Management
Longtime rock and punk promoter John Reese and author and RockStar Marketing creator Craig Duswalt have joined forces to launch the Disrupt Artist Management Network (DAMN!), an artist management and event production platform that plans to launch a new podcast and educational event. That event, called Breaking Into The Music Industry, is a two-day conference […]
Artist manager Justin McIntosh has launched JTMC Entertainment, welcoming actress, singer and New York Times bestselling author Kristin Chenoweth to the roster. McIntosh will continue to work with singer, entertainer, author, actress and businesswoman Reba McEntire, whom he has represented since 2023. “2025 marks my 20-year anniversary of working in this business, and I am […]
These managers on the rise have helped the biggest breakout artists, songwriters and producers of the past year navigate major wins and milestones, from opening for superstars and selling out headlining arena shows to earning Grammy nods and topping the charts — with some even making history. Introducing: Billboard‘s 2025 class of Managers to Watch.
Abas Pauti, Jared Cotter
Ages: 27, 43Companies: American Dogwood, RangeKey clients: Shaboozey, Paul Russell
“It wasn’t until I met Shaboozey where the thought of artist management became a serious career aspiration for me,” says Pauti, noting that the chart-topping artist gave him “confidence” to succeed in the role. As for Cotter, after entering the industry as a songwriter, he soon became “disenchanted, but still wanted to be a champion for artists.” Together, Pauti and Cotter have helped Shaboozey and Russell deliver breakout hits with the former’s record-tying 19-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 smash, “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” and the latter’s viral hit “Lil Boo Thang.” Pauti says, “To know I played a role in helping both my clients get their records heard and loved from people across the globe will always be my greatest success.”
Trending on Billboard
Abas Pauti, Shaboozey and Jared Cotter
Allan Pimenta
Alex Lunt
Age: 31Company: Type A ManagementKey clients: Dasha, Beauty School Dropout, Dalton Davis, Anthony Ortiz
Since starting his management career a decade ago, Lunt has learned that “it is crucial to surround yourself with knowledgeable colleagues you can trust.” Last year, that approach paid off with country newcomer Dasha, who celebrated a trio of firsts: debuting on the Hot 100 with her viral hit “Austin,” performing at the CMT Awards in April 2024 and to a packed stadium at CMA Fest in June. Lunt says, “The best feeling has not been any accolade, but celebrating the success with a group of incredibly talented and passionate people.”
Alex Lunt and Dasha
Courtesy Alex Lunt
Amy Davidson
Age: 30Company: Volara ManagementKey clients: Sabrina Carpenter, Marina Diamandis, RIAH
Davidson has worked alongside Volara founder Janelle Lopez Genzink from day one, but, as Davidson says, the past 12 months in particular “have been nothing short of a fever dream as we’ve effectively checked off almost every item on our collective bucket lists.” Such items included Sabrina Carpenter scoring her first Hot 100 chart-topper with “Please Please Please” (while “Taste” and “Espresso” hit Nos. 2 and 3, respectively) and first Billboard 200 No. 1 album, Short n’ Sweet; an arena tour; a Saturday Night Live performance; and six Grammy nominations. Plus, Volara celebrated signing Marina Diamandis to its roster. “Effective management starts at the core of why you are there in the first place: to listen and respond to an artist’s needs,” Davidson says. “Understanding that an artist is a person with life happening outside of work is key for me.”
Janelle Lopez Genzink, Sabrina Carpenter and Amy Davidson
Christopher Polk for Variety
Christina Li, Michael Lewis
Ages: 29, 29Company: Nonstop ManagementKey clients: JKash, Michael Pollack, Ali Tamposi, Jake Torrey
Li says working as an assistant to hit-maker JKash “was a crash course in the music industry,” while Lewis feels “incredibly fortunate to call [him] a mentor.” The two also count Nonstop founder Jaime Zeluck Hindlin and president Bianca Minniti-Bean for being instrumental in their careers so far, guiding them through a major 2024 that kicked off with Michael Pollack winning his first Grammy: record of the year, for co-writing Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers.” Other highlights included Pollack and Ali Tamposi co-writing two original songs with Maren Morris for animated film The Wild Robot and Jake Torrey co-writing Marshmello and Kane Brown’s “Miles on It,” which made history as the first single to enter the top five on both Hot Dance/Electronic Songs (No. 1) and Hot Country Songs (No. 4).
From left: Christina Li, Michael Pollack and Mikey Lewis.
Jaynie Karp
Christopher Milano
Age: n/aCompany: The Vision ManagementKey clients: 4Batz, Bear Bailey, Guwop Reign
Milano “learned the ups and downs” of music management after meeting Akon and his brother Bu Thiam through the Bay Area’s “underground scene.” So when he met R&B singer 4Batz in 2023, he says, “opportunity met preparation.” In 2024, the pair celebrated a breakout year as the artist debuted across several Billboard charts — including the Hot 100, Hot R&B Songs and Rhythmic Airplay — with “Act ii: date @ 8,” which featured Drake on the remix. “We preach artist development at The Vision, and young artists who blow up fast don’t usually understand that process,” Milano says. “So it’s important to not only sign talented artists, but someone who’s willing to listen and wants to learn.”
Christopher Milano and 4Batz
Maurice Tyrone Holloway
Haley Evans
Age: 27Company: Mega HouseKey clients Peter Fenn, Casey Smith, Caroline Pennell, Mon Rovîa
While attending the University of California, Los Angeles, Evans spent Friday nights working at Ricky Reed’s Nice Life studio. “[I] became incredibly inspired by the way Ricky built intricate worlds with the artists he worked with while simultaneously building his own businesses,” Evans says. She continued to “learn from the best,” including Mega House co-founders David Silberstein and Jeremy Levin, who hired her in 2020. In March 2024, Evans was promoted to president as her client Peter Fenn celebrated the success of Myles Smith’s “Stargazing,” which hit No. 1 on the Rock & Alternative Airplay chart in December. “With new artists breaking online every day, the biggest challenge for songwriter-producer managers is helping guide clients to choose the right projects to focus their time and energy on,” she says. “Other than that, it’s getting our clients fairly compensated for their work — songwriters especially.”
Haley Evans and Peter Fenn
Olivia McDowell
Hayley Corbett
Age: 28Company: Punchbowl EntertainmentKey clients: Megan Moroney, Kristian Bush
At 15, Corbett started working with the Grammy Foundation as a volunteer, “networking as much as possible in New York and L.A., which is where I first became aware of artist management as a career,” she says. That commitment more than prepared her for Megan Moroney’s takeoff, which in 2024 included opening stadiums for Kenny Chesney and winning the Academy of Country Music Award for best new female artist of the year and the Country Music Association Award for new artist of the year. “One key to managing effectively is being intuitive to your clients’ needs, wants and dreams while being able to implement strategy that allows for continued growth,” Corbett says. “The biggest challenge for managers is avoiding burnout and oversaturation.”
Megan Moroney and Hayley Corbett
Mason Goodson
Holt Harmon, Parker Cohen
Ages: 31, 30Company: MetatoneKey clients: John Summit, Layton Giordani, Max Styler, Ranger Trucco
After a couple of years working in the label sector of the industry, Harmon was craving a longer-term partnership with artists. Similarly, Cohen “hit a ceiling of my own” on the events side of the business. “I wanted to work on building projects from the ground up,” he says. “Artist management quickly became the no-brainer to satisfy those needs.” They accomplished that goal with the success of John Summit, from releasing his debut album, Comfort in Chaos (which peaked at No. 2 on Top Dance/Electronic Albums), to his sold-out performances at New York’s Madison Square Garden and the Kia Forum in L.A. “One of the most valuable things we’ve learned along the way is that we are not the artist,” Harmon says. “It is not our project or vision, ultimately, and instead of trying to make it ours, we’ve placed our focus into being the best catalysts possible for them.”
From left: Holt Harmon, John Summit and Parker Cohen.
Ethan Garland
Jacob Epstein
Age: 34Company: Lighthouse Management & MediaKey clients: H.E.R., Towa Bird, Petra Collins
From a young age, Epstein was “obsessed” with both music and film — his management roster also includes Paul Rudd — yet as he puts it, “I knew I didn’t want to be the star. I wanted to be the engine and person breaking down the doors for those artists and guiding and architecting those creative decisions.” Today, he says even the smallest wins make him as proud as his artists’ biggest moments, which most recently include rocker Towa Bird capping off 2024 by opening at Los Angeles’ Kia Forum for Billie Eilish. “Only do this job if you truly are passionate about art and culture,” he cautions. “It’s too difficult if that love for it isn’t there.”
Jacob Epstein and Towa Bird
Alex Fleck
Jeff Burns
Age: 35Company: Reynolds MGMTKey client: Benson Boone
For Burns, the best part of Benson Boone’s breakout year has been “watching [him] love his career… He’s funnier, can sing and backflip better, is nicer and more humble than everyone — he has it all.” Such assets have helped Boone score a No. 2 hit on the Hot 100 with “Beautiful Things” and a Grammy nod for best new artist. For Burns, it’s all about not getting lost in the “million little things” and focusing on what matters most: “making the best music, marketing it better than anyone else, doing the best shows and staying happy and healthy.”
Jeff Burns and Benson Boone
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Justin Greenberg, Joe Izzi
Ages: 32, 38Company: Ocean AvenueKey client: Addison Rae
Three years ago, Greenberg and Izzi, along with their partner and Ocean Avenue co-founder, Sharon Jackson, left WME for management, launching with a roster that includes multihyphenate Addison Rae. Her 2024 single “Diet Pepsi” marked her major-label debut on Columbia and became her first Hot 100 entry; earlier in the year, Rae teamed with Charli xcx on a remix of “Von Dutch.” Greenberg and Izzi believe having “a deep understanding of your artists’ vision” is key to cutting through. “It’s not about us — we’re just here to make it happen.”
Lucas Barbosa
Age: 30Company: Habibi ManagementKey clients: Grupo Frontera, Mora, Tommy Torres
As a 17-year-old in Colombia, Barbosa helped an artist friend with “various tasks” before becoming his full-time manager; later, he launched his own company dedicated to producers and songwriters, who scored placements with Eladio Carrión, Maluma and Anitta. “That gave me the opportunity to expand my network,” Barbosa says. Now he’s helping his artists expand their fan bases, including Grupo Frontera, which toured arenas across the United States and Mexico last year. “We’ve taken the time as a company to build [our artists] from the ground up, ensuring that every step of the way is intentional and aligned with their artistic vision,” Barbosa says.
Lucas Barbosa (middle) with Alberto Acosta (left) and Juan Javier Cantú of Grupo Frontera.
Phraa
Luke Conway
Age: 29Company: Trade Secrets MGMTKey clients: Teddy Swims, Lø Spirit, Father of Peace
“I’ve always wanted to be involved in music one way or another,” says Conway, who spent high school in the metal and rock scenes, making merchandise for bands, directing music videos and planning DIY tours. His first management gig helped him “self-educate on every aspect of this business,” which today has helped him guide Teddy Swims through his breakout year. After “Lose Control” topped the Hot 100 in March 2024, the smash hit finished at No. 1 on Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 Songs chart. Conway says, “This year has been a nonstop roller coaster, but everyone on the team has stepped up and delivered at a superstar level.”
Teddy Swims and Luke Conway
Bryce Hall
Mariana López Crespo
Age: 27Company: 1k DojoKey clients: Young Miko, Mauro
“To be honest, I never imagined I’d be involved as a manager in the music industry,” López Crespo says. “The opportunity came from acknowledging the potential around me and gaining confidence to develop it.” That combination has led to a major year for urbano star Young Miko, who started 2024 with her now-Grammy-nominated debut album, att. (which debuted at No. 9 on Top Latin Albums, her first entry on any Billboard albums chart), and in the spring made her Coachella debut following a sold-out U.S. tour. “However,” López Crespo says, “being able to build a solid team around creatives in Puerto Rico and providing them the resources to keep developing on a bigger scale has been the biggest blessing and main reason to keep working toward success.”
Young Miko and Mariana López Crespo
Christopher Polk for Variety
Max Gredinger
Age: 33Company: Foundations Artist ManagementKey clients: Laufey, mxmtoon, rainbolt, Ricky Montgomery
Inspired by managers Scooter Braun and Dan Weisman, Gredinger started managing acts as a high school student “and never stopped,” he says. In 2023, he was named partner at Foundations, and the following year, he and Laufey experienced a string of wins — he’s most proud, however, of her August performance at The Hollywood Bowl with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which was released as a concert film in IMAX theaters worldwide. “Her ambition and goal of bringing classical and jazz music into the mainstream, and seeing that manifest in front of 17,000 people in her adopted home market and then in theaters, was unforgettable,” he says.
Laufey and Max Gredinger
Junia Lin
Maytav Koter
Age: 32Company: Good CompanyKey clients: Hayley Gene Penner, Buddy Ross, Andrew Sarlo, Spencer Stewart
After starting her career in publishing working for Justin Shukat at Primary Wave, Koter “discovered my passion for the songwriting community.” In 2019, she launched her own company “rooted in empathy and a long-term approach… I set out to create a family.” Last year, she joined client Buddy Ross at the Ivor Novello Awards, where he was nominated for his work on Fred again.. and Brian Eno’s track “Enough.” “I am deeply invested in [my clients’] lives beyond their careers,” Koter says, “which allows for more trust and transparency in our business relationship.”
From left: Spencer Stewart, Buddy Ross, Hayley Gene Penner (in front), Maytav Koter, Andrew Sarlo and Mona Khoshoi.
Kendra Hope
Nick Bobetsky
Age: 44Company: State of the ArtKey clients: LP, Livingston, Em Beihold, Debbii Dawson (Previously: Chappell Roan)
Bobetsky enjoyed a front-row seat for former client Chappell Roan’s rise, which he calls “a huge success not just because of the size it grew to, but because of how we did it differently with strategy that isn’t customary to the mainstream music business. It also helped that she’s a one-of-a-kind, generational artist.” After releasing her debut, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, in 2023, the album grew into a Billboard 200 top 10 mainstay while 2024 single “Good Luck, Babe!” became her biggest hit, climbing to No. 4 on the Hot 100 and scoring two of her six Grammy nods, for record and song of the year. Meanwhile, Dawson scored a breakout hit with “Turn the TV On” and opened on tour for Orville Peck. As Bobetsky says, “Patience is key to getting it right on an artist’s own terms.”
Debbii Dawson (left) and Nick Bobetsky
Ruby Anton
Sam French
Age: 34Company: Mixed ManagementKey clients: Ian, Jasper Harris, bülow, Henry Kwapis
While working in publishing at APG, French “fell in love with the process of connecting writers and producers with artists and having a front-row seat to watching big records come together.” In 2022, he became a partner at Mixed and has since watched that play out time and time again. In 2024, songwriter-producer Jasper Harris worked on Camila Cabello’s C,XOXO, Charli xcx’s brat and more. Meanwhile, newcomer rapper Ian’s “Magic Johnson,” which peaked at No. 1 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100, was among the U.S. Top 10 TikTok Songs of 2024. “There’s a lot of noise right now, and it’s very loud,” French says. “Focus on what you can control and what you believe in.”
Sarah (Muise) Scardilli
Age: 35Company: Muise ManagementKey clients: Shygirl, COBRAH
While studying international business, Scardilli says she “spent 75% of my time partying across the U.K. and making friends with DJs and promoters.” After college, she landed a job with a Bristol, England-based management firm as its first full-time employee: “I was given responsibilities very early on — jetted to Ibiza two days after my first day at work, and the rest is history.” She formed Muise Management in 2019 and watched her artists reach new heights last year, as Shygirl was an opener on Charli xcx and Troye Sivan’s Sweat Tour and COBRAH’s “Brand New Bitch” scored a key synch in Kinds of Kindness. Scardilli describes the latter as “a powerful moment where underground club culture met mainstream audiences.”
Sarah (Muise) Scardilli with Shygirl (left) and COBRAH (right).
Courtesy Shygirl; Axel Ahlgren
Stephen Timothy Nana
Age: 37Company: n/aKey client: Asake
While Asake’s third album, Lungu Boy, spawned the chart-topping “Active,” featuring Travis Scott (which topped Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs), Nana considers Asake’s arena tour, which included stops at London’s O2 Arena and New York’s Madison Square Garden, their biggest success of 2024. “Not because of output, but because of the work ethic and ability of Asake to stay focused, determined and disciplined,” Nana says. “It’s not every day you get creatives who have achieved so much and still be human.”
This story appears in the Jan. 11, 2025, issue of Billboard.
There’s definitely been moments where I wished I could be in two places at the same time,” says Brandon Creed, reflecting on a year filled with culture-defining moments across his company’s roster. He’s gotten close — in early March, he had to be on separate coasts within 48 hours.
On March 8, Ariana Grande released her critically praised seventh album, Eternal Sunshine. On March 9, she was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in New York — Creed was there. On March 10, Grande presented an Oscar at the 96th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles, where client Mark Ronson was also performing in the night’s biggest spectacle: a star-studded live debut of Ryan Gosling’s Barbie song “I’m Just Ken” — Creed was there, too.
“It was definitely a tiring weekend,” says Creed, 47. “Thankfully, I think my relationship with all my artists is such that we have a great team so they’re always supported wherever they are.”
Trending on Billboard
His Good World team is a tight-knit group of savvy managers — including Dani Russin and Tyler Reymore, both of whom have been by his side for over a decade, along with Anika Capozza, Chris Pepe and Emma Anderson (among others). In 2023, when Creed left his position at Full Stop, the superstar management firm his own Creed Company merged with in 2017, his crew followed. After six years, Creed craved the kind of company he had launched his management career with when he had founded Creed Company in 2010 and set out to create the newer, more matured version of exactly that.
In August 2023, Creed established Good World Management with a high-profile roster including Charli xcx (co-managed with Sam Pringle and Twiggy Rowley), Troye Sivan, Ronson and Tame Impala (co-managed with Jodie Regan). His first new signing was Demi Lovato, followed by Grande.
“I was excited by the challenge of it, honestly,” he says of launching a new venture. “Creed Company was born out of [necessity] — I was an executive at a record company and started managing on the side.” With Good World, Creed has much more experience, but the same drive. “We’re trying to keep it familial and small and build accordingly, based on what we need.”
Creed got his start in the industry as music executive Tom Corson’s assistant before becoming one of the first employees of Clive Davis’ J Records, which he describes as “like going to grad school.” From there, he says, “management found me” when he met Bruno Mars and his writing partner, Philip Lawrence. “I watched Clive launch Alicia Keys and position superstars,” Creed says. “What he did and what he looked for, I took it and applied it as best I could.”
Since its beginning, Good World has celebrated one industry-rattling moment after another, from Charli graduating to arena headliner with her and Sivan’s in-demand Sweat Tour to Grande conquering new territory with Wicked. Such year-defining victories have helped Creed and Good World earn Billboard’s first Manager of the Year honor. Here, he and his team reflect on what Creed calls “the longest fastest year.”
Joel Barhamand
When you think back to launching Good World, what stands out?
Brandon Creed: We were in the midst of Barbie summer with Mark, and that was an amazing experience. And Troye had just [released the single] “Rush.”
Dani Russin: It was a show-must-go-on sort of thing. We didn’t have the luxury of pausing. We were grateful that essentially our whole roster came with us, so we just had to keep working. This was a really welcomed exclamation point on the summer.
Anika Capozza: We’ve always been really small and mighty, so when we moved over here, it was all hands on deck on every level. Like, “What snacks are we getting?” Things that you don’t think about at a big company when you walk in and everything is all set up. But it made it fun.
Tyler Reymore: Coming back into a house and it feeling so warm and cozy and down to earth, you take a big breath. That was what Creed Company was years ago.
Russin: In a lot of ways, it feels like we were getting back to how we started.
Dani, you’ve worked with Brandon the longest, since 2009. What drew you to his management style?
Russin: Brandon is very keen. He can read people, he’s a great decision-maker, and he has a very diplomatic management style. In this office, and in every office we’ve worked in, it’s definitely like good ideas can come from anywhere. We’ve always fostered an environment where we promote within. And we don’t really have ranks, but to the extent that we do, it’s been somebody that’s interned with us.
Chris Pepe: I’d actually left management for a bit and was the one person who didn’t come along, and I always looked from afar like, “If I were to ever get back into management, this is the team I’d want to be on.” There’s a lot of trust here.
Capozza: I started as a receptionist and then was an assistant and then a manager, and I’ve really been with Brandon my entire career in the music industry. What drew me the most is it didn’t feel like there was ever a ceiling for any of us. He allows us the ability to grow and take charge and be assertive and have a presence in the room.
Emma Anderson: I started as his assistant and always felt like he trusted me, so that gave me confidence. When we were leaving Full Stop, a lot of my friends were like, “This is a huge risk.” And I was like, “Not really.” I never have felt like I’ve been put in a box here.
Reymore: Brandon has always exuded such a quiet confidence, and it’s something I’ve always admired. When I first started working with him at Creed Company, he was in the living room with the other managers. It makes you want to work harder for someone who really values and sees you peer to peer.
You named the company Good World. What’s a moment this year where, commercial success aside, you felt the positive impact?
All: Sweat.
Creed: It was a scary proposition at first because it’s two of our artists; if it doesn’t go right, that’s high stakes. But they have so much respect for each other, they wanted to build and create something really unique. They dove in and did that.
Russin: Brandon had the idea for Sweat, and it was definitely like, “Avengers, assemble…”
Creed: With some resistance. It took us a while…
Russin: Listen, you said it, not me.
Where was the resistance coming from?
Creed: It was an idea over the last few years [that] just never lined up. And then when we were planning Troye’s tour and talking about Charli’s, we pitched it and…
Russin: It was now or never.
Creed: And there was a lot of blind faith. Each artist questioned whether it was the right thing for them to do in this moment, and rightfully so. We had to move some things and plotted it out and gave the tour time to sell and then everything kicked in with Brat Summer, and it really took off.
Russin: And then how that impacted in the real world, when we would go to these shows and watch [our] friends, their friends, the wider industry enjoy themselves…
Pepe: I remember that video you sent in our group chat. The lights were on after the show ended and the energy on the floor of the crowd beaming, dancing, still having a party. It was one of those “Oh, this is why we do this” moments.
Creed: That’s another thread, and it might be corny, but there is so much positivity and light, especially now when we really need it. It’s an honor to help get that into the world. I mean, Mark on the Oscars. I remember Steven Spielberg walking into the room after and he was like, “I’ve never seen anything like that on this stage.”
How has it felt to watch Charli enjoy her biggest year?
Creed: We’ve been working with Charli since 2018. I remember going to see her at a rave in London and it was like a smack in the face. It was coming off the Pop 2 era, and then we went right into the Charli phase. But to see her grow, it’s so gratifying — and slightly vindicating, just because we knew it. To see the world jump in on this has been a career highlight for me because she deserves it, and to be doing it so unapologetically is just incredible.
Ariana Grande also had a major 2024. When you start working with an artist who is already a superstar, how do you find your rhythm?
Creed: We definitely hold and make space for that. We’re not [a company that’s] going to come in and be like, “This is how we do it,” and change everything. Right before [signing Grande] we had just signed Demi [Lovato], another huge artist that has been around for a long time with a lot of success. It’s really turning on the empath and figuring out how they work and how you fit in and just watching and learning. And Ariana had an existing team around her: Justin Adams, Ray Rock and Grace Segundo. I just fit myself in there and took cues from her and them and we got into a rhythm, but it takes a minute.
Will Good World sign more talent?
Creed: We are extremely discerning with any artists at this stage. We have room, don’t get me wrong, for the right thing, and we would build accordingly. I think the developing-artist space is extremely challenging right now, especially for managers. Especially for a young manager, it’s hard to make money. So our focus is definitely on the more established artists and ones that have built an audience. But, you know, there are no rules.
Would you sign actors to the roster?
Creed: I would absolutely be interested in that. It’s about the person. It’s about being inspired by what they want to do. What we love is all of our artists want to do more than be an artist. Most of them act; Mark is scoring soundtracks and writing a book. [Ariana] got a Golden Globe nomination. That [was] amazing to see her get recognized. Troye and Demi have their own acting credits. I do particularly love the film and TV space. Charli’s pursuing that with a lot of success right now. That is exciting and inspiring to me, getting to be in all these different scenarios.
How do you prepare an artist, and yourselves, for their biggest year?
Russin: We have an extreme amount of patience when it comes to not skipping steps and [having the] “This could take 10 years” conversation. We’re prepared for that. And I don’t know that we feel that there’s as much gratification in the instant moment. We really try to set things up so that we’re building the road to get there along the way. So when it comes, they’ve done their 10,000 hours — as have we.
What challenges do managers face today?
Creed: It’s really hard for young managers. Artists are looking around at what others have and what others are doing, and they’re under a tremendous amount of pressure themselves. So when they feel that, they put the pressure on their person that’s right there — and that’s their manager. So I do think malleability is important and understanding how to shape teams around each artist and support them. And [more] humility and less ego is important.
Pepe: I work across Demi and she’s working on her album right now, and a key thing of our process has been allowing her to take that time that she needed and even encouraging it, because she is used to an industry that wants more and more and more. Encouraging that patience and investment in art, that has been honored this year in a big way after the pendulum swing of TikTok short form.
Creed: Impatience is a real challenge. One of our biggest challenges as well is the toxicity of fandom now. I feel like half the time we are being told how to do our jobs by [social media], and that is an exercise of our patience because our artists are also seeing it — not saying they react to it, but it’s a challenge across the board.
Russin: The sense of ownership over an artist’s body, their being…
Creed: Their decisions… Look, we are grateful for the fans; that’s why we’re all here. But there are boundaries that I think get broken quite often.
What would you tell someone wanting to enter artist management?
Russin: The barrier of entry is actually quite fuzzy. If you want to be a manager, you manage somebody. I’m not saying you’re a good manager… It’s a lot of head down, fly on the wall, behind the scenes, unglamorous, ungratifying work at first. If you don’t have a desire to be of service, this is probably not the area for you.
Reymore: As long as you are focusing on supporting artists and music that you care so deeply about, that’s going to make the late nights and the weekends feel like joy.
Pepe: [Get] as much hands-on experience as you can, even if it’s an artist that is local to your community, especially if you’re talking about someone in high school or college who’s wanting to do this. I didn’t have any connections. I started by working at CAA, and that led me to meeting managers, and that led me to my first management job. Our mindsets these days are quick payoffs. But it’s a lot like, “What are the first things you can do to get to where you want to be?”
Capozza: It’s the same philosophy we use for artists, I’m realizing: not skipping steps.
Creed: I was an intern, I was an assistant. I say this to every intern that comes here: Cultivate relationships with your peers because that’s who you’re going to grow up in the business with. They’re the ones that will be head of the label one day or whatever direction the person goes.
Russin: The assistant mafia… Don’t burn bridges, because everyone sticks around.
Creed: It is real, and you don’t think that when you’re trying to get into the business. You think you got to get to the top man or woman, but it’s really the support group that is going to let you enter — or you find a genius artist and grab on.
Capozza: I remember you saying that when I started: Don’t look up. Look around you.
Looking ahead, what goals do you have for yourself and the company?
Creed: Ariana’s [year] is pretty mapped out. We know where she is going to be and what she’s going to be doing for the majority of the year. Same with Charli; Brat Summer, Fall, Winter is going to continue. Troye is going to be in a creative year, hopefully making his next record. We’re in the planning stages for Tame Impala. Demi hopefully will be starting her next era midway through the year. Mark’s going to hopefully kick off a new artist era; hopefully the book he’s been writing will come out. Nothing is planned, but everyone’s going to be busy. And then we’ll map out 2026… The goal is to continue doing what we’re doing. I’ve been really fortunate to have a breadth of experiences over the years with such incredible artists and artistry and moments in time — that makes it fun. And there’s been times where it hasn’t been fun and I’m like, “Maybe I need to do something else.” And then something clicks and I get reengaged, and that’s what’s happened this year.
This story appears in the Jan. 11, 2025, issue of Billboard.
SALXCO, the artist management company founded by Wassim “Sal” Slaiby that’s home to The Weeknd, Metro Boomin and more, has named a new CEO and new co-presidents, the company announced on Friday (Dec. 27). Stepping into the CEO role is Lindsay Unwin, a longtime employee of the company, while the new co-presidents are Manny Dion […]
“We bet our lives on it a long time ago,” says Christian Clancy. He’s seated on a couch in a cozy corner of his Los Angeles home next to his wife and business partner, Kelly Clancy, surrounded by plants. Getting into artist management “was never something we talked about,” Kelly says. But nearly 15 years after starting their small firm, 4 Strikes, it has continued to punch above its class, becoming one of the mightiest forces in management today. And Tyler, The Creator has been there from the start.
Before founding 4 Strikes in 2010, Christian and Kelly worked at Interscope Records in the early 2000s (most recently as head of marketing and marketing manager, respectively) alongside the label’s roster of hip-hop greats, including 50 Cent, Eminem, G-Unit and Dr. Dre. “There was no better place and time to learn the business,” Christian says. But by 2010, they’d decided to strike out on their own. Kelly departed the label first, in 2005, and she admits, “I didn’t really know what I wanted to do next.” Christian “burned out” on the music business and, five years later, left, too.
Trending on Billboard
That same year, a former Interscope colleague, David Airaudi, introduced the pair to a young, charismatic and carefree (almost to a fault) rapper who changed the course of their careers — and lives. Christian and Airaudi started managing Tyler’s collective, Odd Future, with Kelly joining soon after. “Tyler reinvigorated what was inside of us,” Christian says. A year after marrying in 2006, the Clancys welcomed their daughter, Chloe, and just a few years later launched their management company from their home. When Odd Future split in the mid-2010s, the couple started managing Tyler on their own. “We put our whole lives on it,” Kelly says. “It felt like a family from day one.”
The 4 Strikes roster has just four full-time staffers (including the Clancys) and has remained trim from the start, currently boasting five artists: Kevin Abstract, Romil and Matt Champion, who together comprise what Christian calls “the Brockhampton sector” (referencing the trio’s former group); the estate of Mac Miller, whom the Clancys managed before his untimely death in 2018; and, of course, Tyler — “and Tyler’s 147 businesses,” Christian jokes.
“We trusted and believed in [Tyler] along the way,” he continues. “I can’t tell you how many times I’m like, ‘Bro, you’re tripping.’ Turns out, he wasn’t tripping. But I always say, ‘I’ll listen, and if I disagree with something, I’m going to say, “I think you’re crazy” ’ — And then after I say that, I’ll jump off a bridge with him.”
What do you remember from when you first met Tyler?
Christian Clancy: [He was] staying on his grandma’s couch, eating Wendy’s.
Kelly Clancy: Three dollars in his pocket.
Christian: He’s still the same dude.
Kelly: He’s still that kid who’s full of wonderment. He gets excited about the smallest things and then can look at something, like a 10-year anniversary [of his own Camp Flog Gnaw festival in November] and stand onstage and go, “Holy s–t.”
Christian: He’s self-aware. As he’s gotten bigger, he realizes he knows less — and respectfully, that’s rare in a business when you’re typically surrounded by yes men, which he isn’t. And then your ego takes over. And the beauty of him is he’s open to new ideas, thoughts, discussion, perspectives. Doesn’t mean he’s not confident as f–k. He’s wildly confident, but there’s a big difference between confidence and ego based on fear.
Christian, you said early in your career that your job is to give artists the best opportunity to succeed without compromising. How have you done that?
Christian: Well, that has a lot to do with the people you work with. When you surround yourself with people who know who they are, that becomes easier. Tyler had a great ability to seemingly know and believe that he’s going to get to the top of the mountain. If you remove fear, you’re free. You’re not going, “Well, what are they going to think?” Like, f–k all of that and be true to yourself. I actually learned that from Rick Rubin. If you’re honest and confident, it’s pretty hard to lose. You may not win big, but you will for f–k sure have respect.
What are some key decisions you two have made to help Tyler climb that mountain?
Christian: The decision to [sign] with Sony, who gave us the freedom and full creative control and [ability for Tyler to own his] masters and all the things that were imperative to ever doing anything like that. We’re huge [Sony Music Entertainment CEO] Rob Stringer fans. He gets it. Betting on ourselves with [Tyler’s clothing brand] Golf Wang. Betting on ourselves with the festival that was supposed to just be a zipper ride in the middle of Fairfax Avenue and the city was like, “Oh, hell no.” And [us saying], “Well, let’s go figure it out ourselves.” All the way down to [lifestyle brand] Le Fleur now, most of those answers are going to be betting on ourselves. If you don’t know something, that’s OK. Go find the people that do and question everything and build your own house in whatever shape you want. It might not work. But so what?
Tyler is still hitting new peaks in his career: Following its October release, Chromakopia became his longest-running No. 1 album with three weeks atop the Billboard 200. How does that mentality of betting on yourself help drive his continued success?
Christian: Well, he’s got the best trajectory in music as far as I can tell, from [2011’s] Goblin to now. No. 5, No. 4, No. 3, No. 2, No. 1 — and then a [two-week] No. 1 [with 2021’s Grammy Award-winning Call Me If You Get Lost] and then three weeks at No. 1. He doesn’t lose fans. He grabs the next generation.
Kelly: Also in a world where you have access to everything immediately with the emergence of TikTok and the way that our brains are constantly receiving information and we’re just like in this swiping generation … to create a world which you can step into and you know exactly [what it is] when you see a color palette or the silhouette of his hair, I think it cuts through. And he’s been doing that [with] every album. Like when the guy came out in a blond bob wig, a suit and loafers [for 2019’s IGOR]. When he sent us the photo first, I think we looked at each other like, “All right…” In the genre he’s in, you don’t do that without utter confidence.
Christian: Even if you didn’t get it, you respected it because we all want to be that confident. It’s interesting because Mac [Miller] was a lot like [that]. Mac had a way of reinventing himself in subtle ways in his trajectory of albums. And his was a vulnerable confidence, and there’s a similarity there, which is, again, rare where you have artists that have the gall to f–k it and not worry about the results. Trust in it.
Kelly, you posted on Instagram that “most people just will never know” what Tyler went through to get Chromakopia out. What did he go through?
Kelly: There was a lot of pressure — this is not him, this is just me speaking — from the last album. His trajectory has always gone [upward]. Looking at the landscape of music and things that were really successful and knowing that he doesn’t fit in these metrics or a lot of the tentpoles that artists look at as validation for what they’re doing in their career … Tyler never creates from that place of trying to match those. So a lot of times, he’s left off a lot of lists that I believe … I get frustrated because I know he should be on all of them. Obviously, I’m protective, too.
Christian: That’s starting to happen now.
Kelly: But it’s felt like it’s always been this upward battle, which I wouldn’t change at all, but all that said, now that he’s becoming much more of a household name… I just think the process of him getting this done, truly no one will really understand. Tyler’s a unicorn in that he literally does everything — like, everything. That guy is producing everything. When he has an artist come in to be a part of the song, he already knows the cadence of how he wants them [to rap or sing]. He’ll take what he thinks is their superpower and weave it into what he’s doing. He’s instructing the horn players. Thinking of the visuals, being in the edit room, this dude touches everything. So I do want him to have that recognition. He’s never going to be the guy to ask for it.
From left: Christian Clancy, Tyler, The Creator and Kelly Clancy photographed November 20, 2024 at Quixote Studios in Los Angeles.
Luis Perez
Kelly, you once said that your mother being a teacher helped shape your management style. How so?
Kelly: Being a woman in the industry at the time when I started, it was a much different landscape than it is now.
Christian: It was a f–king boys club.
Kelly: It still exists in different forms now. But her being essentially a single mom and a kindergarten teacher and never feeling like my brother and I were without gave me such a strong foundation. And then when I became a mom, it was incredibly valuable. I’m incredibly protective of my squad and that showed itself in so many ways over the years. I think it’s why it’s always been important for us to maintain a small company, because it allows us to serve in a way that’s not transactional. Like, we’re a part of some of them having their first kids, we’re in the hospital. Buying their first homes, renting their first apartments, these huge life milestones and being able to [be there] for them. Tyler, he’ll joke to Chris and I every now and again like, “Man, if you guys ever got divorced, I don’t know what the f–k I would do.” It’s like, yes, we’re partners in a business, but I feel like we’re also representative of a relationship. What does a relationship look like? Those things are really impactful, especially when you’re meeting [artists when they’re] at a younger age.
On the 2012 Odd Future song “Oldie,” Tyler calls you, Christian, a father figure. Is a familial touch necessary to be a successful manager?
Christian: I don’t take that for granted. Some of the people we work with don’t have an immediate father. And so you also take on whatever they think of their father, for better or worse. Is it necessary? No. Is it maybe helpful? I don’t know. We learn just as much from them. Tyler taught us so much about the metrics that weren’t being monitored by record labels. There were no cultural metrics. There were just [Broadcast Data Systems] and SoundScan and these things that sort of missed this whole thing that was happening. We learn so incredibly much from the people we work with. Mac, the way he looked at life. It’s an amazing two-way street.
What’s the key to maintaining an artist-management partnership?
Christian: I was fortunate enough to learn from Eminem and Paul Rosenberg. That’s who I came up with. I’m not a big fan of the word “manager.” I’ve always preferred “partners” because that’s what I really look at it as. The artists who change managers all the time, I mean, maybe it’s necessary. Although I do know, many times, it’s hard to look at yourself and it’s easier to point the other way. So the manager is right in the line of fire if something doesn’t work. And they may have just been carrying out what your vision was. For us, the family thing is what works. It’s up, it’s down. It’s good, it’s bad. It’s thick and thin. Once it feels transactional, it’s lost that bond — then you’re just the manager.
What are you two most proud of in your own careers?
Kelly: I’m really proud that we’ve managed to, by design, keep a small company. Not folding into a larger company. That becomes convoluted because it’s hard to superserve artists like Tyler, with like-minded goals, when you’re in a bigger company. [When] we started, it was just Chris and I working out of our home. So to be able to maintain that feeling that resonates with Tyler and all the artists we work with, I’m really proud of that.
Christian: We could have the opportunity to work with somebody [else] that would hypothetically bring a bunch of money, but at what cost? I don’t want the headaches and hospital visits from stress. We’ve really managed to surround ourselves with like-minded people and to Kelly’s point, there was never this drive to be some big company. That sounds exhausting. And the fact that we don’t hate each other. We’re married, for f–k’s sake. This isn’t supposed to work, not for that long.
What grounds you?
Christian: Can I tell you one fun fact? I can’t remember the last time I missed an Eagles game. We [once] watched a meaningless Eagles-Giants game in a tent in the Serengeti at four in the morning. No joke. We got Wi-Fi, there’s a lion roaring and I’m locked into an Eagles-Giants game that meant nothing.
Kelly: We try to go every year to Lincoln Financial Field [home of the Philadelphia Eagles], but this year we couldn’t because…
Christian: F–king Tyler.
Has it gotten easier or harder to carve out personal time over the years?
Kelly: Harder.
Christian: Definitely harder. This year? Impossible.
Kelly: This is the first year — and Tyler and I joked about it — we didn’t go f–king anywhere. Everyone was doing s–t in the summer and all of us were just in L.A. like, “F–k.”
Christian: Waiting on this f–king dude.
Kelly: We’re planning our vacations around artists. We’re planning our personal lives around our work lives.
Christian: Well, you try [to plan]. It’s a year-to-year question. This year’s a f–king mess — a beautiful mess.
This story appears in the Dec. 14, 2024, issue of Billboard.
Troy “Tracker” Johnson will launch TRACK mgmt in January following nearly 10 years with Big Loud Management.
The new full-service Nashville-based management company, a partnership with Live Nation, will launch with clients HARDY, Dallas Smith, Jake Worthington and McCoy Moore, who follow him from Big Loud Management, as do artist managers Emily Smith and Drew Magid. HARDY, Dallas Smith and Worthington remain on Big Loud Records. Moore is unsigned.
“It’s been a long time coming for TRACK mgmt and now seems like the perfect time to make it a reality,” Johnson said in a statement. “I’m beyond grateful for the Big Loud partners — Seth England, Joey Moi and Craig Wiseman — for not only having a hand in my journey but also providing me with so much support. I’m excited to have Emily Smith and Drew Magid on the TRACK mgmt team. It’s going to be a great start to 2025.”
The move comes as Big Loud Management prepares to wind down by the end of next year. “Working with Tracker for over a decade, from the very beginning of Big Loud Mgmt, has been an incredible journey,” said Big Loud partners England, Moi and Wiseman in a statement. “As Big Loud concludes its artist management venture at the end of 2025, we couldn’t be prouder to see Tracker embark on his own entrepreneurial path. He and his team are more than ready for this moment, and we look forward to supporting TRACK mgmt in the years to come.”
Trending on Billboard
TRACK mgmt
Courtesy
England says Big Loud’s focus will remain on its label and publishing divisions. “Prioritizing a greater work-life balance is something top of mind now that I am a father of two and need greater bandwidth,” he tells Billboard. “I will continue to lead our records and publishing divisions as their growth requires greater focus. This shift is a return to my first love. Continuing to foster close relationships with all management clients, it’s my privilege to help guide those not working with Tracker’s team to their next destination.”
Big Loud’s management roster still includes, among others, Ernest, Jagwar Twin, Ashley Cooke, Lauren Watkins and Mackenzie Porter. Morgan Wallen departed Big Loud Management earlier this year, though he remains on the label.
Prior to joining Big Loud Management when it started in 2015, Johnson worked in the music business in his native Texas beginning in the early 2000s and earned his nickname from being a tour manager who excelled at keeping track of things. Additional artists he has worked with include Wallen, Florida Georgia Line and Chris Young.
LONDON — Pet Shop Boys and Paloma Faith were among the major honorees at the 2024 Artist & Manager Awards, which also saw the creative teams behind Yungblud and British dance duo Chase & Status pick up prizes in recognition of their clients’ commercial success.
Held at London’s Bloomsbury Big Top on Thursday (Nov. 21), the annual awards show organized by U.K. trade bodies the Featured Artists Coalition (FAC) and Music Managers Forum (MMF) is one of the few industry events that exclusively celebrates the achievements of both artists and their managers.
Trending on Billboard
One of the night’s biggest prizes was the artist and manager partnership award, collected by the Pet Shop Boys and their long-time manager Angela Becker, who has represented the dance pop duo since 2009.
“At a time when we needed it, [Angela] brought into our lives good advice, organization, honesty and strategy to help us carry out some of our strange, spontaneous and willful ideas, and make them into a reality,” singer Neil Tennant told the audience of industry executives, artist managers, entrepreneurs, and invited guests. “She has helped us flourish in those 16 years and we love her for that.” Tennant was joined onstage by his musical partner Chris Lowe and Becker.
“Learning the language of your client’s hopes and fears will open doors to profound impact, ensuring that their work echoes in the hearts of audiences long after,” Becker responded, adding: “I am continually elevated and inspired by the pursuit of new ways to communicate Pet Shop Boys’ vision.”
This year’s icon award was presented to Faith, whose sixth studio album, The Glorification of Sadness, reached No. 2 on the Official U.K. Album Chart in February and who organizers praised for being “political, strong, a true individual, and a brilliant songwriter and artist.”
“Being named an icon is truly an honor and one I certainly don’t feel when I’m at school drop-off and pick-up with yesterday night’s gig makeup halfway down my face and wearing a dirty grey tracksuit,” joked Faith, collecting the award from her long-time manager and “partner-in-crime” Innis Ferguson at Lateral Management.
“Innis is the person who allowed me to become more than a singer. She and the company [Lateral Management] are the reason why I’m winning the award because they don’t just view me as a music artist. They view me as whatever I want to be, whenever I want to be it,” said Faith, who recently published a best-selling book and has previously featured in an acclaimed, fly-on-the-wall BBC documentary. Faith went on to urge other artists to speak out about social and political issues.
“It’s a waste of a platform not to be politically engaged and not use your voice for good,” she told the audience. “Throughout history, musicians have always spoken out about social issues. It should be part of all our work to continue to do that job. It’s our duty. Please do not squander your influence on superficial things alone when you can make the world better.”
Other prizes given out at the ceremony included the fan champion award, which went to Yungblud, Tommas Arnby, Adam Wood and the management team at Special Projects Music, in recognition of their “innovative and hands-on approach to building and nurturing Yungblud’s fanbase.”
“I will do everything for my community, everything is for them. We work every day to try and make them feel safe, to try and make them feel heard and to try and make them feel seen,” said Yungblud, real name Dominic Harrison, in a video acceptance speech filmed in California. Accepting the award in London on his behalf were two of his biggest fans, Corey and Kenya.
British dance duo Chase & Status and their manager Sophie Kennard (Frame Artists) triumphed in the artist and manager team of the year category.
“Management is really a thankless job,” said the band’s Will Kennard. “All artists are a total nightmare and managers have to deal with them day-in and day-out on so many different levels. What they do is really quite heroic, and they don’t really get the recognition they deserve,” he said paying tribute to his “incredible, irreplaceable” manager.
Riverman Management founders Alex Weston and Dave McLean were awarded the prestigious title of managers’ manager in tribute to their successful three-decade long career, which began in the early 1990s when they promoted some of the first U.K. shows by Nirvana, Green Day, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. The company’s artist management roster now includes Friedberg, Dea Matrona, Tom Fleming and Placebo, who the firm has represented since 1995.
“Over the years, with the introduction of technology and with the continuously increasing and expanding workloads, [artist] management has become a job that I sometimes question why any sane person would enter or continue to [do],” said Weston, accepting the managers’ manager award from FAC board director and former member of The Fall, Brix Smith.
“What other job on this planet requires us to have so much wide-ranging knowledge, so many skills and so much responsibility and time invested?” she went on to say. “But we do it because we are 100% committed and passionate about each of the artists we take on and truly believe, against all the odds, we can break them and their music. They are the future of our industry and put their faith and trust in us to help them achieve those ambitions,” said Weston before offering a note of caution to major labels: “Sometimes it’s worth remembering that managers need support too.”
Other winners on the night included British funk group Cymande, who took home the originator award, and Grammy-nominated Scottish musician Sophie, who died in 2021 at age 34. With the blessing of her family, who were present at the awards ceremony, Sophie was posthumously given the pioneer award.
Later in the evening, electronic music producer Barry Can’t Swim (real name Joshua Mainnie) received the breakthrough artist award, while Victoria de Juniac was named breakthrough manager in recognition of her work with Irish singer-songwriter Cian Ducrot.
The ceremony was hosted by BBC Radio 1Xtra DJ Remi Burgz and featured live performances from Moonchild Sanelly, BEKA and Hana Lili.
Here’s the full list of winners at the 2024 Artist & Manager Awards:
Artist & Manager Partnership: Pet Shop Boys & Angela Becker (Becker Brown)
Artist & Manager Team of the Year: Chase & Status & Sophie Kennard (Frame Artists)
Icon: Paloma Faith
Managers’ Manager: Riverman Management
Pioneer: SOPHIE (posthumous award)
Originator: Cymande
Fan Champion: Yungblud & Special Projects Music
Breakthrough Artist: Barry Can’t Swim
Breakthrough Manager: Victoria de Juniac (VictoriaBDJ Management)
Secret Weapon: Hope James (Atlas Artists)
Writer / Producer Manager: Ant Hippsley (Milk & Honey)
Team Achievement: Finesse Foreva
Veteran artist manager Peter Rudge started his music career in 1968 when he took up a temporary £20.00 per week ($25.00) post at Track Records, the London-based independent label formed by The Who managers Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp that was also home to The Jimi Hendrix Experience and Marc Bolan. His original plan was to work at Track for three months while he waited to take the Civil Service entrance exam.
Instead, Rudge soon found himself traveling the world with The Who as their tour manager before going on to manage the group outright alongside Bill Curbishley, launching what would become a 55-year career in the business.
Trending on Billboard
In the 1970s, Rudge also worked closely with The Rolling Stones, overseeing the band’s huge global tours throughout the decade, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, which he managed from 1973 until the 1977 plane crash that killed several members of the group, including singer Ronnie Van Zant. Other artists he’s represented over the past five decades include Roger Waters, Madness, Duran Duran, Il Divo, Ball & Boe and English rock band James, his longest and closest client which he has managed since 1989.
Last month, Rudge announced he was retiring from artist management to work on other music projects, including co-producing a film documentary about pioneering music agent Frank Barsalona, who is widely credited with revolutionizing the rock concert business.
“I got into business labeled the youngest guy in business and now I’m labeled the oldest guy in the business,” says Rudge, speaking exclusively to Billboard. “I don’t really want to be that. I’ve got nothing left to prove.”
Here, Rudge shares some of the biggest lessons he’s learned from 55 years in “the artist management trenches,” along with some of his favorite stories about life on the road with the Stones, The Who and countless others — from dealing with the deaths of several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd in a 1977 plane crash to becoming a target of the Hells Angels. “I tend to talk a lot,” he says laughing. “My mouth is my instrument.”
“You’ve got to front up to so many egos.”
“Artists are an acquired taste. I love them. I’ve worked with them, but I have to be [like] Henry Kissinger because I’ve spent my entire life translating the artist vision, their wishes to the label, to the publisher, to the agent in two different languages. You could call it an art form but it’s what I was good at. I originally wanted to be a diplomat. But I always wanted to travel, and I loved music. It was the other passion I had besides football, and I saw the opportunity very early [to enter the music business] and I got sucked into it.”
Stand up for yourself and don’t be a pushover.
“The first time I met The Who face to face I was sitting in the Track [Records] office. I had a little desk in an anteroom outside Kit and Chris’ office. Pete Townshend draped his coat over me as if I was a coat stand and walked into the office without looking at me. I thought, ‘How do I deal with this?’ So, I threw it at him and said, ‘You’ve left something behind.’ And he just broke into a smile. You’re constantly tested in life, and I was never intimidated in that way. [James’ singer] Tim Booth says I’m always the loudest guy in the room, but you’ve got to take control. When an artist asks a question, they don’t want you to say, ‘I don’t have the answer.’ You’re there for a purpose and you can’t show a lot of weakness or vulnerability because that will get exploited and taken advantage of.
“We all know the manager is on the thin end of the legal contractual chain in this business. The manager is always the buffer [between the artist and record company, agent and promoter]. But if the record goes wrong or the tour loses a lot of money, it’s the manager who usually takes the bullet in the head. Most of my bands have fired me at one point or another. You’re not 55 years in the business and don’t get fired.”
Nothing compares to touring with The Rolling Stones in the 1970s.
“They got me in for the ‘72 tour. They never had a manager. Mick’s been the only manager of the Stones, to be honest. My brief was the ’72 tour but also you went across everything with Mick [Jagger]. He would come to you and say, ‘Pete, what do you think about this or that?’ He’d play everybody off against everybody — in a lovely way. I’ve got a massive amount of respect for Mick Jagger. We did the Exile on Main St. tour and that was successful, and I toured with them all through the Seventies. Marshall Chess was running the record company [Rolling Stones Records] and Mick would always use me to come in and I’d work with Atlantic Records. I did a little bit of everything, but my main thing was the tours, and we did some big shows.”
Always plan ahead.
“I used to have to get off the plane first, when it was on the runway, because we were always worried about getting busted [for drugs] and Keith [Richards] getting done in particular. I’d go to a pay phone and call the number of another pay phone in the city somewhere where the advance man was. I’d say, ‘Are we clear? Do you think the police are there? Is anyone in the hotel?’ And that was it — get off the plane, let’s go. It was like [British sitcom] Dad’s Army when you look back at it now. It was incredible but we were playing to 70,000 people every night.”
“The Stones are the exception to most of the rules.”
“1978 was my last [Stones] tour. I’d run my course with them, to be honest. Bill Graham took over. Then Michael Cohl. I was young and I probably screwed up. I should have been more responsible in terms of drink and things of that nature. You get caught up in that world. It’s a very intoxicating world. But they were phenomenal years… The Stones are the exception to most of the rules. They’ve got the best frontman who ever existed. And a guitarist who’s led every indulgent rock and roll fantasy life and who is going to outlive us all. For me, that’s the great rock and roll story — that Keith Richards is going to be the last man standing.”
“Live is the one authentic thing in the music business”
“You can basically manipulate everything else. I’d forgive a band a bad record. But when I saw them live, if I got them, I was with them forever. And I thought that about The Who. If The Who came along now, they’d probably be dropped after their second album. They were too inconsistent. They were too stubborn. They didn’t sell a lot of records. It was a very transitional stage and the thing that kept it all together was live. That connects the dots. So, I took that mantra into all the artists I’ve worked with… Lynyrd Skynyrd were a bar band. A bunch of scruffy kids from Jacksonville. No style. No image. But God could they play. And God was Ronnie Van Zant good live. And God did he connect with his audience. It was amazing. So that’s always fueled me. That’s always been where my passion lies and that’s what I took into [managing] the James guys. If a band is good live you’ve got some collateral to fall back on.”
Find a supportive financier to write the checks.
“I look back at [managing] The Who and we never cared about [promoting] the record. They just went and toured. And they were running at a huge loss, in some respects because [Pete] Townshend smashed up his guitars all the time. They beat up the equipment. They had no consideration for money and the reason that we were able to tour the U.S. and Europe out of cycle was because they found a bank manager in Ealing [London] who kept giving them overdrafts. He did it because he was a huge Who fan. Back in the day, we wouldn’t let the labels backstage. Jesus, they were a pain in the neck. I remember with the Stones there was a time when Ahmet [Ertegun, co-founder and legendary former president of Atlantic Records] never got a pass. It was a different time.”
Managing artists can sometimes be a hairy business.
“The Hells Angels came after me because I was the first guy to take over [managing The Rolling Stones] after Altamont [Free Concert]. I remember once they came into the office. Big Vinny [Vincent Girolamo] was 300 pounds. He had a nose ring. Jagger was there and he went and hid in the back bathroom. They hung me out of the window, 5th floor, 57th Street, by my ankle. I went to someone and said, ‘The Angels are after me. What can I do?’ And they said, ‘You’ve got to tell the FBI,’ which I did. The FBI said, ‘We’ll wire you up’ because the Angels wanted money to pay off legal fees. I remember a great quote the FBI played me back later on the tape where one of the [Hells Angels] said, ‘We like to cook young guys like you. We like to boil you.’ It was intimidating, but I bullshitted my way out of it.
“In the end, I was put in touch with [someone in] one of the, shall we say, New York families who was the father of a promoter that we used — a really high-level ranking guy. They sent someone down and said, ‘Leave him alone.’ And I never heard from [the Hells Angels] again, except in Europe we used to get them coming along but our guys used to handle it quite well. The guy that helped me out on that, the father of the promoter, was found three years later in the Hudson [River] without his head.”
“The only real gift you can give an artist is truth and objectivity.”
“There are moments where you have to be prepared to be fired or disagree and say, ‘Look, you’re wrong.’ I’m your eyes and your ears. I’m your radar. No one tells you the truth. They tell me the truth when you walk out of the room. Have you ever heard anyone in a room tell you anything other than, ‘That’s a great record?’ No, you haven’t. Have you ever come off stage and had anyone tell you, ‘That was a shit show?’ No, they haven’t.’ You’ve got to have someone who is telling you that. With James we had that relationship. We built it up over a long time and it’s based on trust. Some artists can accept it, and others can’t.”
“This business is all about relationships.”
“You’re going to see everybody on the way down that you saw on the way up. So don’t burn bridges and don’t beat people up when you’re in the position to. I could have been accused over the years of being a bastard. And, yes, I was at times. I was probably alcohol or drug fueled back in the ‘70s but so was everybody. I did jump on [former CBS Records chief executive] Walter Yetnikoff’s desk once and point my finger at him but that was the way you did things back then. I wouldn’t do it now. I feel now you don’t mug someone. You pick their pockets.”
Management can be a thankless job.
“I’m 78 now. I want to travel on my own terms because [artist] management — it’s not your life. It’s not your agenda. You’re constantly having to manage other people’s lives. You very rarely get an artist who will ever call you up and say, ‘Pete, how’s the family?’ It’s usually: ‘I know it’s Sunday morning but how do I get a cab?’ I’ve always said, you can negotiate a $5 million publishing contract for an artist but if the car you send them to go to the signing is late, you’re a bad manager. And you have to have that in the back of your head all the time. It’s insane.”
“You sacrifice a lot in this business.”
“I want to do other projects, but I want them to have a beginning and an end. I don’t want it seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. You sacrifice a lot in this business. I was on the road nonstop when my two kids were growing up. I hardly saw them. I’ve been separated because of that dysfunctionality of living half the time in America, half the time in England…It is exhausting. You wake up every morning to questions and it is Groundhog Day after a while. There’s really nothing you haven’t seen before. I think you get a little cynical and that’s not healthy in our business.”
Dysfunction isn’t always a bad thing.
“Bands that love each other break up out of boredom after three albums. When I promoted a Pink Floyd show they didn’t even want their trailers backstage in sight of each other. With Mick and Keith, I was involved in an album when they were never in the studio together at the same time. James are the most dysfunctional bunch of guys I’ve ever met. But when these bands get on stage, when they cross that white line, something special happens that I’ve always been in awe of.”
There’ll be many lows…
“The saddest point of my life, the worst, was the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash one week before they were going to headline Madison Square Garden [in 1977]. Bands south of the Mason–Dixon line didn’t get to play places like New York then and we were about to play it. That was a longstanding mission. I loved that band. I loved Ronnie Van Zant. That did break me.”
And many highs.
“The highs? There’s been so many. I’ve worked with some magnificent artists and some of the Roger Waters, Lynyrd Skynyrd or Duran Duran shows [were special]. James at Rock in Rio this summer was quite a moment for me. But nothing tops some of the Stones stuff. You know, Jagger leading a 200 people conga line down the LA Forum doing ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ [in 1975] was unbelievable. There’s been so many of those moments with so many bands. I have to say the last James tour when they sold out [London’s] The O2 [arena] and the Manchester Co-op Live — that gave me immense satisfaction and pride. It was the wonderful culmination of a 35-year journey.”
Former MNRK Music Group president/CEO Chris Taylor has officially opened the doors on his next venture, Hall of Fame Artists, which is currently managing artists with plans to expand into the recording, publishing and multimedia sectors.
Hall of Fame’s roster of approximately 30 acts includes much-sampled U.K. soul and funk legends Cymande, who are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, Canadian lo-fi rapper and streaming sensation, Powfu, who has 8.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify; jazz pianist and composer, Kiefer, electro pop star, Lights, and stand-up comic Brittany Brave.
Taylor, who resigned from Blackstone-owned MNRK this past summer and took its management division with him, technically opened Hall of Fame in July, but says he chose not to publicize it. Five months later, he told Billboard he has team members based in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Vancouver and the United Kingdom. They include music and comedy industries veteran Keith Hagan, a longtime publicist and marketing strategist for acts like Kenny Rogers, Paul McCartney, TOTO and Paul Weller; touring and merchandise expert Sarah Osgoode (Tragically Hip, Arkells, Lights); radio promotion exec, Polo Brewster (Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Tory Lanez); and marketing team members, Kultar “KC” Chohan and Kate Stronczer.
Trending on Billboard
“There has never been a better time to be an independent operator in the music industry,” Taylor says. “We are providing a full suite of services that clients can take full advantage of. Everybody is talking about how easy it is to do everything yourself, and I think there’s a lot of truth to that. But there are so many tools now to manage and having experience with those is vital, and I think it’s very difficult for artists to do it all on their own.”
Taylor compares navigating the music industry to negotiating tax regulations. You can master them, but they are changing all the time,” he says. ,n the music business you can master TikTok, Instagram, Spotify, Apple and all the other platforms out there, but they’re changing all the time. How does an artist stay on top of that? I don’t think they do without a team.
The company is in the process of signing their first artists to the recording and publishing divisions. Expect many more exciting updates from the company as the road to the hall of fame gets constructed.
While at MNRK, Taylor’s team worked with The Lumineers, Pitbull, Chromeo, Zakk Wylde and the estate of Chuck Berry. Originally branded Entertainment One (eOne), the company was acquired for a reported $4 billion, and in 2021, Taylor led the sale of the eOne/Hasbro Music division — which he ran, to Blackstone for a reported $385 million. Prior to his work with those companies, Prior to MNRK, he was the music attorney for Drake, Kaytranada, Avril Lavigne, Three Days Grace, Sum 41 and Nelly Furtado.
Taylor says Hall of Fame is in the process of signing its first two artists to its recorded music and publishing divisions. “For now we’re prepared to do this brick by brick,” he says. “Then we plan to scale up swiftly.”