Artist managers are essential players in the music industry. They are involved in the day-to-day schedule of their clients and help shape music careers. An artist manager will book gigs, organize marketing campaigns, help in planning for albums, manage social media accounts, and take care of other management needs. They manage the career of artists and give a platform for artists to launch higher in the industry. Managing the brand of the artist, revenue streams, and handling external partnerships are all part of the task of an artist manager. It’s a fast-demanding job that requires a close eye on the industry’s happenings. Passion, commitment, and patience are some of the essential attributes you should possess before getting yourself into the game.

Josh Brusilovsky, an influential Chicago talent booker is the latest addition to the list of artist managers. He has a four-year of experience in the entertainment scene, with credibility and trustworthiness as his selling points. Josh Bru owns a top entertainment company and has booked over $250,000 of artists for different nightlife venues across Chicago and other cities in the U.S.

He came to Chicago to study business at DePaul University and eventually began promotions for smaller nightlife venues as a side hustle. In a couple of years, he had elevated his game to owning an entertainment company. He established a decent run and before the pandemic, was employing over a dozen promoters. Their main task was to market his events throughout colleges in Chicago while selling tickets.

Josh Bru soon began to partner with some of the most prominent names in the industry. He partnered with celebrities, popular music festivals, and other influential organizations in Chicago. He aimed to gain exclusive access to the high-ticket artists to book. He organizes after-parties and after-shows to engage crowds and attract exciting talent. He partners with a venue, mainly a concert hall or night club and goes the extra mile to market the event to make sure it is a success. He attracts attendees by running full-scale promotional campaigns throughout Chicago.

The marketing is done by his promoters and includes a social media campaign with giveaways and lots of prizes. They also employ different promotional techniques meant to drive ticket sales and foot traffic for the events. Attracting bottle service clients is never a challenge for Josh as he has a long Rolodex of existing clientele established over the years. He considers booking artists to be the most critical and expensive part but makes sure to always get it right. Some of his bookings include Blueface, Shoreline Mafia, Travis Scott, DJ Khaled, Jack Harlow, Playboi Carti, 24kGoldn, Saweetie, and Migos.

A successful event, according to Josh, makes 3-4 times the cost spent on artist booking. As he puts it, ‘this is a good metric to make money constantly.’

Artist management and A&R is his new venture and he is already making big moves in the direction. He wants to work hands-on with artists. Josh believes he has made enough connections in the past four years and intends to apply that to the artist management role. He desires to work with some of the upcoming artists to help them build their careers.

An experienced talent booker, Josh promises to work with a lot of artists to help them build their brand and market themselves in the highly competitive music industry.

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