Posted: Jun 11, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

black veil brides getting started live performing managers

Bass player and manager Blasko discusses how he got his start as a musician, from underground hopeful to center stage bass player, and how he transitioned into becoming the manager of the Black Veil Brides.

Posted: May 15, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

dale connone in2une music indie artists radio promotion

Dale Connone has got to be one of the most well-traveled radio promoters in the business today. If you can think of a record label, he's probably worked there. But, after putting in more than his due diligence, Dale decided to split off to do his own thing. He wanted to build a radio promotion department that record labels have and make it into an actual independently run company. So he did just that with in2une Music, which has brought him such success that he still pretty much does radio promo for all the labels (if you take a look at his clients). One of our members, I am Demure, called in to ask Dale about radio promotion for indie artists, and he gives his thoughts on how to find the right promoters and what to look for here!

Posted: May 6, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

c3 presents charles attal music festivals show booking

To gain real traction as an artist in today's music industry, you need to get on the bill of some of the major music festivals like Coachella, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, SXSW, Warped Tour, Austin City Limits, and Electric Daisy Carnival. Getting on the bill takes some chops. It may take awhile as you build up your touring, but a key factor of getting on a festival is knowing when the promoters are doing their scheduling. Our Music Mentor Contest winner, Andrew Jones, called in to ask Charles Attal, Partner of C3 Presents, how he goes about scheduling the line-up for his festivals. Charles explains how C3 Presents approaches their scheduling and what kind of team is in place to handle determining the line-up!

Posted: Apr 25, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

canvasback music jack hedges marketing plan promotion

So you've outlined your marketing plan like in step #1, and you know what areas of promotion you want to focus on. That work begins in this step with the music. If you don't get that right out of the gate, you are toast. No marketing plan can save a record, if no one wants to hear the music. Jack Hedges, Director of Marketing at Canvasback Music, goes over step-by-step what you need to do in this phase. Of course, you have the elements of physically making the record, but then there are other considerations to be made. Do you want to make mechanical reproductions like vinyl or CDs? Is it going to be a digital/streaming release? Is it smarter to go with an EP or a full album? Jack walks you through all these things and more in step #2 to Building your Marketing Plan for your Album Release!

Posted: Apr 16, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

hometown imagine dragons managers show booking touring

Imagine Dragons blew up to become a huge band last year and that took plenty of time and seasoning. Their manager, Mac Reynolds, knew from the get go that the bread and butter for many artists is touring both monetarily and in terms of exposure. Building those touring chops though is a tough cookie for plenty of bands. First, you got to hone your skills, then hone your hometown, and work around from there. Mac talks about what Imagine Dragons did to hone their live performances along with how this paved the way for how they played shows live when they were huge and had all the eyeballs on them. Mac is a firm believer that you don't have to be in either LA or New York to be successful, and he illustrates how a band can use their hometown (Vegas being very unique in this instance) to an advantage. If you are just starting out playing live, watch this video for great strategy on how to round out your own live set!

Posted: Apr 9, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

music business show booking the windish agency touring strategy

Tom Windish heads up The Windish Agency as President, representing one of the most diverse and eclectic rosters in the music business. Operating on gut and killer instinct, Tom moves fast and snatches up his talent early. That can be both wonderful and intimidating all at the same time because The Windish Agency gets the chance to develop their touring plan and add value to the band before they take that leap to the next level. But, what is their strategy to develop and build that band on the live side? Sometimes, their acts haven't even played a live show yet! So, how do they get the band the necessary reps to build up and deliver a mind-blowing concert? Find out right here with Mr. Windish!

Posted: Apr 2, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

entrepreneurship helping artists live performances stageit

Evan Lowenstein started out in the music business as an artist with his brother, and they produced a top 20 single in their hey day. However, Evan felt a calling to something bigger than just his career as an artist. He wanted to help other fellow artists knowing what the struggle can be to even succeed in this business. Therefore, he decided to dive in and create a company that could serve as a platform to benefit all artists. This was the genesis of StageIt, a virtual interactive platform on the web where artists could sell their live performances. In this clip, Evan explains how he started this project and what to expect when developing your own entrepreneurship!

Posted: Mar 21, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

artist development red light management renman young the giant

Renman asks Drew Simmons, manager of Young the Giant, what his thoughts are regarding the artist development process. On a prior episode of Renman Live!, Steve welcomed Bruce Flohr onto the show from Red Light Management, and Bruce proposed the notion that it takes 10 years for an artist to truly develop and grow into their own skin. That’s on many levels: as a touring act, a recording act, and in terms of finding their True North to properly tell their own story to the world. Drew had the opportunity to work for Bruce at Red Light Management and offers his own thoughts on the artist development process!

Posted: Mar 4, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

booking agents caa managers show booking

Everyone wants to know how to get in front of the eyes and ears of A&R, managers, agents, etc. Each of those individuals are foundational members of the team around the band, but getting any or all to join your team is always the big challenge for any artist. But, before you convince them to join your team, you got to get them in the room with you first! This is exactly what one of our RMB callers asked about: how to best draw the attention of booking agents at festivals like SXSW, or even just locally in the artist’s hometown. There is no one answer to that question, but Kyle offers his advice on how to best get in front of a booking agent!

Posted: Feb 27, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

lady gaga managers support slots troy carter

Troy Carter blew Lady GaGa up into the biggest pop sensation in recent memory, but people tend to forget that she didn’t start out that way. Stardom was not automatic. She had to grind away just like everyone else, and she played more than her fair share of small gigs as a support slot for bigger acts. Through developing her career, Troy certainly has picked up pearls of wisdom that can help bridge a support slot on a tour into being a headliner eventually. Often to do that, the support slot needs to connect with the fans of the bands they open for. A RenmanMB member asked Troy what his thoughts were on how to best establish that connection in order to create new fans, and Troy obliges with his thoughts here!

Posted: Feb 13, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

breaking bands grouplove managers

Grouplove calls into the broadcast to chat with Renman and Nicky Berger, their manager, about how their paths intertwined to create the foundation that is Grouplove. For each member of Grouplove, how that person came into the fold was uniquely different, yet their chemistry developed quite organically. In this Renman Live! Highlight, Renman talks with Hannah Hooper, Christian Zucconi, and Sean Gadd from Grouplove about their individual connections to the band and how that evolved to create a strong bond and camaraderie amongst the band. Nicky Berger also chimes in to elaborate on why that bond has become as strong as it is!

Posted: Feb 5, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

hip hop culture john legend lady gaga managers troy carter

Troy Carter is a new breed of manager, who is taking the Music Industry by storm. He currently reps artists like Lady Gaga and John Legend and heads multiple companies, many on the tech front. Troy likes to keep ahead of the game, and if the game does not suit his interests, he invents a new technology or collaborates with individuals who can reinvent how the game is played. When asked about his mindset of breaking down the Status Quo, he attributes that facet of his personality to growing up immersed in the hip-hop culture. Listen to Troy tell it best as he encourages you to keep challenging the norm and disrupt the Status Quo!

Posted: Jan 29, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

fun. managers touring touring plan venues

As a Manager, a lot of responsibility falls on you to help get your band out there. If you want your band to break, that band needs as much as exposure as possible. A lot of that exposure comes from touring. Putting together a proper touring plan for your band is key. But how do you strategize the tour for your band? What are the right venues and size capacity for your band to play in front of? If your band is unknown, how do you pair them with someone who already has good exposure? Dalton Sim, Manager of Fun., knows how to break a band, and in this segment, talks about how he put together a touring strategy for Fun. which ultimately helped to break the band!

Posted: Jan 24, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

lady gaga producers publishing

Lady GaGa did not start out as the Pop Powerhouse Machine that she currently is. Before she was Lady GaGa, she was Stefani Germanotta. She started from the same humble beginnings as all artists do. She hustled and played her ass off live in New York on Bleecker Street and the Lower East Side where she caught the eyes of producers. After recording her songs with the backing of connected producers, she still could not break in to get a publishing deal. Jody Gerson, Co-President of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, tells the story of how GaGa came to her office and how this influenced her decision to sign her!

Posted: Jan 16, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

managers young the giant

RenmanMB begins “Breaking Bands” Week by welcoming Drew Simmons, the manager for Young the Giant, which has become a recent success making waves touring, on radio, and even having songs placed on TV shows and in commercials. But, how did they get to that point? First, they needed to get management on board who believed in them and their music. Drew recounts how he first noticed Young the Giant (at the time known as The Jakes) and what led to his decision to represent them. If you are a hot young band looking to get representation, Drew has some words of wisdom for you!

Posted: Jan 9, 2013

Category: Renman Music & Business

madonna number 1 hit songs writers block

Back in the 1980s, Tom Kelly formed one half of a formidable songwriting tandem with Billy Steinberg. For several years running, they wrote #1 hit songs for artists like Cyndi Lauper, Whitney Houston, Heart, and Madonna. In this Renman Live segment, Tom recounts writing “Like a Virgin” and how he and Billy overcame a small case of writer’s block to pen one of the biggest (and at the time most taboo) pop songs of our time! Watch on to hear Tom tell the story behind “Like a Virgin.”