Artist Managers: Internal development for external results

‘As a manager,’ says Lucy Rice of the Cambridge-based James Brown Management office, ‘you’re very often taking into account the feelings of the artists you represent… but forgetting to notice how you’re bearing up yourself. I’ve been inspired to stick a motivational sentence to my computer screen which says, “Affix your own oxygen mask before helping someone else with theirs”.’

And who inspired her? That would be Stephen Daltrey, the vastly experienced ‘elite coach’ and motivational speaker who in early April conducted a Zoom session for a worldwide audience of members of the International Artist Managers’ Association (IAMA). Lucy Rice ‘Zoomed in’, being already an enthusiastic reader of Daltrey’s recent book, Deep Satisfaction In Life and Artist Management.

British-based but working around the world, Daltrey has a long track-record of operating in such fields as corporate business and sports, and around a decade ago turned his attention to the music industry, one dimension being the coaching of artist managers in life and business skills. ‘This essentially involved the pop and rock scene,’ he says, ‘so entering the world of classical music for this IAMA session was a new experience. However, all my work is ultimately about the way human beings interact with each other and certain principles apply across the board. The fundamental starting point for any individual is firstly to invest in your personal development, so that you’re then able fully to engage with the stakeholders you deal with, from musicians you represent to people with whom you do business.

‘Like so many people in business, artist managers I meet tend to focus essentially on external matters and miss the need for internal development. It’s like going to the gym and only working on one arm. But in concentrating on the internal and thus understanding yourself better you can understand others better, understand whatever values they have. As a result, you can connect with them in ways that make clear you’re not trampling on those values. Apart from anything else, this is to your financial advantage: if you understand other people better, you’ll be a more effective salesperson.’

In typical self-help manual style, Daltrey’s Deep Satisfaction In Life and Artist Management covers a great deal of territory almost disarmingly succinctly and directly, offering tools and techniques a-plenty. Yes, the approach can appear a touch formulaic, but it is up to each reader to put flesh on bone according to individual circumstances. A key question in the matter of personal development, Daltrey suggests, is how far artist managers are willing and able to define boundaries in the work relationships with those they represent. ‘In my experience, most artist managers fail to set boundaries, which leaves them vulnerable to a creeping imbalance in this relationship. The legal contract signed with an artist is one thing. Quite another, on a day-to-day basis, is the need to work also to an informally agreed ‘soft contract’ with the artist… covering detail which isn’t set down in the formal agreement. Manager and artist need to be clear about the expectations they have of each other. What is the precise role that each of them adopts? Conversations about such things can be followed up in emails or letters where the heart of the discussion is laid out and can be referred to when needed. Maybe it’s even details like no phone calls on Christmas Day!

‘What needs to be avoided are situations where mischances are blamed on the manager as “all your fault”, when in fact the real problem is that there’s not been a proper agreement on how responsibilities are shared. The artist manager mustn’t be afraid of ascribing value to the everyday work they do. That includes the area of booking travel and hotels, which can easily be taken for granted by the musician — such things add value to the relationship.’

Conversations with artists about career strategy may well reveal contrasts in personality styles, says Daltrey. Often the difference between an artist manager and an artist is between thinking and feeling. ‘Lawyers, accountants and the like tend to be ‘thinkers’, dealing with things in a logical way, swiftly detecting problems surrounding a given challenge. Artist managers tend to be in that category. Artists’ views tend to be more about feelings, listening to the heart rather than the head. They may instinctively feel something is a great idea when in fact logically it’s not necessarily so. Artist managers who understand themselves better will find it easier to flex their style to meet artists where they are, building rapport and trust.’

So is the artist manager cast in the role of counsellor? Not so, says Daltrey. Coaching is more what’s required. Counselling essentially deals with the present implications of the past; coaching aims to build from the present into the future. ‘The artist manager needs to draw from the artist in natural conversation where he or she believes they are on their career paths… and where they wish to get to. It’s a matter of helping them come up with ideas for how to bridge that gap. The whole object is to empower them.

‘The best coaching is respectful. It’s based on finding ways of supporting an artist’s aspirations. However, it may well be that the relationship is not between two ‘adults’ but between an ‘adult’ and a ‘child’… it may be impossible to reconcile those two mindsets.’

‘I’m convinced Stephen’s right about this,’ comments Lucy Rice. ‘It’s only the adult-to-adult relationship that really endures. We talked at the IAMA session about the difficulties young staff may have working with much older artists – Stephen’s tip to maintain the role of adult is going to be really helpful. It was interesting to be encouraged to think about understanding better the kinds of personality traits each of your artists demonstrates – are their roles, life-style and choices playing to their strengths? By pondering these questions, I think I’ll be able to achieve more for them in areas that bring the greatest reward.’

Daltrey’s ideas as conveyed in the IAMA session also resonated with Hylke van Lingen, director of the Interartists management office in Amsterdam. ‘I and my company very much believe one should try to become a fully emotionally developed human being. We support each other on this road by offering emotional safety, trust and empathy. This means we care for our artists, our colleagues and everybody we meet, professionally and personally.’

Stephen Daltrey offers free individual Elite Roadmap conversations as an introduction to his approach. In addition, until the end of May readers can claim a 10% discount on fees with code: SDAG.