Music Curation Manager

Swordfish Events & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd; Bengaluru; On-site; INR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

Swordfish Events & Entertainment Pvt. Ltd. seeks a Music Curation Manager to lead artist booking and procurement for its IPs and brand projects.

You will own the full deal lifecycle, managing offers, negotiations, and contracts while leveraging your own network and taste. The role requires strong market sense across electronic/world genres, deep industry relationships, and the ability to operate across time zones to maximize touring value.

Qualifications

• 3-6 years of experience in artist booking, talent management, or live event curation.

Responsibilities

• Own artist booking and procurement for assigned events within budgets and deal frameworks.
• Prepare and submit artist offers, negotiate fees, riders, and deal terms with agents/managers.
• Manage the full deal pipeline from offer to signed contract with rigorous tracking.
• Identify bookings aligned with each IP's identity and market context.
• Build and maintain relationships with agents and managers across major agencies.

Skills

Negotiation

Organised process-driven

Cultural fluency

Clear communicator

Self-starter

Time zone flexibility

Job description

We are looking for a Music Curation Manager to join our growing IPs; Music Curation team. This is a practitioner role - for someone who lives and breathes artist culture, understands the mechanics of global touring, knows how to negotiate and close, and has the discipline to manage complex deal pipelines without dropping a thread.

You will work directly under the Head of IPs; Music Curation, owning artist booking and procurement across Swordfish's self-owned IPs and brand projects. This is not a coordinator role. You will be expected to bring your own network, your own taste, and your own commercial instincts to the table.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Artist Booking & Procurement

• Own artist booking and procurement for assigned events, operating within agreed budgets and deal frameworks
• Prepare and submit artist offers, negotiate fees, riders, and deal terms directly with agents and managers
• Manage the full deal pipeline - from initial offer through to signed contract - with rigorous tracking and documentation
• Identify and recommend artist bookings that are strategically and culturally aligned with each IP's identity

Market Intelligence & Artist Research

• Research and maintain a live, categorised database of international and homegrown artists, agents, and managers
• Track global touring trends, market rates, festival bookings, and emerging artists across electronic, world music, and experimental genres
• Monitor agent and manager movements and maintain current contact information across the global booking ecosystem
• Provide regular curation recommendations supported by market data and cultural context

Touring & Revenue Strategy

• Develop touring and onsell strategies for booked artists to maximise route value and commercial return across India
• Identify co-promoter, multi-city, and onsell opportunities that create revenue beyond the primary booking
• Analyse market appetite and historical data to inform pricing and routing decisions

Artist Operations

• Build and maintain comprehensive artist operations plans covering technical riders, stage requirements, hospitality, and scheduling
• Coordinate advance process with artists, artist managers, and production teams
• Liaise with production, operations, and IP teams to ensure seamless integration of artists into event programming
• Manage all day-of-show artist requirements and act as the primary point of contact for artist teams on event days

Relationship Management

• Build and maintain long-term relationships with agents, managers, and artist teams across key global agencies including CAA, WME, UTA, AEG, Earth Agency, and relevant boutique agencies
• Represent Swordfish and its IPs professionally in all industry interactions - including conferences, showcases, and international market events
• Proactively develop new industry relationships that expand Swordfish's access to priority artists

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

Experience

• 3-6 years of experience in artist booking, talent management, or live event curation at an agency, promoter, or festival
• Demonstrated track record of independently booking and closing artist deals at an international level
• Existing relationships with agents or managers at major and boutique booking agencies
• Experience working across electronic, world, or independent music genres strongly preferred

Skills & Attributes

• Sharp negotiator - you know how to push without burning a relationship
• Organised and process-driven - you track everything and nothing falls through the gaps
• Culturally fluent - your artist taste is genuine and your knowledge runs deeper than Spotify charts
• Strong communicator - clear, professional, and direct in all correspondence with agents and artists
• Self-starter - you don't wait to be told what to do and you own your outcomes
• Comfortable working across time zones and adapting to the rhythms of global touring markets

Bonus

• Experience with Indian touring and the domestic live music ecosystem
• Existing relationships with agents in the European, UK, or Australian markets
• Attendance at international industry conferences such as ESNS, Primavera Pro, SXSW, or AMF
• Understanding of contract structures, deal memos, and standard industry rider formats

WHAT YOU'LL BE PART OF

Swordfish is entering its most ambitious phase - building and scaling IPs that will define Indian festival culture for the next decade. You'll sit at the centre of that work, with direct access to the conversations, decisions, and relationships that shape what ends up on stage. If you're someone who has spent years wanting to do this work at the highest level - this is that opportunity.