What do Brand / Product Managers do?

The role of a Brand Manager or Product Manager working in the music industry is to help create and implement marketing campaigns to maximise the sales of music from a particular record label, artist, online music service, radio station or other music product. They will usually be employed by a large or well established record label or music company and are likely to be responsible for managing the campaigns for a specific artist or product or group of artists or products. For example a large record company may have a range of different musical genre and they may appoint a Brand Manager to manage the campaign for their classical portfolio or for their jazz portfolio. they may also be employed by a marketing agency that specialises in marketing services to the music or creative industries. All sorts of events, products and artists may be defined as a brand. For example Top of the Pops is considered a major global music brand and has a Brand Manager who works across all media and markets, nationally and internationally.

Knowledge of the music business and of current trends, along with good knowledge of competitors and good networking skills, is essential. Defining the unique identity and market positioning of an artist or product is a key task. Good skills in teamwork are important as the Brand or Product Manager will need to work closely with other departments, including public relations and sales. The tasks carried out by a Product Manager are varied and can change from campaign to campaign. They may have some input into initial decisions the company makes on what to prioritise and where to focus their efforts. They may be involved in working with focus groups, managing and responding to feedback and handling, packaging, advertising, and sales promotions. A Brand or Product Manager may be involved in planning and organising publicty and promotion work around events, live performances and tours, and their tasks can range from design, creation and distribution of packaging and marketing materials such as cover images, posters, web sites and point-of-sale assets, to liaising with media buyers about placing adverts.

The work can involve long hours and managing deadlines and launch and release dates can be stressful. Excellent project management skills are very important. Experience of product management in other industries, particularly other creative and entertainment industries can be a bonus. Experience of dealing with intellectual property licensors and promotional partners, as well as sales distributors, and localisation and translation providers is helpful. The Product or Brand Manager will also need experience in managing marketing budgets, analysing customer and audience behaviour and sales trends.