I’m with the band: How managers are shaping creators’ careers today
Meet the managers pushing today’s content creators to stardom and keeping them there. They’re brokering deals, styling, even offering creative input
It’s the age of the content creator. But behind the Reels, it is also the age of the artist manager.
It used to be that only those in show business had managers. Now, cyclists, cartoonists, make-up artists, even handwriting analysts have them. And podcasters and venture capitalists pay for their services.
That’s because fame, even a moderate level, is suddenly within reach. And to get there, it’s no longer enough to do one thing. A cyclist must do more than cycle. She must attend events, give motivational talks, become the brand ambassador for a cycle brand, launch an e-bike. What does a manager do? Bring in the collabs, grow the brand and manage the money, or let her talent suffer.
“About 30 years ago, they were called promoters. A few years ago, they were called assistants. Today they are managers or agents,” says Rohit Raj, 29. He started out managing comedian Bhuvan Bam when they were both 22. He is now CEO and co-founder of BB Ki Vines Productions and CEO of BB Ki Vines. “This is the age of younger managers learning things hands-on as they experience them with creators,” Raj says. Those like him often do everything from styling the creator to setting up media interactions to even scoping new art forms to explore.
It all seems a bit busy. Piyush Agrawal, cofounder of Create, manages creators such as Monkey Magic, Unfiltered by Samdish, Raunak Ramteke, Suraj Devraj and Vir Saini. And he’s only 24. “With short form content coming in, the shelf life of fame itself is decreasing,” he says. “The point is to stay consistent at a much faster pace, which can’t be done solo, especially once you start branching out into other things.”
Four artist managers across different fields describe how their jobs have changed in the last five years.
Rohit Raj
Client: Comedian Bhuvan Bam
“Anyone doing multiple things needs a manager. The talent, or the person who has become popular shouldn’t be dealing with the business side of things, because then their creative skillset takes a back seat,” says Rohit Raj, 29.
An engineering college dropout, Raj worked as an event organiser in Noida and Delhi until 2015-16, when he asked comedian Bhuvan Bam to perform at a Delhi college. Then, Bam asked Raj to work with him independently. “He’s the creative guy, I manage the business. We’ve been doing this for seven years,” says Raj.
When he started, managers only brokered brand deals to get money flowing in. “In the last five years, my role has evolved to creating and working on merchandise labels, working on a tour with an expert and planning it for the artist,” says Raj. He has also produced music videos and short films, including Dhindhora and Tazaa Khabar, and organised photo shoots and styling. Once he even contributed to a debate on who should cut Bam’s hair.
The most important part of the job is making Bam’s life easy, he says. “But it’s also, how do I help him make money while he is asleep? Because if he has to keep recording to make money, that’s not viable. The point also is to invest money at the right place, at the right time, so he sees growth,” adds Raj.
In seven years, Raj says his biggest milestone has been learning to say no. “If you keep saying no, meaning you choose the right places to be instead, that’ll help you break the template and rise above it,” he explains. “We have never done campaigns. If Bhuvan is associated with a brand, he is the brand ambassador. That’s the only entry point to be associated with Bhuvan, so it doesn’t feel like he’s part of the herd.”
This makes him an emotional pillar for Bam. “We’re literally born one day apart. It’s a match made in heaven,” Raj says.
Kavneet Sahni
Clients: Chefs Saransh Goila and Garima Arora
Kavneet Sahni, 42, believes it’s the manager’s job to help the talent think beyond their existing expertise. The CEO and founder of Culinary Communications has been doing this since 2013.
“Earlier, to have an audience and following, you had to be a music, film or sports star,” says Sahni. “Thanks to social media, today everyone can have an audience and hence a following, and therefore, a world of opportunities exists.”
Sahni’s has specialised her services and only works with chefs. In the past, she managed Vikas Khanna, Ranveer Brar and Sarah Todd. “Managing a talent not only involves striking the best deals and handling the business, but also giving your talent creative inputs when required, so they can improvise and grow,” she says. “For this, it is imperative that you yourself understand the subject.”
Most of her clients’ leads come via social media platforms, which helps Sahni pair them with the right brands and track and measure the results. This means much filtering and negotiation. “Since both sides (the talent and the brands) have a plethora of options, I consider the main role of the manager to be keeping the value of the talent intact,” she says. “Just because there is money on the table, not every deal has to be taken. The partnerships you select for the talent must be the ones that secure them in a win-win deal for both the short and the long term.”
The exciting part, Sahni says, is that every deal offers the opportunity to create new ideas and styles. However, some basics still need to be prioritised, Sahni says. “It’s important to respect and understand the space and priorities of your talent. Don’t stretch their limits to a level where it becomes counter-productive. Make sure they’re comfortable because that’s when the best work happens,” she says.
Piyush Agrawal
Biggest clients: Monkey Magic (@monkeyxmagic) and Raunak Ramteke (@raunak_ramteke)
Mumbai resident Piyush Agrawal started off in 2019, when he organised a small creator event in Jaipur. He noticed that as the industry expanded, creators who worked solo felt the need to hire professionals to keep up. So in July 2020, he and his partner Avi Chanodia founded the talent management firm Create.
Now 24, he knows that the trickiest, most crucial job for any manager is to keep the talent relevant. With platforms like Instagram and YouTube, creatives who shine in their respective niches, need managers to amplify their message. “They also need a partner who can help them build long-term brands and consistent monetisation opportunities so they can just focus on their art,” says Agrawal.
Create manages young content creators like himself: Monkey Magic, Unfiltered by Samdish, Raunak Ramteke, Suraj Devraj and Vir Saini. “Social media also presents new opportunities such as brand building, investing and running multiple content platforms,” Agrawal says. “The opportunities keep coming as the market expands. Today, a manager needs to be a well-rounded individual who understands what’s coming and can guide the talent accordingly.”
The managers at Agrawal’s firm follow one golden rule when they sign up talent for meets: Focus on your own content rather than on aggressive networking.
Anirudh Voleti
Former client: Prateek Kuhad
Thirteen years ago, Noida-based Anirudh Voleti quit his banking job out of boredom. Planning to take the GMAT, the self-confessed MySpace geek was so fascinated by the indie music industry that three years later, he joined OML, the torchbearers of indie music. Two years after that, Voleti helped plan India’s first NH7 Weekender, not only dealing with international acts, but giving the world Prateek Kuhad.
Voleti, 37, has just moved into his new role as the head of strategy at Represent, a firm that manages musicians. And he is amazed by how the world has changed for artists. “Ten years ago, I had to find brands that would book musicians for shows. Streaming didn’t exist and YouTube was the only place for people to listen to music online,” he recalls. “Now, with social media, artists are making money. You can even organise a big-ticket music festival an international act because local artists are capable of selling tickets.”
Voleti’s experience has taught him that art is a business like any other. “Artists today are entrepreneurs. They understand where their royalties are coming from, whether performance or streaming; that it goes beyond just getting paid for a show,” he explains.
This is why he seeks collaborations and brand deals for the artists, not their performances. Since this means working closely with the talent, a personal relationship tends to emerge. “The relationship evolves when you’re discussing where to put the money.” Voleti explains.
Voleti was there in 2019 when the lights went off during the Mumbai leg of Prateek Kuhad’s first big India tour and some 7,000 audience members switched on their phone flashlights. He was there when Kuhad’s song Cold/mess was performed live for the first time, when the video was shot, when people across the globe responded with tears, and when it popped into Barack Obama’s playlist.
“Seeing your talent succeed makes you happy,” he says.
