Association of Artist Managers 2022 Annual Membership Survey Report

This is the latest in a series of studies commissioned by the Association of Artist Managers (AAM) and the first conducted by staff at the University of Melbourne. These surveys have highlighted how the role of the music artist manager has been changing. The internet and digital technologies have transformed not only the ways in which music artist managers in Australia and their clients participate in the music business, but also the very processes of music artist management itself. At the same time, employment conditions for music artist managers have been changing radically.  

In addition to this survey, in 2022, the AAM produced a panel at the BIGSOUND festival and conference, Sustainable Relationships? The Value of Management Partnerships. The premise of this panel discussion was the belief that even before the COVID-19 pandemic, music artist managers were facing a crisis of sustainability and that this has been made more challenging since 2020. The panel discussants addressed the questions: What is it about music artist management business structures and modern culture that are driving these challenges? Where do these challenges stem from and how can music artist managers and their teams actively overcome them?  

The survey results described in this report form part of a larger ongoing research project that is using a multi-method approach (Tashakkori & Teddlie, 1998). This approach also includes individual interviews and focus groups with professionals in the field. Seventy-seven AAM members completed the survey, and, to date, we have interviewed 6 participants (3 females and 3 males). Because we plan to interview more music artist managers and other stakeholders in the music business, as well as conduct focus groups in 2023, this report only features the survey data. 

Australian music artist managers have more responsibilities now than they ever have before, yet their financial structures have remained little changed for decades. Many people and companies in the music ecosystem benefit from the work of good music artist managers, and commercially, it is in their best interests to help ensure that the management sector is sustainable. Therefore, in addition to music artist managers, other stakeholders in the music business will be interviewed for this research. Ultimately, the larger research project from which this report draws is evaluating these challenges and is exploring ideas on how to fortify this important artist-management cog in the popular music business ecology.