Placements: A new approach to building sustainable careers in artist management.

Supported by the NSW Government through Sound NSW.

**Why Placements? The Background**

Australian artist management businesses face 2 intrinsic problems regarding their sustainability:

Insufficient revenue
Excessive workload

This conundrum points towards a natural conclusion = management careers today are rarely sustainable.

It’s true that this equation could be applied to a business in any field where the business manager or owner has not been able to find a solution to these two problems. However what makes this issue so prevalent in the profession of artist management in Australia, is the very market it operates in - the unique environmental and commercial factors that have occurred over time and continue to exist. The specifics of these can be saved for another time. For now, let’s breakdown these 2 intrinsic problems and potential solutions.

Problem #1: Insufficient revenue: Strategies to address this particular issue are being addressed by University of Melbourne academic Guy Morrow, in partnership with the AAM, in Guy’s latest book “Music Artist Managers’ Remuneration and Retention in the Popular Music Business”. There’s more to explore in this space, but for now, let’s dive straight in Problem #2, which is where ‘Placements’ comes in…

Problem #2: Excessive workload: Managers are working beyond their capacity. Hiring more staff and refining the role is easier said than done. You need capital, along with an understanding of, and capacity to, scale a business. Scaling any business is hard enough at the best of times, but it’s extra difficult in music management due to multiple factors, not least the intrinsic personal relationships necessary to do the job. Therefore, business-owner artist managers often fall into the trap of trying solve Problem #1 by increasing their client base, which exacerbates Problem #2 (especially as it takes time to see financial returns on new artists signed). This is a recipe for burnout, and – once again – unsustainable practice.

Proposing A New Alternative

The AAM believes in developing the skills of arts workers and small business owners in an ethical manner, whilst removing unnecessary obstacles to genuine career pathways.

Placements is a non-tertiary-connected, artist management paid internship program that endeavours to provide a realistic and sustainable training pathway for developing the next generation of Australian artist managers.

Program Aims

Placements breaks away from traditional training structures and acknowledges that the music services industry (managers, labels, agents and others) don’t require paper qualifications. Similarly to a trade profession or small-business enterprise, Placements recognises real-life, proactive, initiative-led industry experience as essential to entering a career in music artist management and increasing the overall knowledge-base of workers in this vital sector. Placements acknowledges that advanced, specialised skills in this career are gained primarily through experience, on-the-job training, professional development and vocational courses.

Through Placements, the AAM hopes to identify what factors are involved in developing a successful internship model that operates as a two-way street, benefitting both the participant and host company, to service both parties and the broader Australia artist management sector.

How It Works

Structure

2 selected NSW-based early-career or aspiring manager participants will undertake paid work (4 days a week) within a for-profit NSW-based artist management company, gaining real-life work experience. For this pilot program, each participant (paid interns) will be paired with a different host company. Interns will be paid at the rate of $27.17 + 11.5% Super per hour, and will work 30.4 hours (or 4 days) per week from January to June 2025.

Host companies get extra hands-on-deck in a field where lack of time and money is a major hurdle to sustainability - and/or scaling - for management businesses. Host companies will receive financial support so they can provide desk space, purchase subscriptions, software and/or other essential things needed to support the paid intern position. (Please note that interns will need to provide their own computer for the duration of the internship). In exchange, the company guides their intern participant through an industry that they are advanced in, teaching them what took them years to learn.

Both the host company and the participants will report to the AAM the benefits, issues, improvements and structures that work best, enabling the AAM to evaluate the effectiveness of this paid internship model, and understand the experiences, outcomes and opportunities for improvement.

Alongside the development of this pilot program, this reporting process will constitute the Research and Development element of the program. The results will be used to inform future paid internship models specific to artist management in Australia.

Expectations

All Parties:

Participants and hosts must understand their unique role in this pilot version of the program, which is a new concept and unlike other professional development programs delivered by the AAM.
Because this program doubles as a Research & Development project, hosts and participants must acknowledge and have a comprehensive awareness of the experimental nature of this R&D project, and be willing participants in the explorative nature of the program, whether it produces positive results or otherwise.
Both hosts and participants are required to provide feedback to the AAM throughout the duration of the program, in the form of reporting their experiences, the good and the bad. Naturally, the aim is for all involved - including the AAM - to be nimble in identifying challenges and addressing them promptly, for the betterment of the participants in this pilot and for the ongoing development of this paid internships model.

Hosts:

The host company will be lead by an intermediate to senior artist manager / company director, who is excited and willing to contribute to this rare opportunity. Hosts demonstrate a desire to contribute to the development of new managers and a greater future of artist management in Australia.
Hosts are expected to demonstrate patience, flexibility, fairness and a willingness to teach their intern the in’s and out’s of the role of an artist manager.
Hosts may delegate some training to other intermediate to advanced managers in their team, as long as they remain involved in a valuable way.
They must have a drive to want to find the most efficient operational processes for a growing management company and be willing to diligently capture those details in their program diary.

Participants:

The participant does not require any tertiary qualifications, but must demonstrate a commitment to a career in artist management.
Participants must also be able to display ways in which they’ve proven themselves as a self-starter, and proactively created opportunities for themselves in the field already, no matter how big or small.

To apply for an intern position, you must be:

An early-career - or aspiring - NSW-based artist manager
18+ years old
An Australian citizen or an Australian permanent resident
You must submit an application by the due date to be considered for this program

Eligibility

Applications open November 1st 2024 for new and aspiring NSW-based artist managers who wish to be considered for one of 2 available intern positions, as part of this exciting new pilot program.

To be considered, applicants must submit an application form by 2pm AEDT on Friday the 29th of November, 2024.

Participants should be good communicators, organised, demonstrate attention to detail and willingness to learn, be able to take initiative, and of course demonstrate a passion for music. Participants will be selected on these qualities, but also on whether they’re a good cultural fit for the host company.

In the case of this pilot program, the paid intern will have to have a comprehensive awareness of the experimental nature of this R&D project. They will be paid, and they will learn from some of the country’s best managers, but they will need to give back to the AAM in the form of reporting their experiences, good and bad.

Please note that only 2 applicants will be selected to participate in this program.

How To Apply (Participants)

Key Dates

2024

October

– Applications Open (for Participants)

November

– NOV 29: Applications Close (2pm AEDT)

– NOV 30 (through to Dec 13): Review and interview period

December

– DEC 13 - 16: Successful and Unsuccessful applicants notified

– DEC 18: Host & Participant Introductions + Onboarding Begins