your total earnings. They should believe in you 100% – that is the most important factor. Though it helps to already be well established in the industry, it is not a must to be an effective manager.

The flexibility of a manager’s job is what makes them the ideal first person to get on your team, especially at the beginning stages of your career when they can cover multiple roles at once without too much hassle. A person who loves your music, is willing to fully commit to the growth of your career, and has a good network of contacts (or is willing to go find them) will likely be a great manager to help accelerate your career and be a great asset to your team.

Are you looking for a Manager ? ⬇️

2. Agent

An essential part of being an emerging artist is playing live shows, and an agent is the person who negotiates and confirms performance opportunities. Along with this, they will oversee touring by planning tour dates and routes, taking care of all aspects of the tour’s contracts (fees, rider, sponsorships, etc) and will find supporting acts for your headlining tour (if necessary).

Contrary to popular belief, there is no right time to find an agent. Agents should actually come looking for you! A vital part of being a successful agent is loving the artist you work for and wanting as many people to hear their music as possible. Therefore, wait until an agent knocks on your door and offers to represent you or your group. This is an easy way to guarantee that the agent is passionate about your career and making sure your music is heard.

On average, agents take a roughly 10-15% cut from the gross revenue made on live shows. Though it may seem like a daunting figure to you now, agents can provide huge profits in return and be well worth that percentage. However, it is very important that they are well connected and have active relationships with venues, festivals, promoters, other agents, and management teams. Therefore, don’t be afraid to ask around about an agent (or any other role for that matter) before officially signing them on. Reputation is everything in the music industry, so make sure all of your team members have positive existing reputations.

3. Marketing and Promotion

Nowadays, an active social presence is a very important aspect of an artist’s career. Typically when starting out, artists are in charge of their own socials and music marketing. However, as things begin to grow, you may have to delegate this responsibility to other people. Within the marketing and promotional world of an artist you may have a publicist, promoter, and/or a social media manager.

A music promoter will broadcast and promote an artist’s live performances or appearances. Their main goal is to bring as many people to your shows as possible. Typically, promoters will negotiate directly with an agent or venue. Therefore, in my opinion, a promoter is not an essential team member, especially for an emerging artist. However, they are a big and common intermediary in the life of any artist so it is important to know what they do and why they are helpful.

A publicist represents the artist in media and finds new media opportunities for the artist. Anything that could be covered by the media, a publicist will be in charge of setting up and carrying through. It is therefore essential for a good publicist to have great media connections. Publicists are usually not full-time team members and will have a fixed-term contract surrounding the publicity of a specific release (album, single, tour dates, etc). As an emerging artist it may not be necessary to have a publicist on your team, but it is necessary to build those relationships with the media. Cultivate personal relationships with writers, bloggers, radios, other media curators and pros. Groover is a great tool to do so. When starting your campaign to pitch your music to professionals, filter and select all types of promotional curators – start building these relationships now.

Last but not least, there is the social media manager. A social media manager will aid the artist in creating a social media strategy and give guidance on content creation, often managing the accounts themselves. They focus on when and where to post content, finding and implementing a voice and tone throughout channels, analyzing metrics and changing strategies accordingly, etc.

Keep in mind that it is also quite common to hire a social media expert in more of a consultant role depending on how developed an artist’s social media presence is. Don’t be afraid to test the waters and create your own presence before reaching out to an expert. There’s nothing an audience loves more than someone being their authentic selves. My personal advice would be to hold out on finding a social media manager or consultant until you have enough of a following for their job to not only be necessary but, will further elevate and accelerate your career.

Check out: How to use Groover to promote your music

4. Lawyer

I think it goes without saying that everyone can benefit from having a lawyer in their corner. As an artist, having an entertainment lawyer can be particularly helpful. Entertainment lawyers will create and review contracts with any and all parties, navigate and negotiate contracts as necessary, help protect your intellectual property, and ensure you collect all of your earnings owed to you which, as an artist, is a key factor. Moreover, if you ever have a weird feeling about anything or anyone, having a lawyer can be quite beneficial. They can take action as necessary or ease any situation.

It is impossible to talk about lawyers without mentioning the grave expense that comes with having one. I suggest reading up on your music rights yourself in addition to having a legal contact that you can rely on whenever you have doubts. There are also many lawyers who will work pro bono or offer special rates if you ever do need their services. Do your research and investigate your options because as an artist that is just starting out, not only is it important to know your legal implications, but you most likely don’t need a lawyer just yet.

Check out: Music rights and how they work

5. Publisher

First and foremost, if you are a songwriter, you need a publisher or some sort of relationship with a publishing company in order to get your music out there and get paid. The question at hand is not whether you need a publisher but rather whether you need a publishing deal, and when the right time is to affiliate yourself with a publishing house. When you feel ready, our guide on how to get your songs published explains how to find publishers and what to say in your message.

Music publishing allows for your music to get licensed so the rights belong to you, and therefore the earnings do too. A good music publisher is one with a huge network that may allow for your music to grant licensing to movies, TV shows, ads, video games, etc. … they can even set you up with other artists, producers and songwriters to develop your songs for other artists. One of the biggest roles they take on is that of royalty administration (mechanical, sync and master licenses). Therefore, when signing a publishing deal you are granting the right for your publisher to administer your songs as if they were their own which, can bring many benefits but, as you can imagine, can also be problematic with the wrong partnership. Publishers often take a hefty cut of your royalties if you’ve signed with one.

6. Do you need a label?

Many argue that the acclaim associated with being signed to a label has dissipated since the quick evolution of the music industry in the last decade or so. Nowadays, you don’t need a label to ‘make it’, let alone a major label; many artists opt-out of signing with major labels and choose to associate themselves with independent labels (Adele, Radiohead, Kaytranada, etc) and still reach pinnacles of fame. One of the biggest reasons as to why this is the case is due to the advancement of technology, social media, and the widespread availability of resources.

One of the biggest turnoffs from signing to a major label is the massive cut they take from your paycheck; today, record labels take an average of 85% of the total revenue made by an artist! However, in exchange for the music and brand, major record companies will provide an artist with marketing, distribution, production, salaries, and access to connections that would otherwise be incredibly difficult to get. Thus, the reason why labels still carry a lot of clout: they can move mountains, so being signed to a label as an artist is an asset not only to your career but to your reputation as a whole.

So, do you need a label? No! Especially not as an emerging artist. You can do everything that a label can do from the comfort of your own home without selling your soul to them (record, release and distribute music digitally, market yourself through social media, sell your own merchandising, play live gigs, etc). However, labels can provide funding and access. If you’re at the stage in your career where you need both of those things, then I would recommend you start looking into getting signed by a label, whether major or independent.

| Check out: How to get signed by a label as an independent artist

7. A jack of all trades

As mentioned earlier, you have little to no team when you are just starting out as an artist. However, having people around you is a great asset to your career because you can focus more on your artistry and less on the business side of things (this does not mean that you shouldn’t be well versed in both!) Therefore, it is very common to have a friend or colleague cover the responsibilities of many of the roles mentioned above when you’re starting out. In my opinion, this is the best team member to have because you may not have the funds to employ a number of people just yet, and it’s a great way to guarantee that the person working for you is truly passionate about your career and your music. This is an essential quality in a multifaceted role like this one. So, if you have a trusted friend or acquaintance that is willing to go on the journey with you and grow together, let them!

8. DIY – Be your own team

Though after reading this article it may seem overwhelming to do it all yourself, it is important to start out independently. By familiarizing yourself with the duties of each team member through personal experience, you’ll be able to identify the best person for the job when the time comes and know whether they are doing good work. Moreover, you want to build your own network and fanbase in the early stages of your career by connecting with them on your own to establish an individual relationship, so do the grunt work in the beginning… it will pay off!

Conclusion

Though we recommend starting on your own, that does mean you’re working alone in your efforts to further your career; there are hundreds of tools you can use for advice and assistance! This blog highlights some outside sources that you can use in addition to the hundreds of articles we’ve written that you can always fall back on if you ever have a question.

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Begin to contact some of our curators and pros on Groover now!

L’article Which Music Artist Team Members Do You Need To Accelerate Your Music Career? est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

Groover has made us be with A New Label, a luxury. It’s an unbeatable feeling.

– Toni from Pause –

Who is Pause?

We are a Post/punk band formed by Toni Gastón and Juanjo Seguí. We are a relatively new formation, although it’s been a few years since we started as a group of friends, with no other pretensions than having a good time. About 3 years ago someone realized that we were more than just a band that gets together to hang out. This person who bet on us and pushed us to do something more is Gene Garcia, a great blues artist. Our influences are bands like: Echo and the Bunnymen, The Clash, Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Lagartija Nick, The Cure , Talking Heads. In general we are into British stuff. 

For a long year we locked ourselves in a studio looking for our sound. With just guitar, bass and music computing, we came up with a handful of songs. After experimenting a lot with them and with the help of our producer Gene, who was able to read our minds and capture the sound that was in our heads, we came out with the dark, emotional and heartbreaking sound we were looking for.

From this point on we enjoyed a few concerts and we were able to get on stage with a very positive response from the public.

We are a passionate band and this is reflected in our live performances and our intention is simply to excite. Today, a label like A New Label has trusted us and with their support we hope to give a lot of joy and to be able to show our potential live.

What is A New Label?

A New Label is a music industry company whose vision is to cover the 360º that a musical project needs to prosper in this business. Reaching agreements with recording studios, such as the audiovisual sector; having different professionals for both the production of events and office work; manufacturing cd’s, vinyls, merchandising or performing graphic design work. But the most important thing for any musical project is to have its own communication and promotion department as well as its own booking agency, everything necessary to develop artists.

In any musical project it is essential to communicate what is being done at all times, so that all the actions carried out in a project have an impact. As we always insist, putting content on digital channels, making an album for sale or doing a concert tour does not mean that it will do well just for the sake of doing it. You need to attract people and that means doing promotion, both in the music media and in social networks. And of course doing concerts, the basis of any musical project.

Pause, in order for people to get to know you better, can you tell us a little bit about your history, how the band was formed and how has the road been up to the present day?

Toni from Pause: We are neighborhood musicians, but above all, music lovers. Juanjo and I are lifelong friends; the band has an indestructible foundation. Honestly, we have misdirected our energy for some time and it is clear that tenacity is the basis of any success. During the process we have been able to enjoy the chaos, but things have to come when they have to come. We are the same as always; we want to enjoy being together and enjoy this wonderful profession. Despite the fact that people don’t realize it, it is just that, a profession. Just as respectable as any other. Let’s go as always with resilience and work.

We can’t stop talking in every interview about Gene Garcia, friend and great reference for us. All bands have a family tree but not this one. There are only friends who have contributed. Friendship is the nexus of this story.

For you, what are the best conditions to discover and listen to your music?

We make songs for everyone to make their own. The mainstream is a monster that swallows everything. But there are a lot of people who are looking for little gems and our music is humbly aimed at those people.

| Follow them on Instagram

A New Label, could you introduce us to your record label, its beginnings and history?

A New Label was born in 2008 as a distributor and service manager, with the intention of giving self-managed groups and newly created labels the possibility of opting for distribution contracts and comprehensive services that were difficult for them to get on their own (better services and prices to be working in collaboration with a larger company). Over time, the release of the company’s own groups was also added. Previously, the founder owned another record label for the editions. But, finally, it is encompassed within A New Label. Basically it starts as A New Label, hence the magnificent name; to give another vision to how things were and are done in the music industry.

The goal is to work in collaboration with artists or other companies; taking into account that in Spain and in our industry, specialization is very difficult. So, we work with the objective of being a micro multinational; covering all the fields that can help musical projects.

What is the curatorial process like to determine which artists you want to collaborate with and what does an artist need to get your attention?

Mainly we have to like the music, that it is good music and well done. Always taking into account the situations, since a young project must have time to mature; a cheap recording does not give the results of the soul of the songs; but we are interested that the base is good and with soul. Once we have seen an interesting project we try to talk a lot. Explaining how we work and that they explain to us how they work and what their objectives are.

We try to avoid the commercial presentation to sell ourselves. What we do is to make it clear that the musical project is a startup; it is in the development phase and they can work with us to climb the ladder that is this long-distance race. Above all, we make them understand that it is teamwork, and that they are not going to ask us to do the tasks for them. We are going to create them as a team, based on two very important concepts: promotion and concerts.

A New Label and Pause, what was it like meeting at Groover and what made you want to work together?

Toni from Pause: Meeting on Groover felt intuitive. We were looking for someone with experience to launch our project and we saw in A New Label, everything we needed. We tried it out and we were lucky that the musical proposal fit with them and it was a luxury for us. Everything was really easy.

Jorge from A New Label: The meeting was quite good, both musically and in the way of working. For me the important thing is that the musicians get involved. The fact that on Groover a group can contact you, gives a lot of bonus points to the project. Then it was all about talking and seeing if there is common ground to work together. That’s the most important thing to run a project: willingness to work, create a team and get good opportunities.

It seems that you have very good future projects already together, can you tell us a little bit about these plans?

Jorge from A New Label: We have already agreed to work together. Now we are in the planning phase. We are finishing the press kit to present the band and the work together to the media. With that we take a first step. But now we have to plan the dates on which we will release new music material, audiovisuals, etc. And above all to prepare the live presentations. With the summer over, we are going to go a little slow to enter the winter season strong.

| Read also: How to create the perfect press kit?

Toni from Pause: We are waiting to know the next steps to continue growing. Now we are going to record a music video and a couple of concerts and preparing everything to go on tour. We are also recording a couple of singles to be released soon, probably in autumn. Currently, we are coordinating with Jorge and his team, preparing the show meticulously and we are very happy.

Any piece of news you would like to share with us?

Jorge from A New Label: The news itself is the signing, as we have said we are in the planning phase. We are preparing the music video. We will release more singles and most likely we will do a pre-sale for after the summer.But for now, we don’t have concrete dates, so stay tuned, we will announce them as soon as possible.

What advice would you give to emerging and developing artists?

Juanjo from Pause: Well, without a doubt the first and most important thing is not to lose heart. Use all the tools available to you, which are quite a few. Groover for example, and believe in what you do without doubting it.

Jorge from A New Label: You are very right, but above all I would go further. You have to treat a band just like you would a startup. You are developing a project to make it work over time. So, remember that this is a long-distance race, it’s important to keep that in mind. Also be aware that the person who cares the most about your project is yourself. You have to work very hard to take it forward, not expect other people to do the work for you. You can’t be a rock star thinking you’re going to get it all done. The stars have created themselves. They’ve surrounded themselves with good people and companies that have helped the project grow. You can stumble, but you have to get up. Keep finding the way, the tools and the people who will do everything to keep you going.

| Check out: A New Label’s website here

Toni from Pause: My advice would be that at no time let yourself be fooled by siren songs. It is important to have your feet on the ground and above all, be realistic. In the end there is a lot of intrusion in the world of music, there are many of us. The illusion is respectable but to be a musician you have to fight, train and rehearse. Shortcuts lead nowhere. Let yourself be advised by professionals and let them tell you the truth, that’s what we musicians are looking for, to improve. Groover is a good tool to find the answers you need. But first and foremost, it’s the effort and asking yourself questions.

Jorge from A New Label: This is a long-distance race and a band doesn’t come out of nowhere overnight. Maybe you can; just like you can win the lottery and never work again in your life, but that’s not realistic. It’s also important not to let people chew off your ear and feed you wrong information. Look for people who can contribute positive aspects to your project. Avoiding intruders or preachers can be difficult, but as Toni says, tools like Groover can help you a lot.

What do you think of Groover and how has it helped you in your careers as an artist and as a label?

Toni from Pause: Personally I think it is a fantastic tool, a natural selection. I come back to the same thing, if you find your space it’s because it exists and deserve it. It is very easy to make excuses but in reality, if there is something that catches your attention, it will reach the right person. Groover has made us be with A New Label, a luxury. It’s an unbeatable feeling. We are expectant and down to earth at the same time. Let’s enjoy the ride.

Juanjo from A New Label: It certainly sheds some light on this long and unknown path. Groover helps you access music professionals without a guide and you finally reach the right people.

Jorge from A New Label: Apart from the fact that you can find great bands like Pause, which is always a luxury; I think it gives you a wide vision. Many times the trees don’t let you see the forest; you focus on what you have in your hands and you see less of the environment. Groover gives you a joint and international vision. You can see what they are doing in countries like the USA, France, Poland or Australia and what level of music is being handled; you see the forest. Groover allows you to learn from musicians other than the ones you are close to; you learn from them as they learn from you. From this, you get not only to improve in your work, but to see new ways to go.

Interviews by Luis Pérez. Written, translated and edited by Betty González Gray

Now it’s your turn, click here to access Groover and find the perfect partner for you!

L’article Pause and A New Label discovered an amazing partnership thanks to Groover est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.

You need to be available on platforms allowing you to connect with music-diggers, people ready to explore unknown content to discover emerging talents!

Can you quickly introduce Jamendo? When and how was the concept created?

Jamendo was founded in December 2004 by 3 French entrepreneurs. Their main idea was that every artist has the right to be heard. If you remember 2004, streaming wasn’t even a thing and YouTube would only be created a couple of months after. There weren’t many legal opportunities to promote and share your music with a receptive audience.

Jamendo was created to solve that problem: by assembling a community of both music creators and fans willing to discover the talents of tomorrow, we made it possible for thousands of DIY and independent artists to be heard and engage with fans. Anybody can come on Jamendo to upload music under a Creative Commons license, it’s completely free and non-binding. And it’s the same on the music fan side: anybody can come on Jamendo and create an account for free to start streaming and downloading new music.

Over the years, we’ve of course introduced and developed several monetization opportunities: sync placements, playlisting in In-Store background music selections in businesses around the world and YouTube Content ID.

As of now, we’ve got around 40,000 artists and more than 4 million registered users.

Homepage of Jamendo

What’s your role in Jamendo?

I am running our Artist and Content operations, we’re a team of 3 people.  To put it simply, on the artist side, I handle the relationships with our DIY artists and label partners. It encompasses communicating with them, creating educational content and making sure that all our artist operations and processes run smoothly. I think you can summarize my job through the following questions: how can our artists and labels be successful at using Jamendo? What else could we do for them or what could we improve to make their music exposure bigger and more profitable.

It’s obviously a team effort, we receive around 6,000 tracks on a monthly basis and the simple effort of listening to all of them so that we can be able to qualify our database is a full-time job for one person.

Who is the platform for? Can anyone sign up?

All creators are welcome on Jamendo: regardless of the music genre(s) you produce and regardless of your country and background, you can come on Jamendo and start uploading your creations. It’s free, non-binding and you keep all your rights.

Since the tracks you upload are uploaded under a Creative Commons license, you simply have to make sure that your Performance Rights Organisation (if you are with one) allows you to also publish your works under Creative Commons. It’s for example totally fine with SACEM in France.

Can you explain in more detail the concept of “free music”? How is this possible and how does it work on your platform?

Sure! That’s possible thanks to Creative Commons. Creative Commons can be understood as a way to regulate the relationship between a creator and the person using a creation. It’s a tacit agreement defining what can be done with your music.

How to read a creative Commons license

We allow 6 different Creative Commons licenses, all of them granting different types of rights to the end-user. All of them will allow the user to freely stream and download the music for private listening purposes, but depending on the license you choose, this user may or may not be able to use your track in a commercial project or to synchronize it with multimedia content productions (videos, podcasts, etc.).

This allows our artists to easily find an audience. With it, it’s then easier to build your social media and Spotify pages.

Do you have examples of success stories from artists who used your platform?

We’ve got plenty!

If I had to pick up a recent example, I’d name CloZee. She started on Jamendo around 2012 and her music generated millions of streams. She has been immensely rewarded this year by being selected to be in the 2019 Coachella line-up.

We’ve also received the early works of artists like Møme or Boogie Belgique who are now well-established and touring.

We currently have talented artists like The Devil Music Co and Wordsmith, who are not only generating millions of streams on Jamendo but also taking up on Spotify, which lets us hope to best for them in the months to come.

I’m talking major successes here. But depending on the definition we apply to success; we also allow hundreds of artists to live thanks to the earnings they receive from us. And I think simply being able to make a living out of your art is the most beautiful success you can have.

What would be your advice for an artist who wants to promote his music?

A short question which cannot really be answered in a short way! Let me try to do my best on this one.I’d emphasize two key elements: Knowledge & Entrepreneurship!

Knowledge

Regardless of whether you’ve been producing music for 1 month or 10 years, make sure you’ve got a pretty thorough understanding of how the industry works. Learn what are the rights associated with one track and who is being paid for what. Make sure you understand what your PRO is paying you for, what your distributor is paying you for. Do the earnings you receive cover the full spectrum of your rights? If no, what can you do to make sure you can fill in this revenue gap? Once you’ve got this covered, make sure to define before-hand the splits between all the members of your band. Everything should be written down right at the start so that you can then focus on what matters: creating music and promoting it. If you understand the industry, you can experiment with various strategies to promote your music.

Entrepreneurship

It’s a buzzword now and it’s not very original, but it’s true: at the early stages of your career, you need to be able to manage all the aspects of your career: from social media management to basic data analysis of your audience, from trying to organize gigs to contacting journalists and influencers, nobody will do it for you. And even if somebody does it for you, having basic knowledge of those fields will allow you to at least assess the quality of the work that is done. For all those aspects, there are hundreds of tools & start-ups providing services that will be of great help. Learn about them, play with them!

On Groover, you can contact the best music tastemakers!

Taking those two elements into account, it’s very crucial you understand that simply putting your music on Spotify and on the other major streaming platforms isn’t a release strategy. When you start, the most important element is to start building a fan base. You won’t be building a fan base on those platforms for the simple reason that you’ll be almost invisible out there. You need to be available on platforms allowing you to connect with music-diggers, people ready to explore unknown content to discover emerging talents. Jamendo is one of them but there are others. Be on them. Build audiences there and redirect then your audience to your social media and Spotify pages.

And regardless of the number of fans you have, engage with them. Regularly. It’s never been as easy to produce music than in 2019, you’re competing with hundreds of thousands of other music creators. The way you manage your community and the quality of the relationship you can create with them will be key in whether or not fans will want to stick with you. I really think that artists should be looking more at the way streamers & YouTubers engage with their community. They are really good examples of how one can progressively make it one step after another.

There is honestly too much to say on this topic, but I think it’s a good start 🙂

Send your music to Jamendo directly on Groover

Contact Jamendo on Groover

| See also: All tips

L’article Jamendo, the independent music platform: tips to broadcast your music est apparu en premier sur Groover Blog.