Navigating Music Industry Gatekeepers With Stakeholder Mapping
By Carlo Kiksen of The Fanbase Builder
The music industry is heavily gatekept. At the same time, artists are selling music, which is a product rooted in human emotion.
In many ways, success in music relies heavily on relationships.
For artists, it’s important to distinguish between those who can move the needle and those who are simply along for the ride.
+Read more: "What the Concept of 'Guanxi' Has to Do With Music Networking"
How It Works
A well-known business model for identifying, analyzing, and strategizing with gatekeeper stakeholders is the Power-Interest Grid, developed by Aubrey Mendelow in 1991.
Mendelow’s matrix categorizes stakeholders by two variables: their power (ability to influence your career) and their interest (how much they care about your brand and music).
| **High Power** | Sleeping Giants | Key Players |
| **Low Power** | Generic Audience | Fans |
| | **Low Interest** | **High Interest** |- High Power / High Interest (Key players): These are the people who have already invested in you or hold the keys to bigger stages.
- Examples: An established artist mentoring you in the scene, industry moguls, or a high-profile journalist championing your sound.
- Strategy: Manage closely. Involve them early in your creative and business processes. Keep them consistently updated.
- High Power / Low Interest (Sleeping giants): These stakeholders have the influence to alter your trajectory, but currently do not care about you or your music.
- Examples: Festival bookers, major label A&Rs, radio playlist editors, or even potential bad press.
- Strategy: Keep satisfied. You must figure out how to transition the useful ones into key players, while ensuring the others don’t become roadblocks.
- Low Power / High Interest (Fans): They lack the industry leverage to book you at a major arena, but they are deeply invested in your journey.
- Strategy: Keep informed. Involve them in the narrative. They represent your market value. As a group, they open doors to bigger stages.
- Low Power / Low Interest (The generic audience): The broader public who might hear a track on the radio or a playlist, but don’t actively engage.
- Strategy: Monitor. Keep an eye on broad trends, but do not expend your primary marketing resources here.
Yes, But...
It can be frustrating to classify your most devoted listeners as “low power” in a traditional business matrix. But in the context of industry gatekeeping, individual fans rarely possess the structural leverage to secure a sync deal or a headline tour.
However, collectively, their high interest is the proof of concept you use to awaken the sleeping giants.
Take Action Now
Grab a piece of paper and draw a cross to create four quadrants. List the top 10 people in your professional network right now. Place each name into the appropriate quadrant based on their power and interest.
+Read more: "Why I Truly Believe Artistry Beats the Algorithm, Every Time."
