Brittny Danielle: Artist Manager
Introduce yourself to us! What do you do in the industry? Where are you from?
Hi! I’m Brittny Danielle. I’m an Artist Manager based in LA. I work at a company called Manifest GRP and we work with a variety of genres from Metal to Pop. My roster includes: Sunsleep, MILKK, & Modern Maps.
How did you get your start in the industry, and how long have you been in the
industry?
I’ve kind of hustled since I moved to Atlanta at 22. Where I’m from, working in entertainment is completely unheard of—so I went to college, got a degree, tried working in the field I studied but ultimately I knew deep down I wanted to try to figure out a way to work in music, specifically artist management. In order to get my start and build connections having literally no idea how to go about it I picked up my life and moved to Atlanta, GA because that’s where I went to shows growing up. There I did street team stuff, social media marketing for various brands, volunteered to work shows at venues, worked music festivals locally, tried to manage bands on my own with zero clue how to do so. I ended up moving to San Diego the following year to try to figure it all out there knowing well that I probably needed to move up to LA eventually. Then, to give you kind of a long story short, after some time and making various connections here and there I met someone who had a friend, in Los Angeles, that was an artist manager looking for an assistant. I immediately sent over my resume and the rest is history. I spent all of 2016 learning as much as I possibly could from my boss, Derek Brewer, and then in 2017 I picked up my first client. I now have 3 bands on my roster, help run our management company, Manifest GRP, and still assist with Derek’s clients.
When did you know being in the business is what you wanted to do? Was there a
specific moment where you were like “oh god, this is what I want to do for the rest of my life”?
Part of me has always known. I’ve never cared about anything as much as I care about music and I’ve always known that I wanted to have a job that made my entire life feel good, so I knew that finding a way to work in music I would always be able to enjoy work.
Is there anything you struggled with (or even still do struggle with) being in the
industry?
Feeling good about myself! Everyday I meet someone new who’s like 5 years younger than me and doing exactly what I do, or doing what I do but better, and that lead me to not feeling good enough or behind. BUT NO!!!! Such an important lesson that I’ve learned is that everyone lives their lives differently and at different paces. I grew up slow and I needed all the experiences that I had prior to me landing my dream job to mold me into the person that I needed to be for my boss to believe in me, for my ability to help run our company, my new clients, and myself in this career.
What is the best part of your job? Why?
Going to the shows! We work so so so hard behind the scenes every day and when our clients come to town or we fly out to shows it’s like “YES THIS IS WHY!!!” Also watching their growth, I’ve managed a band called Sunsleep since basically day 1 and I probably cry at every show now. It’s so exciting watching them gain new fans, sign merch, and seeing people singing along to their songs. I love it so so much!
Is there someone who you consider as your mentor in the industry?
Derek Brewer! He is the MAN! I could literally go on for a few paragraphs
about how amazing he is. He has been so patient with me throughout the years as I’ve learned, made mistakes, asked a ton of questions, been frustrated, felt defeated, etc. He is always so encouraging and is a true definition of a great leader. Aria McKnight and I have been side by side throughout our time in this industry and I couldn’t have done this without her. Also I love and appreciate so many people who I’ve had the opportunity to share an office space with and learn from; Lisa Garelick, Charley Bezer, Michele Abreim, Evange Livanos, Jonathan King.
What advice do you have for women who want to get their start in the music
industry?
JUST GO FOR IT! Don’t be afraid to ask questions and dont fear that being a woman will EVER hinder your growth in this industry. There are so many badass women who work in the music industry and we support the hell out of other women. We want to see you all achieve all of your goals.
Have you ever been turned down or not taken seriously because you were a female
in the industry?
Fortunately I’ve experienced this a lot less frequently than most women have
and for that I consider myself extremely lucky. As I said in question #5 my boss in the best. I’ve always felt treated as though I was just a human being working amongst other human beings. However, when the whole ‘not being taken seriously because I’m a woman’ type things happen Derek has my back when necessary and I’ve also just learned to brush those types of people off and just keep pushing forward.... ya don’t need ‘em.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
Still managing bands, they’ll just obviously be all a lot larger than they are now. I also want to do something with motivational speaking, we’ll see.
What are some of your other hobbies? What do you do in your free time (which we
know can be very hard to find?
I adore self help books! I just love reading others perspectives on how they
say to live a happy, healthy, mindful life. I’ve been through quite a bit of trauma in my past so these types of books dug me out of some dark places. I also love yoga, hanging out with my cat, checking out breweries, binging shows on netflix or hulu, and I’m basically bicoastal now so I love exploring all that LA & NYC have to offer.
Who is your all-time favorite artist?
Every artist they play at Emo Nite ;) haha.
What is something you can't live without?
Luna, my cat!
Go-to Karaoke song?
I like to watch people sing karaoke because I am entirely too shy to get up
there these days.
Tea or Coffee?
Coffeee! Tea if I’m sick.
First concert you went to?
Underoath!
What’s something that you always have on you?
Aside from the normal things in a woman’s purse, I don’t know how to live
life properly without a hair-tie on my wrist, haha.
Who is your dream artist or band to tour/work with?
Underoath was my dream once they came back & some of our clients toured
with them last year so that was exciting!
What does a typical day at work look like for you?
LOL!
What do you hope to see done in the industry within the next few years?
Aside from the all of the obvious stuff we would like to change and are
working on changing, especially as women, I would simply like to see more people lifting each other up and supporting each other rather than making so many things seem like a competition.
What are you most proud of?
Personally that I’ve worked so hard to get the career I dreamed of having
and now I am in a place to guide, motivate, and inspire others to do the same.
You just announced that you will be working with MILKK, what will you be doing
for them?
I manage them! So i’ll be doing all of the things that managing a band has to
offer, which is anything and everything under the sun. I absolutely love that band and can not wait to see what all happens for them!
What is your favorite part about your job?
The fact that I love going to work every day. I mean it is work so there are
times when things get stressful but I work with such a solid team that it’s great. Additionally, I love meeting new people in this industry who work hard and inspire me and others to do the same. I also have the best clients! We are always bouncing new ideas off of each other and constantly learning and growing together.
What saying do you live by?
“This is the best possible thing” - Chris Prentiss
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