Music Agents and Scouts

Learn as much as you can about the music industry. Read publications agents read, such as Billboard (https://www.billboard.com) and Variety (https://variety.com). Listen to current musical acts to get a sense of the established and up-and-coming talents in the music industry.

Join student business organizations—such as Junior Achievement (https://jausa.ja.org), DECA (https://www.deca.org), Future Business Leaders of America (https://www.fbla.org), and Business Professionals of America (http://bpa.org) to learn more about the business world and participate in activities that develop your leadership, managerial, and financial management skills. Some organizations—such as DECA—offer business and other competitions.

If you live in Los Angeles, New York, or Nashville, you may be able to volunteer or intern at an agency to find out more about the career. If you live outside these cities, search the Web or check the Yellow Pages for listings of local agencies. Most major cities have agents who represent local musicians. If you contact them, they may be willing to participate in an information interview that will help you to obtain insight into the nature of talent management in general. Perhaps you could even job-shadow an agent or scout to learn even more about the field.