Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights, tips, and strategies for artist managers on how to navigate through the music business.

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Ruiz Note:

It's been a whirlwind.

Since Tuesday, I've been wanting to get this Newsletter out.

Life had other plans.

 Flights, strategy meetings, work, more strategy meetings and more flights, all jammed between March 19th and 25th. 

The Canadian award show I mentioned last Newsletter? It wrapped up on Sunday, and on Monday morning, we stumbled onto a plane from Halifax to Toronto, running on a mere 2.5 hours of sleep.

My body? It crashed. Hard.

Less than 24 hours later, I’m on a flight to LA for more meetings only to be writing this from another city all together at 4:32 am this morning…After yet, another flight.

It’s been relentless. But you know what? I wouldn't have had it any other way.

In this business, you've got to love what you do to make a real impact.

Working with artists, and TRULY celebrating them, helping their creative outlets and bringing unimaginable visions to life –

that's where the magic happens.

Our team at 8 Til Faint Artist Management (shoutout rock stars Martin Añon and Erica Kongvongxay) orchestrated an EPIC AP (After Party) alongside Artist Manager Carlos Pineda that'll be talked about for ages.

Now, you might be thinking “A party? Big deal…” No… Let me stop that train of thought right now.

This was different. 

If you had the privilege of being at the Marque Ballroom in Halifax Nova Scotia on March 24/2024, consider yourselves among the fortunate. Ask anyone who attended, and they'll attest to the extraordinary nature of the evening.

It was a thing of beauty.

Hosted and devised by the ICONIC Haligonian Skratch Bastid (8TFAM most recent signing) and the LEGENDARY Master of Ceremony, Artist, DJ, & Exec Kardinal Offishall.

These two together are a two headed monster. They flipped the Marquee upside down. Something tells me this won’t be the last time we see them rock together ;)

The party, dubbed "LAST CALL”, lived up to its name. The venue had to kick us out when the lights came on, but nobody wanted to leave. 

We had everyone – even the Canadian GOAT Nelly Furtado – gracing our stage turning up to the sounds of Bambii.  BTW, if you’re not familiar with Bambii, PLEASE get a acquainted. She’s a problem. Some of the smoothest transitions I’ve heard from a DJ. A superstar in the making.

And the night didn't end there.

TOBi, a rapper/songwriter who truly cares about the art, took control of the mic & crowd and hosted an impromptu karaoke session. Except this session featured some of Canada’s brightest young stars such as RealestK, Pressa and Haviah Mighty all performing their biggest hits.

Classified, Nova Scotia's hometown hero (shoutout Enfield), performed his classics while TALK, along with his manager Cormac and team, celebrated hard (rightfully so) their Breakthrough Artist of The Year. Meanwhile, Charlotte Cardin and her team enjoyed the sounds of Moonshine and impromptu performance of the 2024 Canadian Music Hall of Fame inductee Maestro Fresh Wes.

Like I said, it was a beauty of a night. 

Lately, I've been reflecting on what drives me. It seems I'm addicted to those perfectly executed moments, with incredible talent, all while shattering industry norms.

 Ask anyone who knows me – I don’t do conformity well. To me, it’s far more exciting to challenge the status quo, not just for the sake of going against the grain, but to carve out paths that are uniquely your own.

My friend Lex Borrero told me a couple days ago that he lives by the "What If" rule in this industry. 

As a proud Canadian, I couldn't agree more. But as Canadians, we also need to back our “What If" with “Why Not?”.

We've got a conservative streak. It's strange for an industry built on dreams. Somewhere along the line, I guess for some the pension plan became more important than the artist we serve.

My response to that?

Fuck it. Dream BIG. 

Always.

CONTENTS

Strategy:
• Knowing your Fans is Now A Superpower

Pay Attention:
• James Blake And Vault Are Onto Something Big.
• AI Can Now Create Pro-Level Music With a Prompt. It’s SCARY good.
• BandLab Crosses 100 Million Creators

Industry News: 
• Punjabi Music is Taking the World by Storm
• Beyonce Country

What We’re Watching:
• Ante UP!

STRATEGY

Knowing Your Fans Is Now A Superpower

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀:

1. Streaming is maxing out
2. The time is ripe for new formats
3. Direct fan relationships are the new gold

Rob Abelow is a great follow on LinkedIn.

Here he breaks down a few takeaways from the new music economy we are currently embarking on. Take notes and strategize.

PAY ATTENTION

James Blake And Vault Are Onto Something.

Jame’s Blake and Vault are onto something. Vault is a platform where artists can release music to their diehard fans, who pay a monthly subscription in order to support the artist.

“With Vault, the artist owns the data.

Subscription allows an artist to focus on making music not promoting and making tiktok’s every time i have a song i want to share w the world.

More than just music, presale touring etc. there’s a lot of interesting ways this can go in the future.”

It’s currently priced at $5USD/month. It’s a great avenue for artists to begin to monetize their audience without a middle person. Simple, but much needed. A sign of the times.

You Can Now Create Pro-Level Music With a Prompt

Online, Suno’s creations are starting to generate reactions like “How the f**k is this real?”

Here’s a song that was generated using Suno. The vocals, lyrics, and guitar are all AI.

It’s SCARY GOOD. Try it. 

Naturally, there are concerns regarding its impact on artists and the potential legal challenges from music labels.

BandLab is Taking Over Music Creation By Storm

BandLab, the social music creation platform, has now surpassed 100 million registered users. This time last year, the app had just over 60 million registered users.
 

Some extra highlights..

“BandLab has also been expanding its suite of creator tools in recent months. In November, for example, BandLab launched a distribution service in partnership with FUGA for its users to upload their music straight to streaming services.

In January, BandLab launched a licensing service for its users to make their songs eligible to be used in TV, films, games and advertising.”

INDUSTRY NEWS

Punjabi Music is Taking the World by Storm and its New Sound is Based in Canada

So often are we focused on the English music coming out of North America music, that we overlook the fact that Canada is home to one of the music hubs in the world: the Punjabi music scene. 

Welcome to Beyonce, Country

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

Skratch Bastid x Kardinal

You really thought you were going to have me talk about this EPIC party in Halifax, scroll through this entire Newsletter and not show you some of the mayhem from last Sunday at our After Party “LAST CALL”?

Stop this.

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.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

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