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# Manager of the Month: Marcel Artis of Artis Entertainment
- URL: https://www.hypebot.com/manager-of-the-month-marcel-artis-of-artis-entertainment/
- Published: 2026-10-30T12:05:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-30T12:04:59.000Z
- Description: We discuss the danger of when the data starts making the creative decision, how artists and producers have to think like businesses, and throwing tomatoes.
- Author: Jeremy Young
- Tags: Manager of the Month, Interviews, #coverstory, management, manager

Welcome back to our new interview series, [**Manager of the Month**](https://www.hypebot.com/tag/manager-of-the-month/), in which we spotlight the work of successful pros in the artist management space, and ask them to share (just a few of) their coveted trade secrets... *shhh!*

Manager of the Month is supported by [**Bandsintown Pro**](https://www.bandsintown.pro/?utm%5Fsource=hypebot&came%5Ffrom=900), the *smarter* way to promote live concert events.

**Marcel Artis** is the founder and CEO of [**Artis Entertainment Group**](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aegworldwide/?ref=hypebot.com) and COO of [**Public Secret**](https://www.publicsecretmusic.com/?ref=hypebot.com). After beginning his career by building two recording studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Artis expanded into artist and producer management, publishing, distribution, sync and international development. Today, his creative network spans the United States, United Kingdom, the Nordics, Africa and other international markets, with a focus on building long-term infrastructure around artists, producers and songwriters.

Here's our conversation. Let's dive in. Enjoy!

---

**Hypebot: Walk us through how you ended up starting your entertainment group and what it was you were trying to do differently?**

Marcel Artis: "I actually started on the studio side. I’m from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and when I was first getting into the industry I built 2 recording studios there. That was really my first education in the music business because I was around artists and producers every day. I got to see what happened before the music was made, while it was being made, and more importantly what happened afterward."

I kept seeing really talented people make great records but not necessarily have the infrastructure around them to turn that talent into a career. They might not understand publishing, how to get into better rooms, how to build relationships outside of Virginia, how to follow up after an opportunity, or even what the next move should be once the song was finished."

That pushed me beyond simply owning studios. That's when I moved to Los Angeles in 2018 and started connecting people, putting sessions together, learning the business side, helping with placements and figuring out what artists and producers actually needed around the music. That eventually grew into Artis Entertainment Group."

I never wanted AEG to be only a management company or only a record label. I wanted to build the infrastructure around creative people, management, publishing, distribution, sync, sessions, relationships and international development. Today the network reaches across the US, UK, Nordics, Africa, Brazil and other markets, but the principle is still pretty similar to what I learned in those studios in my early days: **Great music is the beginning. What you build around the music is what turns it into a career**."

**H: At the risk of setting you up for the obvious answer here, what is it that’s driving major labels today, and what do you think they should be doing differently?**

MA: "Data drives a huge amount of decision-making now, and I understand why. If you’re putting serious money behind something, you want signals that people care. Where I think it becomes dangerous is when the data starts making the creative decision instead of informing it."

If everybody waits until an artist already has the streams, followers, viral moment and audience before taking a risk, then we’re not really talking about artist development anymore. We’re talking about buying momentum that already exists."

I’d like to see more investment in people earlier. Not just, “This record is moving, let’s sign it.” More, “There’s something special here. What could this person become over the next three or five years if we actually develop it?” Some of the best things in music don’t necessarily make immediate sense on a spreadsheet. The data should help your ears and your instincts. It shouldn’t replace them."

**H: What are the biggest things that have changed in the last ten years in the industry from your perspective?**

MA: "Access. When I started, geography mattered much more. You wanted to be in certain cities because that was where the rooms, executives, writers and artists were."

Those cities still matter, but today I can have a producer in Norway working with somebody in Los Angeles, somebody in Johannesburg collaborating with London, or writers in completely different countries building a record together without anybody thinking twice about it."

The interesting thing is that technology made everybody more accessible, but it also created a ridiculous amount of noise. Everybody can release music. Everybody can DM everybody. Everybody has analytics. Everybody can call themselves a label or manager. So I actually think trust, relationships, taste and execution have become more valuable, not less."

The other major change is that artists and producers have to think like businesses much earlier. Music, publishing, content, live, brands, rights, audience and data all start overlapping very quickly now."

> *"The healthiest relationships meet somewhere in the middle. The artist becomes better at understanding the business, and the manager becomes better at understanding when to protect the creative process rather than interfere with it."*

**H: What’s something that tripped you up while building your business, that you had to work through over time?** 

MA: "Trying to help everybody. Early on, if I thought somebody was talented, I wanted to figure it out for them. What I eventually learned is that talent is only one part of it."

You can have an incredible producer or artist, but if they don’t communicate, don’t deliver, don’t follow up or don’t want the career badly enough, the people around them eventually end up working harder for their career than they do. That doesn’t work."

I also had to understand that management is partly resource allocation. My time is a resource. My team’s time is a resource. Relationships are a resource. Your reputation is a resource. You have to know where to put those things. I still believe in developing people, but now I pay much more attention to whether the energy is being matched on the other side."

**H: What’s the best taco joint in LA?**

MA: "There’s this local taco spot around Western and Santa Monica Blvd, next to a club that I’ve been going to for years. It’s one of those places I take everybody to when they’re in LA. The funny part is that almost everyone I’ve brought there ends up going back without me afterward. That’s usually how I know a place is actually good, I don’t have to convince anybody twice."

I’ve had tacos all over LA, but that’s still my spot."

> [ View this post on Instagram ](https://www.instagram.com/p/DS8DoZXFOK5/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)
> 
> [A post shared by Artis Entertainment Group (@artisentertainmentgroup)](https://www.instagram.com/p/DS8DoZXFOK5/?utm%5Fsource=ig%5Fembed&utm%5Fcampaign=loading)

**H: What do managers wish artists would do differently? And what do managers usually end up learning from artists?**

MA: "Managers probably wish artists would communicate and follow through faster. A surprising number of opportunities aren’t lost because the music wasn’t good enough. The file didn’t get sent. The email didn’t get answered. The content didn’t get delivered. Somebody waited two weeks to do something that could have been handled that afternoon. Those little things eventually become big things."

On the other side, I think artists constantly remind managers that you can’t run creativity completely like a business. Managers naturally start thinking about deadlines, strategy, budgets and results. Sometimes the artist sees something you don’t because they aren’t looking at it through that lens."

The healthiest relationships meet somewhere in the middle. The artist becomes better at understanding the business, and the manager becomes better at understanding when to protect the creative process rather than interfere with it."

**H: What are the top 3 pieces of advice for building a high-impact marketing campaign around a release or tour on an indie budget?**

MA: "**First, have one clear story.** People don’t need fifteen reasons to care. They need one strong reason to remember the release, artist or show."

**Second, follow the signal instead of trying to manufacture one everywhere.** If you see one city reacting, one type of content performing, one collaborator moving people or one audience segment really connecting, put more energy there. Independent teams waste a lot of money trying to make every market equally important."

**Third, create once and distribute many times.** One properly planned content day, rehearsal, studio session or performance can give you photos, short-form videos, behind-the-scenes footage, interviews and longer content. An indie team usually doesn’t lose simply because somebody else has a larger budget. A lot of times they lose because the small budget they do have gets spread across too many disconnected things."

> *"The goal isn’t to make every artist fit the company. The company should be capable of building around what makes each artist different."*

**H: What data are you looking for when managing an artist, and what data do you think is a red herring for marketers?**

MA: "I care much more about behavior than vanity numbers. Are people coming back to the music? Are they saving it? Where are they listening? Are those listeners becoming followers? Are they buying tickets? Are promoters asking for the artist again? Are people sharing the music organically? Is the audience getting stronger between releases or are we constantly starting over?'

I also look at what happens offline because not everything valuable shows up neatly in a dashboard. If an artist walks into a city and 300 people genuinely care, that can be much more valuable to me than a huge number of passive streams coming from somewhere that never converts into anything."

Follower count can definitely be a red herring. Views can be a red herring. A million people seeing something and forgetting your name five seconds later isn’t necessarily more valuable than 5,000 people who really care."

**H: What is the biggest thing you’ve learned working with artists over time?**

MA: "You cannot want it more than they do."

You can build the strategy. You can make introductions. You can negotiate. You can open doors. You can spend your reputation getting somebody into a room they couldn’t get into themselves. But eventually they have to walk through the door." 

The other big lesson is that everyone’s problem is different. One artist needs confidence. Another needs discipline. One needs better music. Another has great music but nobody knows they exist. One needs to release more. Another probably needs to stop releasing for a minute and figure out what they’re actually trying to say."

Good management is identifying the real bottleneck instead of applying the same strategy to everybody. That’s also something I’ve been thinking about a lot across AEG and Public Secret. The goal isn’t to make every artist fit the company. The company should be capable of building around what makes each artist different."

**H: What was the first time in your life that a concert blew your mind?**

MA: "One of the experiences that really blew my mind happened at Burning Man. It was early in the morning and I was heading back home when I heard some incredible music in the distance. I wasn’t planning on stopping anywhere, but it sounded so good that I followed it and ended up at a place called The Cloud. I kept asking people, “Who’s playing?” and nobody really seemed to know."

As I got closer, I realized it was GORDO. He started playing music from DIAMANTE, and the whole experience was incredible the music, the sunrise, where we were, and the fact that I had basically just stumbled into it without planning anything."

It ended up being one of the best live-music experiences I’ve ever had. That moment also changed the way I think about live music. Sometimes it isn’t about the biggest stage or the most expensive production. It’s the combination of the music, environment, timing and the feeling in the crowd that creates something people remember."

That’s something I think about now when developing artists and live experiences. You can have an amazing record, but when the setting and the music come together the right way, it becomes something completely different."

**H: When is it okay to throw a tomato at a band on stage?**

MA: "Never. If the performance is that bad, just leave. And groceries cost too much now to be throwing tomatoes at anybody."

**H: Haha, okay I'll leave my veggies at home then :)**

---

*To learn more, visit* [*Artis Entertainment Group*](https://www.linkedin.com/company/aegworldwide/?ref=hypebot.com) *and* [*Public Secret*](https://www.publicsecretmusic.com/?ref=hypebot.com)*.*

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