Artist Manager on Release Strategy, Record Deals and the TikTok Ban

Order THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: book.aristake.com
A Los Angeles native and UCLA alumni, Michele Harrison commenced her career as a legal assistant at the Law Offices of Fischbach, Perlstein and Lieberman. Following gigs at Virgin Records and Hollywood Records, she spent 15 years at Ian Montone’s Monotone, Inc., working with the likes of Broken Bells, The Shins, Vampire Weekend, and Academy® Award winner Jamie Foxx. In 2018, she became Co-Head of Management at Friends At Work, managing Alanis Morissette and Raphael Saadiq. 2021 saw her join Range Music as a Partner, overseeing the careers of Healy, KaiGoinKrazy, Tkay Maidza, Justin Tranter, and UMI. With MPH Collective, she has now built a haven for artists, visionaries, and storytellers to shine without compromise. Thus far, her journey has also been chronicled by Variety, HitsDailyDouble, and more.
In this interview, Ari and Michele discuss the role of autonomy and control in management, the impact of TikTok on artists' careers, and the changing landscape of record deals. She shares insights into the profitability of different venue sizes and the revenue streams from touring, including VIP experiences and merchandise sales. Michele also discusses the role of producers and the process of creating beat packs to pitch to artists and songwriters. She highlights the importance of getting in the room with other producers and songwriters to create music.
Chapters
00:00 Introduction and Background of MPH Collective
03:06 The Impact of TikTok and Challenges in the Music Industry
06:53 The Shifting Landscape of Record Deals
11:52 The Importance of Authenticity in Social Media
30:26 Building a Collaborative Team
35:15 The Importance of Booking Agents and Touring
41:09 Profitability and Revenue Streams
46:09 The Role of Producers
57:01 The Goal in the New Music Business
Subscribe to The New Music Business: aristake.com/new-music-busine...
Ari's Take Academy: aristakeacademy.com
Watch more discussions like this: bit.ly/3LavMpa
Connect with Ari’s Take:
Website: aristake.com
Instagram: / aristake_
TikTok: / aris.take
X: / aristake
Threads: www.threads.net/@aristake_
KZbin: / aristake1
Connect with Ari Herstand:
Website: ariherstand.com
Instagram: / ariherstand
X: / ariherstand
KZbin: / ariherstand
Connect with Michele Harrison:
Linkedin: / michele-harrison-88315a18
Instagram: / mphcollective
Edited and mixed by Ari Davids
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

[@mixourband]

FYI I recently attended the ASCAP Writers Members Meeting at Lincoln Center NYC. ASCAP President Paul Williams was on stage talking about artist advocacy and he asked the audience, "Who's the young fellow with the big hair Ari???" Just then over a thousand people all song writers yelled out "Ari Herstand!!” I just thought you should know that you make a real difference in folks lives. Thanks man

[@YassineKhalfalli]

that's so dope!!

[@ArisTake]

Oh wow this made my day. Thank you for letting me know!

[@danilekid]

love it all the time to be here

[@jamesgonz6]

Great interview. I appreciated how candid her answers were.

[@ArisTake]

Thank you!

[@jessicatrinity1075]

I work for a small independent label and my name is Jess... and I am the exact same person as your Jess!! I do everything... even songwriting and production, marketing, social, video editing, color grading, copywriting, bio writing, pr... maybe it's a Jess thing... we are just equally left and right brained people. :)

[@rcha2024]

GOOD JOB ARI !!!!!

[@ArisTake]

Thank you!

[@ionutboss1266]

00:00 no gate keaper

[@HoodHandyman]

Ari you say the word ummm Alot fam

[@ArisTake]

Sorry

[@HoodHandyman]

@@ArisTake Your good, I still bought your book. Amazing content.I didn't know if you realized how much you say uhhh and ahhhh instead of pause for a second then say something else.

[@Iusedtohavemojo]

Ari you need to make a video about AI music. Specifically Udio. All this other stuff may even not be relevant anymore. If this company is not stopped im pretty sure there will not even be a music business anymore. The scary part is its happening so fast that nobody have time to react.

[@BatistaInvests]

You tryna hop onto that AI? As with absolutely anything and everything, the very best will rise to the top

[@elijahtrenton8351]

also interested in suno

[@ArisTake]

I'm digging into it all

[@Iusedtohavemojo]

@@BatistaInvests Depends what the top will be. The most likely scenario right now is that everybody will have their own cusomized playlist with their "own music" in their AI app. That means bye bye Spotify if they dont jump on the make your own track train.