What to Look for When Building Your Music Team
Let’s say you’re an artist who is beginning to gain traction. You’ve had a few successful releases and you’re seeing increased listenership and performance opportunities, and perhaps some brands are reaching out to build partnerships. You might begin thinking about bringing in some key team members who have specific skill sets outside of your own strengths. Who you trust to help build and sustain your music career is an important decision, and knowing what to look for in a potential team is key to ensuring your own success over time. The four most important factors to keep in mind here are experience, personality, goals, and pricing.
The first factor to consider when adding a new member to your team is their experience. You will want to ensure that they have enough relevant, useful experience as well as references who can speak to their skills and character. Think of this person as an investment in your future as an artist. It is important to gauge as accurately as possible whether this person will deliver on their promises and prove that your hiring them yields tangible results.
The next factor to think about is personality. Do you feel a positive connection with this person? Do you feel that they will work well with you/any existing members of your team? And of course, do you sense that they understand and support your personal artistic goals. If your answer to any of these questions is no, then this individual may not be the best addition to your team.
The next factor that is helpful to discuss is their passion. The above section posed the question, “do you sense that they understand and support your personal artistic goals?”. This is a baseline question that will be important to evaluate someone’s viability as a member of your team, but on top of that you will want to gauge the person’s passion for your artistic vision as well. You want your team’s drive to match yours, and for this to happen you need to surround yourself with business partners who believe in you just as much as you believe in yourself.
Lastly, you will want to consider this individual’s pricing. Budget is an extremely important factor to keep in mind especially if you are independent. Make sure again that this person’s experience level matches the price they are asking for. You may want to ask other artists what they pay for certain positions to ensure you are not being overcharged. One final piece of advice: Do not feel pressured to build a team too soon. If you are overwhelmed with work or feel outside of your comfort zone in a certain aspect of music business, then that might be an indication that it is time to add team members. Outside of those circumstances, it can be very beneficial to hold off on building a team until it becomes essential.
To sum things up, make sure you know who you’re hiring, where their values and priorities lie, and if the budgetary impact is worth the positive effect you see this individual having on your artistic efforts.
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Written By: Michaela Dolishny and Hannah Askew
