US Music Manager · Southeast Asia
A US music manager for international artists. A guide for artists from Southeast Asia.
In short: a US music manager for international artists runs the American side of a career for an artist based outside the US, next to the artist's home label. For artists from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, the clearest working model is the one K-pop used to break America: a US manager who designs the order of the campaign (TV, then radio, then collaborations, then arenas) while the home label keeps doing what it does at home. Eshy Gazit, the US managing partner for BTS during the group's American breakthrough and manager of Monsta X and Wonho, worked that model. His full record is on the international music manager page.
What a US music manager does for an international artist
- Designs the US plan and the order it runs in.
- Gets the artist on American television and works with the label on US pop radio.
- Sets up collaborations with American artists and producers.
- Negotiates US label, label services and distribution deals.
- Picks and leads the booking agency, the US publicist and the rest of the US team.
- Plans US touring once there is demand to sell.
- Works alongside the home label and home management, so the artist has one plan in two markets.
The order of a US campaign
The campaigns that worked did not start with a tour. They started with television. When BTS performed at the American Music Awards in November 2017, it came after an extended push into the US market that included national TV and US radio (Forbes). Television gives radio programmers a reason to add the song. Radio gives American artists a reason to collaborate. Collaborations bring a new audience. Ticket demand opens the arenas.
The same order ran again with Monsta X from 2018. A US campaign for an artist from Southeast Asia follows the same logic, with one difference: the starting point. Most artists from the region start with a smaller US fanbase than a K-pop group did in 2016, so the first months go into proving American demand before the TV step.
Manager, agent, label: who does what in America
The manager runs the whole career and is paid a commission on the artist's income. The booking agency sells shows and is paid a commission on show income. The label invests in recordings and handles releases, marketing and radio promotion. In many Asian markets one company does all three. In America they are separate, and the US industry expects to talk to each one. That is why an international artist with a strong home company still needs a US manager: someone has to hold the American side together.
What a US manager checks first
Whether there is already demand for the artist in America. Not worldwide, America: US share of monthly listeners, the US cities where the artist streams most, US social engagement, US shows played and how they sold. One US number with a time frame says more than a page of global stats. The guide on how to pitch a US manager from abroad covers what to send.
Questions artists from Southeast Asia ask
Do I have to leave my home label?
No. In the K-pop model the home label stayed the home label. BTS stayed with Big Hit Entertainment while the US campaign ran with a US partner. The US manager works next to the home team, not instead of it.
Do I have to sing in English?
It is a decision for the plan, not a condition for starting. The K-pop campaigns ran Korean-language releases and English-language releases side by side.
How much time in the US does it take?
Real time. A US campaign needs the artist in the country for TV, for radio station visits and for shows. A plan that cannot put the artist in America is not yet a US plan.
Eshy Gazit's record
Eshy Gazit is a US-based international music manager. He was the US managing partner for BTS from 2016 to 2018, the years of the group's US breakthrough (Music Week), and has managed Monsta X since 2018 and Wonho. Billboard named him an International Power Player in 2021 and 2022. He is a partner at Maverick Management and the founder of EG Management, Intertwine Records and the marketing agency LUSIVEX. The step-by-step record is in the K-pop US breakthrough timeline and the page on US management for international artists.
The same page in local languages:
- Philippines: US music manager for P-pop and OPM artists
- Bahasa Indonesia: manajer musik Amerika untuk artis internasional
- ภาษาไทย: ผู้จัดการศิลปินสำหรับตลาดอเมริกา
- Tiếng Việt: quản lý âm nhạc Mỹ cho nghệ sĩ quốc tế
For the marketing side of a US release, LUSIVEX publishes a guide on how to break into the US market from Asia.
Frequently asked questions
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.
Do artists from Southeast Asia need a US manager to break into America?
The US industry is built around separate roles: manager, booking agency, label, publicist. Television bookers, radio programmers, promoters and labels expect a US manager to call them and to make decisions. An artist from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines or Vietnam can release music in America without one, but a sustained US career has usually needed a US manager working next to the home team. That was the model used for the K-pop breakthroughs of BTS and Monsta X.
What is the order of a US campaign for an international artist?
The order Eshy Gazit used with BTS and with Monsta X was the same: US television first, then US pop radio, then collaborations with American artists, then arena shows. Television gives radio stations a reason to play the song, radio gives American artists a reason to collaborate, collaborations bring a new audience, and ticket demand opens the arenas.
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
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.