It’s really important to remind yourself that your value is not found in how your last audition went, or how many auditions you get. It’s in how you treat your loved ones, strangers, and yourself.
Do not be discouraged from rejection!
Tell our readers somehow about yourself and your profession?
Hello, I am Diksha Narang & I was born in a Punjabi family, my schooling is from Mumbai & Graduation is from Punjab. I perused post-graduation in event management.
I began my career in event management but a few years ago, I was drawn to the artist management space. Artist management is a very interesting career to get into. You have to treat your artist as a baby. Invest in the relationship and know what the artist needs! Taking the time to have a relationship with your artist and understand their goals and ideas.
Be open to what they want to accomplish and find creative ways to make that happen. This approach results in great communication and much stronger relationships. It also allows for the artist and manager to push each other and produce better results together. It also makes working together with pleasure!
I’ve been building a career as an artist manager for the last four years.”
What made you choose such an uncommon career?
I was an average student in school and college. Unlike other fields, artist management does not require you to crack competitive exams with a cutoff percentage. Don’t get me wrong; that doesn’t mean anyone could work as an artist manager! Working as an artist manager is not always 100% fun, there are dull tasks too, and it is stressful.
I’ve been building a career as an artist manager for the last four years.”
What made you choose such an uncommon career?
I was an average student in school and college. Unlike other fields, artist management does not require you to crack competitive exams with a cutoff percentage. Don’t get me wrong; that doesn’t mean anyone could work as an artist manager! Working as an artist manager is not always 100% fun, there are dull tasks too, and it is stressful.
At the end of the day, every event has a deadline. The closer the deadline is, the more hectic it gets. Here the focus is on your organizational skills, patience, creativity and capacity to multitask. There are unique job satisfaction and feeling attached to pulling off your job successfully.
I neither had any influencers nor any contacts in the industry. I did not know a single person with a background in event management or a music company. It was only my internship which helped me to learn and grow. And today here I am.
During my college days and while doing my internship I met a lot of people working in the events /music industry who somehow inspired me by their work and that is when I knew that I was on the right track.
I did lots of events through college as well as through my course, which gave me practical knowledge of how events work. Like other sectors, events also have different departments such as production, event logistics, artist management and backstage areas such as business development, client servicing etc. I chose artists and backstage.
When I got a chance to work with T-Series, it was a dream come true because I was exposed to a lot of music, coordination, management etc. So I was super excited to work and learn with my artist. And honestly, I have learnt a lot from my artist.
I neither had any influencers nor any contacts in the industry. I did not know a single person with a background in event management or a music company. It was only my internship which helped me to learn and grow. And today here I am.
During my college days and while doing my internship I met a lot of people working in the events /music industry who somehow inspired me by their work and that is when I knew that I was on the right track.
I did lots of events through college as well as through my course, which gave me practical knowledge of how events work. Like other sectors, events also have different departments such as production, event logistics, artist management and backstage areas such as business development, client servicing etc. I chose artists and backstage.
When I got a chance to work with T-Series, it was a dream come true because I was exposed to a lot of music, coordination, management etc. So I was super excited to work and learn with my artist. And honestly, I have learnt a lot from my artist.
What advice would you like to give to aspiring actors/models, especially students?
My biggest piece of advice for aspiring actors is to push yourself and to continue to study your craft.
Love yourself. Love other artists. Love the work. There are going to be a lot of days when you feel inadequate, less-than, and completely ignored by the entire industry (including your reps). It’s really important to remind yourself that your value is not found in how your last audition went, or how many auditions you get. It’s in how you treat your loved ones, strangers, and yourself.
Do not be discouraged from rejection!
What are the challenges in your job? How do you address them?
My biggest piece of advice for aspiring actors is to push yourself and to continue to study your craft.
Love yourself. Love other artists. Love the work. There are going to be a lot of days when you feel inadequate, less-than, and completely ignored by the entire industry (including your reps). It’s really important to remind yourself that your value is not found in how your last audition went, or how many auditions you get. It’s in how you treat your loved ones, strangers, and yourself.
Do not be discouraged from rejection!
What are the challenges in your job? How do you address them?
Challenge 1: No Family time/no festivals/no friends – I have missed most family functions /get-togethers /festivals / as well as meeting friends for the last 4 years. Most of the events happen at festivals. But when you love your job it is your priority and when you have a great support system in the form of family and friends who understand you and want you to grow, it is a blessing :).
Challenge 2: Late night work /lot of travel/ – The hardest part about representing artists is being patient and working round the clock. There is so much work around vendor management, negotiation, creatives and approvals, last-minute event cancellations, convincing vendors, last-minute add on requirements and maintaining good relations with all vendors. But when you are passionate about your work, you don’t feel like you are working, but enjoying the process.
Challenge 3 – Creating opportunities for artists is a challenge. Managing an artist’s career requires interaction with people of all personality types under many pleasant and some unpleasant circumstances (building clientele, keeping yourself grounded and protective at times is necessary)
With the launch of online streaming services like Netflix, how has the industry changed? Is it in a positive or a negative way?
Online streaming services has become something that affects many lives in many areas. This new idea of binge-watching television or online series is robbing people of valuable time that they can never get back.
Challenge 2: Late night work /lot of travel/ – The hardest part about representing artists is being patient and working round the clock. There is so much work around vendor management, negotiation, creatives and approvals, last-minute event cancellations, convincing vendors, last-minute add on requirements and maintaining good relations with all vendors. But when you are passionate about your work, you don’t feel like you are working, but enjoying the process.
Challenge 3 – Creating opportunities for artists is a challenge. Managing an artist’s career requires interaction with people of all personality types under many pleasant and some unpleasant circumstances (building clientele, keeping yourself grounded and protective at times is necessary)
With the launch of online streaming services like Netflix, how has the industry changed? Is it in a positive or a negative way?
Online streaming services has become something that affects many lives in many areas. This new idea of binge-watching television or online series is robbing people of valuable time that they can never get back.
Average households are dealing with the “Netflix Effect” while colleges deal with the “Netflix and Chill” concept of dating and workplaces struggle to get their employees to actually work. But, watching Netflix does not have to turn into something negative. It can be a good stress reliever and create family fun time.
It is a great source for watching movies or even catching up on some of the favourite shows. The challenge is about finding enough self-control to create a healthy balance between relaxation and wasting time. Watching Netflix or any other streaming sites, like anything, just needs to be done in moderation.
Would you please share some of the basic skill set one must have to try his luck in movies?
I realised that the things you need for working well in the film industry are almost the same as everywhere else. But the usual time pressure and the long hours make all these skills more important.
- Mindset
- Ability to control your mind
- Motivation
- Ability to learn
- Prioritising under pressure
- Leadership
- Ability to grow continuously
- Networking
- Time Management
- Decision Making under pressure
Naturally, everyone is stronger in some of these skills and has to develop more in others. But if you try to get better always, I think it will get you far.
For success, you don’t need all of these on a perfect level.
What is your typical day like? What is it you love about your job?
A typical day is spent in negotiating contracts and fees, finding and booking events and venues that match the artist’s career strategy, publicity and promotion, helping artists on career decisions such as which record producer to work with, or which songs to perform, and managing media relations. We make sure that the artist’s business runs every day — just accurate to their vision.
Would you please share some of the basic skill set one must have to try his luck in movies?
I realised that the things you need for working well in the film industry are almost the same as everywhere else. But the usual time pressure and the long hours make all these skills more important.
- Mindset
- Ability to control your mind
- Motivation
- Ability to learn
- Prioritising under pressure
- Leadership
- Ability to grow continuously
- Networking
- Time Management
- Decision Making under pressure
Naturally, everyone is stronger in some of these skills and has to develop more in others. But if you try to get better always, I think it will get you far.
For success, you don’t need all of these on a perfect level.
What is your typical day like? What is it you love about your job?
A typical day is spent in negotiating contracts and fees, finding and booking events and venues that match the artist’s career strategy, publicity and promotion, helping artists on career decisions such as which record producer to work with, or which songs to perform, and managing media relations. We make sure that the artist’s business runs every day — just accurate to their vision.
My day-to-day job is to oversee each component of the artist’s business operation. This includes — touring, recording, publishing, record label, merchandising, live events, etc
You feel more responsible as a manager. Work makes me happy because I love my job. Yes, it is stressful at times but that's the fun. I am close to music. I get to travel to different places with singers, explore and meet new people.
Interviewed by - Mukund M
You feel more responsible as a manager. Work makes me happy because I love my job. Yes, it is stressful at times but that's the fun. I am close to music. I get to travel to different places with singers, explore and meet new people.
Interviewed by - Mukund M
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