The Woman that Keeps the Show Going: Meet Nastia Barkan the day-to-day manager for Charlie Puth and more
Nastia Barkan is the day-to-day manager of pop artist Charlie Puth. Unlike typical jobs, her job has different ever-evolving roles that can change on a daily basis. Barkan was born and raised in London before moving to America to achieve her B.A. in Communications with minors in Music Industry and Italian from the University of Southern California. She was able to get her foot in the door of the music industry by interning at Patriot Management where she was able to work with all-star acts including One Republic, Pharrell Williams, and The Backstreet Boys. After she graduated from college, she worked alongside Charlie Puth’s mother Mikaela as his day-to-day manager. She joined Friends at Work in 2020 where she continues to oversee Charlie’s career.
Barkan knew at a young age what industry she would like to work in. Although she didn’t achieve her childhood dream job, she came close:
When I was younger, I wanted to be a pop star, so I suppose it had always been in the back of my mind. I spent so much time as a teenager wanting to go to different concerts and festivals and was always happiest when at shows, so figured that’s what I should do; have a job that allowed me to be around music all the time, especially the live side. I decided I specifically was interested in management when looking into all the different facets of the industry and realized that I like taking care of people, so it made the most sense that I take care of artists. What’s so great about management is also the fact that you get to be involved in all aspects of an artist’s career, and thus all aspects of the industry. It’s the absolute opposite of monotonous and constantly keeps you on your toes. I get bored easily so having a career that’s so dynamic is great!
Barkan purposefully chose a general degree to be able to be able to have broad opportunities:
Communication as a degree is sort of vague and what you decide to make of it, which was what intrigued me. I was interested in majoring in music industry or broadcast journalism but didn’t want to pigeonhole myself into a career path at 18 because of the degree I picked. I didn’t see much point in getting a degree for the sake of getting a degree; Communication seemed like the right route for me as it was transferable, meaning I could pick courses that centered around skills or topics that could serve me well for the future; business communication, advertising, marketing, social media, even the theory of celebrity and celebrity culture. I learned so much in completing my degree that I use on a daily basis in my career, and some of the most innovative and “out of the box” thinkers I know come from a communication background! I also minored in music industry which has (obviously) been beyond helpful.
After being an intern herself, Barkan has advice for future interns in the industry:
Pay attention to everything that is happening around you; you’re going to learn more by actively listening and retaining information than expecting to be taught. One of the biggest lessons I took from my internship was that people love people who want to work and who they can rely on to get things done, so actively take initiative any way you can. This can be something as seemingly minor as asking if anyone needs coffee or lunch, to coming up with a deck for a project just because you heard it mentioned.
I would also advise against asking too many questions; my rule of thumb is always “if you can google it, don’t ask it” or if it’s something seemingly simple but for some reason you can’t find the information, ask it in a way that demonstrates you have made the effort to find out on your own.
Internships can be amazing or they can be really frustrating, but ultimately they serve as a way for you to get experience and get your foot in the door, while also deciding if it’s the right career path for you!
Looking back, Barkan would have given her younger self specific words of wisdom:
Invest your time and make meaningful connections with people who want to see you succeed and help you grow instead of spending time worrying about impressing people who don’t. There’s no shortage of people who won’t have any intention of helping you, or who would rather see you fail than get your big break, so it’s key that you establish a rapport with those who want to advise you and help you go far. It’s a competitive industry and loyalty is not always the most present at times, so worry less about networking for the sake of networking and more about doing the best you can and finding people who can see your talent and appreciate you!
No two days are ever the same in any job, but especially for Barkan. One day she could be at home doing work on the computer, and the next she could be flying across the country to an event. She has one goal in mind no matter where she is:
Making sure my artist is in the best place they can be. I’m not going to be able to accomplish much if my artist is in a bad place, so always making the effort to have them happy and not have too much to worry about is a top priority for me.
Surprisingly, a “typical day” on the road compared to a “normal” day at the office has more of a set schedule:
Bizarrely “on the road life” is very structured, while my office days aren’t. I had my tour routine down pat by the time we got off our promo run; I would wake up for sunrise, go on a quick walk in whatever city we were in and then make sure everyone was set for the day before bouncing between reading and responding to emails and handling press stops, lounges and shows. There’d usually be a flight involved at some point, or a long car ride typically with hilarious gas station stops, and lots of refueling on the food front!
I got very good at working on my phone while on tour, so sometimes using a computer is a bit weird to me funnily enough. Show days are usually the days where I am my most stressed but have the most fun. I have a love hate relationship with the chaos that is involved; the adrenaline rush you get when things are going 100 miles an hour is amazing and horrible at the same time, but when you get to look out at a crowd and see them having the time of their lives and you go back to your hotel and read about how much everyone loved your artist’s performance, you feel such pride.
What keeps my job so interesting is the fact that no two days are ever the same, so there isn’t really a typical in office day. Some days I am on back to back calls, meetings and email chains, others are less hectic and I may have time to grab lunch or coffee with someone and work on the go. My favourite days are always those where I get to be more dynamic and in the thick of things; music video or photo shoots, filming campaigns, that sort of work. It might be because it leaves me feeling i’ve physically accomplished more.
When it comes to most music industry jobs, there are no college courses for those skills. She was able to learn most of her skillset while in college through her minor’s courses and through her internships:
I was very fortunate in that I went to a college where music industry was a minor/major option and had great access to a careers portal with internship opportunities that ultimately lead me to my career as a day to day artist manager. Not everyone is going to find themselves in that position though, so educating yourself on the music industry as a whole and way you can, and then about what it takes to be an artist manager are both vital first steps. Understanding that being able to manage different personalities is very important, that it’s not 9-5 and you have to be willing and able to work at any and all times, and that your job isn’t really about you at all, it’s about your artist, is too. No one is ever really taught how to manage a musician, there’s no vocational training program in doing so, it’s about how your personality matches up, about working hard and having good instincts, and about checking your ego at the door.
COVID-19 changed plans for virtually every industry, including Barkan’s job. But her job didn’t change as drastically as you’d might think:
I wouldn’t say my plan pivoted much at all, to be honest with you. Obviously, a very different timeline in the grand scheme of things emerged when it came down to what we had planned for the year, but it actually gave myself and the whole team a chance to press pause and re-evaluate what we wanted to accomplish and how we wanted to go about doing that. I learned a lot about myself on a personal level, and professionally we were fortunate in that we were able to change and adapt the way we were going to work and what our focus would be on. The fact that the live music industry is struggling is heartbreaking, but I hope we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel and things can get back properly on track very soon!
When it comes to the future of the music industry, Barkan believes that it is bright:
Streaming has made music so consumable and accessible, which is great, but also a little bit of a nightmare for artists because it’s harder to determine what will or won’t be a hit. You can have an amazing song that just doesn’t resonate with playlist curators and you can be out of luck. In line with this, I believe it’s going to be increasingly harder to build staying power as an artist, because of the fact that everyone’s music is so accessible. Artists and their teams are going to have to be increasingly aware of what their brand identity is. It’s not so much about having a flash in the pan hit song nowadays, it’s more about figuring out what it is that makes you as an artist interesting and unique; why are people invested in your music as opposed to someone else in the same genre with a similar sound. Finding that niche and translating it in a way that’s digestible and makes fans want to engage with you on all fronts is only going to become more important.
I also think that people are only going to develop a greater awareness of the people behind the songs, not just the artist themselves. The writers and producers who help shape the sound of a record. This is something that’s actually pretty long overdue in my opinion.
What was your first music industry job?
I was a runner at RSA Films one summer and did some backend/office work for music videos and music documentaries.
What are some of your personal favorite artists?
At the moment Lana Del Rey and Machine Gun Kelly. I love Lil Nas X’s new song, Miley Cyrus never fails to impress me with what she puts out, Pitbull is my guilty pleasure, and Avicii is my all-time favourite artist.
What have you been binging during quarantine?
Real Housewives of New York! Bravo and Andy Cohen have helped make the past 12 months a lot more bearable!!
Have you picked up any hobbies this past year?
I’ve dipped in and out of hiking, not the intense sort, more just taking casual long walks through the hills in LA. I also got VERY into cooking and have perfected my carbonara recipe, though the banana bread trend passed me by.
Favorite city you've traveled to?
In the US, Nashville. I went for the first time in November for the CMAs and loved it, even in the midst of the pandemic. I also enjoy spending time in NYC and Boston, probably because of the fact that I’m from London and architecturally they’re both more similar than Los Angeles where I live. In Europe: Barcelona or Venice… honestly any city in Italy I usually fall in love with, I can definitely see myself settling in a Mediterranean country in the long term!
Favorite aspect of your job?
That I love what I do! I always said to myself “If you can wake up in the morning at 75% of the time be happy with what you have in front of you for the day, then you’ll be extremely lucky” and that is what I have now. Of course, there are times where I want to throw my phone at the wall, but all things considered, I am so content with what my daily life involves work-wise. I get to work closely with people who are all extremely passionate about one common thing, and have a part in positively impacting people’s lives; that’s a really special feeling!
How do you unwind or try to stay off of the clock?
I’m terrible at doing that. I really like working, so unwinding is actually pretty difficult for me. That being said, usually dinners and drinks with friends or getting lost in a TV series does the trick, nothing too exciting. I love going on walks as well and try to do that nightly, even if just for 30 minutes, or going to the beach at the weekend. Anything that typically involves bad cell reception is great for unwinding!
Favorite apps?
Skyscanner, Instagram, Uber. The News app is also very helpful.
How do you stay on track and on task?
I do things as they come in. I really try not to put things off and just tackle stuff as it needs to be done, it helps massively with managing my workload.
Tour essentials that are always on hand?
Ginger immunity shots, Tylenol, Throat Coat tea, credentials!
Meet the Author
Jacklyn Krol is truly a "Jack of all trades." She has a B.S. in Communications from Indiana University and is pursuing her Business MBA at Purdue University. She is an on-air reporter, writer, photographer, and marketing manager in entertainment journalism. Prior to the pandemic, Jacklyn also was in concert production, working in both the media, public relations, and backstage aspects of the music industry.