Brandon Myers Interviewed: The Life of a Music Entrepreneur

Making your mark in the music industry as an artists manager can seem like an uphill climb. But success often starts with learning from those already in the trenches and navigating the challenges and opportunities on offer. In this behind-the-scenes interview, we sit down with Artist Vision Partner (or Artist Manager) and guest lecturer Brandon Myers, who shares valuable insights and real-world experience. Whether you’re an artist, producer, engineer, or aspiring manager, this conversation offers practical advice, lessons from the field, and inspiration to help you carve your path in the music world.

INTRODUCING BRANDON MYERS

Brandon Myers is a music entrepreneur from Washington, DC. In 2021, he moved to London to pursue a music career and now works with emerging artists and producers. His work involves creating development plans, music distribution (label), and publishing. His roster features gifted artists Michael Sebastian, rallycap, kiskadee, YAZ, Venice Heath, Lukr, and Rascal Martinez as well as producers Michael Andrew, Tony Sage and songwriter Oscar Joe Gross. 

Read on to discover what it’s like to manage new talent, including artists and producers and where to scout rising artists.

Since moving to London, Brandon has become a rising music entrepreneur to watch. At the beginning of 2024, he launched his music brand, Marmalade, a development management company helping artists grow their audience and elevate their movement.

Brandon explains: “Marmalade’s purpose is to help artists make a change in the world. It’s there to cut through the noise, so emerging musicians can move to the front and be heard.” 

A DAY IN THE LIFE

The life of an artists manager is multi-faceted. “I learn something new every day,” says Brandon. Working as your own boss, creating innovative and authentic projects isn’t easy. Brandon’s day-to-day schedule varies. “Overall, I work across 10-20 projects throughout the day,” he says. “This ranges from meeting new artists, creating marketing plans, sharing on socials, and pitching new opportunities. In addition to planning events and having face-to-face meetings across London. My days revolve around many meetings and calls, discussing movement forward on each project.”

“Being a music entrepreneur is about balancing multiple things,” he says. “I had a full-time job for a while and was balancing that alongside building my company. Now I’m doing this full-time, investing everything into my artists.”

Before venturing into the music industry, Brandon spent his earlier years working in the public sector. “Growing up, a bunch of my family worked in the government,” he says. “As a ripple effect, I did a lot of public service and worked in nonprofits. I also worked in the public sector for the local government at one point.” 

Eager to discover more about service work, the education sector and the music industry, Brandon took a leap of faith into a different career path. “Moving forward, I began working on Program Development at a university,” he says. “From there, I learned a lot about how helping the next generation of students, which was so powerful. During this time, I also started going to many gigs, where I began to see the power of music.”

SCOUTING NEW TALENT 

As a manager, Brandon’s job involves ensuring his clients receive the best results possible. But where and how does he develop his roster of clientele? “We’ve connected in different ways,” he tells us. “I’ve met some clients at gigs/showcases, online through streaming, and through colleagues. All the artists have an underlying theme – they are great people who create unique songs. They all have a deeper purpose they aim to share with the world.”

Since the music industry is such a widescale phenomenon, scouting artists and rising talent can be tricky.

Brandon finds, “Each artist is approached differently based on the roster and priorities being focused on at Marmalade.” That’s why he takes the time to grab coffee with each client. Brandon adds, “[From there on], we discuss their project, what they need, what they want, and their successes. It takes a while from the initial conversation to confirming a relationship.” 

In Brandon’s experience, finding and approaching and signing new talent can take months. “Today, there are various artist deals as the industry shifts,” he says. As the music industry continues to grow, so do the technicalities of how artist managers, vision partners and A&R representatives approach and sign new talent. “I’ve created multiple deal avenues since there is no one-size-fits-all. Artists need to know that the vision I create reflects today’s rapidly changing environment. As I have grown experience, I have become more efficient with these conversations early on.”

COACH DIANE WAGG

Keen to give his clients the best advice, Brandon has also invested in a “coach, Diane Wagg, who I work with every week” he tells us. “She has worked with some of the top artists in the world. Every week we discuss what I’m working on, where the artists are at, their pressing needs and what needs to happen next.”

As Brandon’s mentor, Diane is a prolific artist manager and ex-chair of the Music Manager’s Forum (MMF UK). She also gives guest lectures to our students as part of the music business module on our Music Production diploma. You can read more about her work here.

Having a coach is an essential part of Brandon’s work. With these weekly sessions, he can provide his clients with relevant and helpful advice. “My job is to make artists better because they’re talented. Similarly, athletes are only as good as they can be if they have a great coach. They can be the best raw talent in the world, but if they don’t have people mentoring, supporting and coaching them, it’s hard for them to get to the next level. So, if I don’t have a coach helping me be better, how will I do that for whoever I work with?” 

ARTIST – MANAGER RAPPORT 

“The nature of music has shifted so rapidly. I see my position less as a manager, or coach and more as an Artist Vision Partner,” he continues. 

As a way to combat the industry’s artist-manager relationship, Brandon is creating deeper connections with his clientele. “It’s about connecting with the artists to see what they need,” he says. “For example, I’ve been working with an artist in New York for over two years. He recently mentioned: ‘I really want to get my music more synced.’ 

Since that conversation, it’s taken me a year or so to get behind it. We had a few things going on, but now I’m working on building a much bigger sync and composing company that is 10 times bigger than what he initially asked for. 

Sometimes, these things take time. It’s about working out different tools the artist needs and circling back later. Part of my business is a la carte. I offer publishing, label services, distribution, and sync production. I work towards coaching artists from a live perspective.”

MARMALADE PRESENTS

Keen to put his artists on the map in the music industry, Brandon has developed a new concept titled ‘Marmalade Presents.’ It’s a monthly showcase at The Ministry. Attendees include music managers, publishers, labels and creatives connected to the music industry.

“I’ve always wanted to put on a showcase in London,” he tells us. “I’ve never felt like there has been a real consistent music showcase. Or one supporting up-and-coming artists doing things in the moment or talent about to make a breakthrough. I want Marmalade Presents to become a space for opportunity. Specifically for creators, artists, and anyone interested in the creative process.” 

Looking at each client as an individual, Brandon is keen to ensure he provides each of his artists and producers with the correct services. One of the ways he achieves this is through vision board questionnaires. “The survey includes questions: what did you like about this past year? What did we do well? What are some goals for next year?” he says. It’s with this system that Brandon can keep track of client progression. Additionally, to keep track of any gaps in artist development plans.

“It also asks questions such as was there anything you didn’t achieve that made you sad?” he says. “What did you learn about last year and what are the six things you’re proud of? Next year we’ll rotate towards how to build leverage for years to come.”

NEXT STEPS

Moving forward, Brandon is ambitious about the future. “I’m dreaming big,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “I want to spearhead new ideas and thoughts into the world. Whether sitting on podcasts, doing interviews, or even writing a book. The dream is to be a part of something much bigger in many industries. I want to create a big umbrella company per se, where people can pick what works for them.

That’s why the official business is The Marmalade Group. I want it to feel like a bigger organisation with small businesses underneath it. I want everyone involved to know they are the ones moving this forward. They’re not there to take direction – rather, encourage people to be entrepreneurs. Teach others how to be creative in their own way.

Additionally, (something few people understand), I truly hope everyone who works alongside Marmalade, establishes their own company. This will immensely build their confidence. From there, we can look into joint ventures and partnerships together. There’s so much control out there. My goal is to help creatives reach their endpoint successfully with the tropes they have in mind.”

top tips for aspiring artist managers

Brandon’s top tips on how to be successful in this field are: 

1. Stay current: Keep up-to-date with what is happening in music globally.
2. Be confident in innovation: Create new pathways where others don’t. 
3. Choose a great attitude every day: Your energy affects every conversation.

You can learn more about Brandon Myers on his website. If you enjoyed this article and want more tips to help you launch your music career, head to our 3 Top Recommendations When Starting Your Music Career.