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In the first quarter of the year, a significant number of high-profile acts have made changes to their management teams.
At the top of 2025, Gigi Perez, known for her viral hit “Sailor Song,” parted ways with Laffitte Management Group and The Chainsmokers and longtime manager Adam Alpert dissolved their management deal though the chart-topping dance act is still represented by Alpert’s Disruptor Records and remain partners in several other ventures.
In February, Lil Nas X parted ways with Adam Leber‘s Rebel and signed with Crush Music for management. Then in March, Billboard’s Women In Music executive list revealed that Janelle Lopez Genzink, founder and CEO of Volara Management, the firm behind superstar Sabrina Carpenter, signed longtime free agent HAIM, which The Azoff Company’s Full Stop formerly represented. That same month, Noah Cyrus signed a management deal with Range Music, having formerly been represented by TaP.
And in the weeks following Q1’s close, Best Friends Music lost three high-profile clients: Billie Eilish and Finneas parted with Best Friends co-founders/co-managers Danny Rukasin and Brandon Goodman to sign with Sandbox Entertainment’s Jason Owen; and Rukasin’s rising star client Role Model departed, too. In late April, Chappell Roan’s new management team was finally announced — led by Foundations Music’s Drew Simmons — after the artist parted with State Of the Art last November. And at the top of May, Billboard reported that Camila Cabello and her longtime manager Roger Gold had split.
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Artists swapping managers is hardly a rare occurrence. As one 20-plus-year veteran of artist management says, “Working with high-profile pop artists can be incredibly stressful, especially when things start to go wrong — it can feel like you’re in a sinking ship and can’t find where the water is coming in.”
Having managed some of the biggest acts of the mid-2000s, the veteran manager has seen their fair share of shakeups. But they argue that what has changed in the field is the job’s visibility – and scrutiny. “Social media has made it much easier for a manager to position themselves as a public figure, and some, Scooter [Braun] being a good example, understood that world and navigated it in a really smart way. And I remember watching it over time — it was such a different approach to using persona as a way to complement the business that you’re trying to build.”
And now, the industry itself is giving the field a bigger platform. “You have places like ROSTR, which I think has made it really easy and accessible for a passive participant in the industry to be aware of information,” continues the source. “And the passive participant probably creates a much different echo chamber than historically the people who read [trade publications].” (To prove their point, the popular X account PopCrave, known for posting surface-level updates across pop culture, shared the news of Roan’s new management setup.)
The longtime manager/label executive agrees that social media has altered the playing field. “We’re constantly comparing and looking at how someone is doing better than us. Managers, writers, producers — we’re all looking at it. I have producer clients that see other producers posting cuts and then they’re [feeling] down. Artists do that as well, and I think the manager is typically the first to blame and the easiest to get out of a deal because we don’t have the contracts that a label or a publisher has. Agents and lawyers do, too, but they get fired all the time and no one knows about it.”
Given the recent spate of shake-ups, the veteran manager says his profession needs to consider a core question: “When society and consumer behavior changes and evolves, how quickly do industries reassess?”
Some contend that reassessment is happening right now, with one calling Eilish and FINNEAS’ departure from Best Friends — where they had been since the beginning of their careers — “this natural tipping point of like, ‘Huh. Why?’”
“It’s social media,” argues the manager/label executive. “Artists are quicker to move on. And I do think that’s just the nature of society today and this instant gratification culture. Artist empowerment is phenomenal, [but] maybe this is a small downside to it, that artists think they know everything.”
Another source points to the ongoing reevaluation of remuneration as an underlying reason for recent changes. Traditionally, a music manager will receive a commission on all business in which an artist engages. But the fast-changing field – and music industry at large — is why some believe more artists want to build “in-house teams like Taylor [Swift],” according to the boutique firm owner. “They don’t want to pay commissions. They want to structure it differently.”
But, such an arrangement is typically reserved for music’s upper echelon, with the artist manager-executive saying, “it takes a rare artist in the sense that, economically, it makes more sense when you’re at a certain level to carry that overhead. If you’re playing arenas and stadiums, then that is probably something you should be thinking about. But at the same time, if you started your career with a manager and you’re 10 years in, I think that’s a rough time for you to be like, ‘Hey, by the way, I think you should switch to salary.’”
Which is why the boutique firm owner argues that “really good managers who do so much should actually participate more — and have equity. The label, the rest of the team, it’s all really driven by management. Fifteen percent [commission] is not [enough] to cover all the overhead and everything that you do for an artist and everything that the label doesn’t do.” (In the case of a management deal ending, they insist sunset clauses, in which managers are entitled to continued pay for a set period after an artist fires them, are “crucial.”)
It all adds up to a climate in which the veteran pop manager can’t help but wonder: “In a world where it is so easy for you to search out what other people are doing or how to do something [yourself], how manageable can a person be?”
With a new single already announced for the end of the month, Mark Tuan embarks on a fresh chapter by signing a new management deal ahead of a new, “raw and intimate” era.
Billboard can exclusively reveal that the Los Angeles singer-songwriter-model is teaming up with with Transparent Arts for his music career and other projects. Mark will release his new single “High as You” on May 30, to start the joint venture with the Asian American entertainment powerhouse. According to a press release, the new, alt-rock track “captures the essence of an unforgettable love — the only high he ever knew. With seductive melodies and striking choreography, Mark is ready to showcase a raw and intimate side of himself like never before.”
After reuniting with his K-pop boy band GOT7 for a new EP earlier this year, “High as You” is Tuan’s first solo release of 2025 and previews more music on the way.
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“I’m thrilled to partner with Transparent Arts and to step into a new phase of my journey as an artist,” Mark says in a statement. “‘High As You’ is just the beginning, and I’m looking forward to sharing more of this side of me with my fans.”
James Roh, COO of Transparent Arts, adds, “We’re thrilled to welcome Mark to our roster. As a fellow LA native, we felt an instant connection with him. He brings a rare blend of professionalism, talent, and authentic kindness. Working with Mark has been creatively fulfilling, and we can’t wait for the world to hear what we’ve been working on.”
After GOT7 opted not to renew its contract with JYP Entertainment in 2021, Tuan returned to LA to launch his solo career via the independent label Dreamers N Achievers (DNA), which he acts as CEO. The 31-year-old has balanced his indie projects like 2022 full-length, The Other Side, and his Fallin’ EP, from 2023, with GOT7 activities and fashion collaborations including an ambassadorship with Saint Laurent and partnership with Calvin Klein.
Founded by Billboard Hot 100 chart-toppers Far East Movement, Transparent Arts is a 360-degree entertainment company dedicated to amplifying Asian culture and talent worldwide through management, production, branding, and live events. Tuan joins a roster that currently includes Korean indie breakthrough band The Rose, Filipino superstar singer-actor James Reid, LA-based DJ and producer Yultron and more. Through over 15 years in the business, TA collaborators include artists like Bruno Mars, Marshmello, and Awkwafina, with Universal Music, YouTube, McDonald’s, and SM Entertainment listed as brand partners.
Earlier this year, Mark teamed up with his GOT7 band mates to drop its first project in nearly three years, Winter Heptagon, through a new partnership with Kakao Entertainment. The EP peaked at No. 16 on Billboard’s World Albums chart, becoming the group’s 20th entry. Meanwhile, lead single “Python” climbed to No. 4 on the World Digital Song Sales chart — GOT7’s strongest showing since 2021. The group celebrated with concerts in Seoul’s SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium arena and Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium, reportedly selling out the 85,000 seats for the latter within a day.
Brian Avnet, who began his long career as a road manager for Bette Midler and later managed such top acts as The Manhattan Transfer, David Foster, Josh Groban and Eric Benét, died in Los Angeles on Wednesday (May 14), after living with Parkinson’s disease for many years. He was 82.
Avnet was inducted into the Personal Managers Hall of Fame in 2017, in the same class as Sid Bernstein, Eileen DeNobile, Eric Gardner, Richard Linke, Lois Miller, Eliot Roberts, Dolores Robinson, Arthur Shafman, David Sonenberg, Rick Siegel and Jerry Weintraub.
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On hearing of his death, Linda Moran, CEO of the Songwriters Hall of Fame told Billboard, “Brian was loved by everyone who knew him. [He] was a familiar face at Atlantic and WMG over the years as most of his artists were signed there.”
Based in Los Angeles, Avnet was a personal manager for nearly 40 years. In addition to those named above, his clients also included Johnny Mandel, Herb Alpert and Lani Hall Alpert, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Joshua Ledet, Cyndi Lauper, Take 6 and Jean-Luc Ponty.
Avnet worked with Midler in the early days, starting when she was playing bathhouses in New York before bursting to stardom in the early 1970s. Avnet served as general manager for Midler’s 19-show run at the Palace Theatre in New York in December 1973 for which she won a special Tony Award “for adding lustre to the Broadway season.”
He managed The Manhattan Transfer for 19 years starting in the late 1970s, including when they landed their biggest hit, “Boy From New York City.” That song made the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1981 and won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance by a duo or group with vocal.
Avnet was a personal manager for Foster, a 16-time Grammy-winner. In that capacity, he worked on recording projects by such stars as Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Natalie Cole, Diana Krall, Faith Hill, Brandy, En Vogue, Olivia Newton-John, The Bee Gees, Michael Bolton, All 4 One, Julio Iglesias, En Vogue and Smokey Robinson.
He played a key role in discovering Groban, whom he later managed. He found the singer through Seth Riggs, the top vocal coach, and brought him to Foster.
When Foster signed a deal with Warner Bros. in 1995, it enabled him to start 143 Records. Foster hired Avnet to run the label, with a roster that included Groban, Michael Bublé, The Corrs and Beth Hart. Bublé’s first three No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 – Call Me Irresponsible, Crazy Love and Christmas – were released on the 143 imprint, as were Groban’s first two No. 1 albums on that chart – Closer and Noel.
The Corrs, a sibling pop band from Ireland, had three Billboard 200 albums while on the label; Hart, a Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter, had one.
Foster later sold the label back to Warner. On Sept. 20, 2001, Warner Music Group announced it was shutting down the label.
Avnet’s widow Marcia Avnet told Billboard that her husband grew up in Baltimore and started his career in theater. “He was the youngest theater manager,” she said. “Actually, he used to manage the theater in-the-round in Maryland and then he was roommates with Dustin Hoffman in New York. And Jon Voight. They were all roommates when those guys were doing summer stock. Brian was in management, he ran the ticket booth, did lots of different jobs.”
Early in his career, he served as producer of A Streetcar Named Desire starring Voight at the Studio Arena Theatre in Buffalo, N.Y.
He moved to Los Angeles in the early 1974 to work with Lou Adler on the production of the Rocky Horror Show, which played at The Roxy for nine months. It was turned into a film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the following year. The film has long been a cult favorite. Avnet also produced the rock opera Tommy in Los Angeles; and served as manager for the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles.
He also managed the first season of the Universal Amphitheater.
Avnet worked with producer Robert Stigwood on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on the Road, an off-Broadway production which opened at the Beacon Theatre in New York in November 1974 and ran for two months. The show was loosely adapted into an ill-fated 1978 film version starring The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton.
Avnet frequently participated in events like Grammy Career Day. At a 2009 workshop, he served alongside such industry professionals as John Burk, Tom Sturges, Tina Davis, Rickey Minor, Harvey Mason Jr., Mike Knobloch and Javier Willis.
The Avnets were together for 36 years; married for 26 of those years.
“It was a really long career, and he was beloved,” said Marcia Avnet. “He never signed a contract with anybody. His word was his bond. And that’s really rare.”
Additional reporting by Melinda Newman.
Camila Cabello and her longtime manager Roger Gold have parted ways, Billboard can confirm. Gold (of Gold Music Management) has managed the star since the start of her solo career in 2016, around the time of Fifth Harmony‘s breakup. Cabello released her debut solo single, “Havana,” featuring Young Thug, the following year in 2017. The […]
Chappell Roan has new management. The fast-rising superstar has signed with Drew Simmons of Foundations Music, most known for managing Noah Kahan.
Foundations’ roster also includes Laufey, Rebecca Black, Wilder Woods and producer Gabe Simon.
Simmons, who is a partner at Foundations, announced the news on Monday (April 28) after beginning to work with Roan earlier in the year. To share the news, he posted the cover art for Roan’s 2023 debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, on his Instagram. The caption read: “Thrilled to be working with Chappell Roan – it’s an honor to welcome her to Foundations.” Meanwhile, Foundations’ website features Roan on the homepage with the message: “Foundations welcomes Chappell Roan to the roster!”
Simmons also tagged the larger team, which includes Roan’s assistant Kyle Goold along with Foundations’ Lauren McKinney, Emily Harlan, Ellie Hocking, Nate Futral, Izzy Newirth, Brooks Dawson and Caroline Scofield.
Last November, Billboard broke the news that Roan had split with her then-manager, State Of the Art’s Nick Bobetsky. Bobetsky met Roan in 2018 and managed the artist through her breakout years, which included such milestones as scoring her first Billboard Hot 100 top 10 with “Good Luck, Babe!” and a top 5 entry for Midwest Princess on the Billboard 200 — plus her first slate of Grammy nominations, including in all of the Big Four categories.
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At the 2025 ceremony this February, Roan took home the award for best new artist.
Simmons was previously named to Billboard’s 2023 Managers To Watch list, amidst Kahan’s own breakout year. “There is no off-cycle anymore,” Simmons said at the time, “and that is taxing on the infrastructure around the artist but also on the artist themselves.”
And while speaking of Kahan’s foundation, The Busyhead Project, which raises funds to support and provide mental health resources, Simmons said he was “excited about opportunities ahead for artists as the paradigm shifts, placing more and more leverage in [their] hands.”
His sentiment aligns with Roan’s own vision for how artists should be treated and cared for in the industry. During her Grammys acceptance speech, she said: “I told myself if I ever won a Grammy and I got to stand up here in front of the most powerful people in music, I would demand that labels and the industry profiting millions of dollars off of artists would offer a livable wage and healthcare, especially for developing artists.”
Roan herself donated $25,000 to Backline – a nonprofit that helps connect music industry professionals and their families with mental health resources. And in the following days, artists including Charli xcx and Kahan supported Roan in her effort, pledging to match her donation. Posting to Instagram Stories, Kahan said: “I’m inspired by you. Happy to get the ball rolling. Money where my mouth is.”
In March, Roan released her latest single, the country-inspired “The Giver.” The song debuted atop Billboard’s streaming-, airplay- and sales-based Hot Country Songs chart dated March 29.
Elton John had an ulterior motive for making his latest album, Who Believes in Angels?, a collaboration with his good friend Brandi Carlile.
The icon wanted to help the nine-time Grammy winner expand her global footprint. “My ambition for her with this album was to break her internationally,” John told Billboard prior to the album’s release. “She’s a well-known artist in America, but in the rest of the world, she has a lot of work to do.”
Mission accomplished. The album, which came out April 4, debuted at No. 1 on the U.K. Official Albums chart, giving Carlile her first No. 1 on the tally and her first to reach the chart’s top 40.
“This is a major milestone and career highlight for Brandi,” says Phantom Management’s Catherine Carlile, Carlile’s manager and wife, who helped orchestrate the campaign. “This is her first ever No. 1 album, and to have achieved this honor with her absolute hero and friend Elton John makes this accomplishment even more profound.”
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In the U.S., the album opened at No. 9 on the Billboard 200, marking the 22nd top 10 for John and the fourth for Carlile.
The album — produced by Andrew Watt and featuring songs written by John, Carlile and Bernie Taupin — also tops both Billboard’s Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts, and starts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales chart and Indie Store Album Sales chart, and No. 3 on Vinyl Albums chart.
Carlile began building her U.K. audience last July when she opened for Stevie Nicks at BTS Hyde Park before an audience of 60,000, then followed with her own headlining acoustic show at the 2,000-seat Drury Lane Theater.
Her extensive U.K. tour in June builds on those dates. “Brandi is a hugely successful touring artist in the U.S., but hasn’t toured in the U.K. for a long time, so we knew we needed to water that garden beyond those two appearances in London,” Catherine Carlile says. “We also knew that Brandi’s album with Elton would shine the spotlight on her globally, so we announced her U.K./[European] tour in February, which sold out instantly.”
The U.K. album campaign was orchestrated by Phantom in conjunction with John’s management team, John’s husband/manager David Furnish and Rachael Paley at Rocket Entertainment, as well as British publicity team DawBell and Universal U.K., and culminated in a live event at the London Palladium on March 26, which featured actor Dan Levy conducting a Q&A with John and Carlile, and the pair playing several songs with a full band. The evening aired on CBS in the U.S. on April 6, and will air on ITV in the U.K. on Saturday (April 19).
“The Palladium special was a total triumph and no small feat,” Catherine Carlile says. “Having partners like Fulwell Entertainment who know exactly how to capture the electricity of live music performances and deliver authentic and moving TV was a dream come true for us.”
The album’s two singles released in the U.K. — “Who Believes in Angels?” and “Swing for the Fences” — have reached a radio audience of more than 175 million, Catherine Carlile says, further building singer Carlile’s U.K. exposure.
Following this summer’s U.K. dates, which include a globally broadcast performance at the Glastonbury Festival, and playing in continental Europe, Carlile will “hopefully [play] other markets — Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South America, etc.,” Catherine Carlile says. “It’s such a gift for an artist of Brandi’s stature to have an opportunity to reach an undiscovered audience outside of the U.S. at this stage in her career. And it’s a challenge she fully embraces.”
Carlile is working on her next solo album, which Catherine Carlile says has been teed up perfectly by Who Believes in Angels?.
“After being uplifted and endorsed by one of the greatest artists of all time, we cannot wait to show the world who Brandi is as an artist, performer, and songwriter,” she says. “This is her moment to shine on what will probably be the most highly anticipated album of her career.”
Activist Artist Management has named climate activist Wawa Gatheru its 2025-2027 Foundation Fellow.
As part of the fellowship, Gatheru will receive a $20,000 grant and access to a professional team of pro-bono representatives — including management, publicity, legal, business management, agency representation, partnerships and strategic alliances, digital marketing, and content creation representatives — to further her environment-focused work. Activist will also appoint a pro-bono Fellowship Advisory Council of specialists in relevant areas to support Gatheru’s work.
Funding for the grant comes from Activist Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established by Activist Artists Management to fund advocates and initiatives that protect vulnerable communities and the environment. The announcement comes via Activist founding partners Bernie Cahill and Greg Suess, who serve as co-chairs of Activist Foundation, along with Caitlin Stone Jasper, partner/head of activism for Activist Artists Management. Stone Jasper will also oversee Gatheru’s fellowship.
A Rhodes Scholar and longtime youth climate activist, Gatheru is the founder of Black Girl Environmentalist, a national organization dedicated to empowering Black girls, women and gender expansive people across the climate sector. She sits on boards and advisory councils for organizations including Greenpeace USA, EarthJustice, Climate Power, the National Parks Conservation Association, Good Energy and Sound Future. She was also recently named as a 2025 Sierra Club Trail Blazer Award recipient alongside Quannah Chasinghorse, Bill Nye, William Shatner and Dr. Jane Goodall.
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“I am honored and excited to receive this fellowship from the Activist Foundation,” said Gatheru in a statement. “This support is invaluable. It will allow me to expand my work at the intersection of environmental justice and youth empowerment. I am grateful for their belief in my vision, and I look forward to collaborating with the team at Activist to drive meaningful progress toward a more sustainable and just future for all.”
“Wawa is one of the most impressive young leaders I’ve ever encountered,” added Stone Jasper. “Her vision, her voice and her commitment to building an inclusive climate movement are exactly what the world needs right now. Our whole team is thrilled to welcome her to the Activist family and support the powerful work she’s doing.”
The Activist Foundation created the Activist Artists Fellowship in 2020 to support young activists working to create real change on the world’s most pressing issues. Activist Artists clients include The Lumineers, Bobby Weir, Dwight Yoakam, the Grateful Dead, Dead & Company (co-managed by Irving Azoff and Steve Moir), Leif Vollebekk, The Pretty Reckless, Young the Giant, and Michael Franti & Spearhead.
After finishing the last of seven concerts at GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City March 30 as part of her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran tour, Shakira announced she would return to Mexico in August. Her encore will bring her total shows played in the country to 22, a record for a single tour. Shakira initially played 11 stadium shows in Mexico, selling them all out, and eventually announced additional shows for August and September, including one more stop at GNP Seguros Stadium. Her eight performances there will be a record.
It’s the latest success in a string of them for the Colombian star. Last week, Billboard reported that, for the month of February, Shakira topped the monthly Top Tours chart for the first time, earning $32.9 million from 282,000 tickets sold that month, according to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore.
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Shakira follows Bad Bunny, Los Bukis and RBD among Latin artists who have topped the monthly ranking, making her the first solo Latin woman to hit No. 1. This also marks the first time Shakira ever tops the chart, which launched in 2019, after she finished her previous outing, 2018’s El Dorado World Tour.
All those tickets sold are particularly sweet success for Shakira, who not only hadn’t toured in six years, but hadn’t had this level of success with her recorded music, either. Since 2019, as is by now very well known, the global superstar split up with her longtime partner, Gerard Pique, moved from Barcelona to Miami, turned her heartbreak into chart-topping songs, and now, at 47 years old and as the mother of two children, is in the midst of what will be the biggest tour of her career.
At her side is manager Nadine Eliya, who after working with Shakira in different capacities for years, took over management in 2023 after the Colombian star moved to Miami and started releasing new music. While that was a project in and of itself, Shakira’s new tour, a massive endeavor that kicked off last month in Brazil, is the Colombia’s star most ambitious move yet. Originally slated to be an arena tour, Shakira scrapped those plans last fall, following reaction to her new album Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran (Sony Music Latin), and announced she was doing stadiums instead. And while she had to cancel three South American dates —two for production issues and one due to illness — her Mexico run has more than made up for lost time.
Given the extraordinary resurgence of Shakira, spotlighted by her No. 1 spot on Top Tours for February, Eliya is Billboard’s Executive of the Week. Here, she speaks about crafting Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran, and its impact on the touring market.
You’ve had many Shakira highlights in the past year, but these Mexico concerts feel particularly significant. Is that the case?
These Mexico concerts were so rewarding in so many ways. It’s nice to see a Latin American city leading on a global scale as a concert city market, and only reinforces the massive growth we’ve been seeing in the Latin market over the last 10 years. To be breaking such significant records 30-plus years into your career is a testament to Shakira’s longevity and the care we’ve taken to keep creating music that draws new fans while deepening the connection with the ones who have accompanied her all along the way.
Shakira went from having a much-publicized split with her longtime partner two years ago to now leading Billboard’s tour recap for the month. What was the biggest challenge in achieving this?
The biggest challenge, I think, was being able to channel the pain into productivity, into growth, into a tool for connection. I think her music last year has struck a chord with so many women who felt like she gave a voice to their same feelings and frustrations and made them feel seen.
I think people may think, it’s Shakira, she’s a global star, this is easy…
Ha! Every new leg of a stadium tour brings its own challenges, and every achievement only brings ideas for new goals we want to reach. It’s a misconception that when you get to the top, you relax. It only makes the stakes higher. And I’m bad at relaxing.
What has been the biggest challenge in putting together this stadium tour?
The biggest challenges were bringing a production of this size to Latin America, which had never been done before in many of the markets we visited. Also, thinking big picture about where we want to be at the end of it, the milestones we want to hit, and how we plan to get there.
What can you tell us about the concept of the tour?
It’s all about female archetypes, connection and empowerment. If you notice, many of the interludes, that are a CGI-animated Shakira — an industry-wide first — center around an archetype: the warrior, the mother, the primal she-wolf. The idea was to take the fans on this journey with her and to walk out feeling uplifted and empowered. And I think she delivered beyond anyone’s expectations, including her own.
What were your expectations when you started to plan, and what are they now?
I think we expected to surprise fans with a big show but we didn’t expect how emotional the reaction would be and what a movement it’s become, this experience of attending her concert.
A couple of weeks ago, Shakira also released the music video to “Ultima,” a very melancholy ballad that looks back at her relationship. Why now?
We filmed that video a while back, but we wanted to release it at a time that had meaning to it. It felt like a beautiful bookend to a year after the release of such a personal album and sharing it from a very different place than when the song was written, after the live [version] of the song has connected with so many on tour. It was a gift for the fans who offered so much support through a difficult time.
Kiley Donohoe has launched Greenhouse Management, with an artist roster that includes “Cowgirls” hitmaker Ernest, as well as artists and hit songwriters Chandler Walters, Rhys Rutherford and Cody Lohden.
Donohoe previously worked at Big Loud since 2018, starting in digital marketing and working with artists over the years including Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line, Ernest and Chris Lane. Four years ago, she transitioned into management, taking on the role of Ernest’s manager.
Donohoe says she plans to keep Greenhouse’s roster small, in order to focus on each artist, telling Billboard, “I want to be able to have the bandwidth for all my clients and super-serve them and work with people I believe in and trust, and who believe and trust in me. It’s not about how large [the company] can get, but working with great people.”
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Greenhouse Management’s title was inspired by the time Iowa native Donohoe spent as a child working in her grandparents’ backyard greenhouse.
“I was thinking about my roots and values of being transparent, like a greenhouse, and what shaped me,” Donohoe says. “I was talking to [hit songwriter, artist and Songs & Daughters leader] Nicolle Galyon about the company name and this new chapter and she suggested the name. It is so important to me to be transparent and to stay true to who you are. I try to stay true to that as a manager.”
“Kiley has always had the artist best interest in mind and will continue to develop into a great manager,” Ernest said in a statement. “I look forward to seeing what the future brings, and I know that her artists are in good hands.”
Chandler Walters, Rhys Rutherford, Greenhouse Management CEO / Manager Kiley Donohoe, Cody Lohden, Matt Schneider
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Walters added, “The first one to take care of you and the last one to let you down. I’ve known Kiley since I moved to town; she’s held the keys to my sanity, and it only makes sense for us to tackle my artist career!”
Ernest, who last year released a musical love letter to his hometown with the album Nashville, Tennessee, has earned multiple ACM, CMA and Grammy nominations, including his current ACM nominations for artist-songwriter of the year, as well as being a co-writer on the ACM song of the year-nominated song “I Had Some Help,” recorded by Morgan Wallen and Post Malone. Lohden has toured with artists including ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman and Walker Hayes, while Rutherford has contributed writing to songs recorded by Zimmerman (“Is This Really Over?”), Ernest feat. Morgan Wallen (“Hangin’ On”), Kashus Culpepper (“Talk With Me”) and George Pippen (“Rest of Our Life”). Walters is also a co-writer on “I Had Some Help,” and has six cuts on Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion album, seven cuts on Ernest’s Nashville, Tennessee album (including the Jelly Roll collaboration “I Went to College, He Went to Jail,” and is part of Post Malone’s touring band, playing pedal steel. Lohden and Rutherford both have their own new music coming.
Billie Eilish and Finneas have hired new management. The siblings are now being managed by Sandbox Entertainment’s Jason Owen, whose clients include Brandi Carlile, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini and more. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Eilish and Finneas were previously managed […]
