Who is the music industry?

Familiarize yourself with some of the most important roles that make the music business happen. If you’re an artist entering the scene or a booking agency intern learning the ropes, this post is for you.

Our team brings together decades of experience in the music biz, and we share some of our insights here. We also asked a few of our customers, who are booking hot artists on global tours, to share their experiences in the music industry.

Artist

Without them, the music industry wouldn’t exist! The artist is the talent or act at the center of a show. We use the term artist (instead of musician) in the music industry because there are so many different types of music acts: from electronic musicians & DJs to rappers & live bands.

Most often, there will be a headliner (the main act) preceded by openers (opening acts). The headliner is the more popular act that people pay to see, while the openers may be lesser-known artists breaking into the scene.

But openers can also be well-loved artists people come to see—local artists are often booked to open for a main act breaking into a new region. The audience may not be too familiar with the main act but will come to support the openers and be curious about the new headlining artist.

The entire music ecosystem surrounds the artist and their brand. Let’s look at these key roleplayers and how they work together.

Artist manager (AKA personal manager)

Artist managers coordinate all aspects of an artist's career, including strategic career planning. A manager’s primary goal is the well-being of the artist.

They often liaise with booking agents, promoters, and record labels, coordinating all the other roles around the artist and representing them in corporate deals. But they don’t do contract negotiations—that’s more for the legal team.

“Managers basically pull all the strings together.”—Kevin Stein, Dealmaker at SystemOne

A booking agent’s role may slightly overlap with the manager’s in terms of planning the artist’s career and strategically placing them in certain tours, festivals, or venues.

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Booking agent

The fun part of the music industry (in our opinion)!

The big win of being a booking agent is that you get to discover new talent. Booking agents act as talent scouts and are well-connected within the music scene. They meet with artists and help plan their career moves.

Booking agents schedule performances to help artists reach their career goals. They book top show venues, popular festivals, and corporate events for cool brands.

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Booking assistant

The best way to become a booking agent is to intern at a booking agency. Interns may take on the role of booking assistants or be hired full-time as booking assistants to help booking agents liaise with promoters about logistics and advancing.

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Tour manager (AKA road manager)

A tour manager or road manager takes over from the booking agent, in a sense, after all the show details have been finalized. They coordinate everyone on tour, resolve immediate event issues, and make calls to ensure everything is on schedule. They’re the point of contact on tour and will contact the promoter directly if there are any problems.

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Tour managers oversee the logistics of an artist's tour. They handle travel arrangements, accommodations, and day-to-day tour operations. They also coordinate local staff, manage the guest list, and ensure the artist’s rider is adhered to.

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Night manager

Like a tour or road manager, a night manager is the point of contact to keep things running smoothly. Night managers are often employed at the venues themselves and operate as a kind of host for the evening—they take care of every aspect of the show before, during, and directly after.

You’ll see this music industry specimen most often in clubs, making sure DJs have all the equipment and refreshments they need to play an awesome set.

Road crew & venue crew

The road and venue crew are the behind-the-scenes roadies, technicians, and engineers who run the practicalities of the show at the venue. They make the artist sound as good as possible and try to achieve the same high-quality live performance at every venue.

Their duties include A/V equipment setup, sound checks, and any other venue preparations needed for the artist's performance.

Promoter

They’re the ones who create the shows and look for artists to be booked. Promoters run the most financial risk because they ‘bet’ on artists to draw a crowd and give a good show.

Promoters are also responsible for organizing and marketing events. They work closely with booking agents to secure artists and make shows happen.

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Scott Southard, Founder & Director at IMN agency says it's “absolutely crazy” because promoters lose money at most events, so they have to come up with other revenue streams. These revenue streams can include:

• Ticket management
• Service fees
• Merchandising
• Food and beverage revenue
• Sponsorship

It’s a tough part of the music industry to work in, but it also has its rewards. When a great show or festival is over, promoters can be satisfied with creating a platform for artists, bringing people together, and building a brand.

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Venue booker or festival booker

A booker does what a promoter does but works exclusively with one or more venues and gets paid by the venue (usually a salary, stipend, or performance-based incentive). Promoters are business owners, and venue bookers are employees.

Venue bookers are responsible for booking shows and managing the logistics of events held at their venue.

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Publicist or marketer

An active performing artist will benefit greatly from having a publicist or marketer on their team. While many artists, their managers, and their booking agents handle PR and marketing for shows, it’s a good idea to have:

• A publicist or PR professional handling media relations and official press releases
• A marketer creating content for the artist’s brand

Publicists and marketers look for marketing opportunities to increase their artists’ share of voice and build a following.

Producer

Some indie artists prefer recording and producing their own tracks, but most often an experienced producer is needed to polish up recordings. If an artist signed with a recording label, they’ll work with one of the label’s producers at their recording studio(s).

In electronic music and hip-hop, producers actually create the tracks used on album recordings.

Music aggregators & music distributors

This role in the music industry may be fulfilled by a human, agency, or software-as-a-service (SaaS). For some artists, it’s the only way they publish their work.

Music aggregators are digital distribution platforms that enable artists to publish their work on multiple streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. Music distributors cover both digital and physical releases of your music, as well as royalties allocation. Some distributors also offer content creation and publishing, advertising, and cross promotion.

While music aggregators have changed the game, distributors are becoming increasingly popular among artists who want to sell physical copies and merch, too.

Some popular music distribution platforms include:

• AWAL (Artists Without A Label)
• TuneCore
• Symphonic
• Alliance Entertainment

Legal

Legal professionals specialized in the music industry handle contracts and negotiations and ensure compliance with industry regulations. They play a crucial role in protecting the interests of artists and agencies. And while most booking agents know a lot about contracts, payments, and applicable laws, getting a legal professional to check documents and advise before signing is best.

Financial

Financial management can get tricky in the music business. Financial roles involve managing artists' and agencies' budgets, accounting, and financial reporting. They ensure that all financial transactions are accurately recorded and compliant with tax regulations.

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A booking agency can absorb the financial role for the artists they represent, but other roleplayers like artist managers and promoters will need their own financial managers. Artists may also need to have their personal finances handled by a professional.

More where that came from

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means. Different artists in different genres and career stages will need their own team selection, depending on their goals and market value. But the roles in our list are foundational to the music industry as we know it.

Are you one of these roleplayers, or aspiring to be one? SystemOne might help. It’s an end-to-end artist booking system that works for every type of booking agency in any genre. Book a demo or start a free trial below.