What to Look for (Guest Column)

Have you ever noticed that music industry folks tend to change their occupation to “consultant” on their LinkedIn profile after getting laid off? For years, being a consultant meant you were trying to make a little money while you were between jobs. Today, however, people who were unlucky enough to lose their jobs are becoming full-time consultants rather than going back to corporate work.  

The music industry is witnessing an explosion of seasoned executives from major and indie record labels who are establishing their own boutique artist and label services firms. Most of them were laid off after spending many years learning how to market music, building important relationships and generally understanding how to create a smooth, organized process to maximize a music release’s potential. 

There’s plenty of demand for their services. Each year, more independent artists are dissatisfied with chasing traditional recording contracts and taking advantage of powerful yet affordable distribution tools. If you have an email list, some social media followers and a willingness to work hard, you can record and release your music on your own terms. You can own your masters and decide how they’re monetized. But it’s not easy to do well, and you’ll probably need some help. 

In January 2015, after nearly 25 years of working for major labels, I reached the end of my rope. The constant restructuring, mergers, politics and layoffs finally made me pause and reflect on what I really enjoy doing: Using technology and my experience to help artists grow and engage their audience. So, I stepped away from the major label ecosystem and started an artist and label services company with another longtime major label refugee, Jeff Moskow, at a time when few such companies existed.   

Most importantly, we’ve learned that good professional advice can be invaluable to independent artists. Artists can now get the experience and expertise of a major label without a long-term commitment or having to give up their masters. Many of these new artist and label services ventures offer proven experience in crucial areas like release strategy, social media, playlisting, PR, synch, YouTube, online advertising, short-form video and influencers.  

But artists beware: The market is becoming oversaturated with consultants, making it difficult to distinguish between true value-add partners and people who are less likely to further their careers. 

It’s important to do some due diligence. Here are a few tips: 

If you’re considering a consultant, you’ll need to look into the person’s history. Speak to artists they’ve worked with — this info can be found on their website, or you can ask the person directly. I always encourage potential clients to speak with the teams of my artist clients. An artist, or their manager, is always the best reference. Also, look up those artists’ streams on Spotify or YouTube. Go to their websites and see if they’re organized — if you see any broken hyperlinks or missing data, consider those red flags that suggest the artist’s team isn’t doing the basic blocking and tackling.  

Make sure the person isn’t exaggerating their credentials. A vp, for example, is going to have better relationships than a manager or director. Just because a person had contacts at a streaming platform while at a label, does that influence carry over when they’re independent? Also, get a sense of the person’s post-label experience working with artists. Sometimes a person’s client list will include artists they worked with at the record label. That’s misleading because working with an artist at a label is different from working with that same artist as an independent consultant. The artist had no choice but to work with people at the label. The moment you leave that company, the artist chooses to work with you — and that would say a lot about the artist’s trust in you.  

Ensure you’re working with people who understand your genre. For example, I won’t take on an urban/hip-hop artist. I don’t have the knowledge of the genre and will happily refer them to people better suited for the work. Every genre has different needs. Jazz artists I’ve worked with care about touring and awards. Pop and rock bands get the most momentum out of playlists. Hard rock bands sell a lot of merch. EDM artists prioritize playing festivals. A consultant needs to know how to navigate each genre’s needs.  

A consultant should have experience with the artist at their particular career level. Some consultants have experience with developing artists; some people are most experienced with superstars. When working for a big country artist, I got calls from top executives at streaming platforms. If that had been a developing artist, I’d have to work harder to get people to return my calls.  

To get a sense of the consultant’s relationships, interview them like you would interview a potential employee. Get a sense of their strengths and weaknesses. Ask them how they would handle your tour support. Ask how they can help you grow your business. Ask how they can increase your streams. How would they help you with short-form video? What tactics do they employ to help boost an artist’s social media accounts? Ask which data sources (such as Luminate and Viberate) they subscribe to that would provide insights into your career. Do they know how to navigate the artist data that’s available at music streaming platforms?  

If you need a consultant but don’t know where to find one, ask other artists for recommendations. You can also ask your digital distributor, which will likely have relationships across the industry. If you attend conferences, spend time making connections that can point you in the right direction. If you can’t afford to attend conferences, look at their schedules to see if any consultants appear on their panels. It shouldn’t be difficult to find their contact information online.  

Due diligence takes time, but it will pay off in the long run. Making a wrong decision comes with a real cost.  

Jay Gilbert consults for artists, labels and distributors. He is a former executive at Universal, Warner and Sony Music Groups. He publishes the weekly Your Morning Coffee newsletter and podcast.