Musician’s guide to building a team while avoiding industry sharks
Being a do-it-yourself artist is all well and good up to a point, but you shouldn’t have to do it all yourself. Building a solid team is a huge part of cultivating a successful career as an artist.
In this recent piece from MusicThinkTank, contributor Ross Barber-Smith offers some guidance on how to build a supportive team, while avoiding industry sharks with ill intentions.
“If someone is contacting you out of the blue and promising you the world, this is definitely something to be wary of. For example, if someone sends you a DM on Instagram saying “Hey, I can get you in front of labels for a one-time fee of $XX” this is almost definitely a scam. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of anyone who overpromises, especially if they can’t offer proof of past results.
Agencies and firms who genuinely offer these services will most likely NOT be asking for money up front, and many of them will actually be so inundated with submissions that they aren’t doing a great deal of outreach. And on the occasions where they ARE reaching out, I can almost guarantee you that they will not be asking you for payment.”
