ARTIST DEVELOPMENT COACHING

The Artist Guides are Sean McDermott and James Brister. We have over 35 years of joint experience in the music industry. We founded the artist management company Amour:Music in 2013 which we continue to operate, and also have a long history of working in modern music education. We have provided course writing, lecturing, music industry liaison, student and graduate artist career guidance and coaching, as well as being part of the senior management team for ICMP (the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance) in London, the leading music college of its type in the UK. Visit our About Us page for more info.

We have helped over three thousand artists with their musical and songwriting development, music industry knowledge and music release campaigns and promotion. We are unrivalled in our knowledge of the real-world needs and experiences of new and emerging independent artists and the challenges and opportunities they face. We use our experience to constantly refine our strategies based on the fast-changing music industry and the pathway to achievable success.

We consider artist coaching similar to how a sports coach helps athletes reach their potential. We have developed strategies and methodologies to help you understand your goals, identify and achieve real development, build your music business, and guide you along a path towards success. Coaching is bespoke and individual to each artist or band. 

We coach artists of any level from beginner to experienced. It doesn’t matter if you have never performed or released music before, or have gigged lots and released numerous songs but are not getting the success you want. We will work with you to provide bespoke coaching that delivers the maximum value and benefit you require.

All artists over the age of 16 years are welcome. There is no upper age limit, and we have coached artists in their 50s and 60s. We do coach artists aged between 14 and 16 years, but we require your parent/guardian to book your sessions.

Yes, we have worked with bands and duos or trios. Other members of your act can join the coaching session. 

We usually deliver coaching online. We review your music, artistry, and current situation to provide you with bespoke strategies and guidance to develop, release, and promote your music. We work with you to determine your goals and vision and provide you with coaching and a structured pathway to follow so you can progress.

You will no longer be operating in isolation, guessing and bluffing your way through, and hoping that success magically happens. We provide professional-level guidance, answers, strategy and knowledge. You don’t know, what you don’t know, which makes it very difficult to effectively find your way to success. You will learn about yourself, the music industry and how to develop your artist project, monetise your music, manage your affairs, and find and build your own business and team. We can coach you through the entire process of crafting songs, creating recordings, releasing and promoting tracks, building a fanbase, and navigating the music industry. You will learn a set of skills, strategies and knowledge that you can take on and use for yourself going forward if you wish.

We believe our coaching is beneficial to any independent artist of any contemporary musical genre, who wants to create, release, and promote their songs to build an audience and monetise their music. Typical feedback we receive from clients includes comments such as “I can’t believe how much I didn’t know”. “I wish I’d found you years ago”, and “This has saved me so much time and money, I don’t know why all artists don’t get a coach”. You can book one session and give it a try.

All artists are unique and have different needs, goals, and budgets. You can book single coaching sessions one at a time, and there is no obligation to keep using our service. Some artists have weekly or fortnightly sessions when they are more active, such as preparing release campaigns and promoting music, but some artists just have monthly sessions or fewer. Some artists use our service for a few months, others on a longer ongoing basis. 

Yes, we’ve helped and consulted with artists, and a variety of other persons and organisations, with requested topics and knowledge related to our area of expertise. 

To book a session, just send us an email and we can take it from there. Once we have agreed on a suitable date and time, we will invoice you and kindly request payment to confirm your booking. We will then ask for some information about you to help us prepare for your first session. 

Our cancellation terms:

1. You may cancel a confirmed booking and receive a full refund by providing at least 24 hours’ notice
2. Non-attendance, or bookings cancelled by you with less than 24 hours’ notice will not be refunded
3. In the unlikely event that we have to cancel your booking for any reason you will receive a full refund. We do not accept liability for any other cost you may have incurred

We are usually able to find you an available session within two to three weeks. We offer sessions at various times, including evenings and weekends if needed.

We are based in the UK. Our artist management experience is primarily centred in London. However, in addition to our UK clients, we coach artists online from all over the world and in different time zones. We have numerous artist clients in the US.