Think Like a Manager
This is your digital manager, giving you strategic tools to aid you on your music career. Designed for independent music artists by an artist manager and veteran marketing strategist.
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ARTIST PATHS
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Need help with a marketing campaign, release rollout strategy or something else?
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THE BRIEFING
Insights on the business, brand, and behavior of being a music artist.
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The Latest from the BLOG
- Building Your Dream Team [with examples for you to use]A guide for music artists This blog post was voted on by the members of my Level UPdates broadcast channel on Instagram. Thank you so much for voting! If you’re not a part of the channel, click here to join the channel. Whether you’re looking to find an artist manager, booking agent or just adding… Read more: Building Your Dream Team [with examples for you to use]
- Music Review – Golden brushA Single by Santa Rosa, CA’s Vocab Slick From the very start of Golden Brush, Vocab Slick sucks the listener into a story riddled with the wordplay, allegory and allusions we expect from a Hip-Hop track but rarely receive these days. In this second single leading to the release of his highly anticipated EP in… Read more: Music Review – Golden brush
- TikTok’s New (Scary) U.S. Terms of ServicesTikTok just become majority American-owned and updated their Terms of Service on January 22, 2026. And buried down in the legal language are some BIG things that every music artist on TikTok needs to understand before they post one more video. I’m talking about: This is a help you ‘understand what you’re agreeing to so… Read more: TikTok’s New (Scary) U.S. Terms of Services
- how an artist manager does brandingPlus worksheets to help you solidify yours We launched Think Like A Manager on Skool this week with defining your brand. It’s not as fun of a subject as booking and social media, but getting your branding solid is essential to becoming the professional music artist you strive to be. I’ll share with you my… Read more: how an artist manager does branding
- Skool is now in session!You want a manager, now here is your chance. If you thought my Instagram account was helpful, you ain’t seen nothing yet! Birthed from the very successful The Artist Management Circle, I have built a home for music artist who are really hungry and willing to do the work necessary to have a better music… Read more: Skool is now in session!
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EVENTS
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
On average, you need about 250,000-330,000 streams on Spotify to make $1,000 (at $0.003-$0.004 per stream). However, this varies by platform: Apple Music pays more ($0.01 per stream), while YouTube pays less ($0.002 per stream). Remember, these are rough estimates and actual payouts depend on factors like listener location, subscription type, and your distribution deal.
This really depends on your own specific goals but as a general rule: for music artists, a good engagement rate is 3-6% for accounts under 10K followers, and 1-3% for larger accounts. Engagement rate = (Likes + Comments + Shares) ÷ Followers × 100. Focus on quality content that resonates with your audience rather than just chasing follower counts. Consistent posting and authentic interaction with fans typically yields better engagement.
Use your distributor’s analytics dashboard (DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, etc.) to see: 1) Total streams per song, 2) Geographic breakdown of listeners, 3) Playlist additions, 4) Skip rates and save rates. For deeper insights, connect to Spotify for Artists and Apple Music for Artists. Track these weekly to identify trends and understand which songs to promote more heavily.
Run paid ads when: 1) You have at least 3-5 strong songs released, 2) You have a clear target audience, 3) You have $100-500 minimum to spend, 4) You’re actively releasing new music or building toward a release. Don’t run ads if you only have 1-2 songs or no release strategy. Organic growth first, then amplify with ads when you have momentum
Quality matters more than quantity – one great song every 6 weeks beats rushing mediocre songs every 2 weeks. Plan 6-12 months ahead to maintain consistency.
The goals you set will determine whether your marketing is working but here is a general rule: Track these key metrics: 1) Follower growth rate (are you gaining followers?), 2) Engagement rate (are people interacting?), 3) Stream growth (are more people listening?), 4) Playlist additions (are curators picking you up?), 5) Geographic spread (are you reaching new cities/countries?). If all metrics are stagnant for 30+ days, your strategy needs adjustment.
Saves indicate listeners adding your song to their library or playlists – a strong positive signal that they want to hear it again. Skips show how many listeners clicked “next” before your song finished. A high skip rate (over 30-40%) suggests the song isn’t resonating with that audience or the playlist placement isn’t right. Focus on getting more saves through great music and proper targeting.
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