Dream Industry Initiative

It’s been one of my dreams for a long time to create an annual mental health retreat for managers, where we could escape for a week and focus solely on self-care, receive help and advice on dealing with chronic stress, build resilience and access community, which I think is so essential as we adapt to the changing roles and growing expectations that are being placed on managers. We’re always attending conferences, workshops, seminars etc to learn how to be better at our jobs, but rarely (if ever??) do we get the time to learn how to take better care of ourselves. Burn out and chronic stress seem so prevalent in our work, and it’s extremely difficult for managers (in my experience) to truly disconnect. Part of the funding offered through this dream retreat would be to cover whatever additional assistance – staff, admin etc – would be needed for the manager to actually take a week off, because I think one of the most challenging parts of being a manager is the fact that you feel like you need to be online and available at all times. I still have this retreat on my list of goals – one day!!

Advice from Others

In my first year of management, when I had absolutely no clue what I was doing and was trying to sign new artists left right and centre, Leanne de Souza gave me a piece of advice that has always stuck with me: ‘there will always be more artists than managers.’ Meaning, there will always be incredible new bands and artists coming along chasing management, but it’s important to consider carefully before saying yes to everyone who asks. There isn’t an endless supply of managers out there, and with the ever-increasing expectations placed on managers to be all things at once it can be a very easy path towards complete burn out. Following a couple of early years working with multiple artists, I have spent the past 5 years managing just one band – Great Gable – and in that time I’ve had other well-meaning managers tell me that “I shouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket”, or “people won’t take me seriously as a manager if I don’t have a big roster”, or “working with just one band meant I wasn’t really a proper manager” etc etc etc. Whenever I’ve doubted my decision to stay lean in management, especially when I’ve been truly excited about a new band or artist that approached me, I remind myself of that piece of advice. If there’s one thing I learned during the early COVID years, it was that I can’t split my time and focus between artists or I will quickly burn out. I have a lot of respect for managers with big rosters who cope with ease, but I know that the best way for me to have a sustainable career in management is to focus my energy with care. I love working with Great Gable and we’ve built such an incredibly strong relationship throughout our time together – I feel really lucky that I stumbled onto them when I did.

Proud Moments in Management

Whenever I meet someone who’s recently met the band – whether it’s a sound engineer, venue manager, bar staff, another band, whoever – the first thing they tell me is how friendly Great Gable are. That was my experience on the day I first met them, when I’d booked them for a show and Alex walked up to introduce himself to me with the biggest smile ever, and it’s been my experience ever since. They always try to make sure to introduce themselves properly to everyone involved in a show, and seem to make friends everywhere they go. Having dealt with a lot of bands in my role as an event promoter who perhaps aren’t so friendly, it always makes me proud that I never have to worry about them deliberately being rude to anyone. There are so many different people involved in making shows and festivals work, and all of them are worthy of an artist’s time and respect – not just the people at the top or in charge!

AAM’s Impact on My Journey

In 2020 when I was dealing with quite a serious issue where I felt like I was being gas-lit as a young manager by someone in the industry (spoiler alert, I was) I received incredible support from the AAM team. They immediately got on the phone with me, took me seriously and gave me excellent advice on dealing with the situation, which was invaluable at that point in my career. Being an independent manager, especially one based in regional WA, can be so incredibly isolating and having the AAM to lean on has always been a huge help. Through the AAM I have also found a kick-ass community of independent female managers who are my daily go-to for advice, inspiration or just a general rant at the state of the industry. They have definitely kept me sane over the past 12 months! Finally, the funding that AAM have provided to assist managers in attending international conferences over the past few years has had a huge impact on myself and Great Gable. Being able to attend these conferences at a point where the band is now touring primarily overseas has definitely been a game-changer for our careers. For whatever reason, most funding is not set up to accommodate or include managers, despite the importance that a manager has on an artists’ career. I believe that managers having access to this international conference funding is going to have a massive flow-on effect in the coming years on young Australian artists breaking on an international level.