Today we have the pleasure of chatting with Danny Boland, the mind behind Royal Artists. Danny is the founder and the driving force managing some incredible bands like Atheana, Break Fifty, Death Of Me, and TNL VZN. We’re excited to dive into his journey, hear about the ins and outs of artist management, and learn what it takes to make it in the ever-evolving music industry. Welcome, Danny, take it away!
Can you tell us about your journey into the music industry and what inspired you to found Royal Artists?
Of course! Music has been a consistent factor in my life. My parents would always have records playing at home, from the likes of Eric Clapton to Madness but it was my cousin who introduced me to heavier music when I was about 8 after showing me Papercut by Linkin Park; I’ve been hooked ever since. I have been playing in bands since I was 15 and have toured around the UK but my interest in artist management stemmed from a bad experience I had and I wanted to prevent other up-and-coming bands from enduring the same treatment.
I started my journey into artist management in 2019 and worked for a couple of management companies up until 2022 when the company I was working at closed down. I had the opportunity to jump ship but I felt the right opportunity had presented itself to be a lone ranger with my own vision, and here we are 2 years later with Royal Artists.
What are some of the biggest challenges you face as an artist manager, and how do you overcome them?
I imagine everyone who works in artist management will agree with me here, but it's unforgiving and non-stop. You can suffer burnout really quickly, especially when you’re overseeing multiple bands who are all at different stages in their journeys. I’ve suffered from burnout myself in the past but since launching Royal Artists I make sure to keep a routine, celebrate the little wins, and reiterate that breaks are a necessity, not a luxury.
How do you discover and decide to work with new talent? What qualities do you look for in an artist or band?
I’m constantly looking to discover new talent and there are so many incredible artists out there who are developing their craft I would love to work with so they can showcase their talent to more people. An important thing for me however is that every artist I work with has to be unique in their own way. They have to have something different about them which makes me go “There’s something here” and the desire to put in the hard work to reach their goals.
Can you share a success story or a proud moment you've had while managing Atheana, Break Fifty, Death Of Me, or TNL VZN?
It’s great to work with the bands every day because you get to see what goes on behind the scenes and the setbacks or successes that come with it. For all of the bands I work with, it’s great to see these guys putting in the hard work daily and playing alongside some great bands in the industry in venues double and triple the size they were playing in beforehand. It’s cool to be a part of the process!
What does a typical day look like for you as the founder and manager at Royal Artists?
Emails. I spend a lot of time in my emails looking after the needs of each artist whilst searching for opportunities for them to make the next step in their career. Along with that, I still have to run the company and make sure everything is smooth to make sure Royal Artists becomes a household name in the music industry. I’d like to give a mention to Soph who manages Love Rarely and TNL VZN at Royal Artists; they are instrumental in helping keep the company flowing day to day.
How do you balance the creative needs of your artists with the business aspects of managing their careers?
One thing I take pride in is letting the artists do their art and I’ll do the rest. I make sure to avoid getting involved with the songwriting of the bands I work with because they know their sound best and I approached those bands because I saw something in their sound that I could work with. Instead, I tend to take on the tasks in the background, developing plans, timelines or goals and making sure that the artist is taking the steps to work towards those goals so they can hopefully propel their careers further.
What advice would you give to aspiring artist managers who want to follow in your footsteps?
Be prepared to put in the work and accept the setbacks by celebrating the successes, even if they are small. Being an artist manager doesn’t mean you’ll skip the line and get opportunities handed to you, you have to build up a network of people around you and prove to others in the industry along with the artists you work with that you’re willing to give your all to them and for them. I would also recommend starting off at a freelance management company to get a feel for the role before moving to something a bit bigger.
What are your future goals for Royal Artists and the bands you manage? Are there any exciting projects or developments on the horizon?
Future goals for Royal Artists is to establish the company as a household name within the artist management world, so to speak. I want to make Royal Artists a brand and reach out to partner up with other companies to hopefully create something that people will recognise as a high-level brand through the logo alone. We do have lots of exciting projects in the works ourselves and with the bands who we represent, but not to sound too cliche, we can’t say much just yet! I’m very excited about the future with Royal Artists.
E-mail - info@royalartists.co
Linktree - https://linktr.ee/royalartistsco
