Music Management Interview - Emma Stakes

About:

Emma Stakes is a music manager who works with artists attached to an agency and also has a publishing
company through Kobalt Music. More elements of the manager role can be achieved independently now. Starting as a young artist signed onto a Universal development deal and doing musical theatre in the West End, she then began writing collaboratively and earning money for names such as: Craig David, Little Mix and Gary Barlow. From this Stakes was headhunted by Syco Entertainment (Simon Cowell's record company) and began working with artists across X-Factor, BGT and AGT in the development team, scouting team and as a vocal coach. Following this, Stakes began working in the A&R department with artists after the show once they signed a record deal. Now she works independently with another music manager with established and unestablished artists. 

Modern Artists:

Stakes spoke on how it has become harder for artists as they used to work step by step with the company but now they need to prove sales and have money behind them - it is also beneficial if they have a previously established audience. However, it is easier now for an artist to distribute their music on free streaming platforms without a record deal. Stakes is approached by artists at different stages of development and they work together to build the image organically (unless it is already established). Artists now can just distribute their music and hope that it organically trends but you have to do as much as you can. For example: get the right playlist and plug-in team, look at radio plug-in, independent PR, editorial PR, magazines, marketing etc. It costs alot of money and this is where having a company behind an artist helps. Before influencing became really big, Stakes used features to spread artists names, eg. a Yellow Claw feature with DJ Khalid which amounted 250 million streams. 

Synthetic vs. Organic:

Stakes comments that a lot right now is organic because people have access to independent released (through DSP platforms). In the current age it is difficult to separate synthetic and organic artists as there are organic viral trends that are decided by the public - especially during the pandemic. The proof is often in the longevity of the artists, they will often die out if they are a synthetic artist as people lose interest with the image and want someone down-to-earth to connect with. 

Searching for Artists:

When searching for artists Stakes looks at: the voice, the talent, the stage presence and numbers. Additionally, an honest and authentic image as sometimes someone unpolished is more interesting to consume. Stakes states that often, "success is dependent on the amount of time and money put into an artist" however it is currently quite a mixed bag as a result of social media impacting the industry. For example, TikTok has become the fastest way to consume a variety of music. 

Q: Are physical copies still relevant?

• Dependent on the territory or region
• Nice to have a physical copy (especially when bought at gigs or concerts)
• Vinyls are coming back
• Less relevant in the Western World as everything is online + more DSPs
• Asian markets sell more physical than digital - they have not saturated the market with digital streaming
• An extra cost for smaller artists

Q: Are music videos still relevant?

• Still seen as important to most labels because there its a large online audience looking to consume visual elements
• Massive high budget videos aren't as big of a deal
• Videos are getting more and more popular
• Artists themselves are excited to make the video
• More opportunity for more revenue