The Manager's Playbook

Matt Hansen joins Mauricio Ruiz on The Manager’s Playbook to talk about the balance between being the artist and being the CEO of your music career.
Matt explains why thinking about ROI, TikTok hits, or business strategy while writing can hurt the song and why he has learned to separate the creative process from the business side.
He also breaks down testing songs on TikTok, revisiting hooks, preparing for headline tours, protecting his voice, delegating on the road, and building a team culture rooted in trust, kindness, drive, accountability, and initiative.
This conversation is for independent artists, managers, music marketers, and aspiring music executives who want to understand how to build a real artist business without losing the creative centre.
Simply put, a conversation like this doesn't come cheap.

Want your music everywhere, properly? DistroKid is a straightforward way for independent artists to distribute globally and keep momentum moving. https://distrokid.com/

Listen to the full episode here -
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/54E4CbJCx5Mc7tKAlwIySp?si=Vg5LiESwTBWKYKRsO6usiA

Watch the Episodes On Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook

Matt Hansen joins Mauricio Ruiz on The Manager’s Playbook to break down how independent artists can make content that actually moves the music.
Matt explains how he built a short-form content system around TikTok hooks, emotional targeting, teaser windows, and fan data, including writing 15 hooks per song with his managers and focusing on the first 2-3 seconds of every video.
He also shares how he built a 300K-400K SMS/email fan list through Laylo, pre-saves, tour pre-sales, and a “text me” number in his Spotify bio, helping create a reliable first-day streaming baseline without depending only on playlists or the algorithm.
This conversation is for independent artists, managers, music marketers, and aspiring music executives who want to understand how content strategy, direct fan data, and emotional storytelling can turn attention into real career leverage.
Simply put, a conversation like this doesn't come cheap.

Want your music everywhere, properly? DistroKid is a straightforward way for independent artists to distribute globally and keep momentum moving. https://distrokid.com/

Listen to the full episode here -
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/54E4CbJCx5Mc7tKAlwIySp?si=Vg5LiESwTBWKYKRsO6usiA

Watch the Episodes On Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook

Matt Hansen joins Mauricio Ruiz on The Manager’s Playbook to break down the real business behind touring as an independent artist.
Matt explains how he used short-term distribution deals to fund touring and releases, why he kept ownership of his earlier songs, and how opening for artists like Train, Teddy Swims, Alec Benjamin, and Lauv helped grow his audience.
He also talks about losing up to $140K on opening slots, turning live performance clips into streaming growth, and how “Let Em Go” jumped from around 90K to 600K daily Spotify streams.
This conversation also covers catalog ownership, touring ROI, front-of-house relationships, performing with no soundcheck, and why opening slots can be one of the best ways for artists to build leverage.
For independent artists, managers, music marketers, and aspiring music executives, this is a practical look at how touring can create value beyond the nightly settlement.
Simply put, a conversation like this doesn't come cheap.

Want your music everywhere, properly? DistroKid is a straightforward way for independent artists to distribute globally and keep momentum moving. https://distrokid.com/

Listen to the full episode here -
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/54E4CbJCx5Mc7tKAlwIySp?si=Vg5LiESwTBWKYKRsO6usiA

Watch the Episodes On Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook

Matt Hansen went viral overnight after posting a one-take Frank Ocean “Godspeed” cover in a parking garage.
In this clip from The Manager’s Playbook, Matt joins Mauricio Ruiz to talk about what happened after the viral moment: going from 500 TikTok followers to 500,000 overnight, getting immediate major label interest, taking meetings alone while still at UCLA, and learning how to protect his leverage as an independent artist.
Matt also breaks down finding the right managers, using data to guide his cover strategy and branding, building a “mini label” around himself, staying independent through distribution, and investing in touring even when the early numbers did not make sense on paper.
This conversation is for independent artists, managers, music marketers, and anyone trying to understand how a viral moment can turn into a real music career.
Simply put, a conversation like this doesn't come cheap.

Want your music everywhere, properly? DistroKid is a straightforward way for independent artists to distribute globally and keep momentum moving. https://distrokid.com/

Listen to the full episode here -
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/54E4CbJCx5Mc7tKAlwIySp?si=Vg5LiESwTBWKYKRsO6usiA

Watch the Episodes On Youtube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook

Matt Hansen went from posting TikTok covers to building a billion-stream independent music career.
In this episode of The Manager’s Playbook, Matt joins Mauricio Ruiz to break down how a one-take Frank Ocean “Godspeed” cover in a parking garage took him from 500 followers to 500,000 overnight, sparked major label interest, and forced him to learn the music business fast.
Matt opens up about staying independent, finding the right managers, building a mini-label team, using distributor deals to fund growth, losing money on tour, turning opening slots into content ROI, collecting fan data, and separating CEO mode from artist mode.
This conversation is for independent artists, artist managers, music marketers, aspiring music executives, and anyone trying to understand how a viral moment can become a real career.
Simply put, a conversation like this doesn't come cheap.

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Want your music everywhere, properly? DistroKid is a straightforward way for independent artists to distribute globally and keep momentum moving. https://distrokid.com/

Watch the full episode on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@managersplaybook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
New episodes drop Sundays @ 10am ET

Topics include: TikTok music strategy, artist development, touring, opening slots, distributor deals, catalog ownership, fan data, songwriting, content strategy, and Matt’s debut album Orchid.

Listen to more episodes of The Manager’s Playbook wherever you get your podcasts.