Shane Wepprich: 4 things to think about when assembling your artist team

You’re a fiercely independent person, and dammit you like it that way. You started your journey of creating something beautiful, putting your soul into art, and creating music. You know you want to share this with the world and recognize just how saturated the music industry can be.  

So, what do you do?  

I have been immersed in the music industry since 2010, with experience spanning boutique digital marketing agencies, major labels, overseeing an indie label, and currently, as the founder of my own label services company (S.E.B. Entertainment) aimed at addressing precisely that question. One of the biggest questions I’d recommend asking yourself is “Who do I surround myself with?” 

It can feel daunting to think about cutting through the noise of streaming, social media promotion, content, and the costs that come with just trying get people to listen. So, you want to position yourself with people who not only know what they are doing but also fit within YOUR situation.  

Too often people feel they need to hire a big team with a manager, agent, publicist, label services, social media agency, radio team, booking agent, and all the departments of a major label. No doubt major and indie labels have value and exist for a reason, but if you’re just trying to get your head around where to start, here’s a couple of quick bites of advice I give my clients: 

Know your budget – then stick to it 

Yes, the first thing we’re going to talk about is money – and it's often the LAST thing people want to talk about. I often hear “I don’t know my budget until I know who I want hire.” While it can feel like a Catch-22, it’s very important to establish your budget for a team, as well as advertising and marketing, first.  

For example, a common problem that I see myself with potential clients “Hey Shane, you offer such great services and I feel you can really help. You’re hired!” Then I ask for their marketing budget only to find out my fees DRAIN them and I often have to re-direct those clients to other resources.  

Making sure your team fits within your budget – without killing it – is extremely important. You will still need money for those people to do something: create a music video, market it, etc. Hiring someone won’t instantly make you a star, and if you meet someone who’s willing to take all your money, they aren’t the right fit.  

It’s all about vibes 

Surrounding yourself with the right people is extremely important. You should be looking for someone with experience, who knows the industry, and can give you the best opportunity, but at the same time, great work happens when the synergy is right. 

Yes, you’re going to pay someone money and they are going to provide a service, it’s business. That said, indie music is a grind, and you want the person across from you to be someone who passes the vibe check – you want to be able to establish a solid collaborative relationship with this person.  

Determine who you really need to start, then go from there 

Many artists right off the bat think “I need a manager and booking agent right now.” Those two elements to a team are important, there’s no denying that, but those people work off commission. So, if you’re not generating money already, it becomes very hard to convince someone with the right experience to do the 24/7 grind with you.  

The real question to ask is what do you want right now?

Do you want articles written about you? A publicist helps get your name to outlets but rarely (sorry publicist friends) move the needle for streaming. Okay, you want to focus on streaming. You can hire DSP pitching agencies but usually they need a lot of “why should Spotify care” bullet points. Every team member will have a pro and con, it just depends on your goals. So be aware that knowing what you want to tackle immediately – streaming, interviews, content curation, shows – determines what team to build around you.  

Don’t be afraid to LEAD your team  

You’re building a team of experts who do this day in and day out. Even if you’ve never sang in public before this moment, ONLY YOU know the brand and the authentic feeling of this music.   

Your team is there to support you and too many times I come across an artist who lets their team do all the work. You are the catalyst; you have to be working 10x harder than your team at all times. This is the hard truth I give my younger or newer clients: everything comes down to how hard you work – creating content, doing interviews, shaking hands, writing with other artists. What you put into it leverages your chances for success. No team can do those things for you. You need to lead them and feed them with the passion that you have. No artist has ever succeeded by sitting back and just watching, they poured everything into it to get where they are, and you must do the same.  

No one knows the secret formula to success (though they may try to sell you that) and every artist is different. It’s about your needs, the right people, and just working your ass off toward your goals. You can only hope something sparks a fire and things take off from there.  

Now go out there and make the music you know will make the world a little bit brighter.