One of the greatest assets to any performing artist is a manager who is both knowledgeable and connected. Lacking either will ensure that your dream will remain unfulfilled. Durell Peart is able to leverage his years of experience and contacts to elevate his clients to the next level.
What inspired you to pursue a career in the music industry?
Great question, it’s really simple. I love music and the arts. At the core of the music industry, it’s about meeting people and building relationships. That’s what I’m good at. I am an orchestrator and facilitator. I am just good with people. That’s what it comes down to for me. This is a people based industry. That’s why I wanted to pursue a career in entertainment.
Let’s talk about your musical background. Were you an artist first and you progressed into becoming an executive or did you always want to be on the business side?
Growing up, I never really desired to be in the music industry until I was eighteen or nineteen-years-old. Most people don’t know I was born with cerebral palsy. I walk with crutches. I was actually in a hip-hop dance group. I currently live in Orlando, Florida. I was raised here. We used to travel around the city and perform at events. During the freestyle sessions, they would have me come out and do my thing. I knew I wasn’t going be an artist, but if I studied the business, I could really be more of an asset to people. My big brother and mentor Lashon Jones took me under his wings and taught me the industry… Several years later, it was time to spread my wings.
You have become a very successful entrepreneur, what are some of the services you offer?
I currently run a company called Double N Management & Marketing Group. The two N’s in the logo stands for encourage and inspire, it’s a play on words. I love to manage artists but it doesn’t really generate a lot of revenue so I do a few other things including artist consultation work which includes branding, marketing, and strategy building. We also do music publishing administration as well.
One of the most popular services is developing music promotion campaigns. Most of the artists I work with are in the very beginning of their careers. They don’t really have a direction so they need someone to help them to develop a foundation. That’s where I fit into the game. I am not out here chasing celebrities. My goal is to help you build a business doing what you love in this digital music industry.
How do you discern whether you take on a client for management or marketing services?
I think a lot of people who manage artists eventually get out of it. It can be a bit of a headache. It can be somewhat of a struggle because no matter what you do for artists, it’s rarely ever good enough. Artists tend to base everything off talent. They feel that they are just as good as the successful ones so they need to be where the celebrities are at. However, they don’t know the underlying things that may have factored into the next person’s success. I tell them to never judge their careers based off of someone else’s success. If you do, you will always be disappointed. You never know what contracts the other person has signed or who they owe money. A lot of times, they are not situations that you really want to be involved in.
As far as how I select artists, I have to believe in them. When it comes to managing artists, they’re family. I never call the people I manage my clients. I call them my artists. If I’m working with on something outside of management then you are a client. It’s not the same thing. I don’t share in your struggle the same way as I do when it comes to management. As a manager, the relationship is more of a partnership. That’s a whole different kind of grind. I have to like you. We have to get along.
There’s a lot of misunderstanding when it comes to the role managers actually play. It is almost a misnomer of sorts.
A lot of times we are only representing the artists. They make their own decisions. We talk about the options, I assist them in understanding the consequences, but ultimately, the final choice is theirs to make. There might be situations where I will advise against them taking a certain course of action, but they might do the opposite because they simply want to do it. There’s nothing I can do about that. The results are on them.
- BE’N ORIGINAL
