Having a recognized talent in Uganda, one must be a gifted singer,dancer or something else that entertains the crowd. However, being a talent in the world of of work is much more straightforward - you must simply have a natural aptitude and/or a technical skill that contributes to the success of your employer or satisfaction of your audience. Everyone has something they are good at, but whether that aptititude is spotted and harnessed is another challenge altogether.
Talent Management is a term that goes way back and has never had a rigid definition, and that’s great because it’s given it room to evolve as talents themselves evolve. What talent management was 20 years ago isn’t what talent management is today. It has gained more traction and continues to be seen as a talent's most valuable asset.
Talent management is an important integral part of the creative sector. It’s the professional's business wing of the sector. In Uganda, it is classified under the support service domain. The history of Talent, events and music management in Uganda is a curious one.
In the early 90's, Talent management started with Mr. Peter Sematimba with the Dungeon Studios. It evolved to Steve Jean under Fenon in the early 2000's to the likes of Jeff Kiwanuka, Emma Carlos Mulondo and Musa Kavuma among others. Today, we have fully fledged Talent booking agents like Talent Africa Group to record labels like Swangz Avenue.
A lot of artists out there are looking for good managers but can’t afford to pay for the services and most of the time, they end up falling in the wrong hands. Most people claim to be managers but are only there to miss-manage the artist and care for their selfish needs. Instead of focusing on the artiste's career, they party with the artiste every day and spend promotional money on drinks and many other unnecessary things.
A manager is the person who handles all business aspects of the act’s career. The manager is the person who consults with the act on decisions and deals with the other members of the team on behalf of the act. The manager is in charge of the day to day running of the business for the act, including promotional strategy, accounting and making key career decisions for the act, so the act is free to concentrate solely on performing & making good delivery. Always see your artiste as the key to your success
Managing an artist's career requires patience and understanding of that person’s behavior and attitude. The music business is one where egos thrive, with many trying to be “somebody” or trying to assert that they already are somebody. The biggest problem in managing an artist is when the manager is arrogant and ego-driven.
Finally, be prepared for setbacks and brace yourself for recovery. People will disappoint you, especially those you depended on. Give yourself a good self-assessment by looking at the strengths you have and how you will use those to the best advantage of yourself and your artiste and remember under every circumstance, act and be professional. Always see your artiste as the key to your success, believe so much in him/her for things to work out well, stay humble & honest.
Workforce data is becoming more and more comprehensive and standardized which helps talent managers understand talent trends and act upon them. It also allows them to have a holistic view of their people – from hire to retire. There’s more work to be done to make AI more intelligent with a better application of human intelligence, but with this increase in data and automation technology, managers can also better personalize talent management at scale.
We must not forget that people work with people and the evaluation and maximization of team performance is increasing in importance. It’s clear that talent management will continue to evolve as technology enhances various aspects. The core definition will remain true in that talent management is the talent's ‘biggest asset’. Your talent may not be right for every stage but every talent has something to offer and it’s up to the manager to unlock the power of this potential.
