Are Artist Managers Really Needed?

With social media taking a major storm in our world, one question that I’ve often came across, is if artist managers are seriously needed. It is extremely easy to market and brand oneself on facebook, twitter, or through blog post, but what truly are managers to do, since technology is at the fingertip of an artist?  I’ve been digging deep into major artist twitter accounts to see how much publicity they are putting out about their events, and what they are saying to their fans, and it is rather interesting to see the interaction from the artist that you can figure out if it is truly “them” or if it is the manager who is promoting for them on their page.

One artist that caught the world by storm recently was Jay-Z and his eight hours of tweeting followers. Jay not only took his tweets from an extremely low number (being less than 20 tweets), to an amazing 210 tweets, ending with his last tweet on July 8^th “That was fun, Peace all #factsonly”. When looking back at this, it was an amazing way to market himself, especially since his album just released, and he already went platinum through the help of Samsung. Plus, it is Jay-Z, who’s his manager anyway?

When looking at if an artist needs a manager, I look at it as why would they not? Being an artist manager takes passion, and an understanding of the business that you are in (Artist Management Resource, 2013). A manager who I recently began studying and watching frequently is Yandy Smith, from New York. She has helped the smallest artist become known, and has made a steady name for herself. She finds work for her artists, but she also holds them accountable for the work that they need to produce. One of the most important things that she says an artist manager needs to know is the business, and the games that are played. You have to be smart in the ways you market your artist. 

So in the end, the question remains the same; Is an artist manager really needed? Social media can help make you popular and market your events, but so can a manager.   

Jay-Z's Twitter Rant

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