Custom operations systems for the music industry
Most systems ask you to work their way. Mine work yours.
Whether you have a patchwork of tools or no setup at all, I build what you need, in a way that makes sense to you, so the business side takes less of your day.
By Talia Duvet, previously Executive Operations Manager at Misfit Music
The problem
Every piece of the business lives somewhere. Usually somewhere different.
- Releases
- Grants
- Touring
- Contacts
- Deadlines
- Finances
- EPKs
- Stage plots
- Song files
- Artwork
- Merch
- Contracts
- Budgets
- Festival submissions
- Invoices
- Rosters
- Approvals
- and multiple versions of each
You've probably tried a template, a piece of software, or a heroic spreadsheet. Some of it helped. Most of it stopped getting used, because it asked you to work its way and didn't account for the nuances of your business.
You shouldn't have to manage your system. Your system should help you manage your business.
What I mean by a system
Not one big app. The right pieces, connected.
Sometimes it's a tracker. Sometimes it's a few small automations between tools you already use, a shared calendar, or one connector that saves you an hour every week. Usually it's a mix. The shape depends entirely on how you work.
Built around how you work
Whether it's just you or a whole team, not how a template thinks you should work.
Flexible
It adjusts when things change, instead of falling apart.
Easy to maintain
So simple it's smart. If it needs babysitting, it isn't done.
Something you trust
So you can stop holding it all in your head.
Moving you forward
Less time on the business side, more on the work you care about.
Things I've built
There's more than one way to work. My job is to find which way is yours.
Each of these was built around one team's way of working. Yours would look different.
When
Booking page
A booking page that reads your calendar for open times, takes payment or a deposit through your payment system, adds the session to the calendar and emails you when someone books. No scheduling software to pay for.
Drive that files itself
Every morning it reads your Drive, moves each file it recognizes into the right folder, adds a shortcut when something belongs in two places, and puts anything unclear in To Review. A Monday email sums up what happened.
Budget tracker
A budget tracker built around how your money actually moves. Each trip or project gets its own budget in one click, every expense is split across the funders covering it, and you can see what's left from each funder at any point in the year.
Application and deadline tracker
Every opportunity, its deadline and the next step in one place. Each row says what to do now, flags what's overdue or needs a follow-up, and finished items file themselves away, so nothing depends on someone remembering.
Task manager in your inbox
A sidebar in your inbox that turns the open email into a task in one click, without duplicates. Set a follow-up that clears itself when the reply arrives, right beside the email.
Other things I build
Connecting your tools
Something like a show or a booking is entered once and passed along to every place that needs it: calendars, lists, forms, spreadsheets, whatever you already use, so no one types the same thing twice.
Task management systems
A custom task management system set up around how your team actually works, to track whatever it is you work on: releases, applications, clients, projects. The tasks, owners, stages and views match your process, so people use it because it fits, not because they were told to.
Social media management systems
A system that follows each post from idea to approved to posted, syncs to your calendar, and invites collaborators in with what they need to see, shaped around your platforms and approval steps.
Automatic inbox sorting
Incoming email labelled and organized by rules you set, with important information filed automatically to your Drive, and anything unclear flagged for you instead of guessed at.
This isn't a complete list. If your business runs on something that isn't here, I can build that too, based on what you need.
How it works
Three steps, and then it's yours.
Listen
A free 45-minute Listening Session on video about how your business really runs and what your dream setup looks like. Afterward, I send you a one-page summary of what I heard, yours to keep whether or not we work together.
Build
We shape the plan together. I design around how you work and walk you through the plan, scope and fixed price, and nothing starts until you're happy with it. Then I build exactly what we agreed.
Hand over
You get everything I've built, a walkthrough and a plain-language guide. For 30 days you use it for real, and I fix anything that breaks and make small adjustments. After that it's yours, with no ongoing contract.
Who it's for
If your work runs on a lot of moving parts, this is for you.
- Managers
- Agents
- Labels and music companies
- Festivals and organizations
- Artists, from solo projects to full rosters
Not sure you fit? Tell me what you're juggling and we'll figure it out together.
About me
Hi, I'm Talia.
I've seen the ins and outs of an artist's career from both sides: as an artist, and from inside the industry.
I've spent my career on the business side of music, most recently as Executive Operations Manager at Misfit Music, a Canadian artist management company, handling grants, festival applications and the admin behind a roster.
I'm also a working musician and producer, so I know the difference between a system that looks tidy and one you'll actually use.
Questions
Good things to ask.
What happens in the Listening Session?
It's a free 45-minute video call. You fill out a short form so I can come prepared and pick a time, then we talk through how your business runs, what you use now, and what you'd love it to be. Afterward, I send you a one-page summary of what I heard.
What does it cost?
Every project is scoped after we talk, and you'll see a fixed price before anything begins. If budget is a concern, tell me on the call and we'll look at what's possible.
Do I need to be technical?
No. That's the point.
What if something breaks?
For the first 30 days, I fix anything that breaks and make adjustments as you settle in, at no extra cost.
Who owns it?
You do. It lives in your accounts, and the guide means someone else could maintain it too.
Book a session
Tell me how you work.
Tell me a little about how you work, then pick a time. It's a free conversation, and afterward I'll send you a summary of what I heard.
- Free, 45 minutes, on video
- A one-page summary of what I heard, yours to keep
- Rather email? [email protected]