Creator Talent Management agencies are entities that represent and support creators by providing a range of services. With the growing scope as well as budget of the influencer economy, Talent Management Agencies have become crucial. They are a catalyst to the creator’s growth and represent them. Arpan Soni is one individual who has been managing this role like a pro. From being the founding member at IPLIX Media to take it to untouched heights of glory, Arpan Soni has proved his mettle over and over again.
Thanks to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, the untapped power of Content Creation has been unleashed. Arpan Soni tapped into these numerics and built IPLIX Media, that now is one of the leading agencies in the industry.
Arpan’s story is one of those tales where destiny becomes the foremost player. From seeing dreams of clearing the IIT to help creators achieve their dream, Mr Soni has come a long way. We at Social Nation had the opportunity to speak to him about his journey, his ideas for the industry, and what the future holds. Presenting snippets from the conversation.
From trying to crack JEE exams to finding a talent management company, what has the journey been like?
The journey has been nothing short of ups and downs. I never thought I would not be able to crack the JEE exams. I always had a clear goal that I will get into an IIT and then an IIM and pick the traditional career path. At one point I also thought that even though I got into a decent college for my B. Tech, I will still go for an MBA but then IPLIX happened. So yeah, that’s how the journey has been!
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Where is the creator economy headed and what does the future hold?
The creator economy is headed in the right direction. It is evident from how creators have started getting into D2C brands and IPs. The future holds growth for everyone. The economy is still very new and very unpredictable, so I cannot predict a certain thing but for sure, it brings growth to everybody.
How does a talent manager help build a creator?
The role of the Talent Manager is to first understand what the creator wants and what is possible for them and then make sure we deliver what they expect from us. The role also includes making the creator understand what they cannot achieve right now and helping them build a vision about how they achieve this goal later.
The role is very similar to that of a CEO and how they build their companies. CEOs too need to have a vision, they need to know what is realistic for them immediately and how they need to plan their vision for the future. This is exactly the same thing the Talent Manager does for their creator- to know where the creator is right now and to help them build themselves to where can they head to in the future.
Can you give us an idea of what a day in a talent manager’s life looks like?
A Talent Manager’s life is not easy, to be honest. It can be haphazard. There would be brands calling you, you would be calling some brands to lock your creators. Simultaneously you also keep thinking about the next direction and the next big thing that you want to plan for your creators. The creator obviously will also be calling you. Additionally, you have to plan how to get their PR, and how to help them creatively. There are so many things that are going on, on a particular day and the talent manager has to take care of all this by himself.
What’s your take on AI influencers and the role of AI in content creation?
With utmost honesty, not really sure about AI influencers. It’s still very new and native. However, Chat GPT has been helping a lot of creators and also the team. Chat GPT and AI are really smart. When you mention details, like if you need a script for a creator or a script for integration with a brand, Chat GPT has been able to deliver that. Chat GPT has played a positive role in making some things easier but it still needs a human touch to make it a right fit.
Talent managers are the real behind-the-scenes heroes, how does one build themselves to make it big in this industry?
I feel the talent management field is of people having people skills. For you to become a Talent Manager, you only need two things, that is to be passionate about the creator economy and to have decent communication skills. Once an individual has built good communication skills and is passionate about working with creators, they are interested in growing the creator and the influencer economy, they can do it.
I had no background in creator economy and I did not even know that something like this existed unless I came on board with IPlix. I just had, what I would like to say, a little bit of people skills, and ideas on how to manage a team, and how to deal with people and then these skills helped me reach wherever I am right now.
Any piece of advice for budding content creators?
A piece of advice for budding creators would be, firstly, to be consistent in content creation. This is something that is very important because consistency really is the key. Secondly, it is to try and be unique with your ideas. Uniqueness is something that will make the creator big. Finally, I would say, try and add value to your audience with whatever content you’re creating. This value could be entertainment as well. It need not be information heavy. There should always be something that the audience gets, it could either be a laugh or information or some knowledge but these three things are important.
Talent Managers like Arpan Soni are really juggling a million things to let their creators shine on screen. The team at Social Nation is glad to hear his perspective and wishes him all the best in his future endeavors.
