By Charlotte Caleb, Founder / CEO, Ellevate Studios
The art of A&R is dead, or at least that’s what a lot of people are saying. Reliance on bloated social media followings and too much data leads us to believe that the day of the A&R man or woman going with his or her gut feels far behind us.
So where does that leave artists and their development? Who will become the next Taylor Swift if no one is taking a risk and investing in new acts?
Early Stage Artists and Dilution
The most common advice I give early stage artists is around brand development. What sets you apart from everyone else? When I ask them to describe themselves I hear over and over again, ‘I’m Charli xcx mixed with Chappell Roan’ or ‘I make indie pop music’. Artists seem to consistently overlook the depth of references from music and beyond, the textures, colours, feelings, language and tone that all go into developing a successful and memorable artist. Its easy for these artists to get sucked into the habit of mimicking ‘viral’ content creators and other artists that are doing well. But without that genuine brand and storytelling, it’s easy to get lost in the noise. These early stage acts are unlikely to get off of the starting blocks without being pushed to develop themselves into artists with depth.
Self-Sufficiency
In the current market, labels seem unwilling to take risks on early stage artists; indie labels are at capacity with the resources they have and this leaves a growing generation of artists who are expected to do it for themselves. When it comes to management, anecdotally my manager friends tell me that they just cannot work with early acts in the way they used to. It costs too much, it takes too much time to see a return. This leaves artists in a no man’s land, trying to navigate the current industry with old and often bad information.
They’re told to be self-sufficient. Just grow a big social media following, just book out more gigs, just land a few more syncs. All the while they are leaping from possible opportunity to possible opportunity. Waiting on replies from industry people who ghost them and taking advice where they can get it, in the hope that something sticks. Some artists are incredibly business savvy and that does them well, they can put a team together and execute on a strategy – but that is the exception that proves the rule.
I Did It All Myself
Then the artist cracks it! They have a fanbase. They can sell out shows. The opportunities are rolling in. So why on earth would they share all that with a manager now when they’ve done all the hard work? For some artists it’s about time management. They need someone to do the heavy lifting, fielding the calls and emails, but a great VA can do some of that and they’re pretty cheap. For others they need someone with experience and a zoomed out view to ensure they keep making good decisions and have their eyes on the future. Does that need to be a full time manager? Or could that be an advisor? Could it be a team of different specialists who can be brought together to guide the artist?
Fractional Managers and the Future
In the world of startups, fractional Chief Financial Officers and Chief Marketing Officers are common. I’ve used them myself. They’re like superheroes who can swoop in and out quickly, identify potential problems, set you on the right path, help you avoid some mistakes and keep you accountable. This model could work for music artists, providing them the support they need to fast track them to success without the formality of a traditional manager.
This model relies on artists being able to pay for the time of their advisors which could be prohibitive for some but then there are artists throwing £1,000 a month on PR with no results. Could a fractional manager help artists avoid wasting money on things they are too early for and put them on a path to profitability far quicker? Meanwhile the manager is being paid for their hard earned time and expertise.
AI powered companies are emerging in this space, providing management services cheaply and quickly. But in an industry still very much built on relationships, instincts and experience, there is an argument for AI taking care of the boring stuff while we get back to developing artists.