We recently connected with Sydney Alston and have shared our conversation below.

Sydney, appreciate you joining us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your business and how did you resolve those issues?

As an artist manager, my primary responsibility is to help my clients find success in their careers. I’m dedicated to identifying opportunities and creating revenue streams to help them break through in the industry. However, one of the most disappointing lessons I’ve learned is that a manager can be fired at any time, even after significant successes.

For instance, I once got one of my clients four major label showcases. Despite the interest from A&R representatives, they all said the same thing: “We really like your artist, but we don’t hear the hit song.” This feedback fueled my determination, so I connected my artist with a hit songwriter in my network who had written for Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Faith Hill. In their first session, the songwriter told my artist, “I don’t think Sydney is the right guy. Get rid of him, and I’ll make you a star.” The next day, I was fired, and the producer fired the artist for being disloyal. It was a strange and disheartening experience.

In another instance, I worked with an artist for over two years, developing him and facilitating collaborations with top songwriters and producers. After releasing our first record, Warner Brothers invited us for a showcase and eventually offered a deal. As soon as the deal was signed, the artist’s mother fired me, declaring she would be his manager since he was a minor and had no say in the matter. That experience was incredibly hurtful.

Sydney, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I started in the music business at a fairly young age, doing my first professional gig as a trumpet player at 16. I played trumpet until I graduated from high school, then switched to bass guitar and started a band with an old high school friend. That band got signed to a major label about a year later. After the band was dropped from the label, I continued to play shows around the country and the world for the next 10 years.

During this time, I realized I was the one booking all the gigs, setting up promo, and leveraging connections. This led me to explore the idea of making things happen for other artists and bands. My first client was one of my best friends, who had left my band to become the guitar player for Dru Hill and opened his own production company.

Following this experience, I wanted to get closer to the business side of things. I landed my first day job at AVL Digital, the parent company for Disc Makers, CD Baby, BookBaby, and Merch.ly. I quickly rose through the ranks and moved from NJ to CA, becoming the face of Disc Makers in Los Angeles. Working in sales and marketing kept me in constant contact with artists, managers, producers, studios, and labels. Disc Makers gave me the opportunity to run a series of seminars in Los Angeles called “Achieving Success with Your Music” at music stores and schools.

I began producing and writing songs for artists I met through Disc Makers and these seminars, eventually starting a management firm called Modern Artist Development to help create revenue streams for these artists. This led to a career as an artist manager and entrepreneur, encompassing production, management, A&R, marketing, and even buying full artist catalogs.

As a result of this success, I have contributed to classes on Modern Artist Development, Making Money With Your Music, and Music Marketing DIY at prestigious institutions such as UCLA, USC, Cal State, Taxi, NAMM, ASCAP I Create Music, Youbloom, and the Universal Pro-Music mentor program. I’ve also contributed to many books and articles on the music business, including “Music Marketing for the DIY Musician” by Bobby Borg.

Despite having the opportunity to work with superstar artists, I prefer to do the “heavy lifting,” the part that major management companies and record companies no longer do. This service is crucial for upcoming artists and music entrepreneurs to secure a career in the music business.

Some of my favorite successes include producer Frederik Thaae from Denmark, whom I met at a networking event and eventually signed to a management deal with one of my partners. Frederik went on to win a Eurovision award for Best Song and Song of the Year. Another big success is an artist I developed as a manager, got signed, and who later won a Grammy and has written songs for Chris Brown, Usher, Damian Marley, and more.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like you have to change with the times. From selling cds to streaming, from playing bass to producing songs to teaching. There is so much to learn from each thing you do if you do it to your fullest capacity. Truth be told when I was playing bass I would have never imagined doing anything else. If you stay open to the possibilities of trying something new you may just find your lane or multiple lanes.

I think the biggest change in my career was going from being a full time musician to getting a day job. It happened out of necessity actually. I lost some really big gigs and had to make some extra money to pay bills. I took a couple of jobs that I didn’t really like and quit pretty much in a week. I knew I had to find a job in the music business some how but had no idea what i was going to do until I was out on the job search and saw the Disc Makers plant on my way to a gig. I decided that’s where I wanted to work and went in to the office and applied for a job. I was willing to start at the bottom for an opportunity to grow and get deeper into the executive side of the business. My first position was as a customer service rep and I quickly climbed the latter to assistant product specialist. They gave me a chance to go out to my first trade show where I learned marketing and sales go hand in hand. After working my ass off I made it to become a senior Product Specialist which was like a top sales position at the time. The next thing that happened was I came to Los Angeles to a wedding and realized that LA was where I needed to be if I wanted to take my career to the next level so I took a demotion to come to Los Angeles as an assistant product specialist. I would soon get promoted to Account Executive and the face of the Los Angeles office.

I look at my time at Disc Makers as the biggest learning lesson of my entire career. I was forced to learn things I didn’t really care about at the time that have made me far more successful. Organization, followthrough and relationship building mixed with creativity are the things that have lead to my success.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

My business partner Richard Parizer and I met through a contest I had the pleasure of judging, Lamn Jam. His band was good, but I didn’t initially hear any hit songs. Richard kept in touch with me over the next year, updating me on the band’s progress. Eventually, he sent me a couple of songs that were quite good, so I took on the role of the band’s manager.

When the lead singer left the band, I reconnected Richard with an old friend who was doing a solo gig and convinced them to work together. From there, Richard and I became friends, and I admired his work ethic. Later, I discovered Richard had a degree in music management and suggested we work on a project together. Richard introduced me to one of his piano students, which marked the beginning of our great working relationship. We have been partners ever since.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://modernartistdevelopment.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigsydsmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sydney.alston
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sydneyalston/