Justin Townsend’s aka Big Smokey’s Principles for Working With Artists

Artist management can be difficult, requiring copious amounts of industry knowledge and connections to it pull off at a professional level. One man for the job is Justin Townsend aka Big Smokey, who owns Big Smokey Productions.

Justin manages artists and provides funding, major artist features, promotion, and more for his talents. Through working in the industry, Justin has developed three major principles for managing artists that he finds are imperative for positive artist development and success. Read on about these principles below:

Keep an open mind and don’t put limits on your label.

Justin’s company is self-described as a “classy label with no limits or boundaries”. Justin opens up his resources to all types of artists and genres. This allows talent to explore and craft music that they love while leaving room for exploration and development. The worst thing you can do is limit your artists’ creativity, or close yourself off to other genres that could hold big opportunities.

Keep your artists’ best interests in mind.

In any industry, it’s obvious that making money is a priority. However, it’s important to not become selfish or money-hungry. Your talent should always be a priority, and it’s important to do your best to put them in a position of success. If you give your artists a vehicle of success, your success will increase. What goes around comes around. 

Build positive relationships with your artists.

It becomes very important that you don’t let your artist become just a person you manage. Build a positive relationship with your artists and mentor/develop them into the artist they are capable of becoming. Listen to what your artists have to say and work with them based on their feedback. A positive relationship will go a long way, and let you work with your talent smoothly and without conflict. 

What these principles boil down to at the end of the day is to treat your artists with respect, and in return they’ll experience positive development and give back when they see their success. In a way, managing an artist is like growing a business partner. It’s important to keep connections on good terms not only for business but for the peace of mind of both parties.

Justin Townsend has seen major progress in his artists by employing these principles, and it seems that we can expect great things coming out of Big Smokey Productions in the future. Justin’s company is definitely one to watch.

You can find Justin on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/loudpacksjay/