Interview With Sarah Martin

I recently had the chance to ask Sarah Martin a few questions about artist management, and what it's like to deal with many high profile artists. She was kind enough to take the time out of her busy schedule and give me some real insight into her industry.

Did you do any college schooling before entering the entertainment industry? 

I did… I went to a small liberal arts college and got a communications degree. 

Who are the artists you manage or work with? 

I’ve worked with a ton of acts since being in management: Rob Zombie, Guns N’ Roses, Morrissey, Les Claypool (Primus), Static-X, DEVO, The Monkees, Jurassic 5, and some smaller acts like Beta Wolf, and Kyle Nicolaides.

How did you get into the entertainment industry, and what made you choose your current position? 

When I was in highschool, I loved music, and thought I wanted to be a rockstar.  Then I decided I better have a backup plan.  When I was in college, I decided it was important to get an internship. Using monster.com, some one found my resume.  It turned out to be Madonna’s film production company, Maverick Films.  After that internship, I got into favor with a temp agency that serviced only the entertainment industry.  I would spend a few days-weeks at different companies and try to make friends with the people I met.  One of the executives I met while temping (at VH1) was a producer at E! Entertainment by the time I graduated.  She got me a job as a production assistant on a TV show.  One day we were filming an episode that had a guest host, who was a fashion designer.  I convinced him that day that I should be his assistant, and after a year of working for him I was frustrated with how I was being treated and left the company.  I got BACK into temping, and was placed as an office assistant for a music management firm.  At that time, I had no idea what a manager did for a music artist, but I knew I liked being around music and learning the business side of things.  The rest is history. 

Have you ever had to deal with a very demanding artist, or do you have any stories that stand out from dealing with high profile artists? 

I can’t go into details, but most successful artists are demanding and particular about how they want things.  The best thing is to just listen, and stay calm, but at the same time empathize and show you care about what it is that they want.  If you mess up, and they’re angry, it’s okay to take responsibility.  Sometimes people respect you more for that.

How hard is it to balance your personal life with such a demanding job? 

I have a husband, and I definitely appreciate that he is understanding of my demanding job.  You really have to be intentional though, when you do have time with the people you care about, to make it quality time.

Rob Zombie is a big name, how much pressure do you deal with on a daily basis? 

Definitely if Rob calls and wants something, that becomes the priority.  Same is true for my boss.  He’s been doing this a long time and demands a lot of the same attention and respect that the clients would.  They both rely on me to be a jack-of-all-trades, renaissance problem-solver.  So that can amount to quite a bit of pressure some days.  I’m blessed that usually they are pretty cool to me.

How hard is it to break into artist management? 

I’m not sure, since I got lucky and fell into it.  I mean, anyone can manage an artist, it just depends if you’re good at it.  I’ve met managers that were good in a meeting and good at selling their artist, but not good at follow-thru and details.  I’ve also seem the other way around.  I’ve seen managers who start out by just finding an act they believe in, and going door to door with them.  I’ve also seem managers who start out grabbing coffee for bigger managers, and then slowly start showing they have promise.  What’s harder than breaking into management, is being a good manager.  What’s VERY difficult in the current landscape, is breaking a young band.

Any advice to students trying to get into the entertainment industry? 

Be likeable and tactful.  You do have to be aggressive and sell yourself some times, but you also have to learn how to not come on too strong and turn people off.  BE A GOOD LISTENER.  You will learn the most this way.  Be a hard worker.  If you have a boss, make him/her feel like you care about their business as much as they do.  Read a lot about marketing and branding, because artists don’t make a lot of money just selling records anymore, you have to create a brand.