Navigating music industry gatekeepers with stakeholder mapping
A framework for industry relationships
If you are not a subscriber of The Fanbase Builder, join 1.000+ artists, creators, and music industry executives who receive it for free.
Let’s dive into today’s topic:
Navigating music industry gatekeepers with stakeholder mapping
The Power-Interest Grid helps artists prioritise their industry relationships.
Why it matters
The music industry is heavily gatekept. At the same time, artists are selling music, which is a product rooted in human emotion. In many ways, success in music relies heavily on relationships.
For artists, it’s important to distinguish between those who can move the needle and those who are simply along for the ride.
How it works
A well-known business model for identifying, analysing, and strategising with gatekeeper stakeholders is the Power-Interest Grid, developed by Aubrey Mendelow in 1991.
Mendelow’s matrix categorises stakeholders by two variables: their power (ability to influence your career) and their interest (how much they care about your brand and music).
| **High Power** | Sleeping Giants | Key Players |
| **Low Power** | Generic Audience | Fans |
| | **Low Interest** | **High Interest** |High Power / High Interest (Key players): These are the people who have already invested in you or hold the keys to bigger stages.
Examples: An established artist mentoring you in the scene, industry moguls, or a high-profile journalist championing your sound.
Strategy: Manage closely. Involve them early in your creative and business processes. Keep them consistently updated.
High Power / Low Interest (Sleeping giants): These stakeholders have the influence to alter your trajectory, but currently do not care about you or your music.
Examples: Festival bookers, major label A&Rs, radio playlist editors, or even potential bad press.
Strategy: Keep satisfied. You must figure out how to transition the useful ones into key players, while ensuring the others don’t become roadblocks.
Low Power / High Interest (Fans): They lack the industry leverage to book you at a major arena, but they are deeply invested in your journey.
Strategy: Keep informed. Involve them in the narrative. They represent your market value. As a group, they open doors to bigger stages.
Low Power / Low Interest (The generic audience): The broader public who might hear a track on the radio or a playlist, but don’t actively engage.
Strategy: Monitor. Keep an eye on broad trends, but do not expend your primary marketing resources here.
Yes, but...
It can be frustrating to classify your most devoted listeners as “low power” in a traditional business matrix. But in the context of industry gatekeeping, individual fans rarely possess the structural leverage to secure a sync deal or a headline tour. However, collectively, their high interest is the proof of concept you use to awaken the sleeping giants.
Take action now
Grab a piece of paper and draw a cross to create four quadrants. List the top 10 people in your professional network right now. Place each name into the appropriate quadrant based on their power and interest.
Your thoughts
Further reading
Mendelow, A. L. (1991). Environmental Scanning: The Impact of the Stakeholder Concept. Proceedings From the Second International Conference on Information Systems 407-418
What Is Mendelow’s Matrix And How Is It Useful? (Oxford College of Marketing)
The Guanxi approach to networking in music (The Fanbase Builder)
The strength of weak ties in fanbase building (The Fanbase Builder)
How to make your album announcement newsworthy (The Fanbase Builder)
The limits of business logic in music (The Fanbase Builder)
Market value is the music industry’s hidden currency (The Fanbase Builder)