Band Management: Interview With Nick Moran
Through Good Intent, Nick Moran is part of the PR and management lineup for bands like Bootleg Rascal, Close Counters, Down For Tomorrow, and FANGZ. Good Intent are a Sydney-based artist services agency, run by Rob Carroll, Nick Moran and Rick Bridgman and their team, who are passionate about taking music they love to the world. The agency are constantly doing their best to make the business side of music more approachable for artists by offering various services and support. Artist management plays a very important role in the growth and development of artists and bands behind the scenes so it felt right to have a chat with Nick about the struggles, process, and importance of the role on the industry.
In this first part of Band Management I spoke to Nick Moran of Good Intent about, well, all things management!
Part I — Introduction
1.If you drink coffee, what’s your usual coffee order? If not, what’s your go-to drink instead?
Long black. Used to drink way too much coffee, which equals A LOT of milk. Outside of coffee, a nice glass of red wine.
2. At a record store, are you usually looking through old stuff you’ve heard a million times or searching for something new? What local bands are you into at the moment?
Old favourites at record stores, LPs to add to the record collection.
Super excited about our management artists Down For Tomorrow, Good Lekker, Close Counters, and FANGZ.
Outside of artists we work with: JK-47, cookii, The Lazy Eyes, Lola Scott, Dallas Woods, Sumner, Eliza and the Delusionals, Greatest Hits, Debbies, Johnny Hunter, Paperweight, to name a few.
3. If you could, what’s a band you’d love to manage? What would your hopes be for them?
I would love to have managed a punk band in the UK in the late 70's. Sounds like total chaos between The Clash, The Sex Pistols, Joy Division etc.
Part II — General
1.What does your job as an artist manager entail? How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t really know what it is? What kinds of things are you in charge of?
Artist management entails looking after every aspect of an artists’ business; financials, touring, release timelines, co-writes, music videos. It also includes managing teams, not only the band members themselves but booking agents, publicists, labels, and designers. It’s a pretty amorphous job that can throw anything at you. If you don’t have a publicist or a digital marketer, you often end up jumping in and having a go.
The biggest thing as a manager is to help execute the artists’ vision. You’re in charge of helping to organise many things, but it comes down to communication and coming to the right decision for the artist — What are the goals, and how do we get there?
2. Who is your team made up of? Who else do you work with to manage a band successfully?
As mentioned above, it can include anyone from booking agents, labels, distributors, publicists, designers, digital marketers, playlist pitchers etc. If everyone is on the same page working towards the same goals, it makes all the difference.
3. What do you look for when seeking out bands / artists? What does the process for this look like?
It all starts with being a fan. Also, we worked with most of our management acts in other capacities before managing them. That way, we already knew the relationship worked and that we trusted each other. Otherwise, it’s just reaching out and showing interest in the project. In the end, the most crucial factor is work ethic.
4. What are some things you have to consider when managing an artist and helping them grow? How does this differ between smaller and more established bands?
You need to work out how you’re developing each facet of their business and where to prioritise energy and effort. The most significant difference for smaller artists is the finite resources and where to prioritise them. Also, what type of artist are you? For example, for punk/rock acts, live shows are essential for growing your audience, while TikTok and co-writes may be more of a priority of electro-pop artists.
5. Are there any issues or challenges in your particular area of the music industry that you think are ignored or should be addressed? What are some misconceptions about managing artists?
As much of the music industry has been hung out to dry the last couple of years, it’s hard to say. Live shows, which are the lifeblood of the industry, have been non-existent. I think support for the industry as a whole is the first important step. I think people outside the industry think we just book shows.
Part III — Personal
1.How did you come to work in the industry? What’s the story behind Good Intent?
I was in a band called The Khanz for around nine years or so. My passion for the industry comes from being there myself and wanting great artists to succeed. Good Intent was formed by Rob Carroll halfway through 2018. Rob used to work for a subsidiary of Chugg Music called Rare Finds, and I played plenty of Rare Finds events over four years. I started interning with Rob, and Rare Finds in 2018 and left to join Good Intent when Rob started it. From there, I worked my way up over the years to a full-time job and now PR manager.
2. What are some of your aims and visions as an artist manager?
The aim is always for our artists to be able to make a living off their art. So if you’re able to get to that level, everything after is a bonus. Obviously, there are some absolute pinch-me moments if we ever get there: headlining a stage at Splendour or Glastonbury.
3. In a way, I feel like management is another, external, member of the band. Is there a sense of vulnerability between you and the bands you work with With that, is it hard to separate work and friendship?
Yeah, I think that’s correct. Sometimes it calls for you to be a semi-therapist or a mediator between parties. I think you need a sense of vulnerability for there to be trust and understand that if things get tough, there is someone there to back them up. Being an artist can often be a rollercoaster of sharp highs and doubting lows. I think it requires friendship to be able to navigate everything. If artists know you have their back and best interests at heart, you can move past business disagreements.
4. You guys do a lot of work for the community, how do the ideas for those projects come together? I imagine working as a team helps out but how do you guys manage to stay organized enough to manage bands, work PR, run Good Loco, and also put on things like Greater Good?
We stay pretty hectic busy, lol.
It generally just comes from conversations we have about giving back to the music community. We understand how hard it is for up-and-coming artists to navigate the waters and afford to promote their music the way they want. We feel fortunate that the business has survived the last two years.
Greater Good is our Label Services Manager Rick Bridgman’s baby, it’s such an exciting concept, and we’re really looking forward to continuing it annually. We’re always happy to even jump on the phone and give advice; it’s something I wish I had as an artist. But, in the end, we’re all former artists and know what a grind it can be.
5. What are some lessons working in artist management or the music industry in general has taught you?
The most important things are just organisation and planning. The key to releasing music is being super prepared, having all your assets six weeks out from release, leaving you plenty of time to work on music videos or content. The more that is already set up, the better. You can start finishing off your second single before your first one is out or recording five singles at a time and having a year worth of releases. Things go wrong when they’re rushed, and there is always a chance you miss out on opportunities.
Part IV — Concluding
1.What’s been a big career highlight so far? What’s been a project you’ve gotten to be a part of that was very close to you?
Standing side stage at The Metro Theatre as Down For Tomorrow supported The Maine was pretty special.
In the PR space, having artists like RedHook, A.GIRL, SCABZ, and Ruby Gill get rotation on Triple J was definitely a highlight as well.
I feel very close to all our management acts, and any wins they have are a highlight for the whole team and me.
2. Do you have a dream project or band you’d love to work with?
Placebo are my favourite band of all time. I’d lose my mind if I got to do anything related to them.
3. Are there any future projects / announcements / etc. you’d like to share?
→ Good Lekker’s new single ‘Belligerence’ is out January 28 (check it out here)
→ FANGZ new single ‘Falling Is Pretty Normal’ is out February 11 (watch out for the music video!) (Presave here)
→ New Down For Tomorrow music is on the horizon as well 😊
This was such an interesting piece to put together since management isn’t something I know too much about! Huge, huge thank you to Nick for taking the time to talk me through the dedication and care behind management. It’s always very exciting to see what cool things Good Intent have cooking behind the scenes to help out the local scene! Thank you all so much for reading, as always, and for supporting all the wonderful people I get to work with!
You can find Nick over on:
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