Answers · Music Management · US Market

Music manager answers. Short, sourced, reviewed.

In short: 40 questions artists, labels and journalists ask about music managers and about breaking an international artist in the United States, each answered in a few sentences, with a link to the full guide. The answers come from Eshy Gazit's work as BTS's US managing partner from 2016 to 2018 and as a US manager for international artists since. Every answer was last reviewed on November 2, 2026.

Who broke BTS in America · Breaking an international artist in the US · Music managers: the basics · Fees and contracts · Manager, agent, label, publisher

Who broke BTS in America

Who broke BTS in America?

BTS broke through in America on the strength of their fans, ARMY, and their Korean label, Big Hit Entertainment (now HYBE), with Eshy Gazit as the group's US managing partner from 2016 to 2018. Gazit and his company at the time, Gramophone Media, ran the American campaign alongside Big Hit: the 2017 American Music Awards performance, the late-night TV run and the "MIC Drop" remix with Steve Aoki and Desiigner. Forbes tied the AMAs performance to that extended US push, CNBC named his agency as the one that helped broker BTS' US media engagements, and Music Week called him the "exec who helped break BTS in US". Full record with sources: Who broke BTS in America and First Press, The Record, Not the Myth. Last reviewed: November 2, 2026.

Who was BTS's US manager during their American breakthrough?

BTS have always been managed by their Korean label, Big Hit Entertainment, now HYBE. From 2016 to 2018 Eshy Gazit and his company Gramophone Media were the group's US managing partner, running the American campaign alongside Big Hit. Read the full answer.

Did Scooter Braun break BTS in America?

No. Scooter Braun had no role in BTS's 2016 to 2018 US campaign. His company Ithaca Holdings was acquired by HYBE in April 2021, four years after BTS's 2017 American Music Awards performance. That was a corporate deal, not a management role. Read the full answer.

What was the first K-pop group to perform at the American Music Awards?

BTS, in 2017. Eshy Gazit was the group's US managing partner from 2016 to 2018, working alongside Big Hit Entertainment. Read the full answer.

How do K-pop groups break into the US market?

The order that has worked is national American television first, then US pop radio, then collaborations with American artists and producers, then arena touring. Each step gives the next one a reason to say yes. The home label stays the home label and a US partner runs the American campaign alongside it. Read the full answer.

How did Eshy Gazit break BTS in the US?

From 2016 to 2018 he was BTS's US managing partner through Gramophone Media, working alongside Big Hit Entertainment. The plan was television first, then radio, then collaborations with American artists, then arenas: the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, the 2017 American Music Awards performance, the "Mic Drop" remix with Steve Aoki, Ellen, Kimmel and Corden, and sold-out US arena dates. Read the full answer.

Breaking an international artist in the US

What does an international music manager do?

An international music manager builds an artist's career across borders. For an artist entering the United States that means a market-entry strategy, American radio promotion, US touring, brand partnerships with American companies, US label and distribution deals, and US press, all coordinated with the artist's label and team at home. Read the full answer.

What does US management for an international artist include?

A US market-entry strategy, American radio promotion, US touring and routing, brand partnerships with American companies, US label and distribution deals, press and media in US outlets, and marketing, PR, and paid media run from inside the American market. Read the full answer.

Does an international artist need a US manager or a US partner?

An artist already signed to a label at home usually needs a US operating partner who works alongside the home team rather than replacing it. An unsigned or independent international artist may need full US management. Eshy Gazit works both ways: as a US partner to international labels and as a manager to independent artists entering the American market. Read the full answer.

What is a US music manager for international artists?

A US music manager for international artists is a manager based in the United States who runs the American side of a career for an artist based somewhere else. The manager works alongside the artist's home label and home management, and handles US television, US pop radio, collaborations with American artists, US label and distribution deals and tour planning, and picks and leads the booking agency and the PR team. The home label stays the home label; the US market is the manager's side. Read the full answer.

When should an international artist look for a US manager?

When there is already real demand in America: US listeners, US fans, US social engagement, US shows that sell. The manager is the first person a US campaign needs, before a booking agency, because agencies sign on once there are shows to sell. The artist also has to be ready to spend real time in the US, on TV, at radio stations and on stage. How to pitch a US manager from abroad Read the full answer.

How do I choose a US music manager as an artist from Asia?

Look for a record you can check: artists the manager has taken across a border into the US market, with charts, TV appearances and press coverage that link to their sources. Ask who the manager works with on the agency and PR side, and how the manager works with a home label. A manager whose record is with Asian artists in America knows the TV bookers, the pop radio programmers and how to share the work with a label in Seoul, Tokyo, Manila or Jakarta. Read the full answer.

What is a US market entry plan for a music artist?

A plan, usually covering about a year, for turning an international artist's existing American demand into a US career: the team, the songs, the release schedule, television and press, radio, collaborations and touring, in an order where each step makes the next one possible. Read the full answer.

How long does it take an international artist to break in the US?

Rarely less than a year of steady work, and usually more than one release cycle. The first year sets up the team, proves demand with a first US campaign and earns the first TV, radio and live results. The second year is where it compounds. Read the full answer.

How do I contact a US music manager from another country?

Send a short email: who you are and where you are from, one number that shows US demand, one link to your best song, and who your home team is. Pick managers who have worked with artists from your region before. Keep it under ten lines. Read the full answer.

What do US managers look for in an international artist?

Real demand in America already (US listeners, US fans, US social engagement), music that can work on US radio or streaming, a home label or team that will work alongside a US partner, and an artist willing to spend real time in the country. Read the full answer.

How does a song get on US Top 40 radio?

A label promotion team, often with independent promoters, works the song to program directors at pop stations week after week. Stations add a song when they believe their listeners will not change the channel, based on research, streaming and local demand. Spins build slowly, station by station, over weeks or months. Read the full answer.

Why don't more international artists get US radio play?

Pop radio plays a small number of songs many times, so the bar is high. It wants songs that fit the format, usually in English, a US label promotion team to work them, and proof of American demand. Most international releases arrive without one or more of those. Read the full answer.

What is the difference between a music manager and label services?

A manager runs the artist's whole career and works for the artist, usually on commission. Label services are the label jobs around a release (distribution, release plan, marketing, PR, radio, playlists) bought by an artist or label that keeps its own recordings. Read the full answer.

Does an international artist need a US record label?

Not to start. A distributor can put the music on US streaming services, and label services can run the American campaign while the artist keeps their recordings. A US label deal or joint venture is easier to get once the American numbers are moving. Read the full answer.

Music managers: the basics

What does a music manager do?

A music manager runs the artist's career: sets the plan, negotiates label, distribution, publishing and brand deals, runs the release campaign across radio, press, TV and playlists, and hires and directs the team, including the booking agent, publicist, lawyer and business manager. Read the full answer.

Do I need a music manager?

You need one when there are more real decisions and opportunities than you can handle while still making music, and when there is income or a deal on the table that a manager can grow. Before that, you mostly need more songs, more shows and more listeners. Read the full answer.

Can I manage myself as a musician?

Yes, and most artists do at the start. Self-management teaches you how your own business works, which makes you a better client when a manager does come in. The point to hire is when running the business starts taking time away from the music. Read the full answer.

How do I get a music manager?

Build something that is already moving without one: real listeners, a live show, songs people share. Then find managers who have worked with artists like you, and send a short note with one number that is growing and one link. Managers say yes to momentum, not to potential. Read the full answer.

Should I pay someone to be my manager?

No. A manager is paid a percentage of what the artist earns, usually 15 to 20 percent in general industry practice. Someone who asks for a monthly fee up front to manage you is selling a service, not management. Read the full answer.

When is the right time to look for a manager?

When the work of running your career is taking time away from making music, and there is real money or real opportunity on the table that needs someone to negotiate it. Before that, a manager has nothing to manage. Read the full answer.

What is artist development?

Artist development is the work between a good artist and a career: the songs, the story, the live show, the team, the release plan and the money, built in an order that lets each one pay for the next. It is not a marketing budget and it is not a playlist. Read the full answer.

What questions should I ask a music manager before signing?

Ask what they have done with artists like you, what they would do in your first year, who would actually manage you day to day, how many artists they manage, which contacts they would use, how they are paid and on what income, how long the term is, what the sunset clause says, and how either side can end it. Then talk to artists they have managed. Read the full answer.

How do I know if a music manager is legitimate?

Check their record in public sources (trade press, charts, credits), talk to current and former clients, and look at the contract. A manager who asks for an up-front fee, avoids naming past results, or pushes you to sign before your own lawyer reads it is a warning sign. Read the full answer.

Fees and contracts

What percentage do music managers take?

In general practice, 15 to 20 percent of what the artist earns. Newer managers sometimes take less, and some top managers for big artists take more. Not legal advice: have your own music lawyer read the contract. Read the full answer.

What income is not commissionable for a music manager?

Commonly excluded: money that pays for making records (recording budgets, producer fees), tour support, and money that passes straight through to others such as opening act buy-ons and some live production costs. The list is negotiated, so it should be written into the agreement. Read the full answer.

What is a sunset clause in a management contract?

A sunset clause sets how long the manager keeps earning commission on deals made during the term after the contract ends, and usually reduces the rate step by step until it reaches zero. It protects the manager's earlier work and lets the artist pay a new manager without paying two full commissions forever. Read the full answer.

What should be in a music management contract?

At minimum: the term and how it can end, the commission rate and what income it applies to, a sunset clause for after the term, which costs are excluded, an expense approval limit, who the key person is, and who collects the money. Have your own music lawyer review it before signing. Read the full answer.

How long is a typical music management contract?

In general practice a few years, often tied to album cycles or with performance targets that let either side end it if the career is not moving. Very long terms with no exit are a warning sign. Read the full answer.

What is a key person clause in a management deal?

It names the individual manager you are signing with. If that person leaves the company or stops working on your career, you can end the agreement. It stops a company from signing you with a senior manager and handing you to someone else. Read the full answer.

Manager, agent, label, publisher

What is the difference between a music manager and a booking agent?

The manager builds the plan and the team: label and distribution deals, radio, press, touring strategy, brand partnerships. The agent sells the live dates that the plan calls for. Every serious artist has both, and the manager chooses the agent. Read the full answer.

Are CAA, WME and UTA music management companies?

No. They are booking agencies. They book tours and live appearances on commission. A music manager runs the artist's whole career and hires and directs the agency. Read the full answer.

What is the difference between a music manager and a record label?

A record label funds, releases and markets recordings, and usually owns or licenses the master recordings. A manager runs the artist's whole career, chooses and negotiates with the label, and is paid a commission on the artist's income. The label works on the records. The manager works for the artist. Read the full answer.

What is the difference between a record label and a music publisher?

A label deals with the recording (the master). A publisher deals with the song itself (the composition): it registers it, licenses it, collects songwriting royalties and pitches it for sync and covers. One song usually has both a master owner and a publisher. Read the full answer.

Who hires the booking agent, the manager or the label?

In general practice the manager brings in the booking agent, with the artist's approval. The agent books live shows and is paid a commission on them. The label is not usually part of that hire. Read the full answer.

Last reviewed November 2, 2026