There is something quietly powerful about a good artist- music manager relationship. It is less a contract and more a covenant. Think of Tems and her manager Muyiwa Awoniyi. Not just in the language of work, but in the atmosphere of trust. Since the early days of her career, Muyiwa’s thoughtful stewardship has mirrored the depth of Tems’ artistic instincts, cultivating not just moments but momentum.
Together, they have turned vision into architecture, intuition into impact. When a manager and an artist are in sync, the result is not just success but transcendence. However, not all artists inspire this kind of loyalty. Some drive their managers into therapy sessions, prayer meetings, or full-blown career changes.
Dear Toxic Artist,
Your music might be good, even great. But behind the scenes, you’re exhausting. Here are ten things managers secretly hate about you, even if they still answer your calls.
1. You assume talent will excuse everything:
As an artist, your creativity is undeniable. But talent, on its own, has never sustained a career. What often goes unseen by the public is the infrastructure required to make artistry sustainable: planning, follow-through, negotiation, and consistency.
When timelines are ignored, communication is spotty, and one’s only currency is “vibes,” your manager is left to clean up the fallout. Talent opens the door. Structure keeps it from slamming shut. Your manager did not sign up to be your safety net every time discipline is abandoned.
2. You consistently miss timelines without consequence:
When your manager communicates deadlines, it is rarely for convenience. Those dates are tied to broader plans: brand partnerships, distribution schedules, festival lineups, or campaign activations. But your approach to time is fluid at best and dismissive at worst.
You fail to deliver materials when required, send incomplete drafts after long delays, and often act as if being “in a creative space” justifies professional negligence. What you may not see is how each delay erodes your manager’s credibility in rooms you have never even entered.
3. You disappear during critical moments but remain publicly active:
You frequently go quiet when key decisions are on the table. Important emails are left unanswered. Deliverables are missed. Urgent calls go ignored. Yet your social media presence remains vibrant. Your music manager sees you post selfies, upload stories, and tweet cryptic things about being misunderstood, all while they scramble to manage the business side of your brand.
This behavior is not just unprofessional. It is deeply inconsiderate. It creates a lopsided dynamic where your visibility thrives at the expense of your manager’s capacity to manage effectively.
4. You resist constructive feedback and surround yourself with approval:
A healthy creative process involves iteration, reflection, and accountability. But you have built an echo chamber around your work. Praise is abundant. Critique is viewed as disloyalty. When your manager offers feedback rooted in long-term strategy, it is often met with defensiveness or dismissal.
Over time, this makes honest dialogue nearly impossible. A music manager’s role is not to flatter but to guide. If you treat every note as a personal attack, you deny yourself the opportunity to grow and make their job significantly harder.
5. You undermine their decisions while demanding their expertise:
You expect your manager to lead your career but regularly question their judgment. You want them to secure high-level opportunities but resist the processes required to attain them. Suggestions are second-guessed. Strategies are criticized without context.
And when something goes wrong, you place the blame squarely on them. This creates a toxic loop in which authority is stripped while accountability is still demanded. No music manager can thrive in an environment where they are not empowered to lead.
6. You disregard boundaries and treat your manager like an emotional concierge:
Many managers function beyond their official role. They become personal advisors, therapists, and crisis responders. While emotional investment is part of the job, emotional exploitation should not be. When your manager is expected to carry your burdens while theirs are dismissed, a deep imbalance occurs.
The assumption that they should always be available — regardless of time or circumstance shows a lack of empathy. Good music managers show up in hard seasons. That effort deserves to be met with respect.
7. You conflate loyalty with blind allegiance:
You want unwavering loyalty but are quick to dismiss concerns as negativity or lack of faith. When you act out of impulse or ego and your manager offers correction, the feedback is interpreted as betrayal. This dynamic encourages silence over honesty. Performance is prioritized over integrity.
Loyalty is not about agreeing at all costs. It is about being committed enough to offer difficult truths when necessary. A music manager cannot protect your legacy if they are afraid of your reaction to realism.
8. You engage in self-sabotage then expect your manager to salvage your reputation:
Your manager has worked tirelessly to cultivate relationships, secure press, and open doors. Yet you continue to show up late, miss rehearsals, speak recklessly in interviews, and antagonize industry professionals. When opportunities dry up, you accuse the world of sleeping on your brilliance.
In truth, your behavior is alienating the very people who could help you grow. Your manager cannot and should not run PR damage control after every preventable mistake.
9. You delay or avoid payment while expecting full service:
Compensation is not optional. Managers often work for months, sometimes years without immediate payoff, hoping for long-term success. When financial agreements are delayed, broken, or restructured without consent, it sends a message: their work is not valued. You cannot demand loyalty, commitment, and high performance while refusing to honor the basic terms of engagement. Respect is not just spoken. It is paid.
10. You resist growth and expect the industry to remain static around you
Some artists are trapped in the nostalgia of their early buzz. They avoid risk, reject evolution, and rely on outdated formulas. When your manager proposes new sounds, fresh strategies, or meaningful shifts, the suggestions are often dismissed.
There is a difference between staying true to your core and refusing to grow. The industry evolves rapidly. Artists who endure are those willing to adapt. Your manager’s job is to future-proof your career. They cannot do that while you remain anchored to the past.
In conclusion, the job of a manager is demanding. It is high-stress, often thankless, and rarely understood in its full scope. Music managers are not simply facilitators of opportunity.
They are often the emotional ballast in an industry that is as volatile as it is glamorous. If you are fortunate enough to have someone who believes in your potential, who chooses to advocate for you even on your worst days, then you have something rare.
Do not take that for granted. Partnership is not built on power but built on trust. Good managers are hard to find. Great ones are even harder to keep.
