About what a booking & management agency actually does, their artists and a sustainable nightlife

We love the nightlife, but as doctors, we also see the other side of the coin. Driven by our desire to support people with honest, scientifically backed supplements, we try to bridge the gap between health and the sometimes exhausting reality of club life. In a world where doctors generally view the supplement industry with considerable skepticism, and often rightly so, we try to be that reliable exception. To truly understand the music industry and the needs of the people working in it, it is crucial to talk to the people behind the scenes. We also want to give our followers a look inside the industry. That is why we sat down with Sonja and Samir, the driving forces behind Good Life Agency. As a neutral party, we wanted to hear their vision on the electronic music industry, the immense pressure on young artists, and their successful quest for a sustainable existence in nightlife.

The road to a career in nightlife

The route to a successful career in the music industry is rarely a mapped-out path. Whereas in many sectors you follow a specific education and then neatly climb the corporate ladder, things work fundamentally differently in nightlife. Sonja, 38 years old and living in Amsterdam, originally studied marketing communications. During her mandatory internship at a traditional advertising agency, she quickly noticed that the environment could not fully captivate her. Her true passion lay in nightlife, where she spent a lot of time. The realization that she could just as easily use her marketing knowledge for a club she actually believed in led her to the legendary club TrouwAmsterdam, the predecessor of the influential De School. From that moment on, she was permanently sold and rolled from one position to another. She learned the trade simply by doing it, an approach that is characteristic of the entire industry, and which she turned out to be quite good at.

For thirty-five-year-old Samir from Utrecht, the run-up was at least as organic. From a young age, he was fascinated by going out. What started at local teenage discos in Utrecht quickly grew into a deeply rooted love for electronic music. During his communication sciences studies, he got stuck; the theory did not appeal to him and he was looking for direction. An internship at Time Warp, a large German techno organization that organized massive events in the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht at the time, opened his eyes. He discovered how things worked behind the scenes and noticed that interacting with artists and organizing things came naturally to him. To truly gain a foothold in an industry known for its closed doors and poorly paid entry-level positions, he decided to do another internship. This time with Sonja, who was managing the highly successful act Dam Swindle at the time.

From intensive management to a personal vision

The period when Sonja and Samir worked together for Dam Swindle was like a pressure cooker. The act flew all over the world, had its own record label, and continuously released new music. As a manager, Sonja acted as a helicopter over all facets of their career. She directed booking agents worldwide, oversaw financial administration, arranged press campaigns, and scheduled studio sessions. It was a job that encompassed a hundred different tasks and continued non-stop. Samir, who acted as her assistant at the time, learned the tricks of the trade by joining studio sessions and simply listening and observing closely.

This intense learning period formed the foundation for what would later become Good Life Agency. Today, their role has changed and they work together as a fully-fledged agency. They represent a solid group of 15 artists, with the focus largely on handling bookings. Although the core of the work differs from the all-encompassing management of one massive act, they bring their wealth of experience into the guidance of their current roster. The artists they work with now are mostly young and at the beginning of their careers. Even though the official job description for bookings is limited to arranging gigs, Sonja and Samir consciously choose to go much further. Together with the artists, they build a strategic plan, brainstorm about releases, and help make crucial choices.

The dynamics of an average workweek

What does an agency actually do on a random weekday? Besides handling bookings, the range of tasks stretches much further in practice. They look into events, social media strategies, upcoming releases, and scheduling podcasts. The contact moments with the artists vary enormously and are completely tailored to individual needs. While they speak to one artist almost daily to make quick decisions or discuss daily affairs, they have a fixed weekly call with another. Sometimes artists specifically withdraw for a while, for instance, to fully focus on developing a complex new live set. In such cases, they switch to a monthly consultation, looking much further ahead to outline the broader strategic lines.

The rhythm of their workweek might feel somewhat contradictory to outsiders. Where you would expect panic and workload to increase towards the weekend, the opposite is true. Monday is traditionally a fairly quiet day. Promoters, club owners, and programmers are coming out of an intensive weekend themselves and often take Monday off to recover. From Tuesday, the engine starts running again, with Wednesday and especially Thursday as absolute peak days. By Thursday, almost everything must be arranged, coordinated, and communicated. That makes Friday a remarkably relaxed day, mainly dedicated to wrapping things up. If you still have to arrange essential matters on Friday for a show taking place on Saturday night, you are simply too late. Friday is therefore kept as clear as possible for emergencies, creating space to catch a breath before the weekend madness erupts and they often head out themselves to their artists' shows.

The philosophy of a sustainable career

The name of their agency carries a double meaning that perfectly aligns with their vision of the industry. They simply refuse to cram schedules full to rake in as much money as possible in the short term, a practice that unfortunately still occurs too often in the booking world. Instead, they firmly believe in a sustainable career for the artist, for themselves, and for the entire scene. It is a pragmatic yet highly human approach. By investing in the human aspect and not just chasing hard business deals, they build a relationship based on mutual trust. They are convinced that this loyalty pays off in the long run, especially when an artist eventually breaks through nationally or internationally.

Still, they realize all too well that it is a collaboration. No matter how hard an agency pulls, an artist must provide the motivation and input themselves to be able to grow. One person already has a razor-sharp vision at a young age, while another continuously refines their sound as an artist. By continuously evaluating and adjusting, they try to make the path run as smoothly as possible. In doing so, they also have to navigate a landscape that is becoming increasingly challenging. Since the corona pandemic, organizers of festivals and club nights have been struggling with rising energy prices, inflation, housing shortages swallowing up cultural spaces, and high staff costs. The pressure on the market is palpable, which only increases the need for a well-thought-out and sustainable approach.

Mental health and the lonely contrast

One of the most vulnerable aspects of a career in electronic music is mental health. The life of a successful DJ is by definition not normal and demands the utmost physically and mentally. There is a bizarre and persistent contrast that artists have to learn to deal with. One moment you are standing in front of a seething crowd of thousands of people, adrenaline is rushing through your body, and you are adored by everyone in the room. A few hours later, you sit exhausted, with ringing ears and a disrupted rhythm, all alone in an anonymous hotel room or waiting at a cold airport for your next flight.

These constant peaks and valleys, combined with broken nights, excessive traveling, and a lack of stability, take a huge toll on a person. To perform at top level and not succumb to these extremes, a certain degree of structure is crucial. Sonja and Samir offer as much guidance in this as possible. Sometimes they act as pseudo-psychologists simply by offering a listening ear or hitting the brakes in time. Where necessary, they bring in external experts, such as coaches or therapists, to help their artists create a healthy framework for their lives. Fortunately, they see that the stigma surrounding mental health and addiction in the industry is slowly but surely fading. There is more openness, although it remains a very personal and vulnerable process for many to speak publicly about this.

The ruthless pressure of the algorithm

In addition to the physical and mental challenges of touring, a new form of pressure has emerged in recent years that holds the industry in its grip. The impact of social media, and specifically platforms like Instagram and TikTok, has become massive. For many artists, it is no longer enough to just produce good music and play a tight set. They are expected to be continuously visible, go viral with short video clips, and maintain a flawless online image. For Good Life Agency, this is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, they intensively guide their artists in determining their online strategy and creating content, because they know it is essential for their growth. On the other hand, they find it unfortunate that popularity on social media nowadays sometimes outweighs actual musical quality or technical skills behind the decks.

Yet, they are realistic about this development. Ultimately, festival-goers and club visitors determine the market. They buy the tickets, and if they place the emphasis on the artists they see passing by on their timelines, bookers and programmers have to follow suit to survive. The algorithm increasingly dictates the line-up. Musically too, they see how trends dictate the landscape. After the silence of the corona lockdowns, a massive need for escapism arose, translating into a trend of loud, fast techno. According to Samir, however, this has little to do with a diminished social atmosphere on the dance floor, but is a natural wave motion in music. A new generation pushes back against the previous one and creates its own sound. They are already noticing that the extremes are slowly beginning to level off, creating room again for new, more layered musical movements.

A necessary outlet

Ultimately, it is important to continue seeing nightlife in the right perspective. It is a world full of extremes, challenges, and pressure, but above all, it fulfills a fundamental role in our society. As Samir and Sonja aptly conclude, there is absolutely nothing wrong with cutting loose every now and then. People have the need to dance, have fun, and blow off steam after a stressful workweek. Precisely because people can let everything go in a club for a while on the weekend, they have the energy and mental peace to function properly again on Monday, whether that is in an office or, as in our case, in the hospital.

Nightlife will always remain a place of connection and release. The key to a long and happy life in this industry, for both the artist and the visitor, lies in awareness. Enjoy the peaks, be aware of the risks, and make sure you reserve enough time to recover. With the right balance and people who genuinely think along with you, like the passionate faces behind Good Life Agency, the good life will keep turning for a while.