Jake Laderman
Damaged Music
Roster: C.O.F.F.I.N, Hard-Ons, Public Figures
State/Territory: VIC
Socials: @catman.scoop | @damaged.music
Listen: Jake’s Manager Of The Month Playlist
One Change That Could Better Support Managers and Artists
I think there should be more education available to artists and managers. I think it's unfortunate that a lot of young artists and managers are forced learn the landscapes of the industry on their feet, which can lead to missed opportunities. The AAM and The Seed Fund are fantastic examples of management resources and the more of this kind of learning, the better I think, especially for artists.
Proud Moments in Management
The common thread between the three artists I manage is that they are all extremely dedicated to their music and craft. It’s not a coincidence they’ve made their own impacts
in their spaces, it’s because they live and breathe it. I love their commitment and the art that is a product of it.
Timeless Advice
That you need an ESTA to travel through the US in transit to another destination lol. That was a hard lesson.
But otherwise, I’d say honesty is always the best solution, and to remember to give out the energy and respect to others that you want to receive in return.
A Pivotal Moment
Attending The Seed Fund earlier this year was incredibly insightful, both the sessions and community who attended helped me reconsider my approach to various ways that I work. Recommend!
An Industry Issue
I think it’s important for managers to remember to switch off, recognise your limits and not forget to put focus on the other areas of your life – such as family, friends and loved ones.
It’s so easy to get swept up in the chaos and wear a lot of the stress/burden, so I think a lot of us could put more focus on wellness (mental and physical), which is, in my opinion, integral to getting better results overall.
A Passion Outside Of Music
My family life! My partner and pets, from working on our home, to getting out into nature, or simply doing nothing at all!
AAM’s Impact on My Journey
The AAM has been an incredible resource as a community, from the online hive mind to the welcoming in-person events.
When I became an artist manager, one of the first pieces of advice I got was to sign up to the AAM, and it’s now the same advice I give to other emerging managers.
Working in a job that you never cease learning new things, it’s wildly helpful to know that whatever challenge you’re facing, you’ve got an entire group who have been there before and have a solution. I’ve lost count of how many times this community has helped my career.
Grateful to have learned how supportive our industry can actually be through the resources of the AAM. It’s so important!
Advice I’d Give My Younger Self In Artist Management
When I was an 18 year old musician and wanted to take over the world, it meant wanting to travel and tour overseas, which felt impossible at my age and skill set.
There was a publicist who gave us the advice of “if you want to tour the world, why don’t you just do it?”. I think a lot of young musicians think you have to be invited to do
these things, but this advice opened my eyes to a DIY-mentality, and even though those first few international tours were pretty broke, loose and unhinged, long-term they opened up opportunities and contacts that helped build my at-the-time music career, and unsuspectingly taught me a lot about how the industry works on a global scale.
Key Achievements
- C.O.F.F.I.N performing at Meredith Music Festival, 2023.
- Promoting the successful Hard-Ons / Redd Kross coheadline tour earlier in 2026.
- Celebrating with C.O.F.F.I.N at the 2024 ARIA’s for their nomination for ‘Best Hard Rock / Heavy Metal Album’.
- Public Figures and C.O.F.F.I.N performing at the 2026 Community Cup.
- Working on the Hard-Ons US tour with Melvins / Napalm Death, 2025.
- Watching C.O.F.F.I.N supporting Viagra Boys on their Australian tour, 2025 (including two nights at The Forum).
- Hard-Ons supporting The Damned on their 2024 Australian tour.
- C.O.F.F.I.N landing a Foo Fighters support later in 2026.
- Watching Hard-Ons perform alongside Radio Birdman on their 50th Anniversary tour, 2024.
- Directing and producing a documentary for C.O.F.F.I.N as part of their album campaign and selling out four screenings across Melbourne/Naarm and Sydney/Eora, as well as screenings in the UK, US and EU.
Recent Challenge
I recently undertook a documentary project for one of my artists, to roll out with their album campaign. We got knocked back on three different arts funding applications, and had three different directors show interest in working the project, before deciding it was too big of a project to undertake.
The time came when we had to make the decision about whether the project was going to go ahead or not, and despite the lack of funding and a director, I took a punt and decided to take it on myself. The biggest challenge was to find funding in spaces outside of arts funding, which I managed to source in the form of sponsorship. The film had to be at a point of actually looking good to be appealing to sponsors and I had to learn how to make a pitch deck to actually sell it.
The project ended up being a big success and put a lot of eyes on my artist at a pivotal time in their campaign. It was a project that made me realise that with the right dedication and discipline, even the most ambitious tasks can be possible - despite a million hurdles.
Final note to the AAM Community
Thank you, appreciate you all ❤️
Inspiration and Motivation
I fell into artist management after falling in love with an artists music and recognising that I had the ability to help them at a point in their career. I had spent 12+ years as a touring artist myself and felt I had the knowledge to guide them.
What keeps me motivated is having an understanding that most goals are achievable with the right application, time and dedication, and the itch that gets scratched when you achieve goals and set higher ones is a satisfaction I can’t quite explain!
