Welcome to The Manager’s Playbook, my personal newsletter where I share insights from Music Executives and Artists for aspiring and emerging music managers, executives and artists on how to navigate the music industry. This newsletter is brought to you by Mauricio Ruiz.

They like the rooms, the energy, the feeling that something is happening around them.

And then there are people who actually want to win.

That was the biggest thing I took from talking with Khris Riddick-Tynes. Not the Grammys. Not the credits. Not even the records, if I’m being honest.

It was his mindset.

He kept coming back to the same idea: you have to want the win.

Not in some corny motivational way. I mean really want it. Enough that it changes how you work. Enough that you keep going when things get slow. Enough that you study when nobody is asking you to. Enough that you can hear something tough about your work and not let it shake you.

That’s what stayed with me about Khris.

Quick business check:
If you’ve got music out, you’re probably leaving publishing money on the table.

Publishing royalties can come from streams, performances, and online usage, but collecting worldwide is a maze of registrations and middlemen.

That’s why KOSIGN exists. Built by Kobalt, KOSIGN lets you submit once and they handle global registrations to help you collect every cent you’re owed, plus direct DSP licensing (Spotify/Apple) where possible. No long lock-in either: rolling quarterly term.

It’s selective, but the application is 100% free. Apply now.

What’s rare is finding someone who stays with it long enough, learns enough, and sharpens themselves enough to actually be ready when the moment shows up.

And when it does, what happens next?

A lot of people say they want the win, but what they really want is relief. They want the check. The validation. Some kind of sign that all the time they’ve put in wasn’t for nothing.

That’s human. Everybody wants that.

But winning for real usually asks for something slower than that. Less exciting too. Patience. Repetition. Discipline. The long game.

Khris talked about that a lot. The people who last are the people who keep going. Not the ones who get hot once. Not the ones who mistake a moment for something solid. The ones who keep building after the excitement wears off.

Simple idea. Most people still don’t do it.

They get a win, celebrate it, move on, and never really stop to understand what made it connect in the first place. Khris talks about it like film study. Watch the tape. Figure out what people heard. What they felt. Why it landed when it did. Otherwise you’re just guessing the next time.

That way of thinking is a big part of why he is where he is now.

It also explains why the way he talks about songs feels different.

There’s so much noise right now around virality, algorithms, short-form content, all of it, that people forget the most obvious thing:

the song still matters most.

That’s the product. Everything else helps it travel.

What I like about Khris is he’s not chasing a quick reaction. He wants people to feel something. Not just react to a clip. Not just use a record for a trend. He’s talking about songs that stay with people. Songs they come back to later because life finally caught up with what the record was saying.

That kind of song takes more.

More honesty. More patience. Better taste. You have to stay with an idea longer. Push past the easy version. Let it get uncomfortable. Let it actually mean something.

And that’s where the studying matters too.

One of the best parts of the conversation was hearing how seriously he takes that. He studies the greats. Watches interviews. Pays attention to how the best think, not just what they made. He treats that like part of the work, because it is.

They want access without humility. They want game without correction. They want to be let in without really being open to learning anything.

Khris doesn’t come off like that at all. He comes off like somebody who asked questions, listened, got better, and kept doing that over and over again.

That matters.

He told a story about getting blunt feedback early on. The songs weren’t there yet. He wasn’t really saying anything. That kind of note crushes people when their ego is too tied to where they think they should already be.

He didn’t let it crush him. He learned from it. Came back better. Kept going.

To me, that’s what wanting the win actually looks like.

Not swagger. Not volume. Not acting like you already know.

It’s being coachable. It’s being able to hear, “this isn’t good enough yet,” and not turn that into some crisis about who you are.

That’s also why I think confidence gets misunderstood all the time.

People think confidence means acting certain. Acting above correction. Acting like you’ve already arrived.

It doesn’t.

Real confidence is quieter than that. It’s being able to stay grounded while you’re still learning. It’s trusting that if you keep working, keep listening, keep sharpening, you’ll grow into the level you’re chasing.

That kind of confidence lasts.

And that’s why Khris feels like such a strong example of a win.

It doesn’t feel overnight either. It looks like years. Years of work. Years of listening. Years of relationships. Years of learning the emotional side of records and the business side too.

Then when bigger moments came, he was ready for them.

That’s the part people don’t always want to hear. You can’t casually approach a business like this and expect serious results. Maybe you can fake a moment. You can’t fake depth. You can’t fake being ready when the stakes get higher.

At some point, the work shows.

So if you really want the win, you have to build like someone who plans to keep it.

That means loving the song enough to stay with it until it says something true. Studying people who are better than you without letting your ego get in the way. Hearing hard truths and using them. Staying with it when it gets slow, boring, or discouraging.

And maybe more than anything, being honest with yourself.

Do you want success?

Or do you want what success requires?

Those are not the same thing.

Khris Riddick-Tynes feels like somebody who understood that early, and has kept proving it since.

Not just as a producer. Not just as a creative.

As a real win.

The kind that takes years. The kind you don’t stumble into. The kind that usually comes from wanting it for real the whole time.

Watch Episode 64 with Khris Riddick-Tynes LIVE NOW

To celebrate 50,000+ subscribers on YouTube and 50+ podcast episodes, we turned the first chapter of The Manager’s Playbook into a digital magazine issue.

But before anything, thank you. If you’ve watched, listened, shared, or even sent one message saying “this helped,” you’re the reason we’re here. You didn’t just support content. You helped build the community around it.

Inside the issue is a curated rundown of every episode, the biggest takeaways, and the lines worth revisiting when you’re building in real time. Think of it as a reference guide you can save, share, and come back to whenever you need clarity.

Read the 50th Edition Magazine below.

I’m offering private 1-on-1 sessions for artists, managers, and execs who want real, practical advice on how to move their careers forward.

With 16 years in the music business and experience working with some of the biggest artists and executives in the world, I can share insights, strategy and ways to execute the pain points in your career as it currently stands.

Book your private consultation below.

Bio

I’m Mauricio Ruiz, the host and creator of The Manager’s Playbook podcast, dedicated to demystifying the world of music management, and Founder/CEO of 8 Til Faint, an Artist Management company with over 5 billion audio streams worldwide. Our past and current clients include Grammy nominated, Juno Award winning multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Jessie Reyez, Skratch Bastid and more.

I am also the Co-Founder of Mad Ruk Entertainment, a content agency with over 3 billion long form video streams worldwide. Our client list includes The Weeknd, Eminem, and Celine Dion, along with renowned brands like Nike, Pernod Ricard and the NBA.

Follow me on IG @mauroisruiz

Follow me on LinkedIn

Follow the pod on Youtube