I’m sorry (again) for the lack of posts over the last several months (make that years). The truth is that we have been too busy working and have let our attention to this important outlet lapse. Instead of promising to write more, we want to make sure we are posting quality info that can actually help musicians.

In line with that thinking, here is the most important thing that we have come to understand a bit better over the last 12 months or so: a musician’s team (#squad) is more important now then it has ever been. The team is still in second place behind the music (position 1a) and the work ethic of the musician (1b), but in today’s music industry, the people that you have working for you, representing you and seeking opportunities for you is more crucial now then ever before.

There has been plenty written about the demise of the major label system. What seems to be going largely unnoticed or undocumented is the growing roll of those left behind: Managers. Management (effective management) has now become the true one-stop-shop for a musician. Management is the new label. As management, we are faced with the same set of facts and challenges as a label. An artist creates music and now wants to bring it to the masses. Yes, you can get that music out yourself as an artist but how do you make a dent in the din of new releases on Spotify, SoundCloud or Apple?

To make a living as an artist you need to do more then just post your music on the internet. You still need to get a significant number of eyeballs and eardrums to consume your product. So the management team is faced with this challenge without (typically) the luxury of having the deep pockets, employees and relationships that labels have (or had).

An artist’s manager is now in charge of planning a release schedule, getting artwork created, lining up press (more than your mom reposting on facebook), booking shows, figuring splits, clearing samples, registering publishing, monetizing all outlets including YouTube and SoundCloud, paying out band members, featured artists, promoting the release and live shows, finding potential brand sponsors and licensing opportunities etc. etc. All of this without a budget. I’m tired just writing all of these duties and responsibilities.

I’m not implying that a manager is going to literally be able to do all of these things himself, but he will have to figure out who to line up to help with this process. Managers must either strategically team up with the right professionals or outsource these services without breaking the bank. Yes, getting your music on all outlets is pretty easy (TuneCore etc.) but getting on a top Spotify Playlist is not. Yes, booking a show in your home town is very doable but playing in another city is not. Yes, finding someone to remix your track is not hard but figuring out the rights of that new recording is not.

Our opinion is that artists should do what they are best at: making music. To permit this, managers need to keep everything else moving forward. Managers must leverage all relationships and forge ahead with qualified distributors, booking agents, pr agents, and lawyers to realize real success in today’s industry.

I’ve been told to write about what you know best so I can share the story of how we have created our team over here at The Propelr (www.thepropler.com). Obviously we have legal taken care of (www.tkhlaw.com) but we brought on staff to handle all admin from calendar/schedule to financial bookkeeping to merchandise fulfillment. We partnered with a PR company that shares in our percentage income from artists or gives us preferred rates when we need to use their services (ttps://subvertagency.tumblr.com/). We have a licensing company working out of our space that is constantly pitching our music (http://brewhousemusic.com/). We share space with a branding and marketing agency (www.workwithdomino.com) that helps with artwork, social media campaigns and overall branding for our clients. There is a concert promoter working out of our office too (www.silverwrapper.com). So short of having a booking agency in house, we have created a co-op of sorts that allows us to really serve our clients much in the same manner that labels used to do. Obviously I am biased, but I don’t see how else you can really provide value to an artist without building this type of squad.

Want to learn more? Just hit us up.

This post originally appeared on lawyer4musicians.com, a blog by the attorneys at Troglia•Kaplan that focuses on music & law. Original post: https://lawyer4musicians.com/2016/10/18/squad/

#Squad