# Ruiz - The Manager's Playbook

> Weekly insights for emerging music managers & artist on how to navigate the music industry.

This file provides information about Ruiz - The Manager's Playbook to help large language models understand and reference this publication's content.

## Posts
- [The 8 Branding Testaments to Build a Successful Artist Career](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-8-branding-testaments-to-build-a-successful-artist-career): Most Artists Don’t Have a Branding Problem
- [In Love and [Music] Business](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/in-love-and-music-business): The Couple Building Better Artist Managers
- [The Hard Part About Working With Icons](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-hard-part-about-working-with-icons): Everyone wants the old feeling back. The job is finding what feels true now.
- [The Audience Was Never the Problem](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-audience-was-never-the-problem): Lecrae built around the people who understood him before the business had language for it.
- [THE INS AND OUTS OF TOUR MANAGEMENT](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-ins-and-outs-of-tour-management): BTW... It's All On Your Dime
- [Stop Asking. Start Offering.](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/stop-asking-start-offering): Tems’ manager shows why value gets you further than access.
- [What Artists Should Do After Going Viral](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/what-artists-should-do-after-going-viral): Matt Hansen went viral. Then came the hard part.
- [Information Is Music's BIGGEST Gatekeeper](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/information-is-music-s-biggest-gatekeeper): Most artist teams lose because they don’t know what they don’t know yet.
- [Spotify Paid $11 Billion. So Why Are Artists Still Broke?](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/spotify-paid-11-billion-so-why-are-artists-still-broke): The money is real. The path is messy.
- [While Everyone Else Panics...](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/while-everyone-else-panics): Chris Anokute explains what artists should do right now as music enters its next era.
- [More Than a Hot Record](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/more-than-a-hot-record): Khris Riddick-Tynes on the long game behind songs that actually last
- [The Real Cheat Code in Music Isn’t Talent](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-real-cheat-code-in-music-isn-t-talent): What Hitmaka’s career reveals about collaboration, trust, and staying power
- [You’re Supposed to Be Wrong First](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/you-re-supposed-to-be-wrong-first): The bad decisions that teach you how to succeed in music
- [The Music Business Rewards the “Delusional”](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-music-business-rewards-the-delusional): A Charlie Rocket-inspired look at belief, action, and building before there’s proof.
- [Everybody Wants the Billboard No. 1s](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/everybody-wants-the-billboard-no-1s): But very few want what Tommy Brown did to earn it
- [The Most Independent Move LaRussell Made](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-most-independent-move-larussell-made): Why partnering with Roc Nation didn’t change his status. It proved it.
- [DIY isn’t “do everything.” It’s “do the right things.”](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/diy-isn-t-do-everything-it-s-do-the-right-things): JMSN: build systems, not noise and grow anyway.
- [Operate Like a Manager (Even If You’re the Artist)](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/operate-like-a-manager-even-if-you-re-the-artist): Why your circle and execution decide the outcome.
- [The Money You’re Missing Isn’t Streaming](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-money-you-re-missing-isn-t-streaming): It’s publishing. And you have to raise your hand.
- [Artist Development Isn’t Dead. It’s Misunderstood.](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/artist-development-isn-t-dead-it-s-misunderstood): The unglamorous work that turns artists into businesses.
- [You Get to Choose What Your Music Career Looks Like](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/you-get-to-choose-what-your-music-career-looks-like): Lessons from a Working Artist
- [The Business Every Artist Must Learn](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-business-every-artist-must-learn): The reason artists lose control (and how Sickick got it back)
- [Your Hobbies Can Break Your Music](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/your-hobbies-can-break-your-music): (And Other Indie PR Lessons from Didier Morais)
- [Street-Level Innovation Beats Corporate Playbooks](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/street-level-innovation-beats-corporate-playbooks): What Steve Rifkind taught me about building culture (and careers) the hard way
- [Welcome to the New Music Economy](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/welcome-to-the-new-music-economy): A 2026 preview with Mike Biggane, creator of New Music Friday
- [The Old Music Business Is Dead](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-old-music-business-is-dead): Nima Nasseri Has the Autopsy Report
- [Why Successful Artists Don’t Skip Steps](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/why-successful-artists-don-t-skip-steps): The Azad Naficy Blueprint
- [The Invisible Giants: Theron Thomas Teaches Us About Songwriter Power](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-invisible-giants-theron-thomas-teaches-us-about-songwriter-power)
- [The Weight of a Crown: Machel Montano](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/the-weight-of-a-crown-machel-montano): The Art of Carrying a Culture
- [Snow Tha Product: The Artist the System Couldn’t Contain](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/snow-tha-product-the-artist-the-system-couldn-t-contain): From industry outlier to cultural blueprint.
- [Stop Chasing Virality.](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/stop-chasing-virality): I spoke with the best digital marketer in the music business
- [1M streams a day no label, no manager](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/1m-streams-a-day-no-label-no-manager): How Nic D built a billion-stream music career with zero industry help.
- [Can AI Truly Be Ethical?](https://www.mngrsplaybook.com/p/can-ai-truly-be-ethical): Ethical AI in Music: Why the Future Depends on It