Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share weekly insights for aspiring artists, emerging music managers and executives on how to navigate the music industry, by Ruiz.

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Ruiz Note:

Authenticity, Work Ethic, & Collaboration

As we navigate the evolving landscape of the music industry, and as I had time to reflect from my experience traveling all over Portugal (A beautiful country everyone needs to visit one day) I find it imperative to revisit the core principles that define my approach. Hopefully in turn, it helps you or serves as a reminder:

Authenticity, Strong Work Ethic, and Collaboration.

1) Authenticity 

This isn’t just about being genuine; it's about doing the deep, introspective work to truly understand who you are as an artist or manager.

Every successful artist/manager who has built a legacy knows this is foundational to success.

2) Work Ethic

It means more than endless grinding. It's about accountability and commitment to greatness.

Whether you're in the studio or navigating the business side of music, it ensures that every piece of work reflects dedication to the process. Not like the Philadelphia 76ers' "Trust The Process," which can feel like a roadmap to nowhere (Sorry not sorry Sixers fans—Raptors for life).

Instead, it's about a commitment to relentless effort, embracing rapid learning from failures, replanning and driving toward your desired destination.

3) Collaboration

This one is fundamental in our industry. It's not about covering weaknesses but rather leveraging each other’s strengths to create something truly awesome. Every successful artist and manager I partner with embodies this spirit, understanding that together, we achieve a whole lot more.

These principles are more than ideals; they serve as practical guides that every artist manager I'm fortunate enough to work closely with integrates into their daily routine.

In other words, it’s not that difficult. Keep It Simple.

On that note, I’ve been working on a few things that I’m excited to exclusively share with all readers from The Manager’s Playbook. Let’s just say I’m leaving the safety of my comfort zone to enhance this experience. More on that later!

CONTENTS

Strategy:
• Cutting Through The Noise is Not Complicated

Pay Attention:
• Taylor Swift's Biggest Moneymaker This Year Won't Be Her New Album
• Taylor Swift’s Returns to TikTok With a New In-App Experience
• How FloyyMenor & Cris MJ Made Chart History With Their Out-of-Nowhere Hit ‘Gata Only’

Industry News: 
• TikTok Is Talking to UMG Again, But Washington May Hold The Keys to Its Future 
• Mary J. Blige, Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, A Tribe Called Quest and More get into Rock and Hall of Fame
• Audiomack Signs Partnership With Merlin, as Streaming Service Aims to Monetize and Legitimize Modified Audio

What We’re Watching:
• Whether you like it or not, Taylor’s a GOAT

Check This Out:
• Music Industry Job Openings

STRATEGY

Cutting Through The Noise is Not Complicated

There’s an overwhelming amount of information out there on how to build yourself up as an artist or manager.

You’d think having all of this information would be a good thing, but what happens is people get paralyzed by all of the (conflicting) advice on what they should or should not do.

One of my favourite questions to ask when beginning a new endeavour is

“What would this look like if it were easy?”

Let’s stop making it complicated.

There’s a formula that I’ve stuck with that has always allowed me to create momentum really quickly in life, business, etc.

I call it the growth equation. It goes as such:

Massive Growth = Massive Value x Massive Output

Meaning, if you want to grow quickly as an artist, manager, entrepreneur, or professional:

1. You need to become entirely focused on providing value for OTHER people (artists.. how do your songs or experiences make your FANS feel?)
   This also includes getting good at what you do.
   

2. You likely need to be producing 10x the amount of ideas, demos, music, or content that you’re currently producing.

Oftentimes we don’t know how to provide massive value yet. Either we don’t know what our audience truly wants/needs, or we’re just not good enough yet.

The output factor helps us get our reps in.

I stand by quantity over quality, until the quality speaks for itself.

Build the system, execute on it 100 times, review the information, and adjust + refine.

Another great follow-up question:

“Am I willing to do this 100x before seeing results?”

As you can see, success is more a test of willpower than it is anything else. What are you willing to do? How much are you willing to do?

Now, this is not to take away the fact that things like impact, feeling, brand etc. matter in music.

The intangibles count for everything, but operations is about executing enough times so that you can gather the right data to then create those intangibles.

Often times we think we show up in a certain way, or we think we’re good at one thing, but really our fanbase resonates with a different part of us altogether.

The information allows us to align with the truth of how we should show up and what resonates most with our fanbase.

I can assure you that if you apply that equation to anything you’re trying to create, or to any space you’re trying to cut through, you will see success.

Go make it happen.

PAY ATTENTION

Taylor Swift's Biggest Moneymaker This Year Won't Be Her New Album

Taylor Swift and her team have broken the internet once again with her latest album "The Tortured Poets Department."

The album is expected to be a huge success, but her main source of income in 2024 will likely come from her ongoing Eras Tour, which brought in over $1 billion last year and is set to continue with another 86 dates.

Despite her streaming success, live performances and merchandise sales are the primary drivers of her substantial fortune, accounting for 34% of her net worth, while streaming and sales contribute 18%.

In addition..

Taylor Swift’s Return to TikTok Includes an In-App Experience for ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ With ‘First-of-its-Kind’ Features

Despite the ongoing licensing dispute between Universal Music Group and TikTok, and Taylor Swift’s music being removed as a result, her new album is being promoted on TikTok, with a unique in-app experience featuring exclusive features and challenges.

I guess some artists are the industry, or an industry of their own.

We should also note that her new album is set to do 2 million in sales first week. Those numbers are wild.

How FloyyMenor & Cris MJ Made Chart History With Their Out-of-Nowhere Hit ‘Gata Only’

-A really cool piece on FloyyMenor and Cris MJ, two Chilean artists, who’s song Gata Only is going crazy right now. The song recently reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs.

UnitedMasters strategically promoted the song through influencer activations and dance challenges, leveraging TikTok and targeting key markets like Mexico and the U.S.

Definitely worth the read. The Latin music market is one of the biggest, and fastest growing markets in the world.

Note: You will need the paywall ladder to view this article. Copy the article’s URL and paste it into the paywall ladder HERE.

INDUSTRY NEWS

TikTok Is Talking to UMG Again, But Washington May Hold The Keys to Its Future 

TikTok is in talks with UMG again, but it looks like the U.S. Congress may force a sale or ban. Negotiations have resumed after UMG pulled its music from TikTok in January. However, Congress has fast-tracked a bill that could require ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell TikTok due to national security concerns.

If that goes through, ByteDance would have a year to sell TikTok to a non-adversarial country, or it could face a ban in the US.

Note: You will need the paywall ladder to view this article. Copy the article’s URL and paste it into the paywall ladder HERE.

Mary J. Blige, Cher, Ozzy Osbourne, A Tribe Called Quest and More get into Rock and Hall of Fame

A big moment for some of the legends of the industry..

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2024 inductees, including Cher, Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews, and Ozzy Osbourne.

Notable omissions include Mariah Carey and Oasis.

Ozzy Osbourne becomes a two-time inductee.

Audiomack Signs Partnership With Merlin, as Streaming Service Aims to Monetize and Legitimize Modified Audio

In last week’s edition we highlighted Spotify’s plans to allow users to modify song speeds, responding to the trend of manipulated audio tracks popular on TikTok. Seeing as though other platforms are looking to jump on the trend, it’s likely that we’ll see this come into fruition on Spotify and co. a lot sooner than later.

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Whether you like it or not, Taylor’s a GOAT

Take notes.

hitsonfye

View more on Instagram

CHECK THIS OUT..

Music Industry Job Openings

Have a look at ROSTR’s job board for paid work in the industry.

Stay hungry. Stay open.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Marley Bleu, Skratch Bastid and more. I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard, Canon, and the NBA.

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