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.

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.

What a US market entry plan looks like for an international artist, over 12 months

Twelve months is the shortest window I would plan a US entry around. Less than that and you are running a promotion, not entering a market. What follows is the shape I use, without numbers, because every artist's budget and starting point are different.

The order underneath it has not changed since I was BTS's US managing partner from 2016 to 2018: American television first, then pop radio, then collaborations with American artists, then arenas. A 12-month plan is how you start walking that line.

Before month one: the audit

Before anything is planned, I look at what is already there.

US demand. Where in America the artist streams, which cities, how fast it is growing. Social followers and engagement from the US.
Catalog. Which songs already work for American listeners, and whether there is a song that could work at US radio.
Rights. Who controls the masters and publishing in the US, and what the home label's deals allow.
The home team. Who decides what, and how the US side will work alongside them. The home label stays the home label.
Time. How many weeks the artist can actually spend in the US this year.

If the audit shows little US demand, the plan changes shape. The first months become about building that demand, and the TV and radio stages move later.

Months 1 to 3: team and groundwork

Put the US team in place: management, a US label or distribution partner, a publicist, a lawyer, and a business manager for US income.
Pick the lead song for the US campaign. It has to work for American listeners first, not just for the existing fans.
Set the release calendar for the year, coordinated with the home label's schedule so the two do not compete.
Start talking to TV bookers and press with the story, so there is something waiting when the song arrives.
Clean up the basics: streaming profiles, US-facing social accounts, a site, publishing registered in the US.

Months 3 to 6: the first US release and television

Release the lead song with a real US campaign behind it. Press, playlists, paid media where it makes sense, content made for American audiences.
Go for national TV. For BTS that meant the 2017 American Music Awards, the first performance there by a K-pop group, plus Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel Live and The Late Late Show with James Corden. A first TV moment does not need to be that big. It needs to be national and it needs to reach people outside the fanbase.
Bring the artist to the US for a press and promo window. The campaign does not work from abroad.
Watch the numbers city by city. That is the data radio and promoters will ask about.

Months 6 to 9: radio

If the song and the data support it, start a radio campaign with a US label promotion team or independent promoters. [I wrote about how US pop radio works](/blog/us-radio-for-international-artists/) and why it is the hardest step.
Keep the artist visible with a second release or a remix, so the radio campaign has support.
Start conversations about collaborations with American artists and producers.

Radio is slow. Plan for months of work on one song. When Monsta X, whom I have managed since 2018, reached US Top 40 pop radio, it was a first for a K-pop group. There was a US label behind it, an album sung in English, and time.

Months 9 to 12: collaborations and live

Release a collaboration, if one makes sense for both audiences. For BTS, the "Mic Drop" remix with Steve Aoki and Desiigner went Platinum and reached No. 28 on the Hot 100.
Bring in a booking agent if there is enough demand to sell. Start with rooms the artist can fill, in the cities the data points to.
Festival slots and showcase events, where they reach new audiences. Monsta X became the first K-pop act at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2019, the same year they headlined Staples Center.
Review the year against the plan and set the next twelve months.

What makes the plan fail

Starting with the tour. A US tour before there is US demand loses money and teaches promoters the wrong lesson.
Spending before the song is right. Marketing a song that does not work for Americans buys a spike and then nothing.
No time in the country. TV, radio and press need the artist here.
Two teams pulling in different directions. The home team and the US team need one plan, one calendar and clear roles.
Treating month twelve as the finish. The first year earns the right to the second.

Year two

If the first year works, year two is where it compounds. Bigger TV, more stations, a second US release cycle, larger rooms. With Monsta X the arc ran from the Epic Records deal in 2019 to All About Luv at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 in 2020.

The full record, year by year and with sources, is on [the K-pop US breakthrough timeline](/kpop-us-breakthrough/). The service itself is described on [US management for international artists](/us-management-for-international-artists/).

Eshy Gazit is a US music manager for international artists. US managing partner for BTS 2016 to 2018, manager of Monsta X since 2018, partner at Maverick Management, founder of EG Management, Intertwine Records and LUSIVEX. Billboard International Power Player 2021 and 2022. Contact.