Tools for MGMT: Episode 103

Mister Softee, Cameo > the EMMYS, SBA loans, your 15 minutes...

Lollapalooza on YouTube? I’m good on that. Not when Rolling Loud is back, baby. I’ll see you on Praia da Rocha (43 miles from the nearest airport) next summer. We just need to get these onerous US Passport travel restrictions sorted.

My name is Ethan. I manage a screenwriter and a comedian. I started this newsletter to regularly send out a few links that I hope other artist mangers will find interesting. Thanks for reading.

DAVE snubbed by the EMMYS
Imagine not giving GaTa a nod for best supporting actor… yikes. You can still show him love on Cameo… and I’d recommend doing so before the price goes up.* Congrats to Apple TV+, Apple Music, and Apple AirPods on their various nominations, I guess? And to Euphoria, which was very different than my high school experience.

My fav ideas on allocating $50k in marketing spend
Frankly, I have no idea how I’d allocate $50k. Best bet might be to deposit all of it in Robinhood for the artist to trade options live on Twitch/IG…

Save it for David @keiopensdoors

Young managers and artists....if you had $50k in marketing money to release your album or EP....how would you spend it??? (Yes right now during a pandemic)

July 28th 2020

124 Retweets966 Likes

There are a lot of sus ideas in the replies, to be sure. And the default refrain of dumping most of the $$$ into digital ads the same week our big tech BOYS sit before Congress for a landmark antitrust hearing feels…uninspired at best.

But there are some diamonds in the rough:

• spend 40k on custom tracksuits for all my friends and 10k on features - @lobstertrappr

• 5k distributed to 1000 fans via cashapp - @natenumbaeight

• i would pay keanu reeves or mike tyson to do a ridiculous video drop and then seed the video on meme sites and WSHH adjacent sites for instant visibility and crowdsourced sharing - @yellowtechnica

• Invest in a mister softee truck in Atlanta.. aka buy the franchise... and promote music through my rounds - @CYMANDYE (note: franchise fee is $7500 with liquid capital requirements of $40k… this one really checks out)

SBA Loans
If you haven’t grabbed your $1000 grant via the EIDL program, I wrote up a guide on how to do so. It’ll take you 15 minutes. FaceTime me with any questions. Doing so will also potentially qualify you for an SBA loan at very low rates (3.75% for 30 years, and unsecured if under $25k).

Stone Mound Meezy @MEGAMEEZY

All y’all promoters better get y’all SBA money together club artist are at least 30% off ... some even 50 or 75% ... lol make dat paper flip

July 27th 2020

7 Retweets22 Likes

Screenshot essays
I am liking these! Fun! From the one on fame in 2020:

Today, an equivalent artist can reach 100x as many people on TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, and FB. Talent can now build a direct relationship with fans. They can't be cut out by gatekeepers. The result that 15 minutes of fame can yield an audience for a lifetime... Yet this shift created a new paradigm: people are more famous than they are rich. Scale-driven ad models effectively monetize an initial surge of wide fame. They don't work after that.

Ethan’s Predictions: 0 for 2
Intellectual honesty time… because that’s what we do here. My two predictions from the inaugural edition aren’t looking too prescient at the moment, I will admit. But there’s still time (for Microsoft to mess it up). I enjoyed Max Gredinger’s take in Rolling Stone on how over-indexing on TikTok and failing to diversify beyond that is a decidedly dangerous combination.

That’s all for this week. Catch you soon.

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P.S. *Speaking of, I can’t wait for all of my birthday Cameos on Monday (!!!)