Scooter Braun Interview - Music Biz 101 & More

In a Music Biz 101 & More episode, Scooter Braun provided valuable advice to William Paterson University students. The podcast was filled with useful tips and suggestions for soon-to-be music industry professionals, specifically artist managers. Here are some of my key takeaways from the interview:

The music industry does not have rules (18:40). It is open-ended; there may be suggestions, but managers don’t have a set of rules they need to follow to make their artists successful. Managers can essentially do what they want/need to ensure the artists make money and so do you, as a manager. Push for what is unheard of, push for what is the best for each artist individually (19:40).?

At around 21 minutes into the episode, Braun explains that it is important for managers to get to a point where you do what’s right in situations instead of focusing on you getting paid. Don’t be greedy. Make your goals long-term. As a manager, you do have some responsibility to take care of your artists as people, not just make sure they are making money. Managers will be held accountable for this. It is important to show artists that they’re talking to someone who sees self-worth more than the deal and the money attached to it.?

At around 24:25, Braun explained that at 25 years old, he was broke and was two months away from having nothing. His father said he had two more months and encouraged him not to give up. “That line of success and failure live very very close to each other.” His business was saved the next day with the release of a song. It’s important to keep pushing through and make it work, even if it seems like nothing is working out. Trust the process.

38 minutes into the episode, Braun emphasized how important it is to not give up because of other people’s discouragement. Don’t listen to those who are discouraging you and your journey. Quiet the crowd, realize that you need to focus and give yourself time to become successful and help your artists. It’s unrealistic to expect Scooter Braun’s level of success to happen in a day. The people who don’t make it in this industry are the ones who let fear get in the way and either never start or stop in the process because they’re letting outsiders get in their head.?

It is important to remember you are in the privileged position of being here, still being alive (56:10). Keep trying. It’s as simple as taking one step at a time; take one step forward, another step after that, and make sure you keep going. Braun spoke about the bombing at Manchester Arena after an Ariana Grande performance in 2017. While this severely upset Ariana Grande and her team, they still made sure they could do something, anything, to honor those who lost their lives at the show and their families. If any situation occurs where you have the opportunity to try to do something good for fans, do it. Take advantage of the opportunity you have while you are alive.?

Listen to the full interview here:

Interested in listening to another interview with Scooter Braun? Watch his interview for NPR here:

Jenna Vitale is a senior at William Paterson University studying Music and Entertainment Industries. As a future music industry professional, she has surrounded herself with as much of the music industry as possible through various internships in Marketing, Social Media, Artist & Fan Experiences, Business Development, Fan Engagement, and Radio Promotions.