Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Mike Caren)

Mike Caren on Ep 62 of The Manager’s Playbook

You’re Supposed to Make Bad Decisions First.

Mike Caren, founder of APG, said something on The Manager’s Playbook that really stuck with me.

Not because it was controversial. But because it was true.

If you’re a creative executive, your job is to have an opinion. And if you’re afraid to have one because you might be wrong… you’re already cooked.

That’s a hard truth in the music business. In life too.

A lot of people come into this game thinking the goal is to avoid bad decisions. To be polished early. To look smart in every room. To make the “right” move every single time. But that’s not really how this works. Not if you’re trying to build real taste.

Not if you’re trying to become a great A&R, manager, artist, executive, or entrepreneur. Not if you’re actually trying to get good.

You have to make some bad calls first.

Not reckless or lazy ones. But imperfect ones.

You have to pick the wrong record sometimes.

Bet on the wrong collaborator.
Misread the room.
Push too early.
Wait too long.
Trust the wrong instinct.
Say something the wrong way.
Take the wrong meeting.
Miss the thing that, in hindsight, feels obvious.

That’s not failure. That’s tuition.

And the people who eventually become dangerous in this business?

They don’t become dangerous because they were born with some supernatural “ear” or some magical leadership gene. But because they were willing to be wrong in public, then honest enough with themselves to study why.

That’s what Mike is really getting at.

He isn’t glorifying mistakes for the sake of mistakes. He’s talking about reps. Pattern recognition. Confidence built on evidence, not ego.

There’s a difference.

A lot of people want the confidence without the reps.

They want the title before the taste. They want to lead before they’ve actually learned how to think.

And that’s where people get themselves into trouble.

Mike Caren

In the music business, bad decisions don’t always come from being dumb. Sometimes they come from trying to look smart too early.

That’s the part people don’t talk about enough.

Quick business check: 
If you’ve got music out, you’re probably leaving publishing money on the table.

Publishing royalties can come from streams, performances, and online usage, but collecting worldwide is a maze of registrations and middlemen.

That’s why KOSIGN exists. Built by Kobalt, KOSIGN lets you submit once and they handle global registrations to help you collect every cent you’re owed, plus direct DSP licensing (Spotify/Apple) where possible. No long lock-in either: rolling quarterly term.

It’s selective, but the application is 100% free. Apply now.

The Fear of Being Wrong Is Making People Useless

Mike said something else that I thought was incredibly important.

If you send someone a song and they come back with, “I don’t know if I love it,” that uncertainty is often just fear wearing a nicer outfit.

Because if your job is to develop artists, spot records, guide careers, and bring value to a creative process… then your opinion matters.

Actually, scratch that. Your opinion is the job.

And a lot of people are scared to put theirs on the line.

Why?

Because once you say, “I believe in this,” you can be judged. Once you say, “This is the one,” you can miss. Once you say, “I don’t think this is ready,” you can upset people.

But all of that is part of the work.

The artist has to release the song eventually.

So what are we really doing by delaying the opinion? Protecting ourselves? Or just postponing growth?

This is why Mike’s perspective matters so much. He understands that judgment is built, not bestowed.

Your “gut” is not magic.

It’s accumulated experience.

It’s every room you’ve been in. Every crowd you’ve watched react. Every song you’ve played too early. Every record you were wrong about. Every time you backed the wrong person. And every time you underestimated the right one.

Your eye gets sharper because life keeps testing it.

That’s why I always get a little nervous around people who’ve never been wrong but somehow have the strongest opinions in the room. Usually that just means they haven’t done enough yet. Or worse, they’ve learned how to talk around the truth instead of confronting it.

Mike isn’t that.

He’s a guy who’s lived enough of the process to know that wrong decisions, when handled properly, can still lead you to the right framework.

And in a business this subjective, that framework is everything.

L-R: Miles Beard (APG), Charlie Puth, Mike Caren, Angie Pagano (APG)

Bad Decisions Are Data

This is where I think a lot of younger artists and executives miss it.

They treat every bad decision like a character flaw.

You signed the wrong deal? You’re washed.

You pushed the wrong single? You don’t have an ear.

You hired the wrong person? You can’t lead.

You missed on an artist? You’re not really A&R.

You trusted the wrong situation? You’re naive.

Relax.

Sometimes you were just early in your education.

Mike talked a lot on the podcast about learning through decision-making. About asking questions, hearing all and listening to yourself, tracking your predictions and checking your own accuracy over time.

That’s such a healthy lens.

Because when you remove the ego, a bad decision becomes information.

Why did I believe in that record?
Why did I miss this artist?
Why did I rush that release?
Why did I avoid that hard conversation?
Why did I think I was ready for that opportunity?
Why did I need that title so badly?
Why did I confuse motion with progress?

Those are the questions that actually move you forward.

And I think this is especially important in music, because there are so many people cosplaying certainty. Everybody’s an expert after the fact.

That’s not wisdom. That’s hindsight with good lighting.

The real work is in developing the nerve to make calls before the results arrive.

Mike clearly understands this.

That’s why he values people who can think. People who stay curious and do the homework. People who can explain why they believe what they believe. Even when they’re wrong.

Especially when they’re wrong.

Because that’s where the growth is.

Mike on the set of TMP

You Start Out Bad So You Can Eventually Become Useful

Most people are not good when they begin.

They’re enthusiastic. Ambitious. Passionate. Maybe even talented.

But they’re not good yet.

Not consistently.

And that’s okay.

Mike touched on this from multiple angles in our conversation. He spoke about people taking opportunities they’re not ready for. He spoke about not pretending to know genres or spaces he wasn’t deeply immersed in. And also about consistency mattering more than flashes of brilliance.

That’s all the same conversation, really.

It’s the conversation around readiness.

And readiness is earned through repetition.

You do not become trustworthy in this business because you announced yourself to be.

You become trustworthy because people watch you make calls, adjust, improve, and keep showing up with more clarity than you had before.

That’s development.

Human development.

And if we’re being honest, most of us only started to get good once we got tired of lying to ourselves about where we actually were.

That was certainly true for me in parts of my own journey.

You get humbled. You miss.

You overestimate yourself. You underprepare.

You realize the room isn’t reacting how you imagined.

And then, if you’re smart, you don’t get bitter.

You get better.

That’s the distinction.

L-R: Mike Caren & FloRida

The Goal Is Not Perfection. It’s Better Decisions.

I think what Mike understands at a high level is that success in this business is rarely about avoiding every mistake.

It’s about making better mistakes.

Then learning from them fast enough that they stop repeating themselves.

That’s how careers are built.

By developing the ability to say:

I was wrong about that. Here’s what I missed. Here’s what I learned. Here’s how I’m sharper now.

That is such a powerful posture.

It keeps you open and curious. It keeps you from becoming rigid. And in a business that changes every year, rigidity is death.

Mike has worked with some of the biggest artists in modern music and helped develop executives who went on to become major leaders in the business. You don’t do that by being lucky. You do that by refining your judgment over decades.

And judgment is forged, not found.

That’s why I actually think bad decisions, when approached correctly, can produce great outcomes.

Because the awareness it creates can change the way you move forever.

Sometimes the wrong move teaches you more than the right one ever could.

And in the music business, where timing is weird, taste is subjective, and everybody’s acting more certain than they really are, that lesson is priceless.

So no, the goal is not to be bad.

The goal is to be willing to be bad long enough to become good. Then good long enough to become dangerous. Then disciplined enough to stay useful.

That’s the game.

And Mike Caren, whether he was talking about artists, executives, records, promotions, or leadership, kept circling back to that idea in different ways:

Have an opinion.
Ask questions.
Track your instincts.
Embrace being wrong.
Don’t rush readiness.
Build consistency.
Learn from every miss.

And above all, keep going.

The people who last in this business are usually not the ones who never made bad decisions.

They’re the ones who made enough of them to finally understand what a good one feels like.

Watch Episode 62 with Mike Caren LIVE NOW

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK:

THE 50th EDITION MAGAZINE

To celebrate 50,000+ subscribers on YouTube and 50+ podcast episodes, we turned the first chapter of The Manager’s Playbook into a digital magazine issue.

But before anything, thank you. If you’ve watched, listened, shared, or even sent one message saying “this helped,” you’re the reason we’re here. You didn’t just support content. You helped build the community around it.

Inside the issue is a curated rundown of every episode, the biggest takeaways, and the lines worth revisiting when you’re building in real time. Think of it as a reference guide you can save, share, and come back to whenever you need clarity.

Read the 50th Edition Magazine below.

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Charlie Rocket)

Charlie Rocket on Ep 61 of The Manager’s Playbook

Delusion.

Not the kind that disconnects you from reality. The kind that allows you to create one.

Charlie Rocket said something that stuck with me.

He basically argued that sometimes the smartest people are at the biggest disadvantage, because they can see all the problems before they ever take the first step. They analyze. They calculate. They forecast every possible failure.

Meanwhile, the so-called “delusional” person is already in motion. Already testing. Already building. Already failing forward. Already ten steps ahead simply because they moved.

And in the music business, that matters more than most people want to admit.

Charlie Rocket

Because this business does not reward the most rational person in the room. It rewards the one who can believe before there is proof. The one who can see the artist before the streams. The manager before the title. The audience before the numbers. The system before the infrastructure. The opportunity before the room agrees.

That takes a level of delusion.

And I mean that as a compliment.

Let me explain.

Quick business check: 
If you’ve got music out, you’re probably leaving publishing money on the table.

Publishing royalties can come from streams, performances, and online usage, but collecting worldwide is a maze of registrations and middlemen.

That’s why KOSIGN exists. Built by Kobalt, KOSIGN lets you submit once and they handle global registrations to help you collect every cent you’re owed, plus direct DSP licensing (Spotify/Apple) where possible. No long lock-in either: rolling quarterly term.

It’s selective, but the application is 100% free. Apply now.

The music business is one of the only industries where you are regularly asked to build something out of thin air.

You are asking people to believe in songs no one knows yet. Artists no one cares about yet. A vision that has not materialized yet.

There is no clean corporate ladder for this. Just instinct, repetition, relationships, and conviction.

So when Charlie talks about delusion, I don’t hear recklessness. I hear spiritual courage. I hear a refusal to let current circumstances become permanent identity. I hear somebody saying that faith is not a luxury in this business. It is a requirement.

That’s what allowed him to walk away from a massively successful chapter in music, managing 2 Chainz, and bet on a deeper dream.

On paper, that decision makes no sense. Why would someone leave security, status, money, and proximity to the highest levels of the industry?

Because to Charlie, staying in something that no longer aligned with his soul was the greater risk. He called it dangerous to live a life where you never actually go after the thing you were meant to do.

That’s not just life advice. That is career strategy.

How many artists stay attached to the wrong sound because it is what got a reaction once?

How many managers stay in weak partnerships because they are afraid to start over?

How many executives keep building safe, legible careers while quietly ignoring the part of themselves that knows they are supposed to be doing something bigger, sharper, more honest?

Sometimes the thing keeping you stuck is not lack of talent. It is over-respect for reality.

L-R: Charlie Rocket & former client, 2 Chainz

Charlie’s perspective is a reminder that every major breakout begins as an unreasonable belief.

And the music business gives us examples of this over and over again.

Before there was market proof, before there were headlines, before the room fully caught up, somebody had to look at 2 Chainz and see a superstar.

Not a maybe. Not a solid bet. A superstar.

Charlie and his partners did not sit around waiting for permission to participate. They started creating value. They spent their own money. They moved like managers before the business formally made them managers. That is delusion in its highest form: acting on a future you can already see, even when the present has not caught up yet.

That idea matters a lot to me because so much of the pain in our business comes from hesitation disguised as intelligence.

“I need a better team first.”
“I need more money first.”
“I need a clearer strategy.”
“I need more time.”
“I need the content plan to be perfect.”
“I need the audience to respond first.”

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Maybe what you actually need is a stronger belief system.

Because systems matter, yes. Strategy matters, absolutely. Team matters, without question. But none of those things get built without someone first being irrational enough to say: we’re going to make this work anyway.

That’s where delusion becomes useful.

For the artist, it sounds like continuing to release and build when the numbers are still modest.

For the manager, it sounds like championing talent before anybody else sees it.

For the executive, it sounds like backing something that does not fit neatly into the deck yet.

For the team, it sounds like working a plan that has not paid off yet, but still feels undeniably right.

Charlie on the set of TMP

This is also why I think Charlie’s mindset is so powerful for independent artists and aspiring managers specifically.

Because when you do not have institutional support, delusion becomes part of the infrastructure. It fills the gap before the machine arrives. It is what keeps you going when there is no budget, no co-sign, no certainty, and no visible momentum. It is what lets you keep showing up long enough for the market to notice.

And to be clear, I am not romanticizing chaos here.

Delusion without discipline is useless.

Belief without execution is performance art.

Charlie is compelling not just because he believes big. He moves big. He pairs conviction with action. He builds. He markets. He blitzes. He tests. He puts pressure on the opportunity. That’s the part people miss. Delusion is not valuable because it sounds inspirational. It is valuable because it creates motion.

That’s the real lesson.

L-R: Mauricio Ruiz & Charlie Rocket

The most dangerous thing in the music business is not being wrong.

It is waiting until it all makes sense.

Because by the time it makes sense to everybody else, the real opportunity is usually gone.

The best managers I know have a little delusion in them. The best artists do too. The best executives as well. They all possess some version of the same gift: the ability to hold a future picture so clearly that they can organize their behaviour around it before the evidence shows up.

That’s not arrogance.

That’s vision.

And vision, in this business, often looks crazy right before it looks obvious.

So maybe the question is not whether delusion has a place in your career.

Maybe the real question is whether you have enough of it.

Enough to keep building the team before it looks like a team. Enough to keep refining the strategy before it starts converting. Enough to keep releasing before the algorithm cares. Enough to keep marketing before the crowd forms. Enough to keep believing in the artist before the industry catches up.

Because in music, the people who win are rarely the ones who waited for proof.

They are usually the ones who moved like it was already written.

And Charlie Rocket understands that better than most.

Watch Episode 61 with Charlie Rocket LIVE NOW

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK:

THE 50TH EDITION MAGAZINE

To celebrate 50,000+ subscribers on YouTube and 50+ podcast episodes, we turned the first chapter of The Manager’s Playbook into a digital magazine issue.

But before anything, thank you. If you’ve watched, listened, shared, or even sent one message saying “this helped,” you’re the reason we’re here. You didn’t just support content. You helped build the community around it.

Inside the issue is a curated rundown of every episode, the biggest takeaways, and the lines worth revisiting when you’re building in real time. Think of it as a reference guide you can save, share, and come back to whenever you need clarity.

Read the 50th Edition Magazine below.

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Tommy Brown)

Tommy Brown on Ep 60 of The Manager’s Playbook

Everybody wants the plaque.

Very few people want the process.

I had a conversation with Tommy Brown, renowned producer and songwriter with many Billboard hits under his belt and what resonated was not the resume or the hits. Not the fact that he’s helped shape records for one of the biggest pop stars on the planet.

It was the process. The real one. The ugly one. The one with repetition in it. The one with humility in it.

We live in a time where people want the title before they’ve built the habits to hold it.

“Hit producer” sounds sexy on a bio. Looks amazing on a lower third. Makes for a hard Instagram caption too, I’m sure. But when Tommy started unpacking how he became Tommy Brown, the answer wasn’t “talent.” Not by itself anyhow.

It was upbringing. It was consistency and exploration. It was studying. And It was sacrifice.

Tommy Brown

In other words, all the things people love to tweet about and hate to actually do.

Quick business check: 
If you’ve got music out, you’re probably leaving publishing money on the table.

Publishing royalties can come from streams, performances, and online usage, but collecting worldwide is a maze of registrations and middlemen.

That’s why KOSIGN exists. Built by Kobalt, KOSIGN lets you submit once and they handle global registrations to help you collect every cent you’re owed, plus direct DSP licensing (Spotify/Apple) where possible. No long lock-in either: rolling quarterly term.

It’s selective, but the application is 100% free. Apply now.

Tommy started making music after his father passed away when he was 15.

That detail matters. Not because pain automatically makes people great. It doesn’t. Pain alone just makes you hurt. But sometimes pain introduces you to the thing that gives your life a direction. Sometimes it gives you somewhere to put the energy.

For Tommy, that place was music. He started making beats, walking up to his longtime collaborator Abso Banks’s house, playing ideas, trying to cope, trying to create, trying to make sense of life through sound. That’s a different entry point than “I wanted to go viral.”

And I think managers, artists and execs should pay very close attention to that.

Because when you’re trying to figure out who is built for the long game, you better learn how to identify what brought them to the work in the first place. Some people are in music because it looks cool. Some people are in music because they need applause. And some people are in music because they’ve found the one thing that makes the world make a little more sense. The last group tends to last longer.

The game can strip almost everything from you at some point. Money. momentum. confidence. sleep. your damn mind, honestly. If the work is not attached to something deeper, people drift real quick.

L-R: Young Tommy Brown & Abso Banks

Then came Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins.

And this is where the story gets good.

Tommy gets around Rodney, sees plaques everywhere, gets in the studio, and has that young hungry reaction a lot of talented people have when they are standing too close to greatness to understand it properly.

He’s thinking, “I know people that make better beats than this.” Which, to be fair, is a very human thought. A lot of people confuse taste with mastery. A lot of people confuse a hot loop with a real record.

A lot of people hear a beat and think they understand the room. They don’t.

Because then the 16th beat shows up.

Then the 17th beat shows up.

Then the song that sounds like a smash shows up and all of a sudden the whole lesson changes.

That’s when Tommy realized something I wish more artists, managers and young executives understood early: there is a massive difference between knowing how to make beats and knowing how to make records.

A beat can impress your friends.

A record can move culture.

Those are two different businesses, fam.

And the bridge between the two is usually built through repetition. Rodney was doing five songs a day. He understood that the super hit might be buried in the 13th song, not the first one. That’s not a music lesson but a systems lesson.

Too many people in our business want every session to produce magic immediately. Too many teams panic if the first idea doesn’t sound expensive enough. Meanwhile the greats are just working. Again and again and again. They are not emotional about the reps. They know the reps are the point.

Because whether you’re managing an artist, developing a producer, signing records, or building content around a release, the same truth applies: the people who win are usually the ones who can keep showing up without needing every day to feel extraordinary.

They don’t need fireworks to stay committed. They don’t need applause to stay in rhythm. They understand that mastery has a boring section.

A long one.

Tommy and his plaques

Let me say this plainly to the managers and execs reading this:

If the people around your artist are not curious, you have a problem. 

If the producer thinks they know everything already, if the writer can’t take direction, if the manager refuses to study what better managers are doing, if the exec only shows up when the numbers are moving, you do not have infrastructure. You have ego wearing a fitted cap.

Tommy’s story is a reminder that exploration matters. The great ones are not precious. They are willing to test. Willing to miss and willing to make ten versions. Stacking 36 kick drums if that’s what the record needs. Willing to follow a strange idea long enough to find out whether it’s genius or garbage.

That spirit matters because hits are not usually found by people protecting their image in the studio. Hits tend to reveal themselves to the people willing to keep digging.

And then there’s sacrifice.

That’s the word everybody likes until it’s their turn to live it.

Sacrifice is getting there earlier and leaving later. It’s taking the lesson instead of taking offence. Studying instead of showing off.

Sacrifice is saying no to comfort while your peers are busy cashing little checks and heading straight to the mall. Truth be told, a little bit of money has ruined a lot of development in this business. Seen it too many times. Somebody gets a taste, starts moving different, stops showing up the same, starts believing the hype before the results are really cemented.

The game has ended a lot of promising careers with a modest advance and a false sense of arrival. Smh.

L-R: Mauricio Ruiz & Tommy Brown

Tommy Brown became Tommy Brown because he didn’t mistake access for achievement. He treated proximity to greatness like a classroom. He treated repetition like a requirement. He treated sacrifice like tuition.

That’s what makes a hit producer.

Not just taste.

Not just talent.

Certainly not aesthetics alone.

It’s the consistency to keep showing up. The exploration to push beyond the obvious. The discipline to study greatness instead of competing with it too early. The sacrifice to stay in the room long enough for the record to reveal itself.

So if you’re building a team right now, developing a producer, or looking for the next person to help shape your artist’s sound, don’t just ask whether they’re talented. Ask better questions.

How do they work when nobody is watching? Can they take a lesson? Do they know how to search? Can they stay in the discomfort long enough to find something special? Do they understand records, or are they just good at moments?

Because moments are everywhere.

Records are rare.

And the people who make them usually earned that ability long before anybody knew their name.

Watch Episode 60 with Tommy Brown LIVE NOW

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK:

THE 50TH EDITION MAGAZINE

To celebrate 50,000+ subscribers on YouTube and 50+ podcast episodes, we turned the first chapter of The Manager’s Playbook into a digital magazine issue.

But before anything, thank you. If you’ve watched, listened, shared, or even sent one message saying “this helped,” you’re the reason we’re here. You didn’t just support content. You helped build the community around it.

Inside the issue is a curated rundown of every episode, the biggest takeaways, and the lines worth revisiting when you’re building in real time. Think of it as a reference guide you can save, share, and come back to whenever you need clarity.

Read the 50th Edition Magazine below.

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. LaRussell & Tietta Mitchell)

LaRussell & Tietta Mitchell on Ep 59 of The Manager’s Playbook

The most “independent” thing LaRussell did…

was partner with Roc Nation.

Yeah, I said it.

And before the comment section starts foaming at the mouth like I just kicked over somebody’s cereal, let me double click on what I mean.

Most people treat “independent” like a jersey. You either wear it or you don’t. Like it’s a permanent identity. Like it’s a personality trait. Like it’s a tattoo you get at 19 that you’re forced to explain at 31.

LaRussell

LaRussell and his manager, Tietta Mitchell, don’t treat independence like a jersey.

They treat it like a system.

Quick business check: 
If you’ve got music out, you’re probably leaving publishing money on the table.

Publishing royalties can come from streams, performances, and online usage, but collecting worldwide is a maze of registrations and middlemen.

That’s why KOSIGN exists. Built by Kobalt, KOSIGN lets you submit once and they handle global registrations to help you collect every cent you’re owed, plus direct DSP licensing (Spotify/Apple) where possible. No long lock-in either: rolling quarterly term.

It’s selective, but the application is 100% free. Apply now.

If you’re being honest, the real fear isn’t “signing.”

The real fear is getting stuck in a situation where you look up one day and realize:

I can’t function without them. 

I can’t release without them. I can’t market without them. I can’t tour without them. I can’t even approve a damn product page without them.

That’s not a partnership. That’s a dependency.

And LaRussell gave one of the cleanest definitions I’ve heard in a long time: being independent means you’re not dependent on something outside of yourself to have a sustainable business, so if the partner disappears tomorrow, you’re still you. You’re still intact.

That’s the whole game. That’s the whole point.

So when people ask, “Why did LaRussell sign with Roc Nation?” the answer isn’t “because he needed them.”

It’s the opposite.

He partnered because he didn’t need them.

And that’s exactly why it makes sense.

L-R: Mauricio Ruiz, Tietta Mitchell & LaRussell in LaRussell’s backyard venue

In the episode, LaRussell says it straight: they wanted to globalize what they built and they struggled with representation outside of where they exist.

Vallejo is strong. The yard is strong. The local ecosystem is real. But Switzerland, Ireland, the UK, Indonesia, China… that’s a different set of relationships and infrastructure. You can be the mayor in your city and still be a stranger everywhere else.

That’s not a music problem. That’s a distribution of relationships problem.

So what did they do?

They didn’t walk into Roc Nation like, “Please save us.” They walked in like, “Here’s what we built. Here’s what we need. Can you actually add value to this or are we just doing corporate cosplay for the look?”

And Tietta, shoutout Tietta, by the way, because she’s a killer, makes a point that every manager should tattoo on the inside of their eyelids:

They stopped going into deals where only the artist has deliverables.

In the past, they’d sign, do the obligations, then look up and ask the question nobody wants to say out loud: “What actually changed? How much did we grow? What did they really contribute?”

So this time, they went in with deliverables from the label. Clear outcomes, clear expectations and clear definition of success. And the tone of the relationship changed immediately, because now both parties are in the contract, not just one.

That right there is the difference between being “independent” as a vibe and being independent as a business operator.

Because here’s the truth: a lot of artists call themselves independent when what they really mean is unfunded.

No leverage or negotiating power. Just vibes and a distributor login.

LaRussell on set

LaRussell is the opposite.

He’s independent the way a company is independent.

He owns the assets. He controls the decision making. He chooses the partners. And when Roc Nation comes in, they’re not steering the ship. They’re adding horsepower to a ship that already floats.

It’s also why the deal structure matters so much, because this wasn’t some “sign your life away and we’ll see you in five albums” nonsense.

They talk about it being non-exclusive, and LaRussell is still dropping music outside of the Roc Nation pipeline. That’s a bar. That’s the bar.

If your partnership requires you to route every creative decision through someone else, you’re not partnering. You’re handing over the keys.

And then you get into the mechanics: one project, rev share, a six-month term, and this is the part a lot of people missed, a mutual option. Not just “label option,” where you’re basically on layaway waiting to see if they pick you up again. Mutual. Meaning both sides choose. That’s leverage showing its face.

Even the way they describe Roc Nation’s posture is telling. Tietta talks about how important it was to Roc Nation that they remain independent and autonomous and that the goal was to add to what they’re already doing, not take over.

Again: partner, not owner.

Tietta Mitchell on set

Now, can we talk about alignment for a second?

Because everybody says “alignment” like it’s a cute buzzword you sprinkle on top of a pitch deck.

What they’re describing is much more practical:

When they walked into the building, it didn’t feel like they had to break the ice. The people were prepared. They knew who LaRussell was. They weren’t learning the story in real time. That seems small until you’ve been in those meetings where the label is smiling in your face and still asking “so what’s your name again?” ten minutes later.

Tietta said it felt aligned with their home team, like they could hit the ground running. That is what alignment looks like in real life. Readiness, respect, shared pace and shared language.

And LaRussell took it even further. He didn’t sign the deal that was proposed to him. He signed the deal he proposed. That is not a flex for social media. That is a reflection of how prepared their operation is before they ever enter the room.

So if you’re an artist or manager reading this, here’s the question you should be asking yourself, not “should we sign?”

Ask: What would we need to build so that signing becomes optional?

Because once signing becomes optional, the conversation changes from “What are you going to give me?” to “What are you going to do for me?”

And that’s exactly what they did.

They had specific areas they wanted amplified: radio, publicity, late night, sustained streaming growth that isn’t playlist fluff. They weren’t chasing vanity metrics. They were chasing durable expansion.

That’s a manager’s brain.

And it also connects to something I’ve said before: plain and simple, we’re not just in the music business anymore. We’re in the media business.

If you don’t control the narrative, someone else will. If you don’t control the distribution of the story, the story gets distributed without you.

LaRussell understands that and Roc Nation understands that. The partnership, at its best, becomes a media and relationship accelerant without taking ownership of the identity.

L-R: Mauricio Ruiz, Tietta Mitchell & LaRussell

So no, Roc Nation doesn’t diminish his independent status.

If anything, it proves it.

Because the most independent thing you can do is build a business that stands on its own legs and then choose partners from a position of strength.

Don’t get fancy. Don’t get precious. Keep it simple.

Do you own the asset? Do you control the decisions? Did you choose the partner?

If yes, congratulations. You’re independent.

Even if the logo on the email signature changes.

Watch Episode 59 with LaRussell & Tietta Mitchell LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. JMSN)

JMSN on Episode 58 of The Manager’s Playbook

The other day I was listening back to the JMSN episode and I caught myself laughing.

Not because it was funny-funny, but because it was painfully accurate.

He goes on this rant about advertising that basically sounds like every artist’s internal monologue once they’ve had to “play the game” for longer than a week.

The billboards. The constant noise. The endless “BUY/STREAM/PRE-SAVE/OUT NOW” yelling at your face while you’re just trying to drive down the street and remain a human being.

And JMSN’s energy is simple: can we chill?

That’s the part I want to talk about. Not the rant itself but the truth underneath it.

JMSN

Because when an artist like JMSN (successful, viral, multi-instrumentalist, producer, the whole thing) says out loud, “I can’t… I don’t like this,” he’s not being a hater.

He’s describing what a lot of DIY and independent artists feel but can’t articulate:

The current version of music marketing is starting to look like a casino. Bright lights, dopamine, endless prompts, and a whole lot of people trying to sell you a “system” that conveniently requires you to lose your mind first.

Quick business check: 
If you’ve got music out, you’re probably leaving publishing money on the table.

Publishing royalties can come from streams, performances, and online usage, but collecting worldwide is a maze of registrations and middlemen.

That’s why KOSIGN exists. Built by Kobalt, KOSIGN lets you submit once and they handle global registrations to help you collect every cent you’re owed, plus direct DSP licensing (Spotify/Apple) where possible. No long lock-in either: rolling quarterly term.

It’s selective, but the application is 100% free. Apply now

Here’s the irony:

Most artists aren’t struggling because they don’t want to work. They’re struggling because they’ve been taught to confuse motion with progress.

Posting every day isn’t a strategy. Spending money on ads isn’t a plan. Hiring random freelancers isn’t a team. And “we’ll figure it out as we go” is not a system.

It’s a prayer.

DIY, when it’s done right, isn’t anti-industry. It’s anti-chaos.

It’s the decision to build leverage before you go shopping for partners. It’s choosing ownership, process, and repeatability over vibes. It’s realizing you don’t need a machine; you need a workflow that doesn’t collapse the moment the algorithm gets moody.

And I know what you’re thinking: “Cool, Mauricio. But I’m broke, I’m behind, and I can barely keep up with content as it is.”

Exactly.

DIY is not “do everything forever.” DIY is “do the right things long enough to afford help.”

There’s a difference.

Most artists treat content like advertising. That’s why it feels gross. It feels like you’re constantly asking for something.

Stream this. Watch that. Click this link. Like please.

Begging with better lighting.

But content doesn’t have to be an ad. Content can be documentation.

A studio moment. A decision. A lesson. A tour win. A tour loss. A line you rewrote ten times. A beat you hated yesterday and love today. A manager’s note you didn’t want to hear but needed.

If you document the real journey, you stop sounding like a billboard. You start sounding like a person with a mission. And people still follow people.

Always have.

That’s why JMSN’s frustration hits. He’s not allergic to business. He’s allergic to business that strips the humanity out of the art. He’s allergic to the idea that everything must be “optimized,” as if your life is just a funnel and your music is just a product page.

L-R: Mauricio Ruiz & JMSN

Now, let’s talk money, because DIY without money is just stress with a logo.

One of the most honest parts of the episode is the reality that being independent often means you’re the label.

Which means release time doesn’t just feel exciting, it feels like you’re walking into a storm with your own budget in your hands.

The anxiety isn’t irrational. It’s operational. It’s you realizing that if the rollout is messy, there’s no safety net.

So the goal isn’t to “hustle harder.” The goal is to build a cycle that funds itself.

The most underrated DIY artist strategy isn’t a growth hack. It’s a loop: make something great, extract value from it properly, then reinvest with intention.

Touring. Merch. Direct-to-fan. Smart drops. Content that drives back to the world you own, not just the platform you rent.

And the reinvestment part is where most artists get emotional.

They’ll spend three months “getting ready” and then panic when it’s time to spend money on the boring things: assets, visuals, merch inventory, a photographer, a proper mix, a proper master, a vinyl lead time, a website, a clean EPK, a content bank.

They want the outcome of a system without paying the cost of a system.

JMSN in action

Here’s the uncomfortable truth for managers and aspiring execs reading this:

Your job isn’t to yell “consistency.” Your job is to remove friction.

If your artist can’t keep up with content, they don’t need motivation. They need a repeatable process. They need a calendar that doesn’t insult their bandwidth. They need a batch day. They need a simple rule like, “We shoot once, we publish for three weeks.” They need templates. They need a Dropbox folder that isn’t named “final_FINAL_v7.” They need an operating system that protects their creativity instead of draining it.

And if the artist is truly solo right now, DIY doesn’t mean “I do everything.” It means “I prioritize the few moves that compound.”

Compounding moves look like this:

Owning masters, building a clean release workflow, capturing content while you’re already doing the thing, turning one moment into ten assets, building a small team that actually gives a damn, and investing in the pieces that create momentum instead of chasing vanity metrics.

Because streams are nice, but streams without fans are just numbers passing through.

You can get a million plays and still feel broke and invisible if nobody knows where to find you next.

JMSN on TMP Set

That’s why this conversation with JMSN matters.

He’s basically saying: stop letting the noise trick you into thinking you’re building. Build something real. Build something you can repeat. Build something you can control.

And if you’re a manager reading this, I’ll say it even louder: your value is not “connections.” Your value is structure.

Connections are cute.

Structure is what keeps an artist alive when the internet gets bored.

So here’s the DIY artist challenge I’m leaving you with, straight up:

This week, stop asking “what should I post?” and start asking “what am I building?”

What’s the system behind the content? What’s the engine behind the release? What’s the plan behind the money? What’s the team behind the vision?

Because if your strategy requires you to scream louder than the billboards, you already lost.

You don’t need to win the noise war. You need to build a machine that doesn’t require you to become one.

Watch Episode 58 with JMSN LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. J. Erving III)

J. Erving III on Episode 57 of The Manager’s Playbook

I’ve met plenty of artists who say they’re independent, but what they really mean is they’re alone.

And I’ve met plenty of “managers” who think their value is being the loudest voice in the room, the main character, the decision-maker, the person with the answers.

That’s not management. That’s ego wearing a lanyard.

J. Erving put it in the cleanest language possible when we talked about RAYE:

That right there is the assignment for anyone who claims they’re here to build artists. Not steer the ship or repaint the ship. Not post a picture next to the ship like you built it with your bare hands. Your job is to make the ship faster, safer, better supplied, and impossible to sink.

And what’s interesting is that the “why” behind J championing her wasn’t some secret growth hack. It was human and it was simple: RAYE had the ingredients, the vision, and the work ethic. The move wasn’t to add noise. The move was to get out of her way and support the parts that needed support.

That’s where the whole “operate as a manager no matter the role” thing becomes real.

Management starts the moment you stop asking, “What do I get credit for?” and start asking, “What does the mission need?”

J’s framework with Human Re Sources is basically anti-vanity. It’s bespoke. Every artist needs different things, and the job is to fill gaps without over-inserting yourself. Sometimes the gap is financial. Sometimes it’s visuals. Sometimes it’s digital strategy. Sometimes it’s simply not letting the artist drown under the weight of their own momentum. That’s a manager mindset in any seat: diagnosing needs, resourcing solutions, protecting the artist’s centre of gravity.

Now let’s talk about the pain points I hear every week from artists and managers:

You can’t build a good team. The money comes in and still feels weird. The systems are duct-taped together. Content is inconsistent. Strategy is basically “we’ll figure it out when we drop.” Streams and fans feel like a mystery that only happens to other people.

Here’s the uncomfortable part: none of that is a “marketing problem.” It’s an operating problem.

And operating is management.

J Erving on TMP

One of my favourite moments in the episode was when we were talking about early-stage work. J told a story about an artist who had a support slot on a tour. Fifty-seven people in the room and the person who managed the artist was sitting in a team meeting instead of being at the show.

J’s reaction was perfect: “What the f*** are you doing here? You gotta be there.” Because showing up when it’s small is literally how you prove care.

That’s supporting artists early. It’s not a hashtag. It’s a behaviour.

The industry loves to show up at 20,000 people. Everybody’s a genius when the room is already packed. The real managers show up at 57. The real managers help the artist build the reasons the room becomes 20,000. And if you’re an artist, the real artist-leaders notice who shows up before it’s cool. They notice who’s building with them, not borrowing their heat.

Which brings me to the part that’s going to sting a little: you are only as successful as your team.

The manager mindset isn’t “I do everything.” It’s “I build the machine that does everything.” And the machine is people.

Which means “who you surround yourself with” isn’t a motivational quote.

It’s math.

J put it plainly: when you surround yourself with good people, trust them, and support them. It ends up making you look smart because everybody’s wearing the same jersey.

That’s how you scale without losing yourself. That’s how you grow without burning out. That’s how you stop being the bottleneck in your own career.

L-R: Mike Sabath, RAYE and J Erving

And here’s the other piece that separates real teams from temporary teams:

Humility.

J talked about friendships and partnerships that last decades, and he didn’t romanticize it. He said the thing that keeps it going is humility and lack of ego, being able to check it at the door.

He also brought up his relationship with Troy Carter: being “anti-fragile,” having strong opinions loosely held, and being humble enough to listen when successful people who actually care about you push back.

That is a manager operating system right there.

Because the moment you think you’re above feedback is the moment you start managing your insecurities instead of managing the mission.

Now, for the artists and young managers who want the “real world” version: operating like a manager also means you don’t get to be a “homeboy manager.”

You have to create value.

J talked about needing to educate themselves, learning the business side with the same seriousness the artists brought to the art. That’s knowing what you’re doing before the money shows up, so you don’t fumble it when it does.

And yes, money gets fumbled. J told a story about being young, hitting a number, thinking, “I’m good forever,” then realizing taxes are real and celebrating wrong is expensive.

It was funny, but it’s also a warning: without systems and adults in the room, “success” can still turn into a mess.

J. Erving III

So if you’re reading this and you feel like you’re behind, here’s what I want you to take from RAYE’s career and J’s philosophy.

RAYE is “captain of the ship.” She drives. That means she has a North Star, and the partners plug in where they can be helpful. That’s what artist empowerment looks like in practice. The artist leads and the team supports. The partners respect the vision. Nobody over-inserts.

Everybody executes.

Operating as a manager, no matter the role, means you show up early, you build the right people around you, you stay humble enough to keep learning, and you care in ways that can be felt.

J said it best: care is the ethos. It’s dinners, conversations, the off-season work, understanding what matters outside the music, and playing whatever role you have to play to support the human.

That’s not soft, not fluffy. That’s the job.

And if you’re wondering how this connects to growth (streams, fans, content strategy) the answer is simple: consistency is a team sport. Systems are a team sport. Great output requires great infrastructure. If you’re trying to do it all yourself, you’re not independent.

You’re under-resourced.

So here’s the question I’ll leave you with: if your career is a ship, are you trying to be the captain, the engine, the sail, and the ocean or are you finally ready to build a crew?

Because the truth is, the artist who wins on their terms isn’t the one with the most hype. It’s the one with the clearest North Star, the right people around them, and the humility to keep steering while letting the team do what they do best.

That’s management.

Even when nobody gave you the title.

Watch Episode 57 with J. Erving III LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Jacob Paul)

Jacob Paul on Episode 56 of The Manager’s Playbook

There’s a brutal truth that too many artists and managers learn after the screenshot numbers stop feeling fun:

You can hit 100K, a million, 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify and still collect $0 in publishing.

Not because Spotify is “robbing” you. Not because your distributor is asleep at the wheel. Not because your manager is a bad person.

Simply because publishing is not an automatic payout. There’s no pop-up or warning label.

It’s on you to raise your hand.

And that’s the part I want to talk about this week, because if you’re an independent artist or an aspiring manager trying to build something real, you don’t just need better content. You don’t just need better hooks. You need a better backend. You need systems. You need the boring stuff handled so the creative stuff can actually win.

Because what’s the point of building momentum if your business is leaking silently the entire time?

Let me make this plain:

The music industry has two versions of “success.”

The public one is loud; streams, followers, sold-out shows, brand deals, the comments section acting like you’re the second coming.

The private one is quiet; registrations, splits, identifiers, statements, territories, collection chains.

Most people are obsessed with the loud one and ignore the quiet one then act surprised when their “career” still feels like living gig to gig. And I don’t say that with judgment. I say it because it’s common.

It’s almost designed that way.

Jacob Paul, who works across Kobalt and Kosign, said something in our conversation that should honestly be printed on a billboard right next to every “Upload Your Song” button on earth:

If you wrote songs, those songwriting royalties are your money, but you don’t get paid by default. You have to go unlock it.

Jacob Paul on TMP Set

Now here’s where it gets spicy.

There’s a thing in publishing called the black box.

Sounds like a cool sci-fi accessory. It is not cool. It’s more like the industry’s lost-and-found bin except the items in the bin are stacks of cash with your name on them, and after a certain window, somebody else gets to decide what happens to it.

The simplified version: if royalties are generated but nobody properly claims them, because the song wasn’t registered correctly, the splits aren’t matched, the metadata’s a mess, or you just didn’t know you had to do any of this. money can sit “unallocated” until it’s liquidated into these black box pools. And then it gets distributed elsewhere.

Translation: your song can earn, and you can still lose.

That’s why Jacob called it a ticking clock. That’s why he kept repeating “don’t wait.” Not because he’s trying to scare you for sport, but because the system doesn’t care how hard you worked on that record. It cares whether the paperwork exists.

And before you start spiralling: no, this isn’t a “publishing is evil” rant. Publishing is not the villain. Confusion is the villain. Neglect is the villain. The assumption that “someone will handle it” is the villain.

Music Royalty Collection (from musicinfo)

Managers, this part is for you.

If you’re reading this and you’re trying to build a real roster, here’s one of the biggest mindset shifts you can make:

Your job is not only to help the artist grow. Your job is to build the machine that makes growth sustainable.

Content strategy is great. Growth strategy is essential. But if your business foundations are weak, growth just increases the speed at which you bleed.

The backend is what funds the front end.

Publishing is literally one of the cleanest examples of that. You’re out here stressing about how to post three times a day, but you haven’t even confirmed whether the songs are registered correctly worldwide. You’re debating cover art revisions, but the catalog isn’t set up to compound.

You’re trying to “build a team,” but the first team member you actually need might be someone who makes sure the money shows up where it’s supposed to.

And speaking of worldwide, we need to talk about international royalties.

Because here’s another trap: you might be registered with your PRO and feel like you “handled publishing.” That’s a great start, seriously. But your audience isn’t local anymore.

Your Spotify for Artists doesn’t stop at your home country, and neither do your royalties. If your song starts moving in Mexico, Germany, France, Brazil, the UK, whatever, the publishing chain gets global fast. And global is where money goes missing the easiest, because now you’re dealing with different societies, different rules, different timelines, different collection paths.

So when I say “publishing isn’t automatic,” I’m not being dramatic. I’m being literal. The system doesn’t reward good intentions. It rewards good infrastructure.

That’s why publishing administrators exist in the first place. Not because artists need “more deals” to feel important, but because doing global publishing collection alone can become a full-time job (and it can cost you real money just in setup, even before you’ve collected a dime).

If you’re an artist, your job is to make records and build culture. If you’re a manager, your job is to make sure the records and the culture don’t get exploited by disorganization.

Here’s the punchline: a lot of artists don’t need more streams. They need fewer leaks.

And I promise you, the feeling of closing a leak is better than the feeling of a viral moment, because viral is unpredictable. Leaks are optional.

Jacob Paul

So what do you do with this, today, without turning into an accountant?

You start acting like a business with one simple habit: every time a song comes out, you treat registration like you treat distribution. Automatic in your process, not automatic in the system. You make “splits confirmed and registrations submitted” part of the release ritual, not a “we’ll get to it later” task that lives in a dusty notes app beside old tour setlists.

If you’re a manager, assign ownership. Somebody needs to be responsible for making sure songs are registered correctly and quickly, that splits are documented, that the right entities are connected, and that international isn’t treated like a “future problem.” If you don’t have a team yet, congrats, you just found one of the first lanes where “team” actually matters.

Because the worst version of this story isn’t “we didn’t know.”

The worst version is “we knew, we were too busy chasing optics, and we still didn’t do it.”

Don’t be that story.

The industry will always tempt you to prioritize what looks good over what works. Publishing is one of those quiet disciplines that makes the whole game louder later, when you can reinvest, hire, plan, and stop treating your career like a month-to-month hustle.

Keep it moving.

Watch Episode 56 with Jacob Paul LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Paris Cole)

Paris Cole on EP 55 of The Manager’s Playbook

The thing about artist development is that it’s rarely sexy in real time.

It’s not a viral clip.

It’s not a label deal.

It’s not a “we just hit 10 million streams” screenshot with the little fire emoji.

Artist development is the unglamorous, uncaptionable work that lives in the margins: the hours between sessions, the conversations nobody sees, the tiny decisions that stack into identity. It’s the slow grind of becoming undeniable.

Paris Cole knows that better than most.

Paris is an artist manager, creative director, and stylist who’s helped shape the worlds around artists like Ari Lennox and Lucky Daye. And when you sit with her long enough, you realize she’s not talking about “image” the way most people talk about image. She’s talking about truth. She’s talking about alignment. She’s talking about the kind of brand that doesn’t feel like marketing. Because it’s just the artist being themselves, on purpose.

Paris Cole on the TMP set

One line from our conversation kept ringing in my head after we wrapped:

That’s a bar. And it’s also a warning.

Right now, a lot of artists are sprinting toward the finish line with no shoes on.

They want the look before they have the life. They want the aesthetic before they’ve earned the era. They want to feel “major” before they’ve built anything that can actually sustain major. And I get it, pressure is real. The internet makes it seem like everyone else woke up with a fanbase, a tour bus, and an A&R in their DMs.

But let me say this with love: the audience can smell performance from a mile away. Not performance as in “stage performance.” Performance as in “I’m pretending this is me.”

That’s where the whole thing breaks.

Paris kept bringing it back to the build. The in-between. The awkward middle where you’re not quite there yet, but you’re getting closer. That’s the season most artists hate because it doesn’t come with applause. But it’s also the season where the real ones are made.

She told a story about Ari Lennox early on. How it wasn’t about forcing her into some pre-packaged industry look. It was about leaning into who she already was: the curls, the naturalness, the essence. Not “make her something else.” Make her more herself, inch by inch. Because development isn’t a costume change. It’s a becoming.

And here’s what a lot of people miss: the fans want to grow with you. They don’t want to meet the final version of you on day one. They want receipts. They want a journey. They want to feel like they were there when the foundation was being poured.

That’s why, when people ask me how to build a real fanbase, I’m rarely thinking about hacks. I’m thinking about touch points.

Not “how do we get exposure?” but “how do we create connection?”

Paris Cole styling Ari Lennox

Paris said something that stuck with me:

That’s the exposure trap. And it’s the reason why we have a lot of “here today, gone tomorrow” careers floating around right now.

The algorithm will introduce you, but it won’t introduce you. It won’t explain who you are, what you stand for, where you come from, what your story sounds like, what your world feels like.

That part is on you. And your team.

Which brings me to the other uncomfortable truth: a lot of emerging artists don’t have a team. Or they have a “team” that’s really just a group chat and vibes. Again, no shade. We’ve all been there. But if the only strategy is “drop the song and hope,” you don’t have a strategy. You have a wish.

Paris broke down what happens when an artist says, “I just want to focus on the music.” Her response wasn’t annoyed, it was grounded. She’s like, cool… then we have to build everything around the music. What does the first record look like? What’s the artwork? Is there BTS content? Are we shooting a video? Are we doing a live pop-up? Are you speaking to fans on camera, like a human being? What’s the story? What’s the plan after the plan?

And that’s where systems matter. Because when you don’t have systems, everything feels like stress. Content becomes this overwhelming beast. Releases become chaos. You’re always behind. You’re always catching up. You’re always reacting.

But when you have systems, you stop living release-to-release and you start living narrative-to-narrative. You’re not just dropping songs, you’re building chapters.

Paris also said something else that I think a lot of artists and managers need to hear twice:

You can’t just throw money at a look and call it development.

Sometimes the “high budget” version feels cheaper, because it feels forced. And on the flip side, some of the most powerful development work comes from being resourceful. Thrifting, tailoring, creative problem-solving, and making intentional choices that match the artist’s current reality. Less is more isn’t just a creative philosophy. It’s also a business strategy when you’re building from scratch.

Now let’s talk about the part nobody wants to do: Playing the shows.

Because the truth is, you don’t build fans in theory. You build fans in practice.

Paris talked about selling 250 tickets independently. Not in a fantasy world, in real life. With no magic button. And she said the quiet part out loud: now you have to do it again.

And again.

And again.

You do it 30 times, and suddenly you’re not “an emerging artist,” you’re a business. You do it across cities and you’re building leverage that doesn’t disappear when the playlist changes.

This is where I’m going to be a little spicy for a second: streams are cool, but streams don’t always show up. Streams don’t always buy merch. Streams don’t always bring friends. Streams don’t always turn into a tour that pays everybody on the bus.

Fans do.

Fans are the ones who keep you alive when the industry gets distracted. Fans are the ones who buy tickets when nobody’s returning your emails. Fans are the ones who build your career while everyone else is debating whether you’re “ready.”

And that’s why reps matter.

Reps are open mics. Reps are uncomfortable rooms. Reps are singing in front of 15 people who don’t know you and still performing like it’s Madison Square Garden. Reps are pop-ups. Reps are college shows. Reps are the things you do before you can afford to do the things you want to do.

Pictured L-R: Paris Cole & Mauricio Ruiz

The internet makes it look like success is the first step. It’s not. Success is the outcome of consistency, clarity, and connection, repeated until it compounds.

Paris’ whole story, and the way she talks about development, is really a reminder that there’s no shortcut that doesn’t cost you something. You can buy looks, but you can’t buy identity. You can chase exposure, but you can’t fake alignment. You can force an aesthetic, but you can’t force a relationship with the people.

So here’s the question I want you to sit with if you’re building a new artist right now, whether you’re the artist, the manager, or the aspiring exec trying to get in the game:

Are you building something people can believe… or just something people can see?

Because in this era, visibility is easy. Belief is rare. And belief is what lasts.

If you want the full conversation with Paris Cole, it’s one of those episodes that hits you in the chest a few times, especially if you’re in the “in-between” season.

You’re not behind. You’re building. Just make sure you’re building the right thing.

Watch Episode 55 with Paris Cole LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. SonReal)

EP 54 with SonReal

There’s a quiet lie most artists absorb early.

That there’s only one version of success.

That the path is narrow.

That the rules are already written.

And if you don’t fit inside them, you’re doing something wrong.

The conversation I just had with SonReal on The Manager’s Playbook is a direct rebuttal to that idea.

Because SonReal is not famous in the way the internet defines fame. But he’s been making a real living as an artist for over a decade.

Independently, consistently and on his own terms.

SonReal on the TMP set

This is not accidental. It’s designed.

The Most Underrated Skill in Music: Choosing Your Lane

One of the biggest takeaways from this episode isn’t about content, touring, or money on its own.

It’s about deciding what you actually want your career to look like.

SonReal didn’t reverse-engineer his life around the industry. He reverse-engineered the industry around the life he wanted.

1. More control.
   

2. More predictability.
   

3. More time with family.
   

4. Less waiting for permission.

That clarity dictates everything else.

Independence Isn’t a Vibe. It’s a Set of Decisions.

Independence gets romanticized but SonReal treats it like a job description.

If you choose independence, you’re also choosing to:

• Lead your own strategy

• Build systems instead of waiting on teams

• Understand your numbers

• Feed your fans before chasing new ones

That shows up most clearly in how he releases music.

The Two-Week Release Model:

Catalog Over Hype

Instead of chasing “the one,” SonReal releases music every two weeks.

Not because the algorithm told him to. Because ownership + frequency = leverage.

That approach does three things:

1. Builds catalog instead of pressure

2. Creates recurring monthly income instead of lottery tickets

3. Keeps fans consistently fed, not starved between eras

Most artists are emotionally attached to singles. SonReal is structurally committed to output.

And when you own your masters, every release raises the floor of your business.

Content Is Not Promotion. It’s Distribution.

Another uncomfortable truth from the episode:

If you don’t have a content system, you don’t have a growth strategy.

SonReal doesn’t “feel inspired” to post. He batches, repurposes, experiments and he studies what works.

Not because he loves content, but because content is how music travels now.

This is where a lot of artists get stuck:

• They don’t have a team

• They don’t have a system

• They don’t know what to post

• So nothing compounds

Independence forces you to learn distribution. Avoiding it doesn’t protect your art.

It hides it.

SonReal’s alter ego, Steven

Touring Without Bleeding Money

One of the most practical parts of the conversation was around touring.

Most artists lose money on the road because they tour like they’re bigger than they are.

SonReal does the opposite.

He scales tours to reality:

• Predictable merch per head

• VIP as a real profit centre

• Creative stage design without bloated costs

• Smaller teams, tighter planning

Touring isn’t exposure for SonReal. It’s a business line with margins. (Because he treats it as such)

That’s how you survive long enough to grow.

SonReal on Tour

The Through-line: You Are Allowed to Design This

Here’s the part I want artists to really sit with:

You don’t need to be the most famous person in the world to win. You don’t need radio. You don’t need a viral moment to validate your existence.

There are entire careers, real ones, built in the middle.

SonReal is proof that independence can be profitable. The job isn’t to chase someone else’s version of winning.

The job is to decide what you value most, and build systems that point directly at it.

That’s the real play.

Watch Episode 54 with SonReal LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Sickick)

Sickick on Ep 53 The Manager’s Playbook

Sickick didn’t set out to be a case study in music business survival.

He became one because he had to.

Like a lot of artists who break through on sheer talent, momentum came fast. Fans came faster. The machine started moving before the foundation was fully built. And that’s where things get dangerous.

One of the most important moments from our recent conversation wasn’t about EDM, algorithms, or touring. It was this:

Sickick on the TMP set

That line landed because it’s lived-in truth. Not theory or bitterness.

Experience.

The Artist Lens (and Why It’s Incomplete Alone)

Most artists are trained to think creatively, not structurally.

You’re taught to write, produce, perform, connect. Rarely are you taught to understand contracts, cash flow, systems, or incentives.

Sickick lived that reality.

Early on, the focus was music and audience. The business lived in someone else’s hands. And when those hands weren’t aligned, everything suffered - clarity, peace of mind, and ultimately control.

This is where many artists lose years.

Not because they lack talent but because they outsourced understanding.

Knowing the Industry vs. Needing the Industry

There’s a difference between needing the industry and knowing the industry.

Sickick’s evolution came when he began learning the mechanics behind what was happening around him:

• how money moved

• how teams were structured

• where decisions were being made without him

• and why trust without literacy is a liability

Once he understood the system, he could finally participate in it instead of being dragged by it.

That’s when the shift happened.

Not away from managers or partners. Toward informed collaboration.

Sickick in action

Team Building Is a Business Skill

One of the biggest takeaways from Sickick’s journey is that team building is not an emotional decision, it’s an operational one.

The right team:

• reduces friction

• creates systems

• protects the artist’s energy

• and scales what already works

The wrong team does the opposite. Slowly, quietly. Over time.

Sickick rebuilt around trust and alignment, not titles. Family. People who understood both the creative and the business. Roles became clear. Accountability became real.

That’s not anti-industry. That’s professional.

Artist + Entrepreneur Is No Longer Optional

The days of “just focus on the music” are over.

Today’s artist is a brand, a company, and a distribution node all at once. That doesn’t mean you do everything yourself. It means you understand enough to:

• ask better questions

• spot misalignment early

• protect your upside

• and know when something feels off for a reason

Sickick didn’t lose his artistic edge by learning the business. He gained leverage.

The mask may have protected his identity early on, but knowledge is what protected his future.

The man himself, Sickick

The Real Lesson

Sickick isn’t anti-manager,

anti-label,

Or anti-system.

He’s anti-blind trust.

And that’s the lesson every artist needs to hear sooner than later.

Learn the business not to control everything, but so nothing controls you.

Because when you understand how the machine works, you don’t get swallowed by it.

You decide how close you want to stand to it.

And that’s where real longevity begins.

Watch Episode 53 with Sickick LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Didier Morais)

Didier Morais on Ep 52 The Manager’s Playbook

There’s a misconception that PR starts when you hire a publicist.

It doesn’t.

PR starts the moment someone asks, “So… who are you?”

And you don’t have a clean answer.

I sat down recently with Didier Morais, the founder of Vital Versatility and PR specialist with a journalism background, and one thing became painfully clear:

Most artists don’t struggle with press because they don’t have access. They struggle because they don’t have context.

Before there’s a rollout, there’s a story.

Before there’s a headline, there’s a human.

Before there’s a publicist, there’s you.

Didier Morais on the TMP set

And if you don’t know how to talk about yourself beyond “I make music,” the media definitely won’t know what to do with you.

PR Is Not Press Runs (And That’s Where Artists Get Lost)

One of the biggest takeaways from my conversation with Didier is this:

PR today is not about chasing interviews. It’s about building narrative infrastructure.

Most indie artists think PR equals blogs, interviews, playlist mentions and “exposure.”

But real PR, the kind that actually moves careers, is about:

• Storytelling

• Positioning

• Brand protection

• Strategy

Or as Didier would put it: PR is offence and defence.

If all you’re doing is dropping songs and hoping someone notices, you’re playing offence with no protection. And the internet is undefeated.

Didier Morais (middle) with clients Fat Joe (left) and E-40 (right)

Your hobbies matter more than you think.

This might sound small, but it’s not.

Didier talks a lot about asking artists one simple question before agreeing to work with them:

“What are you into outside of music?”

And most artists freeze. Why? Because they’ve been conditioned to think the music has to do all the talking.

It doesn’t.

If you like anime, sports, fashion, gaming, real estate, fitness, cooking, cars; that’s not “extra.” That’s context. That’s how stories get written. That’s how journalists decide where you belong, not just what you sound like.

Your hobbies don’t distract from your music.
They anchor it.

This is how artists end up performing national anthems, sitting on panels, crossing into business press, sports media, lifestyle outlets; all things that look like “big PR wins” later, but start as small personal truths early.

Didier’s client, Yo Gotti on Forbes Life Magazine

How to Handle PR Before You Have a Publicist

(A Practical Indie Playbook)

If you’re independent and not ready for a publicist yet, here’s what you should be doing right now:

1. Write Your Own One-Paragraph Narrative

Not a bio but a narrative.

Answer this:

• Where are you from?

• What do you care about?

• Why do you make music now?

• What makes you different from the 10,000 artists who sound like you?

If you can’t explain this clearly, no one else will.

2. Stop Thinking Like an Artist, Start Thinking Like Media

Journalists don’t wake up looking to “support your drop.”

They’re looking for:

• A timely angle

• Cultural relevance

• A human story

• Something their audience cares about

Your job is to make it easy for them.

This is where Didier’s journalism background matters. He understands how editors and journalists think because he was one. Indie artists should study that mindset early instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them.

3. Document, Don’t Perform

You don’t need a “content strategy” if you don’t even have a life strategy.

PR-ready artists are:

• Showing up consistently

• Sharing their process

• Letting people in on their interests

• Building familiarity, not virality

This becomes your press trail before press even exists.

4. Protect Your Brand Before It’s Tested

PR isn’t just about amplification. It’s about protection.

What do you stand for?
What won’t you align with?
What narratives are you okay being attached to?

Artists who don’t answer these questions early end up being defined by moments they didn’t plan for.

That’s where careers crack.

Adaptation Is the Real Skill

One of the most telling moments we talked about was how a high-profile conference with former clients Meek Mill and Michael Rubin about prison reform ended up pivoting to a Wawa parking lot.

It wasn’t a gimmick. It was out of necessity.

That moment perfectly sums up where the industry is right now.

The artists, managers, and executives who win moving forward aren’t the ones clinging to how things used to look. They’re the ones willing to meet the audience where they actually are.

PR didn’t die. It just moved locations.

L-R: Didier Morais, Michael Rubin & Meek Mill

The Goal Isn’t Independence Forever

It’s leverage.

Here’s the final thing artists get wrong.

Being independent doesn’t mean being anti-industry. It means being prepared.

Didier is clear about this. The best partners are the ones who show up when an artist already understands their story, their audience, and their positioning.

The man himself, Didier Morais

That’s how you avoid being mishandled.

And avoid bad deals.

That’s how you build teams that actually work.

PR isn’t something you outsource. It’s something you graduate into.

And when you do it right early, even without a publicist, you don’t just get attention.

You get options.

Watch Episode 52 with Didier Morais LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Steve Rifkind)

Steve Rifkind on Ep 51 The Manager’s Playbook

Steve Rifkind is the type of guy who makes you realize the “music industry” is mostly just a fancy word for people making decisions under fluorescent lighting.

And sometimes… those people are wrong.

Steve built Loud Records, later SRC Records, and helped bring hip-hop to the front of global culture. But the part I can’t stop thinking about from our episode isn’t the accolades.

It’s how he did it.

Not with a deck.

Not with “content pillars.” (I swear that phrase should come with a warning label)

Steve Rifkind on the TMP set

Steve did it the way most real breakthroughs happen:

Street-level first. Corporate later.

The street team wasn’t a “strategy.” It was a survival instinct.

Steve tells this story about being on the road early.

He’d check into the hotel, then immediately go to the nearest college campus, because his brain would start racing with ideas. That’s where the street team concept started forming for him, because mainstream radio wasn’t even playing hip-hop yet.

Then later, after working with New Edition, when he had $5,000 to his name, he spent $3,000 making booklets to sell the “street team” concept: what it was, how it worked, what he’d charge. He flies out, goes meeting-to-meeting, and comes back with half a million dollars worth of business. Not because the booklet was pretty… but because the idea was real.

Lesson:
If you’re an indie artist or manager with no “machine,” stop waiting for one. Your machine is proximity:

• proximity to listeners (in real life)

• proximity to tastemakers (local DJs, creators, community pages)

• proximity to feedback (what actually hits when you play it for real people)

Corporate playbooks optimize what already works. Street playbooks discover what works.

Early days Steve Rifkind

Wu-Tang didn’t “test well.”

That was the point.

One of my favourite moments: Steve meets Wu-Tang on his birthday. Nine of them walk in to his office. No hook, no polished presentation, just raw energy.

And while they’re performing the record in this small room… a dude in a custodian jumpsuit runs in yelling: “That’s that shit,” then walks out.

Steve still doesn’t know if it was a setup or a real custodian. Either way, the message was clear: the room had a pulse.

That’s street validation. A human being reacting honestly in real time.

Lesson:
If your strategy is built around “not scaring anyone,” you won’t build anything that moves culture.

Wu-Tang wasn’t supposed to fit the corporate mold. Steve didn’t try to sand down the edges. He leaned into the thing that made them undeniable.

That’s a big management lesson too:

• Your job isn’t to make the artist easier to understand.

• Your job is to make the world pay attention long enough to understand them.

Poster for Wu-Tang Clan’s Tour with Rage Against the Machine

New Edition taught him Corporate America… and what to steal from it.

Steve says he was only with New Edition for a year, but it was “the best school” he ever went to because he learned what Corporate America looked like up close.

And he talks about Jheryl Busby (VP of Black Music at MCA Records at the time) like Jheryl was the star.

He was relentless but with quiet demeanour.

Jheryl had a rock behind his desk that read: “Would you still love me if I was cold?”

That rock is crazy. And also… not crazy at all.

Because when the numbers dip, the room gets quiet.

Lesson:
Street-level innovation gets you attention.
Corporate-level systems keep you alive when you’re “cold.”

So yes, you do need systems. But not the fake kind where you build 40 SOPs and still don’t know what your fans actually want.

The real kind:

• Who owns what on the team?

• What happens every week no matter what?

• What gets measured that actually matters?

The building laughed when he brought in Akon. Steve went outside and built him up anyway.

This is one of the clearest examples of street vs. corporate.

Steve tells Universal: “This is going to be the biggest artist of my career.” Everybody laughs in his face. His response was basically: “Fuck you… I’ll see you in a year.”

Then he and his right-hand Gabriel “Gaby” Acevedo split the country, one takes the Northeast with Akon, Steve takes the Southwest with his brother Bu Thiam, because there’s no video and nobody really knows what Akon looked like yet.

And the kicker?

“Locked Up,” Akon’s lead single, breaks in Albuquerque and Utah, which is hilarious on paper and extremely instructive in real life.

Lesson:
Data doesn’t create belief. Belief creates data.

If you’re stuck staring at low streaming numbers, here’s the uncomfortable truth:

You may not have a music problem. You might have a distribution of belief problem.

Meaning: not enough real humans are carrying the record into rooms, cars, group chats, and communities.

L-R: Steve Rifkind & Akon

If you feel behind on content, behind on strategy, behind on team…

Don’t copy what the majors are doing today.

Copy what Steve did before the majors understood what was happening.

1. Pick 3 cities that act like your “Utah.”
   Not the obvious ones. The ones where the record unexpectedly resonates.

1. Build a micro-street team (5-15 people).
   Not employees but believers. Give them tools and a mission, not “post this link.”

1. Create one repeatable “moment.”
   A listening party, a pop-up, a consistent live series, a community collab. Make it physical or socially sticky.

1. Make your content strategy a documentary, not a performance.
   Street-level always wins because it’s real.

1. Then systemize the wins.
   What worked? Where? With who? Repeat it. That’s your playbook.

The man himself, Steve Rifkind

Steve’s entire career is basically a reminder that culture doesn’t move because someone approved a budget.

Culture moves because somebody went outside, listened, and built something people could feel.

And if you’re building independently right now (no team, no system, no “machine”) that should be the best news you’ve heard all week.

Because Steve didn’t start with a machine either.

He started with the street.

And then the world had to catch up.

Watch Episode 51 with Steve Rifkind LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Mike Biggane)

Mike Biggane on Ep 50 The Manager’s Playbook

That line from Mike Biggane hit me in the chest because it’s the part everybody whispers, but nobody wants to headline.

We’re walking into 2026 with more music being released than ever, more “opportunity” than ever, and somehow… less clarity than ever. Teams are thinner. Budgets are tighter. Attention is chopped up into little microscopic pieces. And the old playbook (album cycles, radio ladders, “just get the playlist”) is not only outdated.

It’s borderline disrespectful to your time.

Which is exactly why I wanted Mike as the first episode of 2026.

For context: Mike is the guy who introduced New Music Friday to the world, ran point as Global Head of Curation at Spotify, then went to UMG as EVP of Music Strategy & Tactics, and now he’s building Big Effect, a company focused on solving the hardest problem in modern music:

How do you stay visible long enough… to convert attention into actual fans?

Mike put it plainly: artists aren’t breaking the way they used to because “no one can get in front of an audience long enough to convert into fans.”

Mike Biggane on the TMP set

So let’s talk about what’s changing, what’s coming in 2026, and what artists and managers should be paying attention to…

…Especially if you’re trying to build a real career without a massive label machine (or while realizing the machine isn’t what it used to be).

New Music Friday Doesn’t Break Artists Like It Used To (And That’s Not a Hot Take)

Mike literally helped build the early version of the new release engine. He was waking up at 3AM every week, scanning blogs, piecing together release schedules because labels weren’t exactly eager to help Spotify in the early days.

And the cover-art story is classic: first week they couldn’t get an approved image, used something generic, then next week Mike basically said “f**k it,” put the artist on the cover, and the numbers jumped.

But the bigger point isn’t nostalgia.

It’s this:

Spotify moved from one-to-many programming to one-to-one personalization, and once that happened, the “new release window” became a weaker lever than the industry wants to admit.

2026 implication:

If your whole strategy is “we need NMF,” you’re building on a foundation that’s already shifting under your feet.

The 28-Day Trap Is Cooking Careers

Mike breaks down how we’re still treating releases like it’s a sales-era “window,” chasing an immediate win in the first 28 days.

But here’s the part managers feel in their bones:

that type of pressure creates gimmicks.

It creates artificial “moments” that spike and disappear. And it trains everyone (artist, manager, partner) to panic when growth is supposed to be gradual.

Mike said it best: we’ve gotten into this mindset of “we gotta go viral right away, or we’re dead.”

2026 implication:

The winners won’t be the ones who have a pop-off week. They’ll be the ones who can stay in front of people long enough (with discipline) for love to form.

Labels Aren’t “Bad.” They’re Rebuilding Their Business Model (Without Telling You)

This part of the convo was refreshing because it wasn’t “labels are evil.” It was more accurate than that.

Mike basically says: the economics changed, personalization changed distribution, and the macro industry realized a lot of the old marketing workflows don’t return the way they used to.

So what happened?

They shifted focus toward merch, direct-to-consumer, and superfan products, while everything else tries to get “sorted out” with AI.

And yes, look around. The layoffs? It’s often marketing/services roles.

2026 implication:

Stop planning your career around what a label used to be.
Plan around what the business is becoming: fan economics + efficiency + systems.

Fans Aren’t Just the Audience Anymore. They’re the Marketing Team.

This is where things get spicy.

Mike speaks about a world where fans create derivatives and help market/promote the original, especially as gen-AI and “superfan platforms” evolve.

He also connects this to the broader shift back toward the roots of the music business: songwriter/publisher value, and new economic models that may treat rights holders differently than streaming did.

2026 implication:

The strongest artists won’t just have listeners.
They’ll have participants.

And managers? You’re not just building an audience funnel. You’re building a community engine.

“A Record Label in Your Pocket” (AKA: Systems Are the New Team)

This is the one that will matter most to the people reading this who feel like they can’t build a real team yet.

Mike’s whole mission with Big Effect is essentially: unify data, turn it into intelligence, connect it to automation, so artists can navigate like a GPS with a “north star metric.”

He’s describing a future where AI doesn’t replace your taste. It replaces the bottlenecks and helps you build repeatable decision-making, even when you don’t have 12 department heads.

And he’s blunt: independent artists aren’t going to get stardom from a traditional label the way they imagine; they’ll get it from tools that teach them how to market and promote themselves based on real signals.

2026 implication:

If you don’t have a team, you need a system.
If you do have a team, you still need a system, so the team doesn’t burn out.

The 2026 Predictions

Here’s what I’d bet on, based on Mike’s lens and what I’m seeing in the field:

Prediction 1: “New Release” strategy becomes “Always-On” strategy

The release is no longer the event. The conversion window is.

Prediction 2: Superfans become the center of the revenue conversation

More D2C, more merch bundles, more experiences and more access.

Prediction 3: Managers become mini-labels (without calling themselves that)

Development, content, brand, partnerships, touring strategy, rollouts; this is already the job.

Prediction 4: AI becomes the “second hire” for most teams

Not to make your art but to make your operations smarter.

Prediction 5: The artists who win will build “participation,” not just “reach”

If the fan can’t do something with the world you’re building, you’re leaving distribution on the table.

Mike Biggane

If you’re overwhelmed, start here:

1. Pick a North Star Metric: something you can actually influence weekly

2. Build a content system: (not content “ideas”) cadence, templates, repeatable series

3. Run marketing like a lab: track attribution, kill what doesn’t move the needle

4. Optimize for conversion, not virality: visibility long enough = fans

5. Design for superfans: access, community, drops, experiences

Mike’s quote is the headline for 2026 because it’s the reality for every great person in this business:

And I don’t want that for you.

We’re not in the album sales model anymore, according to Mike, and we need a new mindset for what the music business looks like going forward.

Let’s build smarter this year.

Watch Episode 50 with Mike Biggane LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

Ruiz’s Note:

As we wrap the year, I just want to say this has been a great one. A wild one but a great one indeed. The music business feels upside down right now. The rules keep shifting. But one thing hasn’t changed. The work still matters.

There’s no shortage of opportunity. The real challenge is visibility. Getting in front of the right audience. And above and beyond all, making quality music. That’s been the entire point of The Manager’s Playbook this year. Creating clarity where there’s confusion, sharing real experience, and opening doors through conversation, education, and honesty from a wide range of guests and topics who operate at an elite level. The value we can bring with this platform to aspiring music executives and artists is will forever be the North Star. Grateful for all those who locked in with us.

I’m proud of what we built this year and even more excited about where it’s going. This will be our last newsletter for the year. We’re going to take a short Christmas Holiday break, reset, and come back ready to keep pushing this forward in 2026.

I hope everyone gets some time to rest, be good to themselves, be good to each other, and recharge. See you on the other side my good people.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, ya filthy animals!

-Ruiz

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Nima Nasseri)

Nima Nasseri on Ep 49 The Manager’s Playbook

Nima Nasseri is not supposed to be a “TikTok guy.”

On paper, he’s the opposite of what the algorithm-obsessed music internet thinks it wants:

Hit-Boy’s manager. Former VP of A&R Strategy at UMG. Ex-Roc Nation management. Deep label rooms, big records, real credits.

That’s supposed to be the land of boardrooms, not For You pages.

And yet… when you listen to Nima talk about the state of the music business, you realize something:

He might understand the current moment better than almost anybody I’ve talked to.

At one point in our conversation, he dropped this and it just hung in the air:

L-R: Mauricio Ruiz, Nima Nasseri

That’s someone who’s seen the old model from the inside…
and watched it quietly die in real time.

Let’s start with Hit-Boy.

Hit got out of an 18-year deal that literally had language about CDs in it. Eighteen years. Whole eras of the business came and went while he was stuck in that contract. When the door finally opened, Nima and Hit didn’t “announce a new chapter.” They went on the offensive.

They launched with “What’s The Deal?”

Not just as a song title, but as a question, a slogan, a billboard, a bus wrap, a stencil, a whole sentence sprayed across LA and the internet at the same time.

Everywhere you turned: What’s the deal?

That’s not aesthetic. That’s narrative architecture.

And while that’s happening, Hit is in the best headspace of his career. Therapy, mental health, flow state. He turned IG off for 7-8 months just to get his mind right, then came back sharper, and as Nima put it, his creativity went up “10x.” For every record they dropped, Hit made ten more.

That’s the part people don’t see when they just look at “content.”

From the outside, it’s:

• Billboards

• Live streams

• Viral clips

• Panels

• Podcasts

• TikToks

• Reels

On the inside, it’s:

• A mentally healthy artist

• An insane volume of records

• A manager who understands that visibility is now part of the craft

Look at the run:

“What’s The Deal” to “Eco” to “Still Dissin” going into a live stream party with 50K viewers where they literally shot the music video at the event. Then straight into Fast Company Innovation Fest, Bloomberg, On The Radar, Breakfast Club, Rory & Mal.

The songs are drops.
The world around the songs is a visibility campaign.

That’s motion.

That’s what Nima means when he says the system now serves motion, not talent.

Hit-Boy in front of a “What’s the Deal” billboard

Here’s where Nima gets scary.

He doesn’t talk about content like an “industry guy” who suddenly discovered TikTok last year.

He talks about it like an engineer.

In his mind, every piece of content is a collection of mechanisms:

length, colour, tonality, caption, sub-caption, hashtag, framing, soundtrack, posting time… every element is a lever that either increases or decreases your odds with the algorithm.

Not because TikTok is mystical, but because TikTok is honest about what it is:

TikTok doesn’t care who you are.
That’s the good news and the bad news.

You can have two followers and still go crazy on there if the content hits.

So when smaller artists ask, “What about me though? I don’t have a following,” Nima’s answer is brutally simple:

• Make great content.

• Test.

• Try this, try that.

• You have nothing to lose.

And then he sneaks in the part that most people skip over:

Some of the best artists he points to, Sombr, Benson Boone, aren’t just making great songs. They’re great creators. They found their frame, their shot, their tone and their system. And they repeat it until the algorithm has no choice but to reward the consistency.

This is where the “talent vs content” conversation gets childish online.

It’s not either/or. It’s compounding.

Talent + Content + Consistency = Career.

Now, let’s talk about Norris.

Because if you want to understand how deep Nima’s conviction about content really goes, you have to look outside the music business for a second.

Norris Williams is 72.

He spent 12 years living on a train in California, neglected by the system, with his dog. No drugs, no alcohol, no criminal record. Just invisible.

Nima met him on the street in LA.

He didn’t see “content.” He saw injustice.

So he did what any decent human would do: started a GoFundMe, hit up everyone he knew in the industry, and got Norris into an apartment.

Hit-Boy’s Grammy tsunami for Producer of the Year was happening at the same time… and Nima couldn’t shake the contrast of that moment versus Norris getting his dog stepped on in a train car.

Then he did what a modern creator does:
He picked up his phone.

He started filming Norris on the train at night while a friend shot a proper documentary on a handheld camera. Nima stacked iPhone clips for three months, stockpiling content the same way he tells artists to do it.

Day 90, day 91… a video finally cracked. It was cut to a sped-up version of Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things,” which was already going crazy on TikTok. That one piece of content hit the right pocket of the algorithm and everything changed.

From there, he doubled and tripled down.

Variations on the same style, new angles, different audios, but the same emotional truth in the story. Norris started getting Amazon wishlist gifts daily. His GoFundMe grew. He turned back into what he had been in the 70s: a dog trainer. Now he’s living in an apartment, training dogs, and Nima’s trying to get him into a bigger space, a sanctuary.

If that wasn’t enough, Nima then built a shelter dog page, filming dogs that were about to be euthanized, posting their stories, and watching them get adopted the same day because the videos went viral. He’s literally using the algorithm to beat the clock on death row for dogs.

You want to talk about “content”?
That’s content with stakes.

So when Nima says, “If a homeless guy can do it, artists have no excuse,” he’s not being cute.

He’s being very, very literal.

Nima with Norris and his dog Nadia

We grew up on the myth that someone “discovers” you.

A label guy in the back of a club.

A manager who happens to hear your SoundCloud.

A random co-sign from someone with a logo in their email signature.

That’s not the world Nima is describing.

Is that depressing?
Only if your entire strategy is waiting for someone else to do your job.

The game Nima is talking about is harsh… but it’s also fairer than the old one:

• No gatekeepers.

• No secret handshakes.

• No “you had to be there” dinners.

If you create energy, the system will find you. If you don’t, it won’t.

It’s that simple and that brutal.

Here’s the part where we stop romanticizing and get practical.

These are some of the best practices I’m pulling directly from Nima’s brain, filtered through what I see working every day.

1. Treat TikTok Like a Lab, Not a Stage

TikTok is not there to validate you. It’s there to test you.

• Post daily. Multiple times if you can.

• Think experiments, not masterpieces.

• Try this, try that, try again. You have nothing to lose.

The algorithm doesn’t care about your follower count. It cares about how people react to the thing in front of them right now.

2. Stockpile Content Like You Stockpile Songs

What Nima did with Norris, months of filming before anything “worked”, is what every artist should be doing with their own life.

• Shoot everything around the music: studio, writing, voice notes, early demos, shows, off days, conversations, failures.

• Keep it in folders. Build a personal content library.

• You’re not making posts, you’re building ammo.

The day something cracks, you’ll be happy you have 50 more in the same world ready to go.

3. Find Your Format and Marry It

Look at Sombr or Benson Boone. Same framing. Same energy. Different songs, different moments, same visual language. The algorithm loves that.

Ask yourself:

• What’s my default shot?

• What’s my way of talking to the camera?

• What’s my recurring bit, angle, or POV?

When you find it, don’t get bored. Get consistent.

4. Give Each Platform What It Wants

Nima’s play:

• TikTok: pure content machine, testing ground, hero platform.

• IG: repurpose, brand wrapper, ad shell.

• YouTube: shorts, shorts, shorts “give it what it wants.”

As a new artist? Go crazy on Shorts. Go crazy on Reels. Go crazy on TikTok. There is no penalty for volume, only for silence.

5. Copy Matters (Yes, Even for Musicians)

Nima is obsessed with mechanisms. That includes copy.

• First line of the caption = hook.

• Make the viewer curious before they even hit play.

• Explain the context: “72-year-old man lived on a train for 12 years…” is a better scroll-stopper than “New video up.”

Write like you’d text a friend you’re trying to convince to watch something right now.

6. Organic First, Ads Second

For TikTok, Nima is clear:

• The best “boost” is great content. The promote button gives you bots.

• When something is already moving, then you can run ads to amplify, hit specific territories, and ride the wave.

Ads are gasoline, not the engine.

7. Fall in Love With Content or Stay Mad at the Algorithm

This is the uncomfortable mindset shift.

Content isn’t the annoying thing you have to do so people “finally hear the real music.”

Content is the real music now, just in visual form.

The same honesty, detail, and care you put into your songs has to live in your:

• Stories

• Lives

• Behind-the-scenes clips

• Mini-docs

• Throwaway iPhone moments that end up not being so throwaway

If a 72-year-old man who lived on a train can build a platform, get his own apartment, restart a dog training business, and potentially a sanctuary… all off content and kindness…

You, with a laptop and a mic, are fresh out of excuses.

The man himself, Nima Nasseri

Here’s the part people might get twisted about Nima:

He’s not anti-label. He’s not even “pro-TikTok” in some shallow, trend-chasing way.

He’s just anti-delusion.

He’s allergic to artists and managers acting like it’s 2010 while living in a 2026 algorithm.

He understands the value of great partners. He’s lived inside the machine. But he’s also doing the work outside the machine, whether that’s reinventing Hit-Boy’s rollout or helping a 72-year-old man and a bunch of shelter dogs beat the odds with nothing but story, a phone, and an understanding of how attention actually works.

If you meet him where he actually lives, in reality, in motion, in content, in community, he’s one of the clearest playbooks you can study right now.

And like Nima said…

Everything you thought you knew?
Yeah. You might want to throw that out and start again.

Watch Episode 49 with Nima Nasseri LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

Ruiz’s Note:

Azad Naficy is my dog.

L-R Azad Naficy & Mauricio Ruiz

There is no other way to put it. This guy is a dog in every sense of the word. When it comes to the business of music, he gets after it. He’s been getting after it for as long as I’ve known him.

I have known Azad for almost ten years. I literally slept in the spare bedroom of his apartment for months early on in my management career. I watched him work his way through Mind of a Genius, build Emotional Oranges (very low key as this fucking guy didn’t tell me he was in the group for the first year! LOL), create Avant Garden Records, take that into the major system and then take it independent, and then build Peace of Mind Studios into the juggernaut that it is today.

I have had the front-row seat. None of it was gifted. None of it came easy. He just kept locking in and building.

L-R: Azad Naficy & Mauricio Ruiz

I have seen him and Brittany Crawford accomplish things most artists only dream about. I have watched him partner with Vali to turn Emotional Oranges into a very successful act with real catalogue, real community, and Coachella on the resume. All of this comes from the vision he carries. It’s wild to see what he has been able to create from nothing.

Azad has rare taste. He understands branding, aesthetics, tone, and world building at a level most people in this business never get to. He can think like an artist and act like an executive. He knows how to build for himself and he knows how to build for others. That combination is not common.

Azad on set of The Manager’s Playbook Podcast

So having him on the latest episode of The Manager’s Playbook Podcast felt like a full circle moment for us. He knows what I’ve been through. He’s seen the inception of this platform. So, in all honesty, it is a full circle moment with someone in the business who I also actually consider a friend.

We talked shop, cracked jokes, and really broke down what goes into building a business like his. It was honest, it was comfortable, it was fun, and it was a blueprint for anyone who wants to learn what it takes to turn a vision into something real.

-Ruiz

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Azad Naficy)

Azad Naficy on Ep 48 The Manager’s Playbook

Azad Naficy didn’t become one of the sharpest minds in the modern music industry because things came easy to him.

He became who he is because NOTHING did.

A respected music executive, co-founder of Avant Garden Records and Peace of Mind Studios, producer, and one half of the duo Emotional Oranges with the incredibly talented Vali Porter, Azad is the blueprint for artists and entrepreneurs who understand that building something real requires time, taste, team, and 20,000 hours of unglamorous grind.

Not hacks.

Not shortcuts.

Not skipping steps.

And that’s what so many artists and managers get wrong today.

You want the success without the sacrifice.

You want the touring momentum without the touring losses, merch demand without building community. You want impact without iteration.

You want financial independence without financial discipline.
You want streams without systems.

Azad is the opposite of that.

He’s the slow build. The long game.

The brick-by-brick operator who proves that choosing the harder path early creates the stronger foundation later.

Azad Naficy

Let’s break down why his path matters, and what every artist, manager, and aspiring exec can take away from it.

Azad started as an underdeveloped artist who didn’t understand the business.

He’ll tell you that himself.

He was talented. He could rap. He could write. He had taste.

But he didn’t have development. Not the fake, “we’ll figure it out later” development, but the real stuff:

• Tone

• Creative identity

• Technical skill

• Brand

• Visual direction

• Systems

Most artists try to bypass these steps and jump into the “fun stuff”: shows, playlists, moments, press runs.

Azad did the opposite.

Instead of pushing to get onstage, he sharpened his ear by studying producers. He studied why records worked. Instead of rushing to release, he refined.

He learned how to produce, how to build tone, how to craft direction, and because of that, when Emotional Oranges finally broke through, they had a sound you couldn’t fake and an identity you couldn’t replicate.

Skipping steps gives you speed.
Building steps gives you longevity.

Emotional Oranges

Here’s what very few want to admit in the music industry:

Touring is NOT profitable for most artists, not for a long time.

And merch doesn’t sell unless the fandom is real.

But the only artists who get crushed by touring are the ones who try to scale it before their business is ready.

Azad spent years investing, reinvesting, losing money, and iterating through the Emotional Oranges touring ecosystem.

He’s open about it.

There were tours that went into the red (financially at a loss).There were moments where merch didn’t hit immediately. There were years where the infrastructure cost more than it made.

But that’s what scaling responsibly looks like.

Touring and merch aren’t revenue generators. They’re verticals built on trust, consistency, and patience.

If you don’t build the base, the top will collapse.

Artists (AND managers) want $100k nights before they can even sell 200 tickets consistently. This isn’t a joke btw. This is the delusion of a team that isn’t grounded. They want high-margin merch like they’re running Nike and sell-out drops but haven’t built demand.

Azad, through trial and error, built every vertical in order, not in fantasy:

• Music →

• Brand →

• Community →

• Merch →

• Touring →

• Studio →

• Catalogs →

• Sub-labels →

• Ambient divisions →

• Full ecosystem

No skipped steps.

No illusions.

Just structure.

Emotional Oranges performing at Coachella 2022

Burnout Is What Happens When You Scale Faster Than You Grow

You can go six years nonstop like Emotional Oranges did, two bodies of work in a year, nonstop touring, creative pressure, expectations, reinvestment, content cycles, but eventually the cost catches up.

Azad is one of the few execs honest about this.

Burnout isn’t:

• You being weak

• You being “unmotivated”

• You being “over it”

Burnout is the tax you pay when the business scales faster than the humans operating it.

And that’s why EO is taking a breath.

Not quitting.
Not disappearing.
Just recalibrating, because sustainable success is built on longevity, not velocity.

Every artist reading this needs to sit with that.

Many artists think the biggest flex is getting a major label meeting.

Azad thinks the biggest flex is not needing the meeting at all.

He built Peace of Mind Studios the same way he built everything else, slowly, intentionally, and with a clear thesis:

Build the infrastructure before you need the infrastructure.

Most artists complain about being mishandled by majors.
Azad built a system where majors can’t mishandle him because they don’t hold leverage.

Artists want a team before they learn how to be a good partner.
They want a label before they learn how to run their own operation.
They want investment before they learn how to be profitable.

Azad built verticals that became self-sustaining:

• Ambient and lo-fi catalogs

• Publishing pipelines

• Sub-labels

• Studio operations

• Creative services

• Multi-genre development

• Real A&R pathways

And because he built all of this independently, in the right order, guess what?

He can say “no” to deals most people would kill for.

Not out of pride.
Out of clarity.

The Avant Garden Team

Azad Naficy is a case study in what happens when you stop chasing shortcuts and start building steps.

His story isn't about anti-major, anti-industry, or anti-deal.
It’s about alignment, taste, and direction.

It’s a reminder that:

• Speed is not the metric.

• Scaling is not the goal.

• Systems beat hype every time.

• Longevity is built in the shadows, not the spotlight.

• Financial freedom comes from structure, not virality.

• Great teams are built, not found.

• Successful artists don’t skip steps, because the steps are the success.

Azad didn’t blow up.
He built up.

And for every artist, manager, and aspiring exec reading this…
that’s the whole game.

Take the stairs bro. It might take some work but it’ll be worth it.

Watch Episode 48 with Azad Naficy LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Theron Thomas)

Theron Thomas on Ep 47 The Manager’s Playbook

Theron Thomas is a giant walking among us, quietly, intentionally, and without ever needing the spotlight.

Not because he wants to be behind the scenes.

But because the industry has built a system where the people who pen the very thing everyone profits from, the songs, have historically had the least leverage, protections, and ownership.

Let me explain.

Theron is one of the most prolific songwriters of the last two decades.
The pen behind global anthems like:

• “Replay”

• “We Can’t Stop”

• “About Damn Time”

• “APT”

Records that shape culture, define summers, and turn artists into superstars.

And yet, like almost every songwriter before him, he spent years fighting for credit, rights, and royalties that should have never required a fight in the first place.

Theron Thomas

Because in the modern music industry, songwriters are the foundation…
and somehow the afterthought.

Here’s the truth most people don’t understand:

The people with the pen, the ones writing the lyrics, melodies and concepts, create the product every other part of the industry monetizes.

Yes, producers are technically considered songwriters too.

And many of them earn 2-6 master points, sometimes more depending on leverage.
They participate in the recording side and the composition side.

But this conversation is about the topliners, the ones writing the words, building the hooks, shaping the emotion, designing the structure, and giving the artist their voice on the record.

Labels monetize recordings.

Publishers monetize compositions.

Managers take commissions.

Artists tour.

EVEN major label A&Rs get master points.

Everyone participates in the upside.

Except the songwriter, who, historically, has been last in line to eat.

And it’s wild when you think about it.

The people who write the songs that fuel an entire global economy…
are often the ones with the least rights, the smallest percentage, and the last seat at the table.

Songwriters aren’t just part of the ecosystem.

They are the fucking ecosystem.

But for decades, the business didn't treat them that way.

The Grammys didn’t even have a Songwriter of the Year category until 2023.

Read that again.

In an industry founded on songs, we didn’t honour the people who create them until last year.

Which is why Theron Thomas’ historic moment in 2024 matters so much.

Theron Thomas with his Grammy for “Songwriter of the Year 2024”

To understand the imbalance, listen to Theron talk for five minutes.

He has written No.1 records in multiple genres. He has fed entire label systems with hit after hit. He has shaped sounds, delivered cultural moments, and pushed artists into new eras.

And still…

He’s fought for rates, for credit, for splits and for respect.

He’s fought for understanding of the basic economics of songwriting.

Let that sink in.

If Theron Thomas has to fight,
what does that mean for everyone else?

And yet he keeps showing up. He keeps elevating the culture and delivering songs people remember for a lifetime.

Not because the system works for him.

But because he works despite the system.

Theron in studio with Songwriter/Producer Tommy Brown

There’s a lesson here for every corner of the industry:

1. Great songs are built, not gifted.

Writers aren’t machines.
They’re architects of emotion, melody, structure, and culture.
Respect the craft.

2. Writers are strategic partners, not vending machines.

If you want better records, treat your writers better.
It’s that simple.

3. The future belongs to artists and teams who build equitable ecosystems.

Transparent splits, clear expectations, shared wins, aligned incentives.

The old model is collapsing. Songs become hits when teams operate with integrity.

4. Songwriters deserve a seat at the table.

Not as accessories. Not as afterthoughts.
As co-founders of the record.

Because they are.

L-R: Theron Thomas & His Manager, Ray Daniels

Here’s the part most people get wrong about songwriting power…

Songwriters aren’t asking for charity.
They’re asking for parity.

And when parity exists, everyone wins:

• artists get better music

• managers get stronger catalogs

• labels get bigger hits

• DSPs get more engagement

• fans get moments that matter

The entire industry gets healthier, the ecosystem evolves and the business grows in a way that is sustainable, fair, and built for the long-term.

Theron Thomas is the proof.

And now, whether the industry is ready or not, his story is shining a light on a truth we can’t ignore anymore:

If you want a stronger industry, protect the people who create the songs.

The rest of us are building on their foundation. Real shit.

Watch Episode 47 with Theron Thomas LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

Ruiz’s Note:

Trinidad. Seventy two hours. A lifetime of insight.

L-R Mauricio Ruiz, Machel Montano, Che Kothari

I landed in Trinidad with excitement and curiosity.

I left with respect, admiration, and a deeper understanding of what cultural legacy actually looks like when it is lived, not just spoken.

For such a small island, Trinidad and Tobago punches well above it’s weight.

Musically.

Spiritually.

Culturally.

Even in the food. I had no business enjoying that much food in that short amount of time. Not gonna lie, and I’m gonna get crucified for this by my own people, but Trini dishes easily some of the best I’ve ever had. But I digress… The cultural experience that I received in such a short amount of time came from music royalty, and it was an absolute honour.

Lady Montano, mother/ 1st manager of Machel Montano

A lot of that understanding came from spending time with Lady Montano, Machel’s mother and his first manager (alongside her husband Monty Montano), guiding him throughout the first half of his forty three year career. She graciously opened doors for me that one does not access through interviews or headlines.

She showed me the world behind the world of Machel Montano.

The part informed by decades of discipline, sacrifice, belief, and generational creativity. In just one conversation, I walked through a private archive of Machel’s life.

That context made the book The King of Soca even more dynamic than I could have imagined. Nate Martin, Machel’s co-manager, gave me access to it before my trip to TT. I read it in four or five days because I couldn’t put it down. Written by Lady Montano herself, it was a deep dive into the world and culture she, Monty and most importantly Machel envisioned.

L-R: Lady & Mauricio

Being in Trinidad gave me the depth.

Machel is more than just an artist. He is an institution.

A movement wrapped in a man. I’m a big history guy. I like to understand as best I can where things were in order to know where things are currently at so it was fascinating to learn from Lady how the roots of his system in Soca and culture came to be.

Then I sat down with him.

L-R: Mauricio, Machel, Che

Face to face with the man who took Soca from a regional sound to a global statement. The man did not just break through the ceiling. He built the damn room.

Sitting across from Machel Montano, with Che Kothari beside him, it felt like I was being handed the blueprint in real time. The cultural strategy. The weight of responsibility. The constant push to innovate while staying anchored in tradition. It was truly a masterclass.

Machel Montano

Che Kothari

You don’t fully understand the scale of someone’s impact until you feel it in the room. Reading the book gave me the story. Being in Trinidad gave me the context. Speaking to Lady gave me insight. Sitting with Machel gave me the clarity.

I learned a lot in seventy two hours in Trinidad. No Zoom call could ever replace that moment of being across from the person who built the very culture we were there to discuss.

I went to learn about Machel’s story, business infrastructure and philosophy. I left understanding why certain people do not just build careers. They build culture.

Mauricio & Machel

It feels important to bring this story to The Manager’s Playbook audience that may not be fully familiar with Machel, but I know once exposed to his philosophy and business acumen, you’ll recognize the power of what he built.

This isn’t just cultural insight. It is a blueprint for sustainability, independence, and long-term relevance.

If you want to see that depth in real time and hear that philosophy for yourself, watch the latest episode of The Manager’s Playbook featuring Machel Montano and Che Kothari.

Watch the full conversation now.

-Ruiz

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Machel Montano & Che Kothari)

Machel Montano on Ep 46 The Manager’s Playbook

Machel Montano didn’t ask to be the King of Soca.
But the crown came anyway.

And with it came something most people don’t talk about:

the responsibility of leading a culture that resets every single year.

Let me explain.

Soca isn’t an industry where you coast off last year’s hit. Every Carnival season demands new music, new energy, new performance levels, a fresh reason to show up. Most artists burn out in this cycle. It’s too much output, too fast, with too little infrastructure supporting them.

But somehow, for over 43 years, Machel has done what shouldn’t even be possible:

He stayed ahead.

He stayed relevant.

He stayed excellent.

Machel Montano being crowned the 2024 Calypso Monarch

But here’s the real story people miss:

Even kings need help carrying the crown.

And that’s where Che Kothari comes in.

Che, a multidisciplinary who also manages Machel Montano

Machel Montano’s a cultural architect.

From his early teenage years to his global era, Machel shaped the sound, the movement, and the energy of Soca.

He invented performance formats the genre still follows. He raised the technical bar for live shows and became the blueprint for what it means to represent the Caribbean on the world stage.

His music didn’t just soundtrack Carnival. It became the emotional centre of it.

But legacy alone isn’t sustainable.

Legacy requires infrastructure.

Machel performing ‘Pardy’ at Soaka Till Sunrise 2025

With influence comes weight.

At some point, Machel realized that staying on top meant more than just delivering hits.

It meant embodying leadership.

That meant discipline.

That meant modelling excellence for the next generation of artists coming behind him.

That meant spiritual growth.

Being the King of Soca isn’t about ego.
It’s about stewardship.

And stewardship demands clarity, purpose, accountability, systems and vision.

But even the most legendary artists can’t build systems alone.

Which brings us to one of the most important lessons in the music business…

Machel delivering the first-ever Soca Tiny Desk set

Greatness requires the right partner.

Not someone who stands in your shadow. Not someone collecting a commission. But someone who sees the full picture, and can help turn that creative genius into something scalable.

Che Kothari is that partner.

He stepped into Machel’s world and did what great business partners do:

• He brought new structure to the evolution of The Monk.

• He helped align the team.

• He expanded the operation into a 150-person creative ecosystem.

• He helped rebuild not just the career… but the vision.

Che isn’t simply managing an artist. He’s reinforcing a legacy.

And in a genre defined by constant reset, that’s everything.

Most artists never find a partner like that. Most managers never get an artist willing to evolve like that.

But when it happens?

That’s when careers stop being careers… and become institutions.

L-R: Machel Montano & Che Kothari

People see the performances. They see the road and the global recognition. What they don’t see is the discipline, the systems, the team, and the spiritual grounding required to hold a culture on your shoulders for four decades.

Machel Montano is a once-in-a-generation artist. Che Kothari is a once-in-a-generation partner.

And together, they unlocked a blueprint every artist, manager, and executive needs to understand:

Vision builds momentum.

Systems create sustainability.

Partnership builds legacy.

With the right partner beside you, a crown doesn’t weigh you down.

It lifts everyone around you up.

Watch Episode 46 with Machel Montano & Che Kothari LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

Ruiz’s Note:

Most people love to say the Grammys don’t matter anymore. Maybe that’s true on the Anglo side.

Maybe…

But after being at the Latin Grammys last weekend, I’m starting to think we’re having two completely different conversations.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m not nearly as tapped into the Latin space (an abomination to my people I am) as I am on the anglo side.

But what I saw in that room was undeniable.

Every single person who is moving culture in Latin music was there. Not the B tier. The absolute top.

Bad Bunny in the building.

Karol G.

Maluma hosting.

Gloria and Emilio Estefan.

Then you got the new generation like Clave Especial, Paloma Morphy, Neton, and Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso all there, all week. A wave of artists who are not just crushing but shaping the culture. All in the same space. All showing up.

On the Anglo side, that seems to be the opposite. Bigger artists stay home.

The award show circuit doesn’t have the same pull it seems.

But Latin music feels different. The community shows up. From what I saw, the biggest acts treat it like something to be proud of and less of an obligation and when the leaders of the genres all show up in the same building, that tells you something.

Maybe the Grammys don’t matter everywhere. But in Latin music, they feel like a summit. A place where the giants look around the room, see each other, and acknowledge the weight of what they’re building.

That kind of energy still matters. And it’s a big reason why Latin music isn’t just on top right now.

It’s still rising.

And just like that, your boy is finally getting credit for being Colombian (even though it’s been heavy Mexican music I been bumping). My DSP algos like “ah, por fin.”

-Ruiz

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Snow Tha Product)

Snow Tha Product on Ep 45 The Manager’s Playbook

Snow Tha Product is an island onto her own.

 Not by choice. By necessity. 

Let me explain. 

Snow is a self contained artist who operates her business with friends and family, literally.

Not because she’s anti-industry.

To set the record straight, she’s not. She operates outside the traditional systems because for a long time, she was completely misunderstood.

One could easily even argue, she was too ahead of her time. 

That’s all changed at this point. The industry has finally caught up and are absolutely looking for artists like her. I hear it everyday, especially last week at The Latin Grammys.

I had a chance to spend some time with Snow and her wife this past week in Vegas for the Latin Recording Academy Awards where the best of the best assemble.

One thing is for sure, she is highly respected within the Latin music industry, and that’s not an understatement. Everyone from artists like Neton Vega, YeriMuaa, Herencia De Patrones and Arcángel to heavyweight executives show her the utmost respect.

It’s rare to see such universal love, especially for an artist some in the industry once labeled as polarizing because of her outspokenness.

(Which also, at what point were artists not allowed to be outspoken?… Man, a lot of folks got these artists fucked up, I’m telling you smh)

L-R: Snow Tha Product & Neton Vega

In my mind, there are 3 main reasons for this: 

Authenticity 

Culture 

Autonomy 

Snow built a career by being unapologetically herself when it wasn’t convenient.

It wasn’t trendy or algorithm-friendly.

She never diluted her identity to fit into the 3rd quarter label deck.

From early albums like Unorthodox to the raw, bilingual rapid-fire she became known for, her audience didn’t just come for the music.

They stayed and multiplied because of the human.

When labels wanted a polished, “marketable” version of Snow, she showed the industry that honesty scales better than strategy.

Her freestyle videos, her vlogs & podcasts, her transparency about family, sexuality, mental health is everything that’s created a cult following long before “authenticity” became a buzzword.

Example: Years before being openly queer was embraced in Latin hip-hop, she was already living it publicly. She didn’t posture. She didn’t build a brand around it. She just was. And that honesty earned her a level of fan loyalty most artists chase their whole career. 

Snow Tha Product performing at Silicon Valley Pride 2025

Snow doesn’t borrow from culture

She documents it, elevates it, and brings it with her everywhere she goes.

She put Spanglish rap in front of audiences who weren’t checking for it. She brought Mexican-American identity to the centre without performing stereotypes to get approval.

Whether she’s rapping over West Coast-leaning beats, corrido-influenced production, or pure hip-hop savagery like her crossover freestyle with on BZRP, she rep’d her community with clarity.

She became a bridge between fans in the U.S. and the broader Latin music ecosystem that didn’t always know what to do with someone like her.

Some might even say she was the blueprint for what major regional turned superstar artist in the Latin space are today. 

Example: Long before regional Mexican exploded globally, Snow was already collaborating with artists from that world, touring the Southwest, and building a bilingual fanbase city by city. She didn’t “tap in”.

Snow is the culture.

Snow Tha Product collabed with Belinda & Somos Frijoleros on bilingual hit “Frijolero”

Autonomy is Everything

It’s the driving force behind everything

After a very tumultuous label run at Atlantic which ended up with her being dropped from the label (at her request), Snow became one of the few artists who built a fully functioning business with her family, and her team.

She made it profitable, sustainable, and defensible. She controls her masters, her narrative, her releases, and her merch/touring strategy.

While most artists rely on the industry to validate them, she built her own economy:

A powerhouse merch machine,

Independent touring,

YouTube monetization revenues

All of these and more well before the term “creators” was even a realized value proposition.

She built a cult-like committed community she can activate directly.

Example: When labels couldn’t figure out how to market her, she simply did it herself, dropping songs on her own schedule, selling out shows without radio, and building one of the strongest infrastructures in Hip-Hop. And now that the industry finally “gets” her, she’s walking in with leverage, the ultimate goal as a business person in any industry. 

Snow in front of her ranch

With all that said,  here’s the part people always get wrong about Snow. She is not anti-label, anti-manager, or anti-industry. She’s just anti-being mishandled.

There’s a big difference and she’s told me this on numerous occasion.

Snow Tha Product understands the value of great partners.

If anything, she’s one of the few artists who presents a massive upside if you meet her where she actually lives: in control of her story, her voice, and the ecosystem she’s already built. You just gotta show up as promised, not just when you’re chasing the business, and get a signature from Claudia Alexandra Madriz Meza. 

Whether it’s a major, a distributor, a manager, or a strategic partner, the opportunity is real for anyone willing to amplify what she’s already proven: authenticity works, culture moves, and autonomy scales.

Look no further than her record ‘Sabado’ which is definitely moving, and has the industry on notice. With a slate of new music coming, it’ll be interesting to see what moves she makes next.

With the right partnership (not ownership), Snow isn’t just a strong bet. She’s a force you can build an entire infrastructure around.

Watch Episode 45 with Snow Tha Product LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

Ruiz’s Note:

I’m back on the west coast. Back on the grind.

Tomorrow I shoot the pod with a legendary record label boss in HipHop from the 90’s and that shit’s got me hype. Wednesday I fly to Vegas for The Latin Grammys. That shit has me anxious. But today I put out the latest episode of The Manager’s Playbook featuring one of the best digital marketers in the game, Austin Dunn, and that shit has me excited.

I repeat, he’s one of the best. If you know, you know. But if you don’t, get familiar. The info below is eye opening.

-Ruiz

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Austin Dunn)

Austin Dunn on Ep 44 The Manager’s Playbook

Every artist I meet is trying to “crack the algorithm.”

They’re posting daily, following trends, and still not growing.

That’s because the algorithm isn’t your problem.

Your story is.

Austin Dunn knows this better than anyone.

He’s a very low key digital marketing strategist and founder of @rnbmusic, one of the most influential faceless pages in music.

He’s built digital systems and campaign strategies for artists like Victoria Monét, 6ix9ine, and Teddy Swims, helping them turn authentic storytelling into cultural movement.

And in this episode, he explains why most artists are doing it backwards.

The truth? Most artists aren’t building context. They’re just chasing attention.

And in 2025, attention without narrative doesn’t convert.

L-R: Mauricio Ruiz & Austin Dunn on set of TMP

This episode of The Manager’s Playbook Podcast is about this one thing:

The artists who win aren’t the ones who go viral.

They’re the ones who build a story worth following.

The Shift: From Promotion to Storytelling

Austin doesn’t believe in “marketing” in the traditional sense.

He believes in seeding stories: planting narrative moments across digital spaces that pull listeners in naturally.

This is how he helped artists like Victoria Monét, 6ix9ine, and Teddy Swims grow real audiences.

Before a single campaign, he studies the emotional arc.

The music becomes the byproduct of storytelling, not the headline.

That’s the kind of long-term strategy artists are missing.

It’s not about more posts. It’s about more meaning per post.

Austin Dunn in @RNBMusic Merch

Narrative Is Your Marketing Strategy

If your content doesn’t build context, it won’t build fans.

That’s the framework Austin lives by, and it’s the opposite of what most artists do.

He explained it like this:

That means stop posting random content for engagement.

Start creating continuity.

If every post connects to your identity, fans don’t just watch.

They follow the story.

Man of Mystery: Austin Dunn

Watch Episode 44 with Austin Dunn LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I’ll share insights that can help you take the next step.

Book your private consultation below.

PODCAST WRAP UP

The artists who last don’t go viral once.

They build systems that make every release mean something.

That’s what Austin Dunn teaches through strategy, culture, and storytelling.

Because the truth is:

You don’t need a label.

You don’t need luck.

You just need a story that scales.

Full episode is out now on YouTube and your preferred streaming platforms.

Austin Dunn

Check out the full conversation with Austin Dunn and myself for all the insights.

Share your thoughts with me on IG @mauroisruiz.

Watch the episode with Austin Dunn NOW

DON’T FORGET to Subscribe to our YouTube Channel HERE

You can also listen to ‘The Manager’s Playbook’ Podcast on Spotify, Apple, Amazon and several other platforms HERE

Simply put, a conversation like this doesn’t come cheap.

-Ruiz

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube

Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

Ruiz’s Note:

Season’s over but the work never stops

Stressed at your local Toronto bar in the 9th inning

The Blue Jays lost. Not just in any game, but in arguably the greatest World Series ever played. Arguably the best World Series Game 7 w in the history.

That shit stung.

But there’s something to admire about teams, and people, who stay true to their process when the outcome’s uncertain. Those Jays captivated not just Canada, but the entire baseball world. Class acts with real fight. And when the pain subsided, in a way, it felt less like a loss and more like a celebration of a team that went the distance when no one expected them to.

That mindset has been on my mind lately, especially after my conversation with Nic D, my next guest on The Manager’s Playbook Podcast.


-Ruiz

THE MANAGER’S PLAYBOOK PODCAST

(FEAT. Nic D)

Nic D on Ep 43 The Manager’s Playbook

“You say Tactical, I say PRACTICAL”

Stopped Me Dead in My Tracks

Podcast is back!

There are moments in these conversations on the pod when a guest says something that hits deeper than expected. For me, that moment came when Nic said one word: “practical.”

It stopped me dead in my tracks.

It wasn’t about hustle, something I religiously say, or strategy, or innovation. His whole career was about being very clear on how to survive in this career of music with a streaming first mentality. That means not relying on any other income.

And guess what…it worked.

L-R: Nic D, Mauricio Ruiz on set of TMP

This episode of The Manager’s Playbook Podcast is about this one thing:

Success isn’t about access; it’s about alignment.

PRACTICAL

Nic built his career around practicality.

He went from being a wedding videographer to over 1.5 billion streams, and did it without a label, manager, playlist editorial, or industry connections.

He just kept releasing music on DSPs.

One song every week or two.

Three to seven short-form videos per song.

Constant testing and iteration. If one piece of content didn’t work, he tried another angle.

Nic wasn’t chasing virality; he was collecting data.

Every post, every reaction, every save. It all told him what resonated. That’s how he built his audience and learned the market, one feedback loop at a time.

It made me rethink how anyone, artist or manager, should approach the business.

Yes, managers are essential for many careers. But we’re also in an era where a certain type of artist can self-manage if they just take practical steps: build an internal and external system, lower their burn rate, track what works, stay consistent and ultimately understand their goals.

For some, that might be all it takes.

Nic D’s Mini Jam Sessions (where he performs in his minivan)

Compounding Survival

Funny how life works.

As we’ve been prepping this episode, tuning into the World Series, I’ve been reading The “Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel. This is a book Troy Carter, a legendary figure in the music business, mentor turned friend, first mentioned back in the debut episode of The Manager’s Playbook podcast.

I’m halfway through the book and it’s easily one of the most fascinating reads I’ve come across. Much like the convo with Nic, it’s really making me reframe my relationship with success.

One line in particular stands out:

That’s survival. It applies just as much to music careers as it does to money. Housel breaks down the difference between getting rich and staying rich.

Getting rich takes optimism and risk.

Staying rich takes paranoia and humility.

For a sustainable music career with a compunding catalogue, that translates to this:

• Don’t burn out chasing one viral hit.

• Don’t overspend trying to look like you’ve made it or to “keep up”

• Protect your ability to keep creating.

Nic D is the embodiment of that idea.

He recorded numerous songs in his van to avoid waking his family, built a simple setup, and kept his total monthly costs under $1000. Further broken down that means 1 song a week for $250.

Even further that $250 includes:

Production, mixing, mastering, content, marketing and ads (until 2020)

He focused on compounding output instead of optics.

That practicality gave him freedom — financial, creative, and emotional.

Nic on the set of his music business for artists podcast, FRDi for Artists

Watch Episode 43 with Nic D LIVE NOW

1:1 CONSULTATIONS WITH RUIZ

Mauricio Ruiz

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I’ll share insights that can help you take the next step.

Book your private consultation below.

PODCAST WRAP UP

Nic D found success because he built a process.

“Practical” isn’t a small word. It’s a shift in how we build. It’s the reminder that you don’t have to outsmart the industry, or have the biggest payroll in baseball to compete, you just have to outlast.

For some artists, that will mean finding the right manager.

For others, it might mean becoming one for themselves.

Either way, the game rewards those who can survive long enough for momentum to compound.

Nic D didn’t blow up overnight; he stacked small, consistent wins until the curve bent in his favour. That’s the real power of compounding: when discipline becomes your algorithm.

Full episode is out now on YouTube and your preferred streaming platforms.

Nic D

Check out the full conversation with Nic D and myself for all the insights.

Share your thoughts with me on IG @mauroisruiz.

Watch the episode with Nic D NOW

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Simply put, a conversation like this doesn’t come cheap.

-Ruiz

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

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