Chuck Rhodes and Dr. Glenn Toby Spill the ‘TEA’ on Launching The Entertainment Alliance
Written by djfrosty on July 12, 2023
Industry veterans Chuck Rhodes and Dr. Glenn Toby have co-founded a new business venture, christened The Entertainment Alliance (TEA). Rhodes will serve as CEO and Toby as president of the full-service, multi-genre entertainment company whose main office will be headquartered in Nashville.
In addition to operating an in-house record label with global distribution by Bob Frank Entertainment, exclusively through The Orchard, TEA will house a management company, a publishing company and booking agency along with offering label services that include social media marketing and PR. TEA will also broker select movies, television series, documentaries and subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) products. The new venture’s A&R services are based in New York and there’s a satellite office in Atlanta. Initial artist signings will be announced soon with an inaugural project release slated by the end of this year.
“Our tagline at The Entertainment Alliance is ‘We are equal opportunity dream makers,’” Rhodes tells Billboard. “After 38 years of working in the industry, this is a great opportunity now to step up and be a founder/owner with a partner. I’ve found my soulmate in Dr. Toby when it comes to the business world and music world. We’re chomping at the bit to present something to the business that I don’t think they’ve ever seen before.”
Adds Toby, “Rhodes is the Clive Davis of the South whether it’s country, southern blues or soul and I’ve been involved in pop, R&B and dance. We don’t care about age, race or genre; we’re bringing everybody in. The fuel for this new venture is two music industry veterans that have written, arranged, produced, performed, advised and discovered talent in our more 40 years’ of combined experience. We’ve been behind the curtains for so long that it’s time to come to the forefront.”
Rhodes has spent the last 15 years in partnership with Bob Frank Entertainment where he served as general manager for Bob Frank Distribution and the Audium Nashville label. Getting his start in the music industry as a keyboard player for Ray Charles and Cher, Rhodes later served as program director of adult contemporary KVIL- AM/FM in Dallas-Ft. Worth. A move to Nashville found him segueing into promotion and management at MCA Records and later Giant Records. Rhodes also operates his own production company, On the Rhodes Entertainment. During his career, he has collaborated with a diverse slate of artists including Daryle Singletary, Loretta Lynn, Clay Walker, Kenny Rogers, Charlie Daniels, MC Hammer and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.
Dr. Toby is the founder/CEO of Glenn Toby Enterprises (GTE), an international holding corporation that controls companies in the entertainment, sports, technology and real estate arenas. Total Entertainment Artist Management, Total Entertainment Athlete Management, and Infinite Sports Concepts are companies under the GTE umbrella with offices in New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. The roster of artists, actors and athletes that Toby has worked with includes LL Cool J, Swizz Beatz, Damion Hall of Guy, David Banner. Saigon, songwriter Positive K, “Queen of House Music” Barbara Tucker, actor Lance Reddick and Green Bay Packers legend Antonio Freeman. Dr. Toby is also a noted philanthropist who founded The Book Bank Foundation, which promotes literacy.