Spring 2024 OM Interns!!!

By Miriam DeYoung

Here at Olivia Management, we’re so fortunate to have an amazing team of interns each semester that help operations run as smoothly as they do. This semester we have four lovely interns from Belmont University and we’re so excited for you to meet them!

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Nick is getting his MBA at Belmont University, he went to undergrad at NYU to get a music tech degree. His favorite artist is Frost Children and he met Willie Nelson and Morgan Freeman across the street from his dads house.

Miriam is a junior songwriting major at Belmont University. Her favorite artist is Lizzy McAlpine and she’s flown in a helicopter. This is Miriam’s second semester as an intern at OM.

Grace is a senior music business major at Belmont University. Her favorite artist is Frank Ocean and she’s a dual citizen of Australia. Grace is also a returning OM intern who we’re so excited to have back

Tyler is a senior music business major at Belmont University. His favorite artist is Bruce Springsteen and he owns 14 guitars.

3 Tips for Growing Your Social Media Following and Avoiding Burnout

By Devin Renspie

Whether you’ve just started trying to establish your brand on social media or you’ve recently come down with a case of social media burnout, keep reading for three tips on how to sustainably grow your online presence in a way that’s enjoyable for you.

Focus Your Efforts on What Inspires You

First and foremost, you need to make sure that your social media strategy is centered around the platforms and forms of content that feel most authentic to you and your brand. Growing your following will be much easier if you genuinely enjoy the process. Are you the type of person who expresses themselves primarily through images and aesthetics? If so, Instagram and Pinterest could be where you thrive. Are you good at creating intriguing short videos? TikTok, Instagram Reels, and even YouTube Shorts might be your zone. Whatever your strengths are when it comes to content creation, if you put some thought into it, you’ll find a gap in the market that only you can fill.

As such, the majority of your social media activity should occur on whatever platforms inspire you. If you haven’t already, experiment with posting content that covers 3-5 different topics that interest you, and assess what kind of engagement each topic gets. Adjust the scope of your content as necessary. If you have an idea of which platforms and kinds of content you enjoy partaking in and your audience responds well to, then the next step will be fairly straight-forward, and you might have even already subconsciously implemented some of it into your strategy. If you don’t, it will hopefully help you find your content’s focus! You can also check out my last blog post where I discuss a few other things you should consider when deciding on what kind of content to post.

Seek Out Inspiration

The world of social media moves too fast for you to try to conjure up completely original ideas every time you post. Thus, it’s important for you to look to other content creators to help get your creative juices flowing. Start by looking at what other creators are doing that’s getting a lot of engagement. Specifically, pay attention to a variety of other creators whose brands are similar to yours, general trendsetters of the platform, and content curators. Save or take note of any content they post that you enjoy or that speaks to you.

With the content you’ve saved, try to identify which elements of it make it work. Which aspects can you replicate and include in your own content, and which aspects do you need to change to make it fit your brand? These could be anything from the format, the topic, the tone, or the trend that the content embodies. Searching for inspiration is an ongoing process, so if you find yourself bored of browsing content on a specific platform, that may be a sign that you should shift your focus to a different one.

Make Content Specifically for Each Platform

While you should continue to be primarily concerned with posting on the couple platforms that you identified in the steps above, it is also a good idea to have at least somewhat of a presence on every current platform, as well. That way, you will be able to reach the widest possible audience. If this sounds too daunting right now, that’s okay! Many times, however, content you post on one platform can be repurposed in a way that works for other platforms, so you really don’t have to invest much more energy in this process. For instance, if you make YouTube videos, you can take snippets and post them on places like Instagram or Facebook.

However, take heed, since platforms will punish you for posting content that is not native to them and/or directs users off their sites. For example, Instagram’s algorithm will suppress TikToks that are reuploaded to Reels (side tip: editing your TikToks/Reels in a third-party app and then uploading them to each respective platform can remedy this), and Facebook’s algorithm will suppress your post if it includes a link to a YouTube video instead of a video that is uploaded natively to Facebook. Therefore, make sure to upload content natively to each platform!

Moreover, it’s important that you use each platform as intended. While it would be extremely time-consuming to be totally invested in the cultures of every current platform, you should at least know the basics of each platform you intend on using, such as the optimal aspect ratio of pictures and lengths of different types of videos on Instagram. Check out these Sprout Social guides on social media image and video specs, respectively. If you don’t take the time to learn these things, your content will likely look out of place.

Overall, if you’ve grown weary of trying to foster your social media presence, you might just need to rethink the way you go about it! Start by focusing on specific platforms and forms of content that inspire you most, and stay up-to-date with what other creators are posting to add fuel and ideas to your creative fire. Once you’ve got those steps down, start to build up your presence on other platforms while keeping your efforts centered on those platforms and forms of content that inspire you. Best of luck!

5 Social Media Tips to Build Your Artist Following

By Devin Renspie

If you clicked on this article, you’re probably an artist just starting to try to establish yourself on social media. If this is the case, you’re in good company, and hopefully the following tips will make this process feel a little less daunting!

Have a Cohesive Presence

The first step in building a social media following is to make sure that you have accounts on every relevant social media platform. Even if you’re not as invested in some platforms as much as you are in others, this assures that you already have your profile claimed in case you decide to use it more and that you reach the widest possible audience.

Moreover, it is essential that all of your accounts look and feel the same so that fans of yours can easily find you across all platforms. While a big part of this is ensuring that things like your username, profile picture, and bio are the same (or at least similar), it is also important that you have the same content on each platform. Software like Later allow you to easily schedule content that will automatically be published to your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest accounts, or any combination of the four (and there’s a free version!), so you don’t have to worry about remembering and scrambling to post on each platform simultaneously.

Do More Than Promote Yourself

While there is a time for self-promotion, that time is after you’ve given your audience content to connect with. If you’re like me, you like to have a game plan before you dive into something as expansive as building a social media following, and luckily, the 70-20-10 rule exists to help you do that! The 70-20-10 rule is a general guideline concerning how much of each type of content should appear on your social media. As such, 70% of your content should build your brand, 20% of your content should build your network, and 10% of your content should be self-promotion. For more information on the 70-20-10 rule, check out this sonicbids article. If you still aren’t sure what to post, the following two points will give you some more insight regarding how to create content that your audience will engage with.

Focus on an Area of Content

Going back to having a cohesive presence, in order for your social media content itself to feel cohesive, it’s important to focus your efforts on one area of content. These main areas are documentation, education, and entertainment. When choosing an area, be sure to think about how it will fit into your brand, since whatever area you choose will be the basis of your brand-building content (the “70” in the 70-20-10 rule).

If you choose documentation, your content will mainly focus on the journey of your music career and what it looks like behind-the-scenes. A great example of an artist with this type of content is Jon Bellion, who posts a lot of “making of” videos, such as The Making Of All Time Low. Alternatively, with education, your content will mainly focus on teaching your audience a skill such as music production. Andrew Huang does an amazing job at this. Lastly, the arguably hardest area of content to make is that of entertainment, since your personality has to be the driving force. That being said, it is possible to include aspects of entertainment into the other two areas of content, as well. For more information about how to utilize the three types of content, check out Burstimo’s article.

Connect with Your Audience

Connection is the basis of social media platforms, and it should be the basis of your social media accounts, too. When you’re deciding what to post on your socials, be sure to keep in mind that social media is there to help you form relationships with your followers (and other music industry professionals). Therefore, no matter what area of content you focus on, make sure that you’re speaking to your audience, not at them. That is, find ways to allow your audience to communicate with you. If you’re thinking of focusing on documenting your journey as an artist, consider asking fans what they think of your unreleased songs. If you want to focus more on educating your audience, consider asking your followers what they want to learn more about. If you’re basing your content on entertainment, consider making content reacting to your followers’ questions or submissions. There are infinite ways to connect with your audience, but the bottom line is that your followers need to feel involved in your work and in your life in order for you to have a lasting impact on them.

Be Consistent in Your Efforts

If you only take one thing away from this article, let it be this. Social media is an art form, and like any art, there is no one way to do it. That being said, consistency is key to getting better at anything, and it is also key to growing an engaged following. To maintain such consistency, try to post on your socials around once a day. If this sounds too overwhelming, consider posting consistently at whatever interval feels maintainable to you, but keep in mind that once a day is ideal. To get the most engagement, check out Sprout Social’s best times to post on social media.

By consistently creating content and making efforts to connect with your followers using the tips I listed above, you are sure to accumulate followers that are invested in you and what you do. Best of luck in your social media endeavors!

A Software I Use: Asana

By Emma Martin

I often find myself overwhelmed with life since there can be days where it seems like there are a million and one things to do. I used to write down everything that I needed to get done that day, in the order that I needed to get it done, but I needed to keep track of things that were long-term projects. When I started interning at Olivia Management, there were new softwares that I had to learn to use. One of which was Asana. At first, I was intimidated by the software because there was so much to learn, but I soon realized that it was going to be the most helpful software I have ever used to date.

What is Asana? Asana is a software that allows you to create tasks for yourself and others on your team. It helps you manage your tasks and your projects all in one space that everyone can edit and see. Asana provides an easy way for team members to schedule tasks that can be planned far in advance or the day of and it’s a great way to stay organized and stay on track with your schedule and projects. 

How I use Asana. I start my day by going to the “My Tasks” bar and then looking at what I need to get done for the day and then look at what I have that is upcoming. On every task, you can see the due date. When a task is due that day, it will turn green and when it’s past due it turns red. I always make sure that I do the tasks that are due that day first, and then I start on the ones that are due later or ones that are long term. It’s so important to track our progress and make sure everything that needs to be done in a timely manner is done!

Taken from www.asana.com

Fun Features. Something that I really enjoy about asana is that you can easily edit the task and write as much information about the task in the task description. We can link other sites and sources, attach downloadable content, etc. Sometimes when a task is assigned to me and I am not entirely sure how to do yet, it there will already be detailed instructions in the task description that explains what the task is. Along with that, at the bottom of the task, you can create subtasks to check off and add comments having to do with the original task at hand. Another fun feature is that you can set up a task as repeating so it comes up on your task list every week or month. I enjoy this because you can still check it off as completed and it won’t show up until the next week. You can also add tags to tasks and create groups so you and your collaborators can find them easily and know which ones to prioritize. Some tags that Olivia Management uses include high priority, weekly task, intern task/project, touring, press, etc. These tags help us stay organized through the craziness of touring, releases, and day to day artist management.

This is a great software if you enjoy checking things off your list and need an easy way to organize your thoughts and tasks whether it is with a business or for yourself. Try it out! It’s free for personal use, too. An absolute game changer.

Click here to learn more about Asana, and happy organizing!

What does an artist manager’s intern do?

by Chelsea Hallman

I feel like even my friends that are in the music industry are still curious about what an artist manager does, and what I am doing for them. Here’s a look into my week, what I do in my position, what I believe is important, and what I’ve been learning.

For background, I will explain the purpose of an artist manager. An artist manager is the person behind the artist that helps manage their fast-moving career. They professionally represent and advise an artist to make the smartest business decisions. Artist managers work to get their artists to stand out enough to attract labels, music supervisors, playlisters, and others in all sectors of the music industry. They negotiate contracts, set up tours, make marketing plans, promote them, give budgets, and overall help develop the artist. Find more information here.

So if you think that’s cool, or maybe something you’d want to do, many artist management companies, like Olivia Management, have internships available to teach you just that. But what does that mean you’d be doing? 

First, before you even land an internship, make sure you are bringing your class knowledge with you. Pay attention in your major classes because it matters more than you think. I use this knowledge almost every day in this internship. I have Belmont’s Music Business program to thank for helping me get prepared for this one!

Now you are prepared professionally and start to look for an artist management internship. What does that mean day-to-day? Like I said previously, this is a fast-paced career. Every day there are different deals to be made and different things to discover in the ever-changing music industry. New ideas come up, new people reach out, new songs are written, all just depending on how people are feeling. This is a pretty unpredictable day-to-day job. But that’s also what makes it so much fun.

Because of the unpredictability, there are sometimes gaps. You never really know what you’ll be working on that day until you step into the office. Sometimes it's a crazy busy day where you can barely get time to eat. Olivia Management specifically gives interns “semester-long projects” of their choosing to discover more about the music business. My semester-long projects are diving into artists’ Youtube and working on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the company, both things I’m interested in. Others are working on merchandising, social media, press releases, sponsorships, etc. It really depends on what interests you!

Most days, I am not working on my semester projects. Instead, on various projects and tasks that come up and the team needs help with. I could help route a tour, make a calendar, edit a music video, edit show posters, make social media posts, do some research for someone on the team, organize something physically, or in a database. There are lots of opportunities. Recently, those are a few of the things that I’ve been up to. 

Arguably, more importantly, is the stuff that will advance my interpersonal skills from this internship. I know what an office environment in my field looks like. I’m watching my co-workers find their work/life balance. I observe what meetings with professionals are like and how to act. These are all invaluable skills that can be learned from any internship. They are the reason that internships are so important before graduation. 

For all of these reasons, I am so grateful for Olivia Management. I’ve learned so much already and will continue to. If you’re a student aspiring to be in the music industry, this is the place for you!

New(ish) Songs on the Block: A Playlist

by Mackenzie Fey

If you’re like me, you tend to listen to the same three playlists with the same songs curated for any possible mood. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with this—it’s encouraged, actually. But sometimes it’s fun to get a little crazy and listen to songs we haven’t heard before. Unfortunately, this takes a lot of will power to go and seek music that you may find somewhat enjoyable (I know I can’t be alone in this). Lucky for you I’ve done the work necessary. All you have to do is press play!

Some newer Olivia Management playlist highlights:

• “Good Grief” by Derek Webb

• “Dang Dallas” by Ruthie Collins

• “Dog in a Manger” by Smooth Hound Smith

• “Back Together” by Jill Andrews

Some of my favorite new (for the most part) songs! Check it out!

Spring Intern Introduction

Just last week, we had the honor and privilege of welcoming three new interns to the team here at Olivia Management! We can’t wait to watch them grow in all things artist management and music business. World, please meet Jackie Minton, Emma Martin, and Connor Kozelcar. We know you’ll love them just as much as we do!

Jackie Minton

Why did you choose to intern at Olivia Management? 

I met Olivia Management at an artist panel I went to over a year ago and was so stuck by their community focused approach to artist management, I applied to intern here as soon as I could! I am so thankful for this opportunity to learn how they do their work from the inside out.

What do you want to get out of this internship?

I hope to learn how to work on a variety of tasks, while also learning how to dream about the future. I want to improve my skills in seeing things to their end, while also working with a team.

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

Oh, definitely the community. I also love all the variety of restaurants and coffee shops, but they are all a fruit of this city’s focus on encountering each other. When I moved here, I was amazed by the willingness of others to listen and share authentically about their experiences.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.

As a songwriter, I enjoy most anything with a poetic lyric and melodic sensibility.  Some of my favorite artists include James Taylor, Ingrid Michaelson, Taylor Swift, Leif Vollebekk and Josh Garrels. If there is a guitar picking part or a cello, I’m sold.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would probably be almonds. I’m pretty sure I’m already halfway there.

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities? 

I enjoy eating dark chocolate, drinking hot tea, and reading philosophy. I would minor in all three, but sadly I only study the latter. I also do calligraphy on the side for fun!

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Emma Martin

Why did you choose to intern at Olivia Management?

I chose to intern at Olivia Management because I saw how passionate the company was in helping artists grow as much as possible both artistically and as people.

What do you want to get out of this internship?

During this internship I hope to gain more knowledge about touring and what kind of planning goes into sending artists on tour. I also am really interested in learning about the prep work right before album releases. In the future, I hope to work in the creative part of publishing or management.

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

My favorite part about Nashville is how you can walk into almost any restaurant or coffee shop and hear live music. I also love the sense of community that Nashville has even though it’s such a big city.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music!

Some artists and songwriters that I have been into lately are Emily Weisband, Madison Kozak, The Band CAMINO, Lizzo, Kelsea Ballerini and Dan + Shay. I love all different genres of music but my top genres are singer/songwriter and country.  

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life it would probably be pasta!

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities? 

I love to go hiking and camping! I also love listening to music and playing card/board games with my family and friends.

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Connor Kozelcar

Why did you choose to intern here?

Any internship opportunity is an opportunity worth taking in my opinion. When you are unable to find anything negative about past internship experiences and the reputation of a company you’re interested in, is in my opinion when you’ve hit the gold mine.

I chose to intern at Olivia Management because of the strong community that they promote and the clear message that when you’re devoting your time to their efforts, they’re devoting the same time right back to your experience. Since starting school at Belmont, I’ve had big hopes to find an internship that cares for their interns and cultivates the right atmosphere for growth. To me it just felt like Olivia management is doing exactly that.

What do you want to get out of this internship?

In a general statement, as humans we are all students, all the time. The whole goal of an internship is to learn right? With this being my first internship, I am excited to have the opportunity to work in an atmosphere with such hard-working individuals and a team aspect that promotes a strong sense of community. I am eager to learn, become proficient in this facet of our industry, and create the relationships that will help me succeed and confidently move forward with my career.

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

Aside from the music, The food options….. Wow. So much good food, so many cool little nooks and crannies in the city, and so many great genuine people that come out of the area. I’m blessed to have the opportunity to live and attend school here.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.

I’m a listener of almost all genres. A few of my favorite current artists include Allen Stone, Tom Misch, Theo Katzman, Joey Landreth, Chris Stapleton, Lawrence, Jordan Rakei, Marcus King Band, Stephen Day, The Dip, etc (I could go on forever). My all time favorite artists/musicians/bands include The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayer, Dave Matthews, The Beatles, Jack Johnson, and The Allman Brothers

I love everything about music, but what sticks out to me the most is the raw expression that the medium represents. Any single piece of music can tell you more stories about the person who wrote it than you can think up. I think that in the vast creative world that the music industry embodies, its infinity is the most fun part. Whether you’re listening or creating, the passion behind every piece of music tells a story that no other medium could. 

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

Logical answer: Chicken - there are a million ways to prepare chicken and it never gets old. That's smart, right? The ~Just what i'm craving in this moment~ answer: Five Guys Fries

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?

I love to sing! I am currently the Vice-President of a collegiate A Cappella group at Belmont University called The Beltones. When I’m not knee-deep in school work, singing my heart out with my friends, or working my other jobs, you can find me:

1. Stopping traffic to pull over and pet a dog

2. Playing far-too-competitive games of racquetball on Tuesdays

3. Browsing the internet for things that I would buy if I had the money to blow