How to be an Artist Manager in 2026
- May 5
- 3 min read
This is a summary of the "Music Managers: The New Power Brokers" panel at Take Action x SXSW Music Summit 2026, produced by Artist For Artist®
The role of the music manager - managing and championing the artist - hasn't changed at its core. But the music industry has. There are more platforms, more revenue streams, and more decisions to make: but less people on the publishing, marketing & label sides, all of whom have less bandwidth than before. What's a manager to do?
Six managers and one management CEO discussed the role of today's music manager at Take Action x SXSW, moderated by Neeta Ragoowansi, President of the Music Managers Forum-US. Here are the key takeaways:
The Manager as CEO
The "are you the CEO of the artist's business?" question came first. The short answer from everyone: yes. Gabriel Barreto of Gold Village Entertainment described the manager as the nucleus of an atom, with booking agents, business managers, and promoters orbiting around them. But Aja Pecknold Smith of Fort William noted that it varies artist to artist. Some want you running strategy top to bottom. Others want to be deep in every decision. The hardest part is the gear shift: doing the same job differently for each artist, sometimes within the same day.
Marketing Has Moved to the Manager's Desk
As labels have downsized, creative marketing is landing squarely on managers. Jess Tomlins of Neon Coast talked about leading with the artist's vision rather than defaulting to label playbooks. She pointed to Kane Brown's crossover into F1 events and Catalina's work with the first bilingual Secret Studios in Miami as examples of marketing that came from the artist's identity, not a template. Barreto made the case for shifting ad spend from Spotify to YouTube, where the artist actually monetizes and where video content shows audiences what to expect live.
Building for the Long Term
Julie Klein, COO of C3 Management, brought a structural perspective. Her role is designing the architecture that lets managers build long-term careers instead of chasing short-term checks. That means infrastructure: health insurance, stability, and the kind of support that lets a manager say no to a quick commission in favor of a smarter play three years down the road. Mandy Aragones, manager to Slick Rick, shared how she repositioned a 40-year career away from nostalgia. No "old school" framing. Instead, she presents him as the standard newer artists aspire to.
The Power of Manager Networks
Michele Fleischli of LIKE MGMT talked about how much she's gained from peer networks of other managers, sharing intel on everything from merch pricing to tour manager referrals. Ragoowansi reinforced that the Music Managers Forum exists for exactly this. Thirty-three years old, eight U.S. chapters, and a global network through the International Music Managers Forum connecting over 50 organizations worldwide.
Let the Artist Lead on Cause Work
The final thread was mission-driven partnerships. The consensus: let the artist lead. The most effective cause work comes from stories already authentic to them. Kane Brown's childhood experiences with homelessness led to work with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Barreto's client Caleb Colter cancelled a tour during Hurricane Helene, drove home to western North Carolina, raised $15,000 in mutual aid, and now ties album sales to donations through the Western North Carolina Food Bank. Cause work only resonates when it's real.
At Artist For Artist®, we help build teams, strategies, and infrastructure that let artists and their managers lead with purpose. If you're thinking about how to grow your management business, build a stronger team around your artist, or create a successful campaign, reach out at artistforartist.com.
