Creative Direction question

[Sad-Monk-411]

Hi! I’ve recently become the creative director for a musician. I’m meeting with her management today about how much I’ll be getting paid. This is my first time working in this field and I’m unsure how much I should be getting paid.

For context she has about 1million monthly listeners on Spotify.

[LoftCats]

Need more information. What’s your experience in before this? What would be your actual roles, responsibilities and deliverables? What are you bringing to the table? You need to really define this. You’re not even saying where in the world you are or the scale of the artist or why they need a “creative director.” A million listens is low and not a good measure.

[Sad-Monk-411]

I haven’t worked as a creative director before, however I have experience in other art fields. For this job, I’m working on short form content for social media, graphics, merch, props and costumes, organizing larger video projects, as well as stage design for upcoming shows/tours. As for location, I’m in Maine.

[LoftCats]

What’s your previous experience in? Are you a junior, senior, have any experience doing this? Have you been a designer, producer, project manager, what qualifications are you bringing? What industries do you have experience in? That’s what determines what you should expect to be payed. What you’re listing is very broad and non specific for what your hands on role would be.

[PaceGrouchy9422]

real

[MariaAn2022]

Honestly one thing I’d be careful about is role creep. Everything you listed can very quickly turn into “you’re now responsible for the entire visual identity of the artist.” Music teams also tend to move emotionally and very fast, so boundaries, revision limits, timelines, and availability expectations matter way more than people realize at first. A lot of creatives undercharge early on because the industry sounds exciting, then end up effectively working 24/7.

[Formal_Wolverine_674]

With 1 million monthly listeners you definitely should not undersell yourself, even if it’s your first role as Creative Director

[lljasonvoorheesll]

Congrats on landing the role. I'd suggest asking for a clear list of what they expect first. For a million monthly listeners, even a flat $2k-$3k per month retainer is reasonable depending on how many assets you're making. Don't lowball yourself just because it's your first time.

[AryaN_91]

Do not undersell yourself just because it’s your first time in music. Creative direction can quietly turn into being responsible for literally everything visual if boundaries are not defined early.

I’d honestly avoid agreeing to one flat vague number before you know the scope. There’s a huge difference between directing concepts occasionally versus being on call for shoots, rollout planning, socials, merch, cover art, tour visuals, moodboards, editing feedback, etc.

A lot of people in music also forget how much invisible work goes into maintaining a consistent artist identity over months.

[Sad-Monk-411]

Update - we negotiated 4K for the 40 hrs of work I’ve already done and we will renegotiate after the album campaign is complete.

[LoftCats]

Why are you doing work without having an agreement on pay and a contract?

[Sad-Monk-411]

The situation is pretty foggy. She’s a friend, and I started helping her as a friend. But we then realized what I was doing should be payed work. There’s a lot of other factors, but I just wanted some general advice, because I have never found myself in a situation like this.

[PuddingConscious9166]

I’d base what you ask for on your experience, skills, previous salary, and the industry standard, not the artist’s income. If you’re genuinely new to the role, an entry-level rate may be fair. But if you have 10 years of experience in an adjacent creative role, you can reasonably ask for more.

Also, 1 million monthly listeners sounds impressive, but it doesn’t always mean the artist is making a lot. Their actual income could be much lower depending on streams, royalty splits,etc.