CONNECTIONS ARE CURRENCY

WHO ARE YOU, AND WHAT DO YOU DO IN ONE SENTENCE?

I am Vivian Donders, based in Amsterdam and working in the music industry full-time for over 10 years now. What I do in one sentence: artist management in the broadest way, touching a lot of different roles at the same time, currently working with SEG Artists.

HOW DID YOU START IN THIS INDUSTRY?

I started freelancing part-time on some projects for The Media Nanny (music PR agency) back in 2013, and was working in the Amsterdam club industry at the same time. That's how things started rolling.

HOW DOES A TYPICAL WEEK LOOK LIKE FOR YOU?

Freelancing gives me the freedom to set my own hours. While I mostly work from home, I still go to the office a couple of times a week for meetings. However, I basically start working from the moment I open my eyes until I go to bed in the evening, as the comms with artists never stop. I'm the creative lead on most artist teams, so I also have a lot of photo/video shoots I have to be present at to make sure creative direction is being followed during shoots and make sure the artists are feeling good and confident. Next to that, during festival season, I also try to go to a lot of live shows my artists do.

WHAT’S THE BEST PIECE OF ADVICE YOU’VE EVER RECEIVED?

I guess that would be to not put myself always as last and learn to priorities to find a healthy work/life balance.

WHO IS ONE PERSON YOU LOOK UP TO CAREER-WISE?

Within the music landscape here in the Netherlands, that would be Olga Heijns, one of the first successful female managers and powerhouses in this industry. I don't necessarily pursue a career like hers, but I think she established a lot for herself in this space + she mentors a lot of women in this scene too.

WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE IN TRANSITIONING FROM PROMOTION/PR TO BEING AN ARTIST MANAGER?

Managing actually came very naturally to me, I’m better at taking care of people and dealing with artists on a very close day-to-day basis, as I’m doing PR (traditional PR, don't ask me to write a perfect press release lol). It kind of just grew on me organically without really choosing a transition.

WHAT’S A COMMON MISCONCEPTION PEOPLE HAVE ABOUT ARTIST MANAGERS?

That it's a glamorous job, haha! It does have cool pros, but it's also taking a lot of time, mental head space and energy to work as an artist manager. 

WHAT RISK DID YOU TAKE WITH AN ARTIST OR PROJECT THAT DIDN’T PAY OFF? WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM IT?

As I mentioned earlier, I have been having the tendency to put myself last, so I've worked with a couple of artists under not the best terms, so when I split up with them, I basically lost the investment of time & energy I put into them / projects. So what I learned from it is to be really cautious of my time and the deals I make between me and the talent.

HOW DO YOU BEGIN CREATING A CONTENT STRATEGY FOR AN ARTIST?

At first, I do extensive research on what the artists have been up to so far in terms of what they put out, music/branding/content wise. Then, an ideal vision will usually form in my mind about where I think the artists should grow towards, what it needs rebranding-wise, and then I start brainstorming with the artists, sending over references, visual ideas, etc., to see what they like and don't like. This will form the base for the start of the development phase. Then, along the process of rolling out a project, the ideas will be the guideline towards the end product.

WHAT’S THE BALANCE BETWEEN QUICK, SOCIAL-DRIVEN CONTENT VERSUS BIGGER, LONG-TERM CAMPAIGNS?

It depends on the artist, I’d say. I personally try to stay away from too much social-driven content as this can come off a bit corny. However, some talents do have a natural way of creating this type of content, so for some, it can work really well. It's hard to find the balance and not be seen as a random influencer. Profiling-wise, I think long-term campaigns are the most credible to do with an artist.

WHAT TOOLS, PLATFORMS, OR CREATIVE METHODS HAVE BECOME INDISPENSABLE IN YOUR WORKFLOW?

Well, WhatsApp is a very big tool while working with artists directly, trying to get them to use a different tool is like literally impossible. Other than that, I use Instagram a lot for shared moodboards, etc. We also use Spotify for Artists a lot to implement data findings in upcoming projects.

IN THE NETHERLANDS AND GLOBALLY, WHAT SHIFTS ARE HAPPENING IN MUSIC MANAGEMENT, AND HOW DO YOU ADAPT?

I think mainly that the awareness and knowledge about certain music business aspects is growing a lot, which makes artists want to work more independently and keep their music rights and stuff. Which then results in management taking on record label roles more and more.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WANTING TO BREAK INTO CREATIVE CONTENT PRODUCING?

You have to have a feeling for it and a creative mind, that's the basis. Also, your own creative content output on, for example, your socials should portray that you know what you are doing in this space. Be assertive within projects and wherever you see a chance, just put yourself or your ideas forward. Besides that, start building relationships with video directors, stylists, photographers, etc. Sustaining these relationships will be integral to move flexible through projects since a lot happens at the last minute with crazy deadlines all the time.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WANTING TO BREAK INTO ARTIST MANAGEMENT?

Find artists you really believe in, build that connection and start doing research within the genre the artists are in, connect with taste makers in that genre and start building a plan together with the talent. Try to be as flexible as possible and make sure people can rely on you. It's a big responsibility, so be ready to make some sacrifices too.

If you want to know more about Vivian, give her a follow on Instagram.