THE work of artiste managers is no child’s play; they have the responsibility of ensuring their artistes succeed and stay at the top and they have to put in a lot of work to make sure that happens.

Mostly behind the scenes, these managers do all the heavy work including promotion of songs, securing interviews, managing social media handles among others to give the artistes the room to express their creativity.

And some of them have told the Graphic Showbiz that their work is very tough and goes beyond what the public sees, in what is so often a thankless job.

One of them, Iky Otoo Arhin, popularly known as Gomi, who handles Hiplife group R2Bees, said his job was one of the most difficult.

“Artistes, especially the established ones, are not appreciative of whatever you do for them. They are always comparing themselves to other artistes and expect that you do more for them.

"You need to always come out with new ideas and make sure your artiste is always on top.

“Managing an artiste is like managing a football team. The players and the fans want to know why you lost as a coach in a particular match and you need to explain with facts,” he said.

According to Iky, a mutual understanding between a manager and the artiste is always the key to a harmonious relationship.

“Before the artiste and the manager can get along, there should be that mutual understanding between them. The manager needs to respect and understand the artiste and it’s the same for the artiste.

"Often, managers of these artistes have been friends for a long time and that long standing relationship helps them to get along,” he added.

Also, speaking with Graphic Showbiz was Wilson Kumi, manager of Gospel artiste Patience Nyarko who indicated that the role requires time, money and ideas to always win.

“You need money to run this business. There can be that cordial relationship between the manager and the artiste but if there is no money for promotion and getting the artiste what he/she wants, work cannot go on.

“And then, the manager needs to always come out with innovative ideas to keep the artiste going. You have to come up with the best of ideas to get your artistes out there,” he stated.

He added that a good manager always plans ahead of time.

“As a manager, you should not wait or be lazy in taking decisions. When there is a show, you need to find a way of getting your artiste to perform on the show,” he said.

Sound engineer Kaywa, who works with Krymi and Mr Drew, stated that apart from the manager understanding the artiste, there should be respect between the two parties.

“Artistes don’t want to be disrespected, especially when they become big and I always tell my colleague managers to show them respect.

"Some of these managers feel they made the artistes and therefore, talk to them anyhow they want.

"When that happens, the artiste would prefer to do away with you and go for the next available person,” he explained.

For his part, Flowdelly, manager of Medikal, said a lot of managers fail to handle their artistes when they become big because there was no relationship in the first place.

“Although it is difficult to stay in a healthy relationship with your artiste for a long time, if there is respect and a cordial relationship, you can always work together,” he said.

He also added that managers should know how to treat their artistes when they are growing.

“The approach I used when I started working with Medikal is not the same now. There is respect and my approach to everything is now different,” he said.

Although Cecil Quartey, manager of MOG Music, agrees that managing an artiste is a tough one, he said he had similar ideas with his artiste and that had ensured their long working relationship.

“We disagree on a lot of things but we still come to an agreement because we all want to achieve a common goal.

"We have been friends since our days at the Adisadel College but when he decided to do professional music and he employed me as his manager, I gave him all the respect he needed,” he revealed.