Do you need Artist Development?

Do you need Artist Development?

So many artists want a manager when what they really need is artist development. Are you a diamond in the rough? You may be the fairytale artist that finds someone who is willing to take a chance on you, “believes” in you and signs you early on. But more than likely, if you are able to grab their attention, a manager will watch your progress and see how you’re growing on your own before they sign you to their roster because it is an expensive risk to develop an artist, which takes both time and money. And successful managers don’t gamble that often.

Artist development consists of developing all aspects of an artist until he or she can earn a living making music. Sometimes an artist needs more refinement before a manager is willing to take a chance on them and invest time and energy into their career. Artist development consists of getting together an artist’s “personal brand, live show (including band), a following, a collection of viable material (songs), social media profiles and networking sites, and ideally some sort of recording. Most experienced managers will not take an artist on until they have at least a good amount of those pieces in place.

How can you develop as an artist? You can watch what other artists are doing and try to follow suit (but remember to be yourself, so add your own flair to it). You can read books or blogs about it, be objective and make changes on your own. Learn everything you can and put it into practice, if you have the personality for that. Or you can hire someone who specializes in artist development.

What does this mean? You’ll pay them a fee, rather than the usual percentage a manager would take. Why pay a fee when you could just pay a percentage? Because if you’re not earning, there’s nothing to commission on, and a manager probably won’t take you on.

Beware, not all people who “specialize” in artist development are the same. Research them, just as you would a manager. You’re hiring them, so find out as much as you can about them before you pay them to develop your career. What is the artist developer’s background? Does he/she have the experience you need? Are they enough of an expert in their field to warrant taking your money? What will they do for the price they are asking? Are they willing to put it in writing? Remember the phrase, “salary commensurate with experience”. It’s a phrase you’d be familiar with if you were going after a regular job, which means you pay for experience—in this case the artist developer’s experience.

Also, understand that you’re there for their knowledge, not necessarily their connections (unless they refer you to voice teachers, stylists, or other industry experts). They are not your manager, but are there to prepare you for one. They are not necessarily there to get you a booking agent, but more likely to prepare you so that one will want to work with you down the road. If they’re good at what they do, they will give you “homework”, assignments for you to do to improve your skills, personal appearance or your Internet presence. Or, if that doesn’t interest you and/or you have more money to spend, they will handle these things for you. But remember that at the end of the day, you will still need to hone your skills, otherwise you won’t really develop as an artist.

And remember, one way or another you will spend money pursuing a career as an artist. Whether you spend it on books or conferences, or someone to guide you is up to you. But one way or another, you will spend on pursing your dream. And if you can’t wrap your head around that, think of this… If you’re not willing to take a risk on your career…why should anyone else?