My Journey to Becoming an Artist Manager at 20
At 20 years old, Ale Gil started managing artists while still in college at Berklee – learning everything from booking shows to building an artist’s brand. Ali shares the journey to becoming an artist manager and what it really takes to break into the music industry.
My Journey to Becoming an Artist Manager at 20
by Ale Gil via Berklee Online
Before I ever thought about becoming an artist manager, I was simply someone captivated by the music industry and the stories behind famous artists. I wouldn’t just watch them perform—I’d dive into documentaries with backstage footage, exclusive interviews, and insights into the struggles and successes of their careers. Watching Taylor Swift open up about body image in Miss Americana, and hearing Ariana Grande speak up about her mental and physical health struggles during the Sweetener Tour had me so invested in the celebrities themselves that I never considered the lives of all the people working with them.
When I got to college and took the Legal Aspects of the Music Industry course at Berklee, I learned that one of the most important figures behind an artist’s career is the artist manager. These people are responsible for organizing an artist’s life, serving as a guide for them to reach their goals, and making their desired impact through their music. Personally, I never thought of becoming an artist manager until my roommate Duda encouraged me to give it a try. She told me she thought that my skills and passions aligned with the job.
My First Artist Management Experience
It all started when Duda asked me to help her out with a business plan for her career as an artist. Along with her, I started keeping track of rehearsals, helping her build set lists for shows, and ideating strategies to achieve short-term and long-term goals. During this time, I was a second-semester student and I did not know enough people in Boston to help us find gigs or venues to perform in. All we had was a business plan with stated goals and the steps to achieve them, but we didn’t have enough insider knowledge to see those steps though.
[STUDY ARTIST MANAGEMENT WITH BERKLEE ONLINE]
Eventually, through experience, I learned how to use different tools and resources to actually execute a plan that aligned with an artist’s goals. I learned that creating an effective layout in Google Sheets and sharing it with the artist’s team is a good way to keep track of progress and the tasks each team member needs to complete. Taking this step allowed us to have a clear focus, whether it was applying for a show on the Boston campus of Berklee College of Music, shooting social media content, or keeping track of songs to rehearse. Another tool that enhanced our productivity was Pinterest, which we used to create a vision board for the artist’s brand and upcoming singles. As a team, we would listen to the songs and visualize a specific color palette. Based on that, we would assemble images that had to do with the message of the songs, which helped us create social media content.
Working at the Berklee Management Club
In my fourth semester, I decided to apply to the Berklee Management Club, where I began to manage pop artist Anna Kornis, along with another artist manager, my friend Berra. Through this, I have been working as the administrative coordinator, while Berra focuses on digital marketing and booking. Part of my role as an artist manager for Anna is to create business plans, set up meetings, and take care of the logistics of her shows. This structure helped us secure Anna Kornis features in Canvas Rebel, an online magazine spotlighting emerging voices in creative industries, and on In The Booth, a podcast where musicians share the stories behind their work.
READ: ‘MEET ANNA KORNIS’ IN CANVAS REBEL
At the end of the semester, the club provided us with the opportunity to rent a venue for a night so we could organize a gala-themed show for all the artists of the Berklee Management Club. I was in charge of creating Anna’s tech rider, which is a document that outlines all the equipment her band needs for her performance. You may already be familiar with a rider as the list of extravagant foods, drinks, and other luxuries that well-known musicians request in their dressing rooms, as seen on The Smoking Gun website, but let me assure you, this was far less glamorous. It was just the microphones and amplification that were necessary for her to perform at the club. I served as the main point of communication between the show’s production team and Anna’s music director, who knew exactly what equipment everyone in Anna’s band needed.
The artist manager’s role for the planning and preparation of a show is extremely important, but a lot of the work also happens during the show. During the gala, I was responsible for recording the entire show with a professional camera while Berra took photos and captured backstage footage. All of the content I shot was used for marketing purposes and posted on the artist’s social media. One of my favorite parts about being an artist manager is being able to enjoy your artist’s show and to celebrate with them after, knowing that the team has worked hard to make it happen.
Challenges and Learnings
Becoming an artist manager can be challenging at times, especially when you have never had the experience before. In the music industry, networking is key! The more people you know, the more opportunities you can make happen. At first, when I was working with Duda, I didn’t have the right connections with people inside the industry, which made it even harder to promote her music. But once you start meeting people who have interesting projects and like your artist’s music, it becomes easier to promote your artist and find places for them to perform. It’s helpful to be enthusiastic about the music of the artist you manage, because that makes it easier to talk about them as you make connections, and to get these people excited about your artist as well.
The Berklee Management Club opened many doors for me. They hosted weekly workshops where they taught us how to reach out to industry professionals in an effective way. These workshops also equipped me with the resources I needed to take advantage of marketing and publicity strategies.
Being an artist manager comes with a lot of responsibility and hard work. When you are part of an artist’s team, all the members depend on each other to keep projects running smoothly. One of the biggest challenges was to balance my school life with the job, and I could tell that was a struggle that all of us on Anna’s team were facing. Trying to hold productive weekly meetings and execute all the tasks we needed to accomplish in order to achieve our goals was easier said than done. Due to our overbooked schedules for the semester, there were many times when the full team couldn’t meet. We found a workaround to that though: One way to get everybody on board for meetings is to plan fun activities to do with the team, such as going out to explore different venues or recording social media content during the weekend.
An artist’s identity is also an important factor when choosing what artist you want to work with. This sense of branding was another aspect that Duda and I struggled with. At that point in her career, she had a view for specific songs, but hadn’t quite yet mapped out her identity as an artist. After managing Anna Kornis through the Management Club, I felt fully equipped with the tools and connections necessary to help out an artist. Anna’s brand identity was already clear and compelling, making it easy for me to see how I could pitch her. Now, I put all my learnings to use by advising other artists, including Duda, who I still help out!
The Role of an Artist Manager
As an artist manager, I also try to provide structure in an artist’s life without necessarily affecting their creative workflow. Creativity is generally something that comes spontaneously. You can schedule specific times for an artist to sit down and write a song, but their best work comes when they feel the most inspired. There is something wonderful about sitting down with your thoughts, taking life experiences, and transforming them into art, and that is something that I, as an artist manager, did not want to interfere with. But at the same time, managing an artist means helping them turn that inspiration into a real plan—something they can rely on to bring their ideas to life. That balance is tricky to find. Many times this can be challenging, especially if you are working with an artist who has zero structure and lacks dedication. Yet, when I work with artists who are as committed as they are talented, it creates a partnership that fuels real progress. In my experience, I have been lucky to collaborate with people who are passionate and willing to put on the hard work needed in order to get things done. This passion led to great results for both the artist and my own career as a person wanting to work inside the industry.
