Artist managers shape their clients’ careers both in a day-to-day and long-term sense. They often help clients book gigs, plan album projects, orchestrate record releases and tours, create marketing and merchandising strategies, get paid for their work, and establish and pursue long-term career goals.
However, a manager’s job can extend far beyond this; they are their clients’ advocate, which can mean negotiating record contracts, mediating interpersonal conflicts within the band, fighting on behalf of a client who’s not receiving the treatment agreed upon in the contract, lobbying on a client’s behalf with labels, producers, agents, and promoters, and even helping a client improve their mental and physical health. Recently, in response to shifts in the music industry, managers devote more time to leveraging a band’s brand equity to create revenue streams and strategic partnerships.