Galaxy Magazine
Photo by Yising Kao
We're all stars that make up the galaxy
Welcome to Galaxy's special Music Industry issue! Growing up, I developed passions for music, photography, and film, so I combined those passions and started to work towards my goal of becoming a tour photographer/videographer. Throughout the past few years, I've made friends who also aspire to work in the industry, and I've formed connections with various professionals, whether it be from shooting photos at countless concerts or being introduced to them by someone. So, I came up with this personal project of interviewing music industry professionals who were willing to give advice to people who aspire to work in the music industry, from the marketing side to the more creative side of the spectrum. I've always loved hearing people's stories as well as sharing their stories through my work, and it was really inspiring to interview everyone and learn about their background and perspectives, and I hope that they inspire you as well. Thank you to all these kind and talented people who participated! I truly believe that if you work hard and believe in yourself, then you can achieve your goals. :) April 2019 Executive Editor: Yising Kao Executive Editor: Outside Cover: Waterparks & Brendon Urie of Outside Cover: Panic! At The Disco by Yising Kao, Graphics by Estefany Gallegos Inside Covers: Josh Dun of Twenty One Pilots & Inside Covers: background photo by Yising Kao, Justin Bieber by Rory Kramer
Sincerely, Yising Kao
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Table of Contents 3 Whitney Shoemaker 3 5 John Panichella 5 7 Kevin Lyman 7 9 Dave Shapiro 9 11 Eric Tobin 11 14 Jenny Reader 14 16 Michael Kaminsky 16 18 Lucas Hand 18 20 Rick Mueller 20 22 Rocky Rodrigues 22 24 Allison Lanza 24 26 Jamie Muhoberac 26 28 Adam Elmakias 28 30 Rory Kramer 30
Photo: Ryan Seaman of iDKHOW by Yising Kao
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Whitney Shoemaker
Artist Manager at 10 and 8 Management ★ Writer at Alternative Press
Photo by Emma Marie
Based in Columbus, OH, Whitney Shoemaker is an artist manager who has worked at 10 and 8 Management for over 6 months, doing tasks for press, booking, managing, and merchandise for any bands she brings onto the roster. Additionally, she began writing reviews and curating Spotify playlists for NEO Music Scene and Spinning Thoughts, which led to her working as a writer for Alternative Press magazine over the past 2 years. For AP, she writes features for their website and magazine, and interviews artists and bands.
type of artist. If a band is willing to put in the work and genuinely believe in their music, then that’s a band we want to work with. What are some artists you’ve interviewed for AP? What are some artists you’ve interviewed for AP? I actually interviewed the entire Amity Festival lineup one year which included Handguns, Light Years, Sink The Ship, Mallory Run, The Weekend Classic, heyohwell, and more. I work with a lot of PR people and some amazing publicists to set up small features for bands like Twin XL, You vs Yesterday, High Wire, Pray For Sleep, and so many more. My favorite part about my job at AP is being able to use my platform to give up-and-coming bands the attention they deserve. What inspired you to want to work in the music industry? industry? I got started in the industry WAY later than most. I
What are some artists you’ve worked with through 10 and 8? 10 and 8? I’ve had the chance to network and interact with incredible artists in just the few short months I’ve been with 10 and 8. Our roster includes everything from hardcore bands like A Decade Apart to synth-rock bands like Young Medicine. We have clients on labels such as Revival and Stay Sick that have toured all over the country and the UK. What I love most about 10 and 8 is how we don’t limit ourselves to one genre or a certain wasn’t even aware you could have an actual job in the music world until I spontaneously volunteered to help with Bebe Rexha’s merch at the Cleveland stop of the Vans Warped Tour, back before she became the incredible icon she is today. I did it because I really enjoyed her music and the entire Warped Tour scene, but being surrounded by all these amazing people who actually did this kind of stuff for a living was when it really sunk in. I had one of those “Oh my god this could be me!” moments, and the very next day, I went to work learning everything I could and taking every opportunity I came across, no matter how big or small. I started by joining Fearless Records Street Team where I eventually worked my way up to being a Street Team Leader, getting the chance to work different shows and festivals for the label. I met so many awesome people and made connections that eventually lead me to getting my jobs at AP and 10 and 8. I’ve always been passionate about music and how it has the 3
ability to connect people, and being able to turn that into a job just blew my mind. I wanted to be able to share that passion and that joy that music brings me with other people, in hopes that they could find the same inspirations in it that I do. How have you bridged the gap between being a fan of music to working in the industry? of music to working in the industry? Being a fan of music is what got me into working in the industry. I’ve been able to take something that I love and make a living out of it which, in my opinion, gives me the best job in the world. Being a fan makes it easier to push myself, to learn everything I can about the music industry, because it never really feels like work to me.
fan to ask me why I’m there and which band member I’m dating. Like, I couldn’t get this job otherwise? It’s definitely frustrating, but it also makes me work that much harder to show that I deserve to be here just as much as the next person. I think recently, and especially over the last year in particular, the issue is finally starting to be addressed. Things are slowly turning around, which I think is awesome! There’s an incredible company called Girls Behind The Rock Show that has created this network of amazing women from all areas of the music industry and given them a place to network, inspire, and support each other for this exact reason. It’s something I think all women currently working or wanting to work in the industry should check out.
What are the three most important skills to have as an artist manager? artist manager? You need to be determined. The hardest part about being an artist manager is that you’re going to get told “No” A LOT. You can’t let that get to you. It’s easy to feel defeated after a while, but you have to keep pushing forward because all you need is that one “Yes.” Stay focused and continue to work hard. Consistency is also important. Majority of pitches are landed in that follow-up call or email. You may never get a reply to half of the emails you send, but following up can be a total game-changer. Communication is key. At 10 and 8, we talk to our bands EVERY day, even if it’s a simple “Hey, just checking in to make sure you’re OK” text. The industry can be overwhelming and really take a toll on you mentally. You never want to lose that communication with your bands simply because you’re “too busy.”
What advice do you want to give to aspiring artist managers? managers? When Nicholas Mishko brought me in as an artist manager for 10 and 8, he told me one very crucial piece of advice: You don’t count the bands, you make the bands count. It isn’t about how many bands you’re managing, it’s about how many bands you’re managing, it’s about taking those bands and giving them your all. There’s no point in managing twenty bands if you can’t give them the work and attention they deserve. Be ready to put in 110% of your best effort, even on your worst days. This is a 24/7 job that requires endless amounts of hard work on your part, so you have to be willing and ready to answer that call or send that email, even when it’s inconvenient for you. Most importantly, enjoy your victories, take pride in all of your hard work, and never forget why you got into this industry in the first place.
There’s an evident gender inequality issue in the behind-the-scenes part of the music industry. What’s your perspective on that and how has it affected your experiences? The music industry is definitely a male-dominated scene. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to a show or festival that I’m working, only for staff or a 4
John Panichella
Founder/Publicist ★ John Panichella PR
Photo by Dylan Bernard
John Panichella started his own PR company in 2017 based in Los Angeles, CA, after a few years of working with J-14 as a reporter, editor, photographer, and videographer. He has worked with artists such as Dylan Bernard, Will Jay, Carson Lueders, and Keaton Stromberg.
Switched at Birth, so I worked with her. Little by little, I realized that I loved that side of the industry of orchestrating the brands and making an image, so I left the editorial world and went into PR. What's the hardest part of your job? What's the hardest part of your job? Honestly, explaining what I do to my family. They’re like, “What? You get people on websites?” But actually, in the industry, there’s a lot of misconception of what a publicist is, and I understand that because my role can be very diverse. The biggest frustration for me is when people come to me with this idea that if they pay a certain amount of money, I’m going to make them famous. And that’s not what my job is. My job is to help craft your image, get you on websites, walk you down carpets. I can help you build a brand. I pride myself on being very upfront and transparent with them through meetings. I let people know that this
What inspired you to start your own PR company? I was the weird kid growing up, so I loved writing. I would write short stories and poetry and things like that. I also loved pop culture, so during my freshman year of high school, I decided to marry those two ideas and I created an entertainment blog called Jay Swag (www.jayswag.com) and it did really well and gained millions of impressions. Eventually, I moved to Los Angeles from New Jersey and J-14 found my work and hired me for my blog. I did that for a while and during that timeframe, I noticed that I was making a lot of connections. I didn’t see myself as being a reporter forever and I wanted to try the other side of it, so I would take on some clients as a publicist. My cousin is in the NFL, so he was the first client I ever had, and my other cousin was on is not a one stop shop, like you're not going to become famous overnight. But if you really work hard and we work together, then we can definitely make progress towards the goal. Or another thing people will say is, “Can we pay you per placement instead of a monthly retainer?” The answer is always no because you’re not paying a publicist to get placements. You pay them for their time. So, whether or not a pitch lands with a magazine, I’ve still spent time crafting that pitch, calling people, and emailing editors. You're paying for my time, not necessarily what pitches you do get, and that’s kind of what differentiates a good publicist from a not so good publicist. You see what results you get and whether you like it or not. What skills are important to have for a publicist? The biggest skill to have is communication. You want to be able to communicate effectively and I think you do that by 5
knowing how to read people. Those are hard skills to teach in a classroom, so I always recommend getting as much real life experience, whether you're interning for a firm, or if you know someone in PR, talk to them and pick their brain. Forming a relationship, whether it’s going out to lunch with someone just to catch up with someone. You have to genuinely love what you do in PR because if not, you're going to find yourself going out to lunch with people you don’t like and going to parties you don’t want to go to. So, definitely communication and also being organized. For example, I work from home, so that’s hard for a lot of people. What I do is, every night before I got to sleep, I make a list of everything I want to get done the next day, and I wake up at 6 or 7AM and just go through and check them off. It’s easy to lose emails and lose track of time, so creating a schedule’s really helpful. How do you balance how many clients you have? How do you balance how many clients you have? I’m sure everyone's going to have a different answer for this. But personally, a year and a half ago, I decided to take on 8 clients at once and I realized I couldn’t do it. But I had to do that to find my limit, since I don’t have anyone else working with me. I realized around 5 people was my limit.
Photo by Yising Kao
What advice would you give to people who want to get into PR? First, decide what kind of PR you want to get into. There’s so many-music, fashion, business. Find what you want to do but also make sure you love the idea of PR in general. Because I know for a lot of people, it’s not going to be what I did, which is make my own firm. Get as much hands-on experience as you can, and I firmly believe in going above and beyond. So, if someone wants you to draft up an email, draft up the email for them and also draft up 3 other options if they don’t like that one. Juts show them that you want to learn, and you want to be a part of it. People will like that, and they’ll see your value, and you’ll absolutely find a job.
John with Dylan Bernard
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Kevin Lyman
CEO of Kevin Lyman Group ★ Founder of Vans Warped Tour
Photo by Yising Kao
For over 35 years, Kevin Lyman has worked in all aspects of the music industry and founded the Kevin Lyman Group which offers services such as event production, talent booking, brand sponsorships, and more; it isn’t only an agency, but a shared experience that shapes youth culture and promotes activism. He has created influential and successful music tours such as Vans Warped Tour and Taste of Chaos Festival. In addition to running his own company, Kevin accepted a job offer as a professor at University of Southern California in 2018, teaching music industry classes in the Thornton School of Music. His classes provide students with the opportunity to learn about topics such as concert promotion and venue management, while getting to network with entertainment industry professionals.
production in college. So then, coming in, it was like, I started doing it and right away I realized that the best thing for me would be to start my own company and subcontract with the promoters in town, and they were open to that. Most promoters wouldn’t do that now. They’d want you to come work for them and be their own production guy. But most of the time, back then, they were willing to not have to deal with me on payroll. They just paid me per show, and I would just run my own shows. So you started doing freelance work? Yes, and at one point I was running 320 shows per year. A lot of people struggle with the first step of networking with artists and their teams. How did you make that transition from being a fan who attended concerts to working your way up as a professional? concerts to working your way up as a professional? I was the reverse of that. I was kind of a fan of shows
What inspired you to start your own company? Was there a specific moment that made you want to get into event production? Production for me was accidental almost. I needed a job and lived in Hawaii after I finished school and I came back here but I had done a lot of concerts and but I wasn’t a die-hard fan. I started working shows in college and then became more of a fan of music. That’s when I really fell in love with music. You teach music industry classes at USC now so how has your teaching experience and transition been like from only working for your company to now also teaching college students? Teaching’s hard. Like, the teaching part’s fantastic and I enjoy interacting with the students. I’m having trouble with the structure and the administration, and I think there’s a reason I only work for myself. There’s been a little bit of a transition, but this is my second semester, so it’s getting easier and better. Someone said it’s going to take three semesters to get comfortable and I’m feeling pretty comfortable right now. What do you hope your students take from your classes? What do you hope your students take from your classes? To open their minds and think differently. Because I think 7
that’s a problem sometimes. We all think that there’s an A to Z because we’re always taught to test so there’s gotta be a right answer. There is no right answer in the music industry. Are there right decisions? Yes. But none of our decisions are life or death. Usually, we can figure out that it’s ok to make mistakes. So that’s what I’m trying to teach them, that failure ‘s ok. Yeah, everyone kind of creates their own path in this industry. Everyone really does. And that’s the thing. Most of the time, it’s the grind. You grind it out and just get out there, you work, you make contacts. So making them communicate helps, like my undergrad class right now; I make them talk to each other for 10 minutes. Go meet someone in class that you’ve never met before. Is there a reason why you wanted to teach at USC? I wasn’t looking to do this, but I like sharing my knowledge. I’ve done a lot of speaking gigs and when Mike Garcia, Paul Young and Vivian approached me, I was like “this could be a different challenge” and you always gotta try something new. What advice would you give to people who are interested in working in the music industry, such as for event production or management? Perseverance and patience. Learn how to multi-task and learn multiple parts of the business. Be an expert maybe in one but know the rest of them and respect them.
Photo by Yising Kao
Could you tell us about the upcoming Vans Warped Tour this summer? Could you tell us about the upcoming Vans Warped Tour this summer? It’s gonna be similar to Warped but with a little more of a historical network of it.
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Jack Barakat of All Time Low at Warped Tour 2018
Dave Shapiro
Agent/Co-Founder ★ Sound Talent Group
Photo by Beth Keith
Dave Shapiro worked as Vice President at United Talent Agency before starting his own company with Tim Borror and Matt Andersen called Sound Talent Group in 2018, an independent music agency. Their roster includes artists such as Super Whatevr, Stand Atlantic, Black Veil Brides, Pierce The Veil, Broadside, and Andy Black. In the past, Dave has worked with Equal Vision Records by booking bands, and he founded Velocity Records in 2010, partnering with Rise Records.
What are some tasks you did at Equal Vision Records and what skills did you learn? That job was really important for my career because it really taught me how to hustle. Because they basically just gave me a desk and were like, “Hey, figure out how to book our bands.” There was no one there really to help me. They weren’t agents, they were label people. So, that job really instilled this feeling of like, you gotta do it yourself. The whole DIY thing really enforced me to get things done. So, that’s the best takeaway I have from doing that. You’ve said that your agency puts your clients first and it’s not just about getting the job done. You aspire to form long-lasting relationships and work with clients in fun and creative ways, which is a great philosophy to have. How has this influenced the way you choose which artists you want to work with? It has had a huge one that. With the new agency,
What inspired you to want to work in the music industry? When I first started, I was in a band, so I really loved music and at the time, I loved playing music. I thought I was going to be in a band, but I quickly learned that I enjoyed the business side more as I was on the road and learning about it. Once the band broke up, I shifted to that. For me, I’ve just always loved music my whole life and as a kid, I loved playing drums, so I just kind of saw myself going down that road. personally, I only want to work with people I who I really enjoy working with. I want to get to know the band and have a conversation with them, not just their manager, and actually see if there’s a vibe there, to make sure we get along and be aligned and work with respectful people. That’s definitely something that has been a big focus for me because I really want to work with people who I enjoy talking to everyday and who are good people. How do you help artists plan their professional path and not just have them go the one route to play the biggest venue? For each artist, you have to understand their goals and see their vision, and become aligned with it. Then you have to figure out how to get it over the line. So, I think that’s probably the biggest thing, where you start to create a strategy and plan for them. Until u can understand where they want to go, it’s hard to create a road map to get there. Once you understand that, you can say, “Ok, 9
that band really wants to become a festival headliner or this band wants to become a career band. They’re not looking to play arenas but they want to play clubs and make a living 25 years from now.” I think that’s probably the biggest thing, learning and understanding their goals and aspirations, and from there, drawing a road map for them. For people who still haven’t decided what they want to do yet in the music industry, what advice do you have for them to find their niche?
Intern everywhere and anywhere you can. That’s definitely the best thing you can do. If you can try a bunch of different things, you can try and figure out what works for you and what’s not. I’ve worked with people who interned at The Agency Group. For example, we had this one intern who worked for about 6 months. Ultimately, she loved what we were doing, but she realized, “I think it’d be cool to work on the venue side.” We helped her get an internship at the Wiltern with Live Nation and now, about 10 years later, she’s one of the head operations people at the Wiltern now. Try different things and figure out what each of those different things means to you, like taking away what you liked and didn’t like about them. What are some tips you have for people who want to network and get their foot in the door?
I think it’s probably the same answer I gave before, really just figuring out different companies offering internships and doing whatever you need to do, coming from the mentality, “I'm not above anything” and helping them with whatever work it may need to be. And even if you’re not necessarily doing the thing you want to do there, you’re at least around people who are kind of at that next level and watching it be done, and seeing if you can see yourself doing it or not. So, I think that’s probably the best way to break in.
What advice to you have for people who want to work as an artist agent?
Definitely go to as many shows as you can. At shows, you meet people like the local promoter for those shows. If you go to enough shows, you’ll meet random people who are doing random things that are part of it all. Maybe you meet a band or a tour manager. And that’s all stuff that’s really good. Sometimes, another way is finding that local band that you believe in who needs help and don’t have anyone helping them. You can say to them, “Hey I'm not a professional and I’ve never done this before but let me book you guys some shows.” Just get your feet wet and make some cold calls to venues. Go in there and start hustling, like the guy first told me at Equal Vision. That stuff builds character and helps to get you to that mindset of the agent and think about the angles, hustling, and networking.
Photo by Yising Kao
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Skyler McKee of Super Whatevr
Eric Tobin
Executive Vice President of Business Development & A&R ★ Hopeless Records
Photo by Megan Thompson
Eric Tobin is Hopeless Records’ Executive Vice President of Business Development and A&R. He has had years of experience with artist career development, creating unique marketing plans and ideas, international business, sales, tour managing, and more. Hopeless Records was founded by Louis Posen, with their roster including bands such as With Confidence, Stand Atlantic, Super Whatevr, and Taking Back Sunday. Recently, the label has released a Songs That Saved My Life album, a charity compilation for mental health awareness and suicide prevention.
Industry and Business Management program, so I decided to study that. I think that helped in that space. I really wanted to work in studios and wanted to be an engineer, but that position was not one that was very exciting. I met a guy named Dave Shapiro and he was in a band and booked bands and I helped out. He said, “You should go on tour with me” and I said, “Yeah, I don’t like this town and I'm not going anywhere,” so I sold all my stuff and when on tour. He was like, “You can be the tour manager” and I really wanted to work in studios and wanted to be an engineer, but that position was not one that was very exciting. I met a guy named Dave Shapiro and he was in a band and booked bands and I helped out. He said, “You should go on tour with me” and I said, “Yeah, I don’t like this town and I'm not going anywhere,” so I sold all my stuff and when on tour. He was like, “You can be the tour manager” and I really didn’t know what that meant, but I just went out on the
What inspired you to get into the entrepreneur side of the music industry? the music industry? I’m from a small town, so I’ve heard about the music business, but I didn’t think of it as a thing you could work in. I had been playing music since I was a kid, like the trumpet and piano, and I sang, and I went to college. I applied at one place and they had a music program there and I knew they had scholarships, so I got some for performance, and they had a Music road and started asking questions and wanted to make sure that I could do the job so that I could stay on the road and never have to come home, and that morphed into doing merchandise, guitar teching, driving, towning, and anything and everything to stay on the road for almost five years. I came to California because my brother was looking to move and Dave was out here and wanted me to move out, so I got a job in music. That’s awesome! So, you started out as an artist and tried different jobs in the industry, and discovered what you were passionate about? were passionate about? I’ll tell you the truth, I was mostly passionate about getting out of my hometown and going out to see the world. I grew up around these really interesting and amazing people who I'm still friends with, all these travelers and in the 90s, there wasn’t the internet, so people would tell stories about the places they’ve been and the stuff they’ve done. It sounded so fantastic and I read so many National 11
Geographic books when I was a kid and enjoyed that idea so it felt like I could have that too. I really wanted to travel and had a goal to see as much of the world as I could, and the touring thing really met that goal. By the time I was 25, I’d seen a fair amount of the world and I kind of felt like, “Wow, what could be next? I don’t know if I want to quit doing this. This is what I love the most” but this opportunity came to me and I took it; it kind of happened accidentally. Dave said he couldn’t take it, so he introduced Louis to me, and I applied for the job. It just felt like an adventure and in a lot of ways, I could still travel and see the bands and all my friends. It didn’t feel like I was going to be working in music, it just felt like I was going to continue seeing the world and get to know lots of interesting people, which is more of my goal. I just love my artists, my work, my co-workers, and my boss. Hopeless not only promotes music, but also values that are important to them and their bands such as raising mental health awareness. What inspired this path and philanthropy? philanthropy? That’s a good question for Louis, but I’ll give you my idea of it. Louis was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which caused him to lose his eyesight. Part of that was influential to him, but what he really recognized and what we all recognized as a team was that when artists speak, people listen. Especially in this rock community, artists deliver a message that they're not in this for just a song, they're in this because the band has an idea and a whole world around them. for those moments where we’re missing something in our life, those artists offer those words to sort of console us, so people believe in that idea. Every band we sign here I believe has a message to deliver and there are fans who take that message and live with it and it inspires them to continue forward. And out of that idea, we felt that if someone can deliver that message, why can’t we connect something good to that? Maybe the fans don’t necessarily care about that in the sense that they’re going to run down to volunteer, but if everyone’s going to listen to these bands, then why not connect them to charities or nonprofits? All the fan has to do is listen. If they're at a show, then they're a part of it, like the money from the ticket, or from the music; money is being sent to that charity. They don’t have to go out and volunteer, they can just do what they love and listen, and be in love with the band. If 1% of the 12
people get the message, great; the rest are already donating. That idea came from how we make a difference in the community, so let’s add even more to that and share the philanthropy. How do you brainstorm ways for bands to release content to constantly keep their fans’ attention while also gaining new fans? Each artist is going to have a different idea of what's the best route and they know their fans. Artists’ input is really important to us, so it’s not a cookie-cutter thing. We’ll discuss where they're at in their career and what songs they have. Of those songs, which do we think are the strongest that are going to connect with your fans? We’ll shoot a visual that can be from a lyric video to a music video to something else. We’ll ask, “Will you be touring during the time we put this out? No? Then let’s find you a tour and see if we can make this happen.” Once that tour’s in place, we’re going to drop this music 3 or 4 weeks before that tour and the video will come out on top of that, and we’ll push for promotion and during tour, we’ll drop another song to keep that attention. If people are engaged, we want to continue to keep them engaged the moment their attention is connected to that thing. So, we look for those opportunities to either create them or double-down on them, or work on already existing situations. There’s no like, “Every band gets 3 videos and 3 months of preorder.” Every single artist is a little different and it spans from who we think the fan is, what we think the best timing is, what we think the best songs are, who we think are the right partners to work with, and then we get it right every time. We’re really trying to create that exciting moment where fans don’t go, “Oh that’s good,” they go, “This is my favorite thing,” and someone else goes, “That’s not my favorite thing,” and the whole conversation begins that creates this bubble around it. And from there, we can double-down on that bubble. We do all the normal things-pay for videos, pay for songs to record them, pay for photographers, work on social media and promo, but those are tools to work on a creative timeline. What are some important factors that you take into consideration before signing a band? consideration before signing a band? The biggest one for us, since we’re a niche sort of label and we deal with a certain style of rock, is fit. Does it fit with our community and our core strengths that we build
on in this community? Also, if they have a message. What is the thing you're trying to deliver? Do you believe it? do you at the very least, have a strong feeling of urgency to deliver that message? What does that message mean in the lyrics and the photos and the art and the way you're thinking about the creative side? We like to see the person who’s singing have that thing; the band and idea has to be that thing. It’s nice when someone’s a sort of spokesperson on a larger level. Some of the smaller stuff is, are they able to finance themselves? It’s not always needed, but its nice when its there and its important that a band is art, but its also a business. When they have that idea where they know timelines, saving money, and working regular jobs are important, it helps me know that they're in it for the long run and they're motivated and stable.
Photo by Yising Kao
What advice do you want to give to people who aspire to work in A&R? What advice do you want to give to people who aspire to work in A&R? Like music and have an opinion about it. What are your favorite and least favorite things and why? Why do you think that’s successful and why not? Be willing to ask people for advice like, “I really like this. Why do you think that’s working?” They’ll have an opinion and you can agree with it or say, “Maybe that’s not an opinion I would take.” When artists come to town, go and see them play. Have an idea if its good or bad. Meet them after and talk to them, and have a context like, “Hey I’m currently an intern” or “I’m currently going to school here. I'm interested in what you're going to do.” Start to build that relationship; some will want to have that, and some won’t, but that practice is valuable of constantly having a conversation. Knowing that you're not going to be right, but at least you can share your ideas and your feedback and listen to the other ideas, and you can grow off of that. For me, I have many jobs and A&R is one of them, but once the band is here, I'm working on helping them go on tour and write good music and just be good to themselves and grow, and have better live shows, integrating with our marketing department and doing business development. I have a hybrid job, but getting to that place and getting to know the right people and being trusted takes time and patience, and you have to build a good reputation.
Bonnie Fraser of Stand Atlantic
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Jenny Reader
President Creative Chief Officer ★ Fearless Records Jenny Reader was appointed co-president of Fearless Records with Andy Serrao by the label’s founder, Bob Becker, in 2018 after working as Fearless’ Vice President of Marketing & Project Management. With over 15 years of experience working in the music industry, Jenny has worked in areas such as publicity and product management, overseeing all aspects of artists’ album campaigns, creating press releases, and more. Fearless Records’ roster includes artists such as As It Is, Set It Off, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me, and Grayscale. What inspired you to want to work in the music industry? industry? I had a crippling shyness as a kid, and it meant I spent most of my teen years lost in my headphones. I became addicted to the intimate connection I developed to so many different styles of music, lost in my own fortress of solitude. I wanted to inspire that connection and feeling in others, and as someone with a way with words it was natural to connect the two. My first step into the music industry was as a music writer and it all took off from there.
What does a typical work day look like for you? There’s no such thing as typical day, it can vary wildly. Some days, I’m starting the fires. Some days, I’m putting them out. Most days, I’m making magic happen with our artists, and all days, I tear in as if going into battle. There is a reason I keep a baseball bat by my desk. ;) What’s your process like planning artists’ album campaigns? At conception, the first thing is to gain a full understanding the artist’s vision, the goals and challenges to achieving them-acknowledging the latter is all important in order to overcome them. Then it’s about focusing on the brand of the band-all aspects of the campaign has to keep this at its core, visual and creative consistency with a true understanding of their audience is crucial. What can we do to really take this 14
thing over the top, to turn heads? That’s the fun part, but don’t underestimate it. In an increasingly cluttered climate, you need to be creative to set yourself apart. Set the plan, and make it happen. Ideas are important, but it’s the ability to then execute them that’s vital. What are the two most important things an artist should do before pitching themselves to a record label? do before pitching themselves to a record label? Fully understand who you are and where you want to go and artist. An innate sense of self is the key to success, even if you don’t have all the answers, you have to spend time on what sets you apart, what fans will gravitate to. Building a team around you is also key-great music, buzz, streaming numbers, branding, all are things we look at, but to be ready to sign to a label, you also need the component parts to be able to take what you have and run with it alongside everything the label can enhance and provide.
Photo by Yising Kao
What do you think makes Fearless artists unique? What message do you hope fans take from them? What do you think makes Fearless artists unique? What message do you hope fans take from them? We have probably the most diverse roster we’ve ever had, spanning from metal through to pop with every facet of rock in between, but every one of them whether developing, breaking or legacy are special. We spend time on truly cultivating what sets them apart and their own brand. And we take the connection they have with the fans seriously. Building that base one and then tens and then hundreds and then thousands at a time means you have a core that will stay with you for life. Knowing that they are a part of this, having a true impact on an artist’s career is an incredible thing for both the fans and the bands they support. Through your years of experience in the music industry, what’s one challenge you’ve faced and how did you overcome it? overcome it? There will always be obstacles. But it’s the ability to switch gears fast and not take things personally that sets apart the ones that stall and the ones that do. If things aren’t going as planned-snap & pivot. What advice do you have for people who want to work in marketing in the music industry? What advice do you have for people who want to work in marketing in the music industry? Marketing is a nebulous beast. Without it, some of the greatest talents would go unnoticed and the best music go unheard. To get into this side of the business you need brains, balls, brilliance and the ability to adapt. The best first step is focus on marketing yourself - you are your best test case - what can you offer that others can’t? Showcase your ideas, talk to people, dive in and contribute. Be prepared to start small and work your ass off. Make yourself invaluable even on a macro level and opportunity will come to you.
Patty Walters of As It Is
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Michael Kaminsky Founder of KMGMT
Photo by Eric Tobin
After starting his own successful television station at UC San Diego, Michael Kaminsky took interest in production and reached out to bands to offer his services. As a result, he directed Taking Back Sunday’s first music video. Michael was offered a manager position for Taking Back Sunday, then three years later, he decided that he wanted to explore the business side of the music industry. This led to Michael founding his own artist management company called KMGMT, which represents artists, producers, writers, and composers. They’ve helped launch artists such as 3OH!3, With Confidence, Neck Deep, and Tonight Alive. Additionally, the company has represented the writers and producers of radio singles for artists like Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Lil Jon and Maroon 5. Recently, KMGMT has started to focus on not just management, but also more services such as label, publishing, and merchandise. They’ve also started working with film composers. What inspired you to want to work in the music industry? industry?
Music was there for me when I needed it, and so I wanted to be there to help pay it forward. I really appreciate getting to work with creative people, get outside the office often, and get to think of crazy ideas all day. What are some factors you take into consideration when planning a tour? when planning a tour? Does this artist need to tour right now? I’ve been very concerned with over touring recently. I’ve been urging our roster to try new territories around the world. Touring should always have an intent behind it. I also worry about if fans are going to be able to afford the ticket prices. How do you help artists establish a strong relationship with their fans? with their fans? The music industry is about more than music. It’s about a culture and a life style. I try to work with artists that 16
are genuine to what they’re writing about. It makes the bond between artist and fan more relatable and, therefore, stronger. Your roster includes bands such as With Confidence and Tonight Alive. What are some different ways that you discover new artists? How do you split up your team’s departments? departments? As a management company we kind of operate like a label-there’s a team of us here and we all have our strengths, so we all help out with each other’s projects. We hear about new artists from all kinds of places-a promoter might call us if a local band sold a lot of tickets, our bands tell us about cool people they meet on tour, the merch company might connect us with a band doing something really interesting in their space. We always have our eyes and ears open. As a management company, what type of factors do you
look for in an artist? What red flags should an aspiring artist manager look out for when considering managing an artist? an artist? Usually the first thing I think about is: would I invite these people to my wedding? I have to be able to connect with them on such a level that we become close enough to make them part of my family. There are a lot of great artists that I just don’t connect with, and it would be a bad relationship for both of us. I don’t have a lot of red flags but the one that always gets me is the “our music is really great, we’re just looking for a team now to make us big.” The artist should be the most pro-active member of the team! The agent, label, manager, and publicist are all here to supplement and boost what the artist is doing-not do it for them.
Photo by Yising Kao
Do you think that the role of an artist manager has changed over the past few years? Do you think that the role of an artist manager has changed over the past few years? Yes, it is always evolving. There are always new and better ways to discover artists, to promote them, and to connect with them. More and more often, I am also the label, the agent and the publicist. I think about how I can more formally incorporate those roles into my company. What advice do you want to give to aspiring artist managers? Be proactive! As a manager, you need to try 10 new things a day. No one is going to “discover” your client and reach out to you with an opportunity.
With Confidence
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Lucas Hand
Photo by Yising Kao
★ Tour Manager ★
Lucas Hand has worked as a freelance tour manager for 2 years and earns most of his jobs through managers or bands he has made connections with. He has had experience with working for Fearless Records for a couple years, doing tours and festivals. Some bands Lucas has worked with include Waterparks, Set It Off, I Don't Know How But They Found Me, and As It Is. What experiences inspired you to want to become a tour manager? tour manager? I sort of just fell into it. I played in bands when I was younger and was always trying to promote and find unique ways to get my music out there. And through that, I got really into all the behind-the-scenes stuff that comes with music. Then when I moved to LA, I got an opportunity to intern at Fearless Records. I did well there and it was sort of just a domino effect from there that led to me being a tour manager. 18
How do you plan and organize tour itineraries? What factors do you take into consideration? factors do you take into consideration? Advancing tours is always a tedious process. First, I will hit up the point of contact for each of the opening acts, explaining how the schedule will run each day, how many guest list comps they get, what their merch restrictions are, and various other subjects. I will also request their stage plot, input list, hospitality rider, W-9 and crew and vehicle etc, so everyone on the tour knows what’s going on everyday. Being detailed when advancing always makes the day of the show easier. You work in a fast-paced environment where unexpected events may happen. How do you cope with stress while simultaneously having to plan quick accommodations for these situations? these situations? You just have to realize that it's a show and everyone is there to have a good time. If you just don't get flustered, stay positive and calmly think of a solution, it's easy to
overcome unexpected situations. What are some challenges you’ve faced while touring and how did you overcome them? What are some challenges you’ve faced while touring and how did you overcome them? On Vans Warped Tour this past summer (2018), we had an insane amount of issues with our bus, from our trailer hitch snapping and our trailer falling off on the freeway, to our generator cutting out multiple times throughout the tour (which means no AC or power in the middle of the summer). The only thing you can really do is laugh at it and figure out a solution and move on from there.
Photo by Yising Kao
Do you have any advice for aspiring tour managers? Do you have any advice for aspiring tour managers? Don't get discouraged when you mess up. A lot of what I've learned is from either watching someone else make a mistake or making a mistake myself, but it really helps drill that experience into your head.
Lucas with Waterparks and iDKHOW
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Rick Mueller
Photo by Randall Michelson
President ★ AEG Live North America
Rick Mueller is the President of AEG Live’s North American division, which annually produces and promotes over 10,000 shows, including worldrenowned festivals. AEG has produced tours for artists such as Taylor Swift, Justin Bieber, The Rolling Stones, and The 1975. Rick oversees AEG’s regional offices and works in various areas such operations and ticket marketing, and has helped develop venues such as the Shrine Auditorium and the Santa Barbara Bowl. What inspired you to want to work in the music industry? industry? I was always passionate about music. I grew up playing the drums, played in bands, and I worked at a high school radio station. I went to a lot of concerts growing up and when I went to UC Santa Barbara, I got my degree in Communications. During freshman year, I found a program council and it seemed like a natural gravitation to be like, the concert guy on campus. It just felt like something I was good at and 20
passionate about, and I never stopped pursuing it. When you were a college student, you started working in concert promotion. What were some important skills you learned through those experiences? learned through those experiences? It was a very safe place to learn about fundamentals. We had student advisors who could help me guide the shows. I learned how to produce shows. Concerts is inherently a relationship business, so I learned how to build structural relationships with agents and managers who were selling these shows to UCSB. I learned how to do the blocking of executing concerts and built relationships with campus police, fire marshals, and security to make sure that all the events ran smoothly. I learned how to build relationships with the campus administrators in terms of getting contracting and getting artists paid. I had to learn how to communicate appropriately and make sure there weren’t going to be problems for anyone. It must be difficult to work out concert ticket prices that
would satisfy the artist and the fans, while trying not to underprice or overprice them. What are some factors you take into consideration when deciding how much to charge for concert tickets? take into consideration when deciding how much to charge for concert tickets? Every artist is a little bit different on what drives the ticket prices. Sometimes, an artist wants to charge a certain amount of money and we work with that. We take into consideration what other similar artists are charging in the marketplace or across the country. We look at trends within the genre of music as to where ticket prices are going. Some of it is how hot we think an act is going to be, like if they have a number one single, then we can be more aggressive on charging, but they have to be done in tandem with what the artist wants to charge and how we can protect the fans within all of that. So, there are a lot of variables and it takes a bit of collaboration with the artist representative to come up with an incentive of what is right. And even still, sometimes we go into that knowing that tickets prices are less than what the market would be willing to pay for it. unfortunately, that’s what creates the opportunity for scalpers to try to buy tickets and charge what someone’s willing to pay for it. That’s always a troublesome thing because the artist wants to charge one thing and the market’s charging another, and we want to make sure that we get the maximum amount of value for the artist. What are some tactics AEG is trying to do to prevent scalpers from getting tickets? We want to use a digital platform where we can assign a ticket to a person, much like you would buy an airline ticket. You can’t just give an airline ticket to your friend, so you have to show up with an ID to the venue. That would eliminate the ability to resale the ticket and make more of a margin on it, but that’s not foolproof. To eliminate scalping, we charge more towards what market value pricing is, meaning if the artist only wants to charge $20, but the market value of that same ticket is $60, if you charge $60, then there’s no money for the scalper to be made on that ticket price. So, that would essentially reduce the opportunity in the secondary market for somebody to sell a ticket. It really depends on what the artist’s goals are. A lot of artists only want to charge extra, but it depends if the technology of the company can help support making that ticket non-transferrable. Fanclub presales can work well, but scalpers can also participate in them. AEG has helped artists develop a long-term growth, such as by booking them to play at small venues to larger venues like Staples Center, producing global and regional tours, and promoting artists. What are some ways that AEG helps promote artists and help them develop a long-term growth? We’ve got the venue network and if we believe in the artist, we can put them through our venues and give them opportunities to perform and we benefit from that as well. We have a lot of festivals, from Coachella to Stagecoach to Firefly, so we showcase artists through them. We invest heavily in digital marketing, so when an artist has a fanbase and they’re trying to grow it, we have the ability to look at consumers who would potentially like that artist and reach out and help them grow awareness of the artist or the show. What advice do you have for people who want to work in the marketing division of the music industry? I'm a huge proponent in believing that digital marketing is the future, which is an obvious statement. This business was founded on a lot of radio promotion and flyers. Marrying digital knowledge, excellence, and marketing with music is really setting yourself up to be what makes you relevant in your career for the future. Having as much digital marketing experience as you can is helpful.
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Rocky Rodrigues ★ Merchandise Manager ★
Photo by Yising Kao
Rocky Rodrigues is a touring Merch Manager who has worked with bands such as As It Is, Cherry Pools, Unwritten Law, and The White Noise, over the past 4 years. She has also worked on Vans Warped Tour for 2 years.
now I'm essentially just a glorified traveling retail worker! This is definitely a stepping stone for me in this industry, and although I truly love and enjoy what I doconnecting with people at shows and helping bands bring forth their music in a visual way through merchit's not what I intend on doing forever. My next goal is to start tour managing and keep evolving from there, I'm eager to start my own merch company one day as well. What was your experience like working on Warped Tour? What was one issue that you encountered and how did you resolve it? how did you resolve it? My experience on Warped both years that I worked it were equal parts incredible and trying. There were times I'd be lugging a dolly with over 100 pounds of merch on it through gravel, exhausted in every way possible, and I'd want to break down. I'd force myself to remember how fortunate I was to be there learning 22
What inspired you to want to work in the music industry? Have you always wanted to be a merch manager? manager? The gravitation towards the atmosphere of live music has been a part of me since I can remember. I've sung since I can speak and that went hand in hand with being involved in music every way I could since I was a kid. My dad raised me on 80's metal and rock, took me to some of my first thrash metal shows when I was in elementary school still, and fostered my own discovery of bands. I would watch live DVD's and go to shows and dream of being part of that world someday; here I am! Since I learned about the job of a Merch Manager through friends who were actually doing it, it peaked my interest. It's funny because I was working retail jobs (shoutout Hot Topic and Victoria's Secret) and I promised myself I would never do those jobs again, so much and being in that environment, and it would push me to keep going. I learned so much about the social aspect of this industry at Warped, as well as a lot about my own work ethic and how far I was actually capable of pushing myself, and in turn, growing. Every hardship I encountered there, even the harshest ones, taught me so much more beyond the specific problem at hand. I stuck close to those around me that had showed me support and offered advice when trouble arose, learned to let my work speak for itself instead of my mouth, and focused on appreciating everything that came with the experience that is Warped Tour. How do you stay organized on tour? How do you stay organized on tour? I can honestly say I just got on top of my organization game in my last 3 tours or so! It seems so easy to keep your belongings together, but you throw in the factor of living on a moving vehicle with a bunch of other humans and a new environment to adjust to every day and things
can get chaotic really quickly. I was a merch assistant my first Warped to my friend Connor Larowe-I swear I hear his voice in my head to this day when I'm organizing my stock each day. His work ethic just taught me that's so much more efficient to stay organized, even if it means the extra hour or two to clean up your trailer, keep your stock clean and tidy, etc. I have anxiety nightmares on tour about running out of sharpies, my bins somehow exploding and all of my shirts getting messed up, even all of my merch disappearing right before doors open. Clearly, I take my organizing very seriously now haha! That work ethic just naturally bled into my own personal routine on the road too-now I take the time to get an outfit laid out for the next day, make sure all of my things are charged, put a bottle of water in my bunk for the morning. It all aids for a peace of mind and sense of pride with what I do on and off the clock while I'm on tour! What’s your favorite part about your job? What’s your favorite part about your job? My favorite part of my job is probably a tie between traveling the world and being around creative energy and excitement each night during the show. Even on my hardest days, it only takes me glancing over and seeing a person at the show having the time of their life to make all the hard work worth it. I hope as I tuck more years of touring under my belt, I never lose that giddy feeling of being able to do what I do and be part of live music as a career. You just finished working on As It Is' The Great Depression Tour. What's it like working with artists that you may have been a fan of before? Has it changed your perspective of attending concerts as a fan? have been a fan of before? Has it changed your perspective of attending concerts as a fan? Funny enough, I had always heard of As It Is, but was never a fan of their music until The Great Depression came out. Although, I always admired how talented they were as a band and how damn good they sounded every day on Warped this last summer (before I ended up joining their team). Now that I'm an avid listener of theirs, seeing their show every night never got old for me. Hard to not enjoy good music, ya know. As far as touring impacting how I enjoy shows now...I've definitely left my barricade kid days behind me and I'm usually sipping on wine standing in the back at shows now. I still enjoy going to them (although I barely have time between tours to attend shows), but it's weird not working a show when I'm in a venue. I'd rather be helping make it all happen most of the time. If anything, touring has given me a stronger sense of adoration for how much work goes into putting on the show everyone is enjoying. What advice do you want to give to aspiring merch managers? What advice do you want to give to aspiring merch managers? Ah that's a hard one...I guess my advice would be to never take no for an answer-if you want to work in the industry, you'll make it happen. Take every hardship as a lesson instead of a setback, always be open to learning and growing, try new things, and remember to have fun. It's very easy to let frustrations ruin your day or chip away at your motivation to keep going for things you want, but it's an incredible opportunity to get to do this and you can't forget that. If I could finish my bachelor's degree on the road behind my university's back, anyone can get their foot in the door and become a merch manager!
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Allison Lanza
★ Merchandise Manager ★ Allison Lanza has had over 3 years of experience working in various positions in the music industry. Starting out, she created her own music magazine called Beyond the Stage, earned her B.A. degree in Music Business Management, and did freelance work. Some of her past jobs include working as a booking and marketing intern at Live Nation, an accounting assistant for Vans Warped Tour (2017), and more. She has had experience working at Stage AE’s box office and guest services, and has worked as a VIP Assistant for artists such as U2 and Luis Miguel. Additionally, Allison has been a merchandise manager for The Wrecks and is currently working as a merchandise manager for Nothing But Thieves.
Photo by Chelsea Gresh
What inspired you to want to work in the music industry? When I was a freshman in high school, I started becoming really interested in a handful of bands. I finally got the chance to go to my first general admission club show and I waited in line for like, seven hours in the rain. The members of the band I
went to see all came outside to the line to say hi to my friends and I and after the show we stuck around for a while to chat with them. It was then that I realized that these bands I was so into are made up of the most normal people, and that musicians are really just normal people with cool jobs. It clicked that night that I could also work with music in some capacity, regardless of my lack of musical talent. That night was when my touring dreams were born, though I didn't think they were super realistic as I never really saw female crew members around when I started going to shows. So instead I kind of pushed that to the back of my brain and thought I wanted to work in management or booking. In college, I tried a little bit of everything, from editing a digital music magazine and shooting live photos, to interning for promoters and agents, working at venues, etc. I found that the live sector was where I fit, thinking I would go onto 24
work for an agency post-graduation, but instead an opportunity to do Warped Tour as the Accounting Assistant fell in my lap and the rest is history! When you worked as a VIP assistant for various artists, what were some important tasks you needed to do each day on tour? VIP is a job that really varies depending on the tour that you are on. I have only been on one tour as a VIP Coordinator so far, and my day-to-day was preparing merchandise packages, readying the room, checking in guests and assisting with the actual event however necessary. I have a tour coming up as a VIP Representative and it's a lot more advance work, including scoping out locations at the venue, budgeting for catering, and making sure security is familiar with the operation, just to name a few of the many duties. I've done a lot of local VIP Assisting which is different because you are a
local assistant brought in to help the Coordinator. As a VIP Rep I get to hire those people for each market and assign them tasks including but not limited to readying the room, checking in guests, and basic customer service. As a merch manager, can you describe your process of ordering and shipping merch to venues, and how you deal with any issues? As merchandise manager, one of your main duties is inventory tracking and control, and making sure you have proper inventory for the next shows. The process behind ordering and getting it shipped is really just dependent on the merch company your band uses. As the merchandise manager, you work directly with the merch company and management to make sure your stock remains plentiful so really communication is key. You’ve worked on multiple tours, so what’s one life lesson that you’ve learned from your experiences that you’d like to share? One of my biggest life lessons from touring came in the past few months. If you love something, sometimes it’s okay to take a break from it. I started touring immediately after graduating college and my work picked up so quickly in 2018 that I didn't know how to deal with it. I didn't get to ease myself into being on the road all the time, and it really messed me up a little. So I finished my last tour, came home, got a retail job and grounded myself a bit. In that time off I got to take care of myself more- I did tons of self-care exercises and even just finding a hobby in the form of cooking was so clarifying. I realized how much I missed the road and now I'm about to start another busy year of touring in a much better place mentally and even physically. It’s okay to be vulnerable and its okay to need a break, especially in a career that's as fast paced as this one is. How have you applied the skills you learned through your Music Business Management major to your work? What advice do you want to give to college students who are graduating soon and looking to work in the business side of the music industry? business side of the music industry? The best lessons I learned in college weren't actually in my classes at all. My biggest advice for anyone studying Music Business is to take what you're learning and practice it outside of the classroom-pair your learnings with internships, independent projects, etc. Can't find an internship? Create your own opportunities. I learned the art of creating opportunity by starting a music magazine with some friends and then my entire career really just snowballed from there. I carry with me the basics of what I learned in school and I'm glad that I went, but what you do with your time outside of class can often be more valuable than what you're learning in the classroom. And build relationships with your professors!!!! There's a reason they teach what they do. I really hit it off with my professor in my Producing and Touring Live Entertainment class-I was always talking to her about different projects I was working on and would stay after class to ask her questions. This led to her hiring me for my first real tour, which set the stage for the ones thereafter. Network as much as you can, too. If you're in a major city, there are probably networking events for music industry professionals in your city. Take your business card and introduce yourself to people. If there's one thing I've learned, it’s that most jobs (in touring, at least) come via word-of-mouth so strong relationships are really important. But most of all-if you don't find something right away, don't give up on it. The right opportunity will come along.
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Jamie Muhoberac
Photo by Yising Kao
★ Keyboardist ★
Jamie Muhoberac is an accomplished keyboardist who has worked with artists such as My Chemical Romance, Gerard Way, and John Mayer, on multiple albums. With a musical background, he started playing the keyboard at a young age and since then, he has played on tours and built his own recording studio. What inspired you to want to become a keyboardist? What inspired you to want to become a keyboardist? One day, I was on a movie set and I said I want to be a special effects man, and this guy said it’s not fun! I kind of decided I wanted to be a musician then. I bought a cassette machine and started making things using sound that I recorded all over the place like on the street, and I made these sound collages. That’s when I realized that I liked sound a lot. That inspired me to start playing with synthesizers and recording. Also, my father was a session musician, so I ended up doing what he did. He was a keyboard player and 26
played with a lot of people including Elvis Presley. Artists from his generation have a lot more technique than I do. My thing is all about feeling and sound. What was the first tour you’ve worked on? What’s an important lesson you’ve learned from it? I've only toured a little but over the years. The first tour I did was with a group called Was (Not Was). They had a hit song and we went out on a club tour. Then we joined a tour with a lot of other artists and played arenas. One of the things I've learned is to walk everyday if you can. Don’t abuse substances because you will derail, and just try to get along with everyone. I did go on some tours where there was more disharmony and that’s when I learned how important that was. I think that groups that tour break up on the tour bus, or by being bored in the studio and I've seen that happen. How did you start working with John Mayer? How did you start working with John Mayer?
He does change bands quite a bit. I started working with him because an engineer producer named Jack Joseph Puig was producing his album Heavier Things and asked me to play on that album, so we flew to New York to record it. Jack knew of me from mixing some things I played on and I’d see him a lot at the studio. And I've played on a few of John’s other albums. Heavier Things was recorded with a lot of tracking and a few overdubs. My stuff was live with one or two overdubs and it was really fun, and I think John’s a really good guy. We haven’t gotten to know each other too well because through my way of working, I like giving people room to breathe because if you’re an artist like John, there’s already a lot on your mind, so I just let conversations happen when they happen. What was your experience like working on The Umbrella Academy What was your experience like working on The Umbrella Academy soundtrack? soundtrack? I worked on a few songs with Gerard Way, like “Happy Together” and “Hazy Shade of Winter.” I used to play gigs with him and My Chemical Romance. I played on The Black Parade and Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys. On the last record, I played keyboard and did sound effects and sound design. When the band was breaking up, I played on one of the songs on their compilation album, May Death Never Stop You. Gerard did a solo record I played on, called Hesitant Alien. I've known them for a long time now and once in a while, we’ll talk about drone music and just similar music we both like, so it was very natural to work on The Umbrella Academy soundtrack, and I already knew the producer. How did you first get into contact with My Chemical Romance? How did you first get into contact with My Chemical Romance? Through the producer Rob Cavallo. He called me and asked me to work on The Black Parade. So, I met the band and I think they sensed that we liked some of the same things and I wasn’t going to ruin what they were doing, which is important. I played some piano, organ, and electronic stuff. On the album after that, I played live with them in the studio and it was more electronic. What's the hardest part about your job? What's the hardest part about your job? The constant switching of attitude from artist to artist. I've worked with people in a lot of different situations, like on albums and film things. Every artist is different, and they don’t look at life the same way at all. They have their ideas for their own reasons. If I work with a country artist one day and the next day, I work with an artist who’s like purely electronic, it’s a really big difference. I have to adjust to the situation since it switches from day to day, and it can feel like you don’t have your own identity, so you have to have confidence that you do. What advice would you give to aspiring musicians? What advice would you give to aspiring musicians? Ideas are sometimes more important than playing ability. So, work on your playing, but let your ideas flow freely. That’s how the world works; ideas are what get you places. There are a lot of people that can play, but there are quite a few people who don’t have a creative identity. Just be yourself and work really hard. There are times where people tell me exactly what to play but I still have to understand where they're coming from. If you have an idea and it gets rejected, it’s part of the process too. It actually lets people know what they don’t like. Sometimes, they don’t know what they don’t like yet. That’s part of the process of coming up with something. I've had session where I've played things that everybody heard in their head and none of those worked, and only some other weird ideas worked. And if someone doesn’t know how to play or get those ideas, they’ll spend hours in the studio doing something that eventually isn’t going to work. If they figure that out in minutes, then they’ll go, “Thank you, we didn’t have to waste all that time!”
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Adam Elmakias ★ Photographer ★
Adam Elmakias is a music photographer based out of San Diego, CA. Over the past 10 years, he has worked on worldwide tours, with artists and bands such as Diplo, Twenty One Pilots, All Time Low, and A Day To Remember. He has hosted successful music photography workshops and runs his own blog where he posts about photography advice and his adventures on the road. Additionally, Adam is the founder of A Music Photography Magazine, which features photos from various photographers along with personal notes.
Photo by Yising Kao
A Music Photography Magazine is such a creative A Music Photography Magazine is such a creative concept and I admire how you include a mix of people who’ve been published many times and people who’ve been published fewer times or never even been published. Was there a specific moment that inspired you to want to create this magazine? I try to do stuff with an intention behind it. For A Music Photography Magazine, I was doing my own magazine and I kind of wanted to find something that I could continue without having to stay active myself, while at the same time, fulfill that goal. In a way, it was kind of like starting over because people don’t
usually buy magazine from a lot of photographers they haven’t heard of, but I just thought back to that moment when I was published for the first time and how good it felt, and how motivating it was. I thought it would be cool to create that moment for people and in addition to that, it also serves as a way for people who maybe have already done that, to have some of their personal favorite work published. Sometimes, artists get stuck in a creative block, so what are some ways you try to push yourself creatively and try new things? and try new things? Overall, it’s just an ongoing thing, whether it’s on a daily basis where I create my routine or something bigger, where I look at my work and try to figure out what I can do to switch it up, or how I can improve, what I like about it or what I don’t like about it, and why I like or dislike those things. I do try to constantly 28
improve and get better because I don’t really believe that I have like a fixed level of understanding; I want to have a growth to it. You’ve said on your blog that when you first started photography, you saw it as a huge competition. What helped you realize that community plays a significant role in it? in it? Competition is community in a way. In order to compete in something, we all have to agree on the “rules” of it. We’re all competing in music photography, but we’re also collaborating because we’re all kind of saying that this is what music photography is, and we’re all agreeing on that, and we’re all agreeing on what makes a good photo and all these things. Competing is good because it helps move us forward, but it shouldn’t be used as a way of saying, “I’m better or worse than somebody.” So, I think community's important to competition and competition
helps us; it’s like a soccer game where everyone’s competing but also cooperating. Touring can be really stressful and tiring, so how do you keep yourself healthy on the road? Touring can be really stressful and tiring, so how do you keep yourself healthy on the road? I keep myself happy by constantly living in the moment to the greatest extent. With everything that you do, you kind of have to feel like “Ok, this is why I’m doing this and this is important.” You need to think out your day and figure out what things you can do each day that fulfill everything you need to get done, like “Do I need to eat? Do I need to drink? Do I need to take a shower?” All these things are very important and seem really simple, and they are, but they become a task sometimes when you’re on the road, so I just make sure that I maintain my sense of self, which helps other people get the best version of me. You’re incredibly helpful to other photographers who are just starting out and constantly give photography advice whenever you can. What’s one piece of advice that a photographer has given you that has inspired you? whenever you can. What’s one piece of advice that a photographer has given you that has inspired you? I draw a lot of my inspirations from things outside of photography, to be honest. I’m friends with a lot of photographers, but I don’t draw my inspirations from them because a lot of the stuff I need help with isn’t usually photography-related; it’s like life-related because for touring, the photography aspect of it is kind of a backseat, and that’s my main focus so I look to people for more life skills than photography skills. Steve tells me a lot of things that inspire me, and Mister Rogers and Bo Burnham are super inspiring. I get a lot of my inspiration about life from those people, because life is the most difficult part for me, not so much the photography. It sounds easy, but it’s a learned skill that I think I can keep learning by doing with some help along the way. Congrats on achieving your goal of producing your San Diego workshops! They were really helpful and fun. Can you tell us about your future plans for your workshops? you tell us about your future plans for your workshops? I’m going through it and making it a little nicer, and trying to make it better. I definitely want to do more, but I haven’t figured it all out yet.
Photo by Adam Elmakias
What overall message would you like to say to aspiring music photographers? What overall message would you like to say to aspiring music photographers? You can learn anything you want to learn. You can do whatever you want to do, like, not in a corny way because you’re capable of it, and I think that’s important to remember. You have the skills to get better and I hope that people aren’t making excuses of why they can’t do things!
Hayley Williams of Paramore
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Rory Kramer
Photographer ★ Videographer
Photo by Yising Kao
Originally from Indiana, Rory Kramer is a photographer and videographer who has worked with artists such as Justin Bieber, The Chainsmokers, Martin Garrix, and Tori Kelly, shooting tours and directing music videos. He also produces travel videos of his adventures and lives by his inspirational motto, “Run it!” In 2017, he created his own MTV show called Dare to Live, where he adventures with his artist friends and helps them face their fears.
it. I started selling them at school and made $500 a week, which was a lot for a 17-year-old. My parents always taught me, if you want money, you gotta work for it. It taught me that I could make money in an easy, fun way where it doesn’t feel like work and in return, it’s my money and no one can tell me what I choose to spend it on. I could go blow it, but then I learned that lesson of blowing your money. I also learned I could take that $500 and buy another video camera. So now, I had two cameras and different angles to work on and I just kept investing in myself. You’ve opened up about your depression and how you try to turn your weaknesses into strengths, such as by using them for motivation. Talking about your struggles is important and your journey has inspired a lot of people, especially since social media can deceivingly make it seem like everyone’s lives are perfect and 30
What inspired you to start doing photography and videography? My mom was always taking photos of our family and recording on this old VHS video camera. It wasn’t until I was in high school when I got into watching MTV and music videos, shows like jackass, blink 182 tour doc called The Urethra Chronicles. All that stuff was similar to what my friends and I were doing. So, I took my mom’s camera and started filming stuff like stunts, skits, and just everyday life. My senior year of high school, I taught myself how to edit and I knew if I could package all my clips into one thing, then maybe I could show it to people and they’d watch they’re always happy. How do you view social media? I’ve recently changed how I view social media. It’s so hard not to get caught up in a following and likes, especially when that dictates a lot of your business. I remember when I used it before I had a following, I’d post whatever and it was fun and organic, and it was based around my friends and family. As I started to get followed because of an artist or the work I made, you start to watch your growth. Because you want it to grow and want more opportunities and chances to create, since it’s why you got into selfexpression through visual arts. Now, sometimes it’s my best way of communication with a friend or a family member. Sometimes I follow a lot of meme accounts because I think laughing’s the best medicine, so I’ll forward memes to my friends. But also, I’ll scroll through my dms and read questions and engage with people, like if you asked me for photography advice. I can also see dms of people asking like, “When is the new
Chainsmokers’ song coming out?” I don’t know because I don’t have any part in making the music. I can choose what to engage in; I try to get on there and post to showcase something I believe in, something that hopefully inspires people and inspires me. I don’t like being on it cause it’s a toxic thing and you can go down rabbit holes and all of a sudden, you’re like “It was just two o’ clock, now it’s 4 o’ clock. How long have I been on this?” You start to wonder how much you live vicariously through other people rather than living your own life. Everyone’s guilty of going on and thinking, “I wish I could go there” or “I wish I could meet that person.” You can’t, but the time you put into wishing your life away, you can be proactive and actually make those things happen. How do you try to motivate yourself? How do you try to motivate yourself? I used to get stuck a lot on actually sitting down and getting into the timeline to edit so I’ve restructured on my organizational skills. I treat my hard drives similar to how I treat my brain. I can recall memories off the top of my head very quickly, like if you ask me about a certain Chainsmokers show, I could tell you a 10minute story. That flow is so quick and effortless that I need my creative process to be similar. If I plug in a hard drive, I have to know what’s on there and if I don’t, then I have to plug in another and I have like 50 drives. When I’m working on a project, sometimes I can have a callback to the story I’m talking about, because I have like, the clip of Alex and Drew doing this. I know it’s in my head, but I need to find the physical content. Social media made bad habits for me of how incident it was. When I first started touring with 3LAU, he was like “You made this from the concert last night? Can you make this every day? I’ll pay you double your rate.” I’ve never seen that kind of money in a day. The quickest way was to take the content from the card straight onto the timeline. I wasn’t properly organizing it and categorizing it like, “3LAU, Bloomington, Indiana, Dunkirk.” I can retain that info quickly and I have a visual memory, but to get into those clips, I didn’t respect the process so going back, now that part of getting hung up doesn’t exist anymore; I put in the time and effort to have a solid foundation for my creative flow. Now if I’m not inspired, I can pick up a book and intake positive info that I’m learning. I can stay off of social media because you’re kind of wishing your life away because
you want what other people have, or your friends hang out and you're like, “Why didn’t they invite me?” Your mind plays tricks on you. Or I take a walk, go out and get coffee, paint, and just seize other forms of selfexpression that can get the brain properly working and inspired, so when you go back to do work, you have the inspiration that feels effortless. It’s all about the flow. From your touring experiences, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned about working with artists? You have to respect the artist because you work for them at the end of the day, regardless of your friendship. You have to read people’s energy. I got really good at it because I got to work with Justin Bieber quickly into my career in the spotlight. Justin’s one of the most unique, coolest forms of energy I’ve ever experienced because so many people love him that it makes his energy very powerful. He can walk into a room and make everyone stop what they're doing and look at him. If he’s backstage, about to play a show in front of 20,000 people, I know that I gotta read his energy. Is he excited and feeling good? If he’s feeling good, then I can add to that to maybe help him get out there ‘cause he knows we’re friends and we can bounce off of each other. But if he’s having a bad day, I gotta be weary of the energy I'm bringing to him. Am I going to lift him up or is it going to make his day worse? If I can’t help, I go out into the crowd and just wait to shoot, because if I can’t be part of the solution, then I eliminate myself. Or I can just say, “Hey man, good luck tonight.” It’s just the little things. You have to read the person’s energy and I think that’s what makes a good filmmaker and photographer. Sometimes you have to be the fly on the wall and sometimes you have to be the best friend. Reading energy is a very good skill to have. What are some ways creatives can help people understand artists are human too? understand artists are human too? As you learn to create, I think you understand the creative process and what it entails. To be good at something, once you have success, then you have something where it didn’t turn out the way you hoped, you realize how much being an artist is very unpredictable. Its not a secure job. Your job depends on your creativity. Whether you're coming up with new ideas, whether you're a leader or a follower. 31
Sometimes you're at the top and other times, you fall and you're uninspired. You have to respect the process at that point because life is ups and downs. When you're up and you start to fall, you wonder if it’s ever going to be that good again. It is if you choose for it to be. If you’re like “Life sucks,” then your down is going to keep going down and its going to be harder to get out of. So, it’s all about when you're on top, be aware of it but don’t let it control who you are and letting it change you. It’s awesome how you show your friends who are artists as who they really are as a person. artists as who they really are as a person. I felt like a misunderstood kid. I came from a small town so to have that perspective already of feeling misunderstood kid, its easy to relate to another artist and to put yourself in their shoes. In the entertainment industry, it can be easy to go down the wrong path. You keep a tight group of friends and it’s awesome how your clients are also your friends. How do you guys keep each other grounded in this industry? It can be as much as cracking jokes. You always have to check them and to earn respect, you have to show respect. One way we do it is by cutting the bullshit and you just gotta be like, “Are you good?” I think the eyes don’t lie and if you're willing to build your friendship on trust and being a good person, it’s easy to ground somebody. Alex Pall is probably the best at keeping me grounded because he knows how to shit on me, but not in a way where it’s going to kill my spirits, just a little jab. One of my favorite music videos is Justin Bieber’s I’ll One of my favorite music videos is Justin Bieber’s I’ll Show You music video which you produced, when Show You music video which you produced, when Justin surprised you with a trip to your dream place to visit, Iceland. I love how you captured how Justin naturally is and the message of the song; he’s human too. It’s such a beautiful video. Thanks! I think that video was a success because it was just two friends on vacation. The footage I took ended up becoming the music video. And Chris Burkard was also with you guys. And Chris Burkard was also with you guys. Yeah, he ended up doing Justin’s album artwork. But the way I treated it was like, even if Justin Bieber wasn’t sitting there and you were sitting there, or no one was, it was my first time seeing a waterfall like that. So, getting to shoot it, and now you have this 32
subject sitting there who’s actually admiring it and you're not telling them to admire it, they’re admiring it because its their first time seeing it. I remember I got to have a conversation with Ellen DeGeneres and she talked to him about it and said it was one of her favorite videos. It meant so much to me because I'm a big fan of her. During that week when Justin was on her show, she was walking past me and I collected my thoughts and told myself I was going to have a conversation with her. I was like, “Hey Ellen, I want to introduce myself. I’m Rory, Justin’s videographer. I just want to say thank you for the nice things you said about the I’ll Show You video we shot in Iceland.” She was like, “You shot that?” And this sparked a 2-3 minute conversation, and Ellen doesn’t have time for a conversation with a stranger because her life is so planned because of who she is and her success. She made time for this and said, “I’ve worked with Justin since the beginning of his career. I’ve never seen this side of him.” The way she was talking about it was just amazing. I was unaware that I was capturing him like that, I was just doing what I normally do and here, it resonates with Ellen DeGeneres. No one really knows what they’re doing. It was just so cool to experience something like that. What advice do you want to give to aspiring tour photographers and videographers? photographers and videographers? Know who you are. Why you're doing it, why you're taking the photo. Because if it’s anything other than to satisfy yourself, then it’s for the wrong reasons. If you’re like, “I’m at this Chainsmokers show and I get to take this epic shot,” and you post the photo and say, “I shot the Chainsmokers last night.” I’ll look at that and be like “No, you didn’t because I was actually hired by them to shoot.” They're gloating instead of being like “Last night, I happened to be in the photo pit and I saw Rory and they called me over and gave me this one shot and it was life changing. Can you tell me about the process and what goes into it?” Then people can realize there’s this guy who’s waiting his time and he got the chance. I’ve been in the pit trying to take photos and you do your time. When your time comes, you better be ready to capture it because you might get one pyro shot or big production shot, and it might be a DJ who can’t even afford production. So how are you going to make that time count?