You Do Not Need To Be 'Qualified' to Qualify
Going through high school I was only interested in studying science, so it was no surprise that I applied to and began studying Anatomy and Human Biology at University. I studied for three years, including a semester in Australia, and following this, I went on to study a Master of Research in Translational Medicine. I now work as a Research Assistant within the Brain Repair Group that focuses on Parkinson’s and Huntington’s Disease
Now, you are probably reading this and thinking, ‘well how come you’re writing an article on artist management for a magazine?’ That question is the premise of this entire article.
In 2012 I was setting up for a church service – I was a worship leader – and heard ‘He ain’t the leaving kind’ by Rascal Flatts come on through the speakers. Off the back of this, I discovered the incredible talent that is Carrie Underwood. I asked my Father to take me to watch her performance at the first Country2Country Festival (the UK’s largest Country Music Festival) at the O2 Arena, London [March, 2013]. Other artists on the line-up that year included Leanne Rimes and Darius Rucker. Having grown up being a part of a choir or a church worship team, and having a very talented Father, I always had an appreciation for good music. Still, from that point, my attention was turned from the weekly top 40 to the Hot Country and A-list country playlists of Apple and Spotify. For the next few years, country music became my ‘go-to’ for any circumstance. Whether I was in the gym, studying in the library or travelling, country music was there, and every year I made the trip to London for Country2Country.
In 2017 I made that same trip to Country2Country on a much-needed break before my final degree assignments were due. It was the first year that I had decided to take the financial hit and attend the entire weekend – Thursday night songwriters’ event, three nights in the main arena, merchandise, the lot. Saturday morning came, and I was stood in one of the smaller venues and got talking to a young man by the name of Danny McMahon. An ordinary guy, who, just like me, was there for the music, but with an extra-ordinary talent for songwriting. We became great friends, and during the months that followed, Danny began writing his first country record. When finally recorded, a few of us got together and realised that if he wanted to, this was a career path that Danny could excel in.
So I decided that during my spare time from studying, I would be more than happy to help with setting up social media platforms, contacting venues for shows and promoting his music. Off the back of the release, I found myself organising festival appearances for Danny and the band, including San Diego, USA, in January 2018. Upon their return, I agreed to continue helping Danny to organise bookings, festival appearances and promotion of new releases and thought it made sense to label myself as his manager.
If I am completely honest, I was petrified by the thought of this. I was a 20-year-old girl at University, studying a subject utterly unrelated to the music industry, and with no business qualifications. I was definitely ‘unqualified’. But there I was, and there was no turning back. Danny and the band had been selected to perform at Buckle and Boots Festival, one of the top country festivals at the time for UK Country Music artists and organised by the British Country Music Association.
Some crazy girls’ idea (this is me) was to arrange a tour right off the back of their performance and hope people would turn up. I organised venue hire, ticket sales and tour support on a very non-existent budget, in addition to BBC and local radio interviews. For two of those dates, I had 5 band members sleeping on the floor of my one-bedroom studio flat in University halls. Whilst the band slept in and saw the sights of the city before their interviews and sound check, I would sneak out at 8 am to attend lectures and finish assignments in the library, before meeting them to organise the venue for that evening’s show.
I am sure to many, travelling around the country is quite an exciting thought. However, there were many bumps in the road. Venue owners and festival organisers have looked at me with a look that says, ‘you don’t belong here’. I walked into one venue to be carelessly ignored by the owner who thought I was merely a guest of the band! One band member got a parking ticket, we couldn’t find one venue, and we even left gear in one site and had to trudge around the city trying to find the venue owner to let us in before we could move on to the next location.
To say that I was exhausted by the end of this period would probably be a complete understatement, but nonetheless, I was on top of the world. Somehow, I had managed to accomplish something that I never considered possible. The tour was successful, and since then Danny has won a plethora of awards and has toured the UK, Europe, and the United States. In addition to this, I now own my own artist management company, Scarlet River Management, and have been nominated for International Promoter of the year in Atlanta and Management of the Year in Holland!
Although I have received overwhelming support from many people within this industry, a considerable part of this story has been learning to overcome fears and believe in my own ability. I do not say this for people to turn around and congratulate me. I became part of the music business because of a desire and a passion for helping one artist succeed. I was determined to help them build their vision and turn goals and dreams into a reality. I do not have one single business qualification. I didn’t know anyone in the music industry, and I certainly didn’t even know what the role of a manager was. It took endless emailing with no response, an incredible amount of ‘no’s’ and a lot of unanswered questions, but, eventually, all that effort and motivation started to build something worth pursuing. I felt like I may just qualify after all.
You may hold inside a passion or the tempting idea for a career in an industry that you’d love to be a part of, and to that I say, GO FOR IT! It starts with you taking that leap of faith into the unknown. You can do anything that you put your mind to. If you have the passion and a motivation to succeed, you will! And, I will be rooting for you, just like so many people in the industry that you are going to meet on your new, exciting journey.
Written by Rachel Sellick
Rachel Sellick is a young aspiring researcher within the Neuroscience field. After being introduced to country music at a relatively young age, Rachel has always resonated with it’s honest, pure lyrical storytelling.
Whilst finishing her MRes Degree in Translational Medicine in 2017/18, Rachel got involved with bookings and artist management for country-pop singer songwriter Danny McMahon. Then she began to feel that she could thrive in the music business world and as a result set up Scarlet River Management. Since its establishment in September 2019, Rachel has built a team of individuals to help grow the business. She is now managing fast rising country pop singer songwriter Kelsey Bovey, and working alongside a number of UK and US artists to establish connections and performance opportunities across the globe.