Management
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The first time George Prajin took Peso Pluma shopping for a music video, they didn’t see eye to eye. “I wanted him to go John Varvatos rock’n’roll, and he wanted to go to Burberry,” Prajin recalls. Considering that the video would also feature regional Mexican artist Luis R Conriquez for their 2022 collaboration, “Siempre Pendientes,” “I was like, ‘I don’t know about that,’ ” he adds. But, as Prajin proudly admits of the all-plaid ensemble (complete with bucket hat) that Peso insisted upon (and which perfectly contrasted with the gritty desert setting), “He was right — and after that I learned not to go against him.”
That implicit trust now goes both ways — and Prajin, 52, has earned it. As the son of Antonino Z. Prajin — who owned Prajin One Stop, a music retailer and distributor that sold to over 3,000 stores across the United States and Mexico and had more than 20 warehouses throughout Southern California in its 1980s and ’90s heyday — the music business has always been in his blood. “Some people do what they love. Some people are born into a trade. I got the best of both worlds,” he says, speaking in a green room at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., hours before a recent Peso Pluma show there.
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After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles in the mid-’90s, Prajin founded the independent label Z Records, which scored early success with Jessie Morales (known as El Original de la Sierra), an Angeleno who loved West Coast rap and Mexican music and who ruled Billboard’s Top Latin Albums chart with his Homenaje a Chalino Sánchez in 2001. But when physical record sales plummeted, Prajin One Stop shuttered in the late 2000s — and so did Z Records. “It was hard to make money with music during that period of time,” he recalls. “And so, I got disillusioned. I got a little depressed — but I tried to stay very close to music.”
Prajin went on to earn a degree from Southwestern University School of Law, becoming a sports and entertainment attorney and establishing his own practice while producing music on the side — and retaining ownership of the Z Records catalog. But in 2008, thanks to his love of MMA (and friendship with fighter Tito Ortiz), he entered an entirely new world: the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Prajin spent the next decade-plus focused on representing UFC’s top talent as an agent and a manager, earning a reputation as a master negotiator. “It’s educating yourself on the deal and being two steps ahead — and knowing what you’re asking for is valid,” he says.
By 2019, Prajin — who had continued to do music business work even as he dove into the UFC world — and his practice were negotiating “massive deals” for record labels. At the same time, he noticed a catalog-driven uptick in Z Records’ revenue and, on the advice of his law partner, Anthony Lopez, reentered the industry, launching Prajin Parlay in 2021. “I was looking for something that had nothing to do with any of the clients I was representing, and I started going back into the ’90s,” he says. And so, with the new Prajin Parlay, he soon helped launch Época Pesada (a group of corrido giants who were then in their 40s) and revive the career of Lupillo Rivera.
Soon, Prajin was again focusing on music full time, and his first major signing (in partnership with Grand Records) was Mexican singer-songwriter (and future star) Junior H. But it was an early management signee who would define his storied career — and help him emerge as one of Latin music’s most powerful and admired executives.
When Prajin first met Peso Pluma (born Hassan Emilio Kabande Laija) in 2019, thanks to an introduction from his former client Morales, the then-unknown artist was walking around Prajin Parlay Studioz in Anaheim playing guitar. “I was really intrigued by him,” Prajin recalls with a far-off look in his eyes. Morales was trying to help the young artist find management to no avail; given that Prajin himself had just reentered the industry, he, too, initially passed.
Morales’ father, Herminio Morales, signed the future superstar, but soon became too ill to work. And so, by 2022, the offer was back on the table — and this time, Prajin said yes. (Herminio, who is healthy today, remains involved in Peso’s career.) “I [waited until I] felt like I could really put up my sleeves and do what I do best,” Prajin explains.
George Prajin photographed backstage at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., on Aug. 20, 2024.
Chris Polk
Apparently, that was developing a global groundbreaker who has repeatedly made Billboard chart history while helping to elevate música mexicana from “the genre that has always taken a back seat,” as Prajin puts it, to the forefront of the mainstream.
“I’m not going to take all the credit because [label] Rancho Humilde, Natanael Cano, Junior H and all these other artists brought something that first, second and third generations of Mexicans born in the United States were lacking,” Prajin says. “But Hassan took that road and connected it to the international highway.”
Prajin now admits that when he first met Peso he was a bit confused. “I couldn’t tell what type of artist he was,” he says. “I thought he was a rapper, or was he a rocker? [The last] thing I thought of was a corridos singer. When we first started talking, he told me he wanted to do reggaetón. He wanted to do everything.” (Prajin even had him record a Pink Floyd song “to see if he trusted me.”)
“I said, ‘I love that, that’s what I want, but I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and it’s tough,’ ” Prajin continues, noting how in the past he’d only had fleeting success with rappers recording over banda beats. But, critically, Peso didn’t want to blend anything; he wanted to own every clearly marked lane he explored.
Together, they made a plan “to focus on his core audience, regional Mexican, and really build that. And at the same time, reach out and get a feel of these other genres and take it from there.” And they’ve done just that. In 2022, Peso made his Hot Latin Songs debut with “El Belicón,” with Raúl Vega. The following year, he scored the most entries on the chart of any regional Mexican act — and his team-up with Eslabon Armado, “Ella Baila Sola,” became the first regional Mexican song to enter the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 (where Peso has now charted 31 songs).
Peso’s third album, 2023’s Génesis, scored the highest placement on the Billboard 200 for a música mexicana album ever, debuting at No. 3. This year’s Éxodo double album also debuted in the top five, and for its second half, Peso enlisted several nonregional heavy hitters including Cardi B, Quavo, Anitta and DJ Snake. In August, Peso scored one of his biggest features yet, replacing Bad Bunny on Ye and Ty Dolla $ign’s “Drunk,” off the new deluxe version of Vultures 2. (“He couldn’t believe it,” Prajin says, “because they’re so mysterious. They don’t even tell us until the song is released.”) Lately, Peso has been walking onstage to Black Sabbath; Prajin thinks he could do a rock album one day.
Their relationship has now expanded beyond just music to include Double P, Peso’s imprint through Prajin Parlay Records that launched in April 2023. (Prajin is the imprint’s co-founder and COO.) By December, Double P had signed a distribution deal with The Orchard, and in August, the label’s publishing division signed a global administration deal with Downtown.
Today, Double P’s roster boasts a tight-knit crew that shares talent — and Peso’s friendship. As CEO and head of A&R, Peso has strategically signed Mexican music acts Vega, Jasiel Nuñez, Tito Double P (Peso’s cousin and one of his co-writers) and Los Dareyes de la Sierra, among others.
“We’re building a team and going together, and that’s what I love about Hassan,” Prajin says. “Jasiel Nuñez was a friend. They made a deal — whoever makes it first is going to pull the other guy with him, and [Hassan] did that. He pulled him with him on tour. We’ve signed him. That’s their philosophy. We’re a real community.”
Plus, as Prajin says, having Peso as a partner helps him stay on top of his management game, too. “Because you really want to give the attention to Hassan, but then you don’t want to sign other artists and not give them the attention that they deserve… He’s always like, ‘Hey, make sure that everybody’s getting the attention that they need, too.’ ”
And as Prajin Parlay has proved over time, one rising tide can indeed lift all boats. In 2023, it finished atop the year-end Hot Latin Songs Publishers chart — Prajin proudly displays the trophy at his house next to his Grammy (honoring Génesis as best música mexicana album [including Tejano] at the 2024 awards). “One of the reasons why we won that publisher of the year award is [because of] Tito Double P,” Prajin says, crediting his songwriting savvy. “[He] then developed as an artist, and today, we released his first album.
“We’re providing those label services, and we’re doing it inclusive of the same management fee that any other manager would charge,” he continues. “A lot of people tell me that’s a crazy notion, but we’re not going to get rich or poor overnight.”
That same thought process led Prajin to restructure Peso’s five-year record and management deal just nine months in. Prajin had seen his early client Jessie Morales make a healthy living off music, only to end up “on hard luck,” and he never forgot it. “I always told myself, especially when I was practicing law, that if I had the chance to do this again, I would teach [artists] to not only be wary of how they spend their money, but to also build their own team. Have their own lawyer, have their own CPA. I want them to make sure that going forward, whatever they do in their lives, they’re going to make the right financial decisions. I fought hard for [Peso] to have his own [attorney in] Mexico. He has his own CPA. And then he has a person that audits the CPA.
“When I saw him making the kind of money that he was making… The artists should be the ones seeing the benefits, and that’s why we changed our deal,” Prajin continues. “I restructured it and made him a partner in Double P. It’s the right thing to do — and just one of the few times in life that something good turns into something great, because we’re killing it.”
Prajin, who is warm and attentive, says his father’s own “big heart” inspires him as an executive. “His kindness, his generosity, those are the things that have [helped me excel],” he says. “You could be a shark. But I don’t think those guys last too long. It’s all about networks. Right? I think a lot of the things that we accomplished were because I was able to pick up the phone and reach out to anyone. Everything comes full circle.”
And Prajin Parlay’s betting-inspired name tells its own full-circle story: Prajin has often said when something works, he doubles down. In the years to come, he says he’s “doubling down on everything” — beginning with Double P Records, saying the label is in the middle of completing a business transaction that will allow it to “really double down.”
“Double P Records and Prajin Parlay in five years are going to be a global brand,” he says, noting that in the next year or so he hopes to open offices and a recording studio in Madrid. He also has plans to grow the management roster and maybe even acquire other catalogs or companies. He’s also considering a sports division: “We’ve talked about it, yes,” Prajin says, adding that he and Peso are both fans of combat sports, and even share a boxing coach.
He admits that as a manager, what takes up most of his time each day is “trying to make everyone happy… I’m constantly trying to make sure everybody takes vacations, has their personal lives. You know, I’ve lived my life, I haven’t had any kids. I’ve devoted myself to my artists and to my athletes. And am I going to regret it down the road? I might. So I always tell people, ‘Think about yourself, too. This job isn’t your only focus.’ ”
Fortunately, Peso has been planning ahead for quite some time. The artist has long admired Jay-Z, and Prajin believes Peso is already following in the rapper’s footsteps to becoming a mogul himself. As for Prajin, he says his five-year plan looks a lot like an exit route, before laughing through a nervous smile: “No, I’m just kidding.”
He mentions how the other day, he and Peso were reminiscing when the artist told him, “You changed my life.”
“He changed my life as well,” Prajin says. “He’s allowed me to love music again, and also reach a lot of the goals I made for myself that I thought had passed.”
This story appears in the Sept. 28, 2024, issue of Billboard.
The video for Machine Gun Kelly and Jelly Roll‘s collaboration, “Lonely Road,” (No. 18, Hot Country Songs) casts MGK as a finance-strapped, blue-collar worker who commits an armed bank robbery, gets run down in a police chase and ends up seeing his newborn daughter for the first time from behind a wall of glass in prison.
The criminal storyline plays out over a melody long associated with a comforting, nostalgic John Denver hit, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” with which “Lonely Road” is interpolated.
Matching an edgy, violent plot line with the legacy of a goody-two-shoes pop-and-country environmentalist imprints a scruffy wrinkle atop Denver’s safe reputation while bringing some revenue into his estate’s coffers.
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“It’s just this way to reinvigorate a song and remind people, ‘Oh, right, I love that song, “Country Roads,”‘ while they’re also having this great time at an MGK show,” 7S Management artist manager Amy Abrams noted on Sept. 18 while moderating the panel “Curating a Legacy — What Young Artists Can Learn From Estate Management” during the Americana Fest in Nashville. The reimagination of “Country Roads” provides Denver’s catalog “a way into a new audience, to associate yourself with another artist that may complement the image or the legacy that you’re working to create.”
Setting up a career for long-term health is, not surprisingly, similar to setting up personal finances for retirement. To do so successfully requires focusing on the future, protecting assets from opportunistic sharks, reflecting personal values in decision-making, saving documents and taking informed risks when it makes sense.
It also helps to develop a sense of self-worth. In personal finance, that means seeing oneself as someone who deserves to have a nest egg. In building a music career, that means self-identifying as a creator whose work has lasting value. That attitude might be difficult to develop during artists’ early years when bank accounts are slim and the desire to advance is powerful.
But Bob Dylan Center director Steve Jenkins noted that Dylan‘s latter-career reputation is, in part, an outgrowth of the importance he assigned to his copyrights and to his brand from his earliest years in the spotlight.
“He avoided some of the potholes that a lot of younger artists find themselves having to get into,” Jenkins said. “I think it’s about valuing your own work — as tempting as it might be, and at times, as necessary as it might be, to just bring some cash in initially — but taking a long view and thinking of yourself as that sort of artist.”
Perhaps most important is to start early, building the legacy consistently from the start rather than scrambling to make up lost ground on the back end. The panel focused on artists, though some of its points can be applied to other careers.
Key advice included:
• Think long term “If you are looking just ahead to tomorrow,” Abrams said, “and you are not looking way, way, way down the line, you are going to miss something.”
• Align with causes that speak to your audience “We often think about being careful to not turn off fans with this work; I think you can also turn on fans,” 7S Management director of philanthropy Kari Nott said. “When you speak up for folks who are screaming for help, who need your microphone to draw attention to the issue that they’re affected by, they’ll remember that for the rest of their lives.”
• Read contracts “You could just sign away your intellectual property for the rest of your life,” Abrams noted. “That’s a repercussion your grandkids are going to be dealing with when it doesn’t revert to your heirs.”
• Be willing to self-promote Abrams also observed, “There’s something to be said for telling everyone that you have a legacy. It’s up to you to communicate this information to the world and to throw your own party.”
• Celebrate important anniversaries The Denver estate is currently observing 50 years since he released the Back Home Again album. But, Jenkins said, be “judicious” in what anniversaries get promoted and make the marketing proportional to the milestone.
• Save memorabilia Dylan’s lyrics, finished or not, can sometimes be used to create merchandise or enhance exhibits. Photos, tour posters, backstage passes, set lists — as those items accumulate, they become a collection that has value in the long run.
• Share the thoughts and circumstances that inform your music “When you’re speaking to your team, the more you’re able to provide the context for your story as it relates to your work — you know, all the surrounding influences and whatnot — that leads to being able to champion you,” Concord vp of sync licensing and clearance Brandon Schott said.
• Identify icons worth emulating “Try and emulate the way that they move through the world,” Nott suggested. “Someone that I’ve always been struck by is Willie Nelson and how he starts every single Farm Aid concert by introducing himself and immediately passing the mic to the farmers.”
• Collaborate with others “I always describe sync as Brian Wilson — it’s taking two completely different instruments, laying them on top of each other, playing [them similarly] and they become a third instrument,” Schott said. “Taking visual artists and record artists, and putting them together can amplify both sides of that collaboration.”
• Look for other methods of exposure Advertising, in particular, can call attention to a copyright, though it can, Jenkins lamented, be “crass.” Ads that feel “more narrative-based,” said Schott, rather than blatant sales pitches, can remind the audience of a song and generate revenue without undermining its reputation.
• Leave a road map for heirs Artists who don’t specify their beneficiaries or leave instructions about how they want their legacy handled risk having their memories polluted or trivialized after they’re gone.
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A new management company comprised of independent managers has been established with industry veteran Julia Khan appointed as president. Operating out of offices in Los Angeles and London, the Khan-led team at Collective of Artists and Leaders (C•O•A•L) MGMT includes Creative Management Firm’s Yvette Medina; FM Group’s Alex Frankel, Chris Maher and Dani Chavez; HowRU? Entertainment’s Ben Eisenberg, Justin Miller and Corey Kastner; Leader Management’s Max Leader; and November Yellow’s Jaha Johnson. In addition, Human Re Sources CEO J. Erving will serve as board chair of music.
According to the release announcing (C•O•A•L) MGMT’s launch, the boutique firm will focus on supporting and nurturing “managers and their client roster of recording artists, music producers and writers.” While working collaboratively as a team, each participating manager will maintain their own brand.
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(C•O•A•L) MGMT is also supported by the venture-backed global agency YMU, with partners being offered “financial support, accounting services, business development, guidance to grow artist rosters and revenue, consulting services from experienced leadership, a creative community of experts, and global access to other divisions within the YMU group.”
Los Angeles-based Khan was named president by YMU Group CEO Mary Bekhait. Of her new post, Khan commented, “I am honored to spearhead C•O•A•L and partner with amazing managers who are committed to true artistic talent and go above beyond for their clients. It’s a privilege to support the team and their incredible rosters, and I am grateful to Mary Bekhait and YMU for backing us.”
Bekhait added, “YMU is delighted to partner with Julia, J., and the wider C•O•A•L team on this exciting new venture — the combination of culture-defining clients, experienced managers and YMU’s wider infrastructure is a compelling blend. We can’t wait to get started.”
Board chair Erving said, “I’ve been in this business for over 20 years, so to be consulting for my peers to push the boundaries of music management is truly an honor. Working as both an artist manager and distributor, the art of artist management is even more important now—in the age of independence—than ever before. Artists need value-add via their managers and this team holds the experience and collective power to blow it out the park. Big thanks to Julia, Mary, and YMU for having me.”
J. Erving
Dae Howerton
Prior to this, Khan consulted and co-managed Usher for eight years, working with management partners Roc Nation, SB Projects and Lafitte Mgmt. During that time, the Grammy-winning artist launched his successful Las Vegas residency. Khan’s industry background also includes consulting multiple Universal Music Group labels, Lighthouse Mgmt. and LVRN Records as well as a stint as head of marketing at Jive/LaFace Records. While there, she worked on projects for Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown and P!nk. Khan is presently working with Australian-Tamil singer/songwriter DHEE, who recently released her debut solo single “Roots.”
The five independent management firms comprising the (C•O•A•L) MGMT team represent a diverse array of clients:
Creative Management Firm: Yvette Medina was named one of Billboard Magazine’s 2024 Top 40 Latin Women In Music for her work with clients such as Snow Tha Product, Eva Ruiz, Ecko, De La Cruz, and Latenightjiggy. She partnered with YMU as head of Latin in 2023 to continue expanding Latin music on a global level and oversees the company’s Latin music operations.
FM Group: Its roster of global artists includes Chet Faker, Passion Pit, RAC, and Thunder Jackson. President Alex Frankel most recently has managed and co-produced Paris Hilton’s latest album, Infinite Icon, featuring SIA, Megan Thee Stallion and Meghan Trainor.
HowRU? Entertainment: Current clients include Tiana Major9, Frex, BAYLI, Chase Wav, Brody Myles, Tarek Ali, Jay Century, Omar Grand and DJ CoCo. Century and Wav won a Grammy last year for their work on Khalid’s “Silver Platter,” featured on the Barbie The Album soundtrack.
Leader Management: Client BBC Radio 1’s Benji B, who’s worked as musical director for Celine and the late Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, now serves as musical director for Burberry, Jil Sander, Lacoste and Carvan. Other clients include drummer/composer and 2024 Ivor Novello album of the year winner Yussef Dayes, composer/DJ/producer Guy Gerber and rising Swiss-Nigerian DJ/producer Laolu.
November Yellow: Both a management firm and record label, the company’s artist management roster includes Ari Lennox, Isaia Huron, Tiara Thomasand Camper. Lennox I, who is releasing new single, “Smoke,” on Oct. 18, recently announced a new brand partnership with KISS Colors & Care hair products.
Regional Mexican music continues to surf a wave of unprecedented global popularity and expansion, with names like Peso Pluma, Luis R Conriquez, Edén Muñoz, Fuerza Regida and Grupo Frontera crowning Billboard’s global and U.S. charts.
Yet women in the genre are almost nowhere to be found. Just one female artist-led song appeared among the 50 on Billboard’s year-end Regional Mexican Airplay Songs chart: Yuridia and Angela Aguilar’s “Qué Agonía.” And among the regional Mexican acts dominating the Hot Latin Songs chart, only one female name comes up: pop singer Kenia Os as a guest on Peso Pluma’s “Tommy & Pamela.”
Behind the scenes, it’s a different story entirely. In what had long been a world of male dominance in the C-suite of música mexicana, women are now powerhouses. María Inés Sánchez, formerly head of marketing for regional Mexican indie label Afinarte, is now the West Coast vp for Sony Music U.S. Ana Luisa Gómez, who has worked with Alicia Villarreal and Sergio Vega, among others, now manages superstar Muñoz. Rosela Zavala manages Ana Bárbara, and Adriana Martínez manages rising trio Yahritza y Su Esencia.
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And they’re just a few among a growing group of women that also includes Ana Martínez (leading Fonovisa/Disa’s U.S. division), Delia Orjuela (head of creative for música mexicana at Warner Chappell) and managers for some of the most visible artists on the charts, like Ivan Cornejo, Xavi and Eslabon Armado.
Billboard gathered four of these executives for a candid conversation about how they’ve managed to make their marks in a complex genre they readily admit is “full of men” — and the unique skill set that it has taken.
“I’ve always said that I’m one person at home, and another when I leave my house and I become that other person that everyone says, ‘Oh, she’s super angry, super hysterical,’ ” Gómez says with a smile. “Yeah. I’m super all that because if I wasn’t, I think I wouldn’t have made it.”
Spanish singer-songwriter Natalia Jimenez (left) and Gómez
Courtesy of Ana Luisa Gómez
How did you get your start in the world of regional Mexican music?
Ana Luisa Gómez: I graduated from the University of Monterrey [in Mexico] in communications and started working in television, where I spent 14 years producing entertainment and musical programs. Fifteen years ago, I left that and started managing Sergio Vega, “El Shaka,” may he rest in peace. [Vega was murdered in 2010.] Then I started my advertising agency, offering a 360 model of booking, promotion, radio, television. Later I decided to focus more on management, and I’ve been with Edén Muñoz for three years.
María Inés Sánchez: I also started years ago at PolyGram, Sony, Universal, Machete, always in marketing, and when I moved to Los Angeles I started doing public relations. Later, [my client] Chiquis Rivera recommended me to run PR for DEL Records [in 2016], and that’s how I started in the Mexican music genre. I worked with Régulo Caro, Gerardo Ortiz, Ulices Chaidez, Los Plebes del Rancho [de Ariel Camacho].
Rosela Zavala: Like María Inés, I got my start through Chiquis. I came from the pop world, working with Paulina Rubio and later with Gloria Trevi. And from Gloria I went to Chiquis and landed in a completely different world, the regional Mexican music world. I co-managed Chiquis, and Ana Bárbara is the first artist I fully manage.
Adriana Martínez: I’ve only been doing this for two years. The role of manager fell on me. My brothers, Yahritza y Su Esencia, began to be recognized, and since they always turn to me, I had to get a lawyer and all that. When I said, “OK, now you can fly alone,” they said, “No, please don’t leave us.” The truth is I started in this with zero experience.
What has been the most difficult thing about being a manager?
Martínez: Being siblings, and then transitioning into manager mode. At first, the guys didn’t take me very seriously when I said, “We need to do this.” The seriousness of things was there, but it was easier for them to procrastinate because I was the one in charge and I was their sister.
Gómez: The most challenging thing for me is working with men. They’re all men. There are no women, at least not in the teams I have worked on, starting with Sergio Vega. It’s not easy for men to accept that someone is telling them what to do and how, although it’s not a mandate. But I understand. It’s machismo. So the most challenging thing is to deal with that and develop a strong character.
Zavala: I have found it difficult to get Ana’s music heard on the radio. We bring songs and they say, “Oh, the traditional mariachi isn’t playing now. It’s grupero.” So Ana says, “Let’s do grupero,” and they say, “Ah, grupero sounds old.” In Mexico we get played much more, but in the U.S., with so many men on that chart, it’s difficult to get in. Also, in the beginning with Ana, I wrote to a couple of concert promoters that I knew, and they weren’t interested in her tour. A few years later, those same people wanted to work with her. I love making that happen. But I always looked for the people who told me they believed in her, let’s do it. And there are many people, even men, who told me, “Yes, we will give it our all.”
Ana Bárbara (left) and Zavala
Courtesy of Rosela Zavala
Do you remember the first time you had to lay down the law to be taken seriously?
Gómez: With Sergio Vega, of course. I met him through Oscar Flores, a super-renowned concert promoter, and we clicked. But Sergio was a man without reins. He did what he wanted, how he wanted. He was a great talent looking for the right direction, but he didn’t know how to do it. When I said left, he said right. And one day, after an event in Sonora [Mexico], where everything I told him not to do, he did, I grabbed my suitcase, knocked on his hotel room door and told him, “That’s it. I don’t have to deal with you or your people or your party.” I took my bags and flew home to Monterrey. After five days, he came to see me and said: “I am in your hands. What do we do?” And from there, we became family.
Do you think of one moment in your career as particularly defining? María Inés, I remember meeting you when you were a junior publicist, and then seeing you become a powerful executive at the Afinarte label…
Sánchez: That’s where I started, from ground zero. When I began working at Afinarte, they didn’t have a company email, for example. The first year, they uploaded the music to TuneCore and I made the pitches to the platforms. They didn’t have a distributor. I came from working at multinationals, which of course are highly organized and have departments for everything. Here we had to assemble everything, and I was the only woman: The bosses, the musicians, even the photographers were men. So it was a challenge, but I thank them because not many companies would have given me that much autonomy.
Zavala: Working with Paulina was like getting a master’s degree. [Initially], I was the president of her fan club, and she gave me the opportunity to be her personal assistant. Then I finished my “master’s degree” with Gloria. I spent eight years with her. I saw her struggle at the beginning with her shows, and then saw her grow to play arenas. She gave me that opportunity to grow and learn more and do day-to-day management. It was scary at the beginning. When you go from being a fan to being an assistant, you are no longer the friend. Everything becomes much more serious.
Martínez: I graduated [with a degree] in psychology. I worked as an outreach coordinator [for a health provider], and I already had my life planned. [When I started working with my brothers], the most important thing was to make sure that the values that our parents had taught us — keeping our feet on the ground, not forgetting where we came from, manners — were maintained. But there have also been times where I’ve said, “This is as far as it goes; I’m their sister, but if they don’t have respect for me as their manager, then that’s it.” After that, things calmed down and thank God, we are all moving together. But sometimes you have to have those talks or pack your bags and leave. All these battles have made us realize that family is important but also the respect we have as business partners is important.
Yahritza y Su Esencia with their sister and manager Martínez (second from left).
Jesse Sandoval
Aside from the difficulty of being taken seriously, what is most challenging for you on a day-to-day basis?
Martínez: We work with a major label [Columbia] and an indie label [Lumbre Music]. It’s good to have the macro view and the micro view, but our work doesn’t end there. It’s always been super important for us to have that relationship with the fans, to reach a point where they know the artist as people. And we didn’t receive much support in that respect. We said, “If we show people who we are and where we come from, our hearts will connect,” and sometimes big companies don’t understand that.
Gómez: Above all, the people that surround the artist but aren’t part of the music industry and love to mess things up. Going back to something that María Inés said, the daily challenge to be validated.
Are there certain advantages you do have as women in this business?
Martínez: I think we have that emotional balance, and we can see that in our empathy. The balance we give our artists with that empathy is super important, and it helps them know that they can trust us and that we are here to play any role.
Gómez: I am neither Edén’s mother, grandmother nor cousin, but you have to be all of that for him. Understand if he’s had a bad day, if his child is sick that day. A man also understands, but I think that a man has less sensitivity than us, he doesn’t have that sixth sense we have where as soon as I see him, I know what’s up. I think that as a woman you can dig in a little bit further than a man would dare to.
Zavala: The sensitivity we have with them and putting ourselves in their shoes. Even if you’re having a bad day, you still have to get onstage, sing. So the ability to support them from behind, be a cheerleader and look them in the eyes and giving them that support they need at that moment is very important. Because although you’re not family, you become family.
From left: Sony Music Latin president Alex Gallardo, Mexican singer-songwriter Ramón Vega and Sánchez at Sony Music Latin’s 2023 Música Mexicana Celebration in Los Angeles.
JC Olivera/Getty Images
What advice would you give to anyone starting out in the music business?
Gómez: You have to be passionate. If you go for the money or for the “I’m the manager,” bye. The money will come. It’s about fighting to place the artist at the level [they are] and being clean and honest. And don’t be a fan. It’s one thing to admire your artist, but don’t fall into fandom. You won’t be able to help them.
Sánchez: Don’t give up and be patient. And be empathetic. Be attentive. Be a little more human and don’t look at artists as a money machine. And speak up. Before, I stayed back and swallowed a lot of things. You have to raise your voice in the moment. Go for it. If you don’t agree with something, say so.
Zavala: Don’t take things personally. I was 22 when I started. I was so very young. Now that I’m older, I think back to how sensitive I was. Because it’s not about you. You grow thick skin. And, I’d say, speak up. Present your ideas, articulate them and land them as they should be.
Martínez: Be patient. Love, passion for your work, is what will lead you to do a good job with your artist. And most of all, don’t throw in the towel so soon. And ask. I would always hold back. I would talk down to myself. Ask for help, ask questions. I always thought that they were going to see me as “How could you not know that?” But all questions are good.
This story appears in Billboard‘s Rumbazo special issue, dated Sept. 14, 2024.
Rachelle Jean-Louis always knew the power of songwriting. As a preteen growing up in New Jersey, “When I finished my homework, I’d be listening to CDs and trying to unpack the albums,” she recalls. “Seeing who wrote and produced the songs, reading the liner notes and lyrics.” She idolized singer-songwriter Keri Hilson, who in the aughts “was writing really cool R&B songs” with collaborators like Timbaland, Kanye West and Lil Wayne.
“I wanted to be a songwriter just like her,” Jean-Louis adds. “Music was everything to me. There was no plan B.”
Jean-Louis, now 34, didn’t become a songwriter herself — but she is now the force behind one of today’s fastest-rising songwriting talents, Victoria Monét. When Monét stepped onstage to accept best new artist at the Grammy Awards earlier this year, she brought Jean-Louis, her manager, with her. “There was a binder that I made to take to this really important meeting at a label,” Monét said in her tearful televised speech. “I was an independent artist with no team, and I just thought, ‘Maybe my music would stand for itself.’ But that binder [was] left collecting dust … Rachelle found that binder, and she decided to take a chance, leave that label and be my manager. Thank you so much for seeing me.”
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“Her pulling me up onstage for best new artist … I honestly didn’t think she was going to do that,” Jean-Louis says. “But I’m really proud of her for everything that she’s accomplished against all odds. It’s a testament not just to her but the whole team.” And it’s for her transformative past year with Monét that Billboard honors Jean-Louis as its 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players Executive of the Year.
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The label Monét referenced at the Grammys was former RCA imprint Keep Cool, which Jean-Louis joined in 2017 as an A&R executive — one of several industry gigs (including stints as a music supervisor and a journalist) that helped her channel her fervent music fandom into the skills she would need as a savvy, intuitive artist manager and, eventually, CEO. In 2021, Jean-Louis co-founded management firm Tell Your Friends with business partner Austin Thomas; in addition to Monét, the company’s roster includes rising viral sensation Saint Harison.
Born in New York to Haitian immigrants — her father was a family lawyer, her mother a nurse — Jean-Louis says music was always “at the forefront” of her upbringing; her dad played guitar and piano, and she herself played classical piano as a child. While studying communications at the University of North Carolina, Jean-Louis interned at places including XXL magazine. After graduating, she wrote for the blog Earmilk, landed her first management gig — at the request of then-emerging rapper Doley, whom she had previously covered in XXL — and did a PR stint for an artist at Roc Nation. During a visit to Los Angeles, Jean-Louis followed up on an earlier email she had sent to music supervisor Scott Vener (Entourage) about a show he was working on; though it fell through, he invited Jean-Louis to work with him on HBO’s Ballers, which she did for two seasons.
Then, in 2017, Jean-Louis got the call that changed her career. Her friend Tunji Balogun (now chairman/CEO of Def Jam Recordings) was launching Keep Cool, a joint venture with RCA Records, and he wanted her on his team. Once there, with her music supervisor connections, Jean-Louis placed “Little More Time” — a then-unreleased song by Keep Cool/RCA artist Lucky Daye featuring Monét — on HBO’s Insecure in 2018.
After initially meeting Monét at the song’s video shoot, Jean-Louis later found her aforementioned binder during an office cleaning, and the genesis of Monét’s breakthrough began. With Balogun’s blessing, Jean-Louis exited Keep Cool with Monét and became her manager. In the past six years, with Jean-Louis guiding her, Monét has evolved from go-to songwriter (most famously for Ariana Grande, including her Billboard Hot 100 No. 1s “7 Rings” and “Thank U, Next”) and Platoon-distributed indie artist to full-fledged solo star in her own right on RCA, with her 2023 debut album, Jaguar II (and its hit single “On My Mama”), netting three 2024 Grammy wins.
“It’s been a learning curve for sure,” Jean-Louis says. “Especially when you’ve been used to doing everything yourself, fostering your own internal team and creating a business that’s self-sustaining. But it was all the right steps because Victoria needed to be in the same conversations as some of her peers and be recognized in the same way for her talent.”
Munachi Osegbu
What was it about Victoria’s binder that caught your eye and prompted you to leave Keep Cool?
I still have the binder to this day. (Laughs.) It had “Victoria Monét” across the top and, inside it, her short-term and long-term goals, her team at the time and their contact information, press photos: It just showed somebody that actually cared about every aspect of her artistry and wanted to be better. And for me, it also felt like the answer to the frustration I was having in terms of wanting to wrap my arms around an exciting project. A&R was my dream job and I hadn’t signed anyone yet. And I thought, “Here’s an artist with a clear vision. She has talent as a singer-songwriter, with ’70s-influenced music that’s fresh, not dated, and [she’s] a dancer. You just need to give her the room to do it with the right people that are invested.”
As an artist manager, what’s your personal ratio of gut instinct versus research?
For me, it’s like 70/30. Passion leads, then you look at the numbers and use them as a road map to help guide you. But if you’re only focused on the numbers, you’re losing the soul of it. Music is subjective. Something that’s not reacting right now could react in six months, a year or two years. Where’s the fun if you’re just going to read a chart that everybody has access to, right?
Now more than ever, many companies are very focused on numbers, numbers, numbers. However, there’s still something to be said about having a feeling, a gut instinct. And maybe it’s naive, but I like to believe that if you start with that, the data catches up. There are a lot of people that would have looked at Victoria and said, “Ah, her numbers,” and they would have missed out. A lot of people would have looked at Chappell Roan two years ago and said, “The data doesn’t suggest…,” but how wrong would they be? These are really talented artists that make great music. Don’t let data rule every decision that you make.
Whether signed to a major or an independent, why do artists still need managers?
It’s definitely important. That person is your advocate. They are supposed to be with you in every conversation, making sure to represent your interests and also protect you from anything that may not be aligned with your vision and goals. With everything that has changed in today’s climate, with artist development not really being a priority at labels, that honestly really does fall on the artist manager. And not a lot of people do it. Different managers have different strengths, but I think the common denominator is that they’re passionate about who they work with. It’s a partnership, and they also make sure that they’re aligned. They fix anything: If it’s not going to work with a label or a publisher, if that artist doesn’t feel like he or she is being heard or seen, it’s [the manager’s] job to say, “Let me go fix this, let me figure out how to make this better.”
How challenging has it been to receive equal respect as a woman in management and the industry overall?
There is a fine line being a woman, let alone a Black woman. If you challenge somebody, you could be called aggressive or deemed threatening, depending on your approach. On the other side, if you feel too strongly about something, then you’re being emotional. It’s isolating, too, because you really wish that you could call somebody else and say, “Hey, how’s your experience been?” When you look at the executives of major companies, the majority of them are men, right? And while I’ve heard of other female managers — and recently met Lainey Wilson’s manager [Mandelyn Monchick], who’s great — there are definitely a ton of male managers. So this does come with its own struggles of trying to navigate, trying to earn the same respect that may immediately be given to a male.
Despite all of that, I think this year, more than ever, there’s been more respect because of the success [with Monét] that people really can’t take away from us. We’ve earned it, we’ve worked, we’ve gone the long road. So now anytime somebody comes at me with any of that, it’s “Well, I earned my spot here. I didn’t just end up here. I didn’t inherit this spot.”
We have a lot of women on [Monét’s] team. They’re all empathic, very detail-oriented. There’s a strength to it. That’s why I really do wish there were more of us; there’s a huge area for growth in management.
Munachi Osegbu
Did you have any mentors guiding you through your industry journey?
I didn’t have a mentor, unfortunately. In all honesty, a lot of the mentorship that I got was just truly about watching. I would watch documentaries about and interviews with people like David Geffen and Scooter Braun, trying to understand their thinking so I could emulate that. I watched Beyoncé documentaries because I wanted to understand how this woman, who is running her own business, is still having issues with being heard. Those things made me feel seen. I always yearned for a person I could call about what’s going on, knowing that they’ve been there before.
I do have an amazing support system, for sure, in terms of friends and colleagues that I can call. And others have also extended their hands to me more recently, saying, “Hey, if there’s anything you need or any questions that you have, [reach out].”
Right now, what do you see as the biggest issue facing R&B and hip-hop?
The lack of resources that are allotted to R&B and hip-hop, based on the resources that are given to pop, are very different. I would also say the obsession with data. R&B is a slow-growing but also long-lasting genre. R&B fans are die-hard fans. So when they’re with you, they’re with you for life. It’s not always the same across other genres.
There’s a disconnect when it comes to recognizing R&B as a popular genre. However, R&B is pop. It’s so interesting to me when you think about the music that we grew up on, like Motown — that was pop music. The big ballads of Whitney Houston — that wasn’t R&B music? Somewhere along the way, we’ve become so obsessed with immediacy, like, “What’s the big TikTok song right now?” But what about the long road of these artists in building legacy? That’s the disconnect. R&B is a legacy genre with songs about everything that will stand the test of time. It’s both influential and timeless.
What advice do you have for others aspiring to music industry careers?
I’ve never told this story before, but I needed to figure out how to self-sustain and pay for things like internships in New York and other opportunities that my parents didn’t feel would lead to a real job. So for four years through college, beginning the first summer out of high school, I started working for Cutco. I became one of the top three reps in our district at the knife company; they actually made me a manager. (Laughs.) That was also my first time getting comfortable with the word “no.” Whenever people ask me for advice, I tell them you can’t be afraid of that word. You just have to find a different route to get to what you really want to do. You just need to put up enough shots, and hopefully one of them will go in. So I wasn’t afraid of cold-calling, cold-emailing. It was just what I had to do. Even now when choosing a rollout strategy, songs or any of that, if I really believe in something, I want to fight for it. And the same thing goes for artists.
After the tremendous success you have achieved thus far, how do you define power?
Having unwavering, unapologetic faith in your gut and your vision — and then moving on that.
This story appears in the Aug. 31, 2024, issue of Billboard.
This summer, nothing has been bigger than the Paris Olympics. The global games — held across 17 days from late July through last Sunday’s Closing Ceremony — set all kinds of records. They drew an average U.S. daily viewership of 30.6 million, an 82% jump from the 2021 Tokyo Games, and created worldwide stars out of some of the top athletes on the planet.
The Paris Games culminated in that star-studded Closing Ceremony, which featured a huge performance headlined by French band Phoenix in the iconic Stade de France, with onstage assists from Air, Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig and French producer Kavinsky, among others. The Closing Ceremony drew more than 20 million viewers in the U.S. alone, while its effect led to a giant surge in streams and sales for Phoenix and Kavinsky in particular: Streams for Phoenix’s catalog jumped 86% over the prior week following the performance, while Kavinsky’s “Nightcall” broke the record for most Shazams in a single day and saw its streams grow 74%.
But it was also a massive showcase for one of the most successful groups of the past few decades and one of the top French groups of all time — and it helps their manager, C3’s Matt Sadie, earn the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week. Here, Sadie talks about all the work that went into the performance behind the scenes, the platform of performing in front of an estimated 800 million people worldwide and what this means for the band. “There have been so many times over the years when we — the management team and Branco, Christian, Thomas and Deck in the band — have all worked very, very closely to bring their special vision to fruition,” Sadie says. “The Olympics performance felt like a real crowning moment in Phoenix’s career, and I am thrilled to have been a part of it.”
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This week, Phoenix performed in Paris for the Olympics Closing Ceremony, a huge event for the band and the country. How did that come together, and what key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
As soon as Paris was given the Olympics for 2024 back in 2017, we immediately identified the opportunity internally. It felt very logical that a band of their international stature, from near Paris and largely based there, should have a place in the Olympics. The Opening and Closing Ceremonies were definitely top of the list.
Clearly, the Olympics team weren’t at the stage of picking acts for the ceremonies in 2017, but around two years ago, alongside my counterpart in France, Laurence Muller, and the band’s agent in France, Sofiene Bijaoui from Corida, we identified who the powers that be were and began conversations. There was a lot of perseverance from everyone on the team. In the meantime, last year we planned the band’s touring to keep them in Europe over this summer, leaving gaps in the schedule where the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were. This allowed the flexibility needed in case the call came, which it eventually did.
What are the considerations when putting an act onto an event as prestigious as the Closing Ceremony? Was there any hesitation or was it an automatic yes?
How do you say no? Given the scale of the opportunity and the very natural connection in being a French band from the area, it was as close to an automatic yes as one can get. In our conversations with the Olympics team, we were immediately given a lot of independence in putting their set together — there was simply the remit that the performance had to feel like a party for the athletes and that we had 15-17 minutes to play with. Knowing that the band would be playing to a global audience of around 800 million, the priority for us was to put a show together which would have the potential to appeal to people who’d never heard of Phoenix before and would remind those who had why they’ve continued to be one of the most beloved artists of the last 20 years. We immediately felt the pre-conditions of the set given to us by the Olympics meant that this was a no-brainer.
How did you prepare for this differently than any other gig?
Pretty much every aspect of this show required preparations that were different to a normal show for the band. It was very much non-stop from myself, Laurence and the rest of the team from the moment we got the green light.
The band haven’t played a medley set of this kind before, so that was a challenge in itself. They knew they wanted to have some guests, so identifying them, getting them on board, and working through logistical gymnastics was pretty consuming for all. For the band, having the acts they wanted to join them in Air, Kavinsky, Angele, Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend and VannDa, was a very different approach to a normal show but one they relished.
If you’ve seen them play before, you’ll know that the band have always put a lot of focus into the production at their live shows. They’d usually have the control and time to finesse it into something very special. We had neither of those luxuries here; we were simply told, “You’ll be playing on a stage in the middle of the stadium which is shaped like the world map — you’ll be playing in Africa.” We worked closely with the team to create a scenario which would work for the band and their guest performers. Playing in a stadium is very different to a festival show or the sheds the band played at during their recent U.S. co-headline run with Beck, but it gave our brilliant lighting designer Pierre Claude a huge scale of production elements to work with. His efforts to pull things together were truly herculean.
We’ve done plenty of live streams — from festivals and most recently with Air from the roof of the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris, but this was on a whole different scale, with over 80 cameras in the stadium capturing the show. We also weren’t in control of the direction during the livestream. As a solution, Laurence brought in David Ctiborsky from Blogotheque, who’d worked closely with the band on various livestreams, to ensure that the various “moments” were filmed effectively, advising the team from the Olympics capturing it. We also were conscious that this was being broadcast around the world via local broadcasters, so talking points on each of the songs and artists involved was critical promotionally.
Outside of the show itself, promoting it was very different from any other show. Rather than the usual heavy promotion into a show, news of their performance was technically embargoed until the last minute, despite the odd leak here and there. This meant that we had to be reactive with media after the fact, which we were ready to do via our PR — Jen Appel of The Oriel and Nathalie Ridard of Ephelide — our digital marketing team, Dream Team, and the team at C3 Management.
With the band appearing onstage with Kavinsky and Air, and the closing ceremony also featuring a medley of Justice songs, what does it all say about the importance of electronic music to French culture?
To their credit, in choosing artists from the “French Touch” movement, the creative team behind the Closing Ceremony identified something very special that France brought to the world. Daft Punk, Air, Phoenix, Justice and many more have had a huge, and sometimes unsung, impact on music globally, not just in the electronic space. To my mind, it’s one of the country’s greatest present-day cultural exports. Highlighting it in the ceremony really allowed them to celebrate something uniquely French but also globally relevant and ultimately timeless.
What position does a performance like this put the band in, in terms of their next moves? How do they capitalize on the moment?
Clearly this has been a huge watershed moment for the band globally. Every metric has shown that this week, notably seven of the top 11 songs on Shazam this week are from their set, including Kavinsky’s “Nightcall” receiving the most Shazams of any song in a day ever. We’ve seen serious growth on socials and streaming numbers, alongside a vast amount of media coverage. There’s no doubt that a huge number of people have discovered the band, and I’m sure many others have enjoyed being reminded of some of their favorite songs from the last couple decades. The performance has opened a lot of doors already and we’re still seeing the impact in real time.
More than anything, though, after more than a decade as one of the band’s managers, I’m proud of them for always being open to new challenges that push us all creatively and beyond. There have been so many times over the years when we — the management team and Branco, Christian, Thomas and Deck in the band — have all worked very, very closely to bring their special vision to fruition. The Olympics performance felt like a real crowning moment in Phoenix’s career, and I am thrilled to have been a part of it.
When Chappell Roan released her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, last September, it didn’t immediately crack the Billboard 200. In fact, it took more than six months for the album to debut at No. 127 on the chart dated April 6 — following a boost in exposure after Roan opened on tour for Olivia Rodrigo.
Now, nearly one year later, both Roan’s album and her stardom continue to hit new highs. On the Billboard 200, Midwest Princess has entered the tally’s top five, hitting a new peak of No. 4 after 19 weeks on the chart. Over on the Billboard Hot 100, the pop star currently has six songs scattered across the chart, with her latest single, Good Luck, Babe!” climbing the highest. The hit, which this week entered the top 10 at No. 8, has become Roan’s highest-charting entry to date.
Roan’s chart dominance has been a long time coming, and a moment her longtime manager Nick Bobetsky (State of the Art) has been patiently waiting for. Bobetsky met Roan in 2018, after her previous record label, Atlantic (from which she was dropped), shared some of her unreleased music. “Her immense talent was clear immediately,” he recalls. “She’s always been a true artist.”
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Since then, Bobetsky and the team have “focused solely on building the Chappell Roan universe and trusting that the greatness of her and her music would thrive” — just as they are now. And on the heels of a record-breaking Lollapalooza Chicago set, which saw the festival score its biggest-ever daytime crowd, Bobetsky has earned the title of Billboard’s Executive of the Week.
Here, Bobetsky talks about the success of “Babe!”, Roan’s festival takeover this summer and more. As he says, “I take great pride in helping shape [an artist’s] runway to success, however long it needs to be.”
“Good Luck, Babe” has become the highest-charting song of Chappell’s career, entering the Hot 100’s top 10. What key decisions did you make to help make that happen?
When Chappell finishes a song she’s excited about, we’ve learned to follow her instincts and hit go; in this case, putting a strategy together with Island to get the song out quickly. Chappell has always been about building, which in turn brings momentum. People became fans on their own schedule over the course of months, having their own moments of discovery. “Good Luck, Babe!” was the first time since her sold-out tours, her album release, the snowball effect she was experiencing, where the broader fanbase could share a fresh moment together. That shared and focused excitement, paired with the incredible song, gave us a strong launch. We’ve been able to not only grow the song since then but the entire album because we’ve continued to stay focused on the same core things — building, and consistent momentum.
Chappell has a total of six songs on the Hot 100 right now. How are you supporting so many songs at once and determining which one to push next?
Chappell’s songs speak for themselves, her performances are second to none, and her universe has never been about one song, one moment, or one driver — and the fact that we have so many songs in the Hot 100 is a testament to that. We aren’t cramming anything down anyone’s throat, and fans are listening to multiple songs at once. In terms of pushing the next song, we are in the incredible position to have a lot to choose from. That said, I don’t actually think it’s about choosing to push one in particular, it’s about paying attention to which one is thriving the most. We have live audience reactions, fans online, streaming numbers to lead us. What excites me the most is the nonlinear nature of it all — that her next song to push is likely to have been out for nearly a year.
Dan Nigro signed Chappell to his Amusement label before she signed with Island. How did you help guide her transition to the major label?
Dan started making music with Chappell during her previous record deal, and he remained committed when she and the label parted ways. We released a series of singles independently and built a very loyal and loud fanbase. We focused solely on building the Chappell Roan universe and trusting that the greatness of her and her music would thrive. It started to get loud, labels started circling, and Dan’s Amusement label was a continuation of their creative collaboration, now in partnership with Island Records where she landed in the end.
Her debut album, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, was released in Sept. 2023 and just this week — almost a year later — hit a No. 4 peak on the Billboard 200. What are you and the team doing to help sustain its renewed momentum — or planning to do still?
Everything in the world of Chappell Roan is about building, staying true to her vision, and embracing the 100% rule — that if the answer is not a true 100% yes, it’s a no. Chappell’s growth is a very special pairing of consistent commitment to momentum, paired with ensuring that every moment is executed to the fullest degree. We’re in an era of tons of noise, the fear of fleeting moments, pressure to say yes at every turn, and our approach is different. She says yes when it’s right for her universe, and people want to keep joining in. The momentum is sustaining itself because it’s real and reflective of incredible music and artistry having real cultural impact.
Chappell’s Lollapalooza Chicago set saw the largest day crowd in the festival’s history across its global franchise. What were you anticipating and how did you help her mentally prepare?
Every festival this summer Chappell has played has been bigger than the previous. We knew this was going to be big, no one knew we’d break records. We work really hard to surround her with visionary creatives, a rock solid touring team and ensuring every element is top-notch. I’m not sure how you can mentally prepare for a moment that big, but she’s born for moments like this.
What kind of boost has she gained from that news-making set?
We’ve seen new daily peaks in consumption and online conversations, but I feel the biggest boost because it feels like mainstream media, fans and the industry alike all saw it coming and were ready to celebrate. It really feels like a, “See, I told you so,” moment — not from us saying it, but from the masses screaming it.
What’s the key to managing a pop star today?
Respect, partnership and belief in the artist. Sure, the strategy, relationships, business decisions and all of that are important, but that’s actually the easier part. When you have a generational pop star, the real key is the shared vision and commitment to their greatness long-term. I take great pride in helping shape their runway to success, however long it needs to be.
Big Sean has signed a new management deal with Brandon Silverstein’s S10 Entertainment, Billboard has learned. The Detroit rapper was previously managed by Roc Nation, with whom he had been for a decade.
“Brandon shares the vision, understands where I’m headed, and I’m incredibly excited to work with him and the S10 team,” Sean said.
The news comes on the heels of another major announcement: the Grammy-nominated artist recently revealed his sixth solo full length will arrive on Aug. 9 and is titled Better Me Than You. The album follows a return to the charts for Sean, who earlier this month hit No. 24 on the Hot 100 thanks to his feature on Eminem’s “Tobey” alongside BabyTron. It became his 55th entry on the chart.
“Big Sean is an incredible talent who, even after topping charts, breaking records, winning awards and headlining across the world, is just getting started,” says Silverstein, S10 founder and CEO. “I can’t wait for fans to hear the new music.”
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As the artist wrote on social media after sharing the album’s release date: “Its Been a journey i cant wait to share with you all.”
Over on the Billboard 200, the rapper has charted seven albums in the top 10. His last three solo albums — 2015’s Dark Sky Paradise, 2017’s I Decided and 2020’s Detroit 2 — all topped the chart.
So far, Big Sean has released the lead single “Yes,” on which he dismisses critics, rapping: “Would rather give y’all my soul, I don’t have to sell it.” He’s keeping busy outside of his own rollout as well, and last week appeared alongside Rick Ross and Lil Wayne on a new DJ Premier track titled “Ya Don’t Stop.”
Silverstein currently manages Myke Towers. His previous management clients include Anitta and Normani. The company’s publishing division, S10 Publishing, boasts chart-topping clients including Jasper Harris (Tate McRae), Harv (Justin Bieber), Kavi (Tommy Richman) and more.
Public relations company Sacks & Co is entering the management space with SacksCo Creative, an agency that will represent creative professionals. Among its first clients are Imogene Strauss, who spearheaded Charli XCX’s instantly iconic Brat album cover, and Molly Hawkins, Harry Styles’ longtime creative director.
Other clients include creative directors Dannah Gottlieb, who works with Sabrina Carpenter, and Payton Newcomer, whose projects have included work with Weyes Blood and Suki Waterhouse.
SacksCo Creative is led by Sacks & Co. founder Carla Sacks and Los Angeles vp Reid Kutrow, who has helmed PR campaigns for Florence + the Machine, The xx and Kamasi Washington, among others. Kutrow will oversee the existing roster and recruit new clients.
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“We are extremely excited to have this opportunity to start this new agency with Imogene, Molly, Dannah and Payton,” said Sacks in a statement. “Their work is gorgeous, brave and transformative on behalf of their clients. It’s our goal to build a very supportive and creative firm, much like we have at Sacks & Co. A thoughtfully curated roster of world class talent with endless possibilities for all.”
Added Kutrow, “Sacksco Creative is intended to complement our longstanding work at Sacks & Co. We are grateful and lucky to be working with these enormously talented creative directors whose work augments each artist’s vision, much as we aim to do in our jobs as publicists.”
In her work with Styles, Hawkins oversaw all creative concepts around his Grammy album of the year winner, 2022’s Harry’s House, as well as conceptualized and directed his Love on Tour outing. She has also worked with The xx, FKA twigs and more.
Strauss, who is currently working on Charli XCX’s tour with Troye Sivan as a show director and designer, has also handled projects for Honey Dijon, Waterhouse and FKA twigs.
Sacks & Co’s PR clients include Chris Stapleton, Luke Combs, Lake Street Drive, HARDY and Joy Oladokun.
Given the multitude of distribution, streaming, promotion and marketing options and expectations, the business of becoming an established artist has turned into a seriously heavy lift for music acts and their managers. It’s one reason that Mick Management partner Jonathan Eshak says, “We don’t like to refer to ourselves as a management company anymore. We’re a music company. What we do more than anything else is brand development, artist development — world-building … We’re not just trying to keep the train on the tracks.”
Eshak and his partner, Michael McDonald, the company’s founder, got into management after immersing themselves in other sectors of the business. McDonald served as Dave Matthews Band’s tour manager before co-founding ATO Records in 2000 with Matthews; his manager, Red Light founder Coran Capshaw; and Chris Tetzeli, who went on to start 7S Management. He opened Mick the following year with John Mayer as one of his first clients and, in 2004, brought on data savant Eshak, who worked at Universal Music Publishing Group (and is the twin brother of Island Records co-CEO Justin Eshak). Jonathan became a partner in 2015.
With a staff of approximately 20 in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville, the duo has built a boutique firm — with its own record label, Mick Music, distributed by Believe — that represents Maggie Rogers, who released the critically praised Don’t Forget Me in April; Leon Bridges and Ray LaMontagne, who will both release albums later this year; The Walkmen and the solo career of their frontman, Hamilton Leithauser; Sharon Van Etten; Brett Dennen; Mandy Moore; My Morning Jacket; and The Marias.
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In a fragmented culture where “it’s very hard to find water-cooler moments,” according to Eshak, Mick’s team excels in building committed fan bases for a roster of individualistic artists who punch above their weight. “Artists all define success differently, and we understand that,” he adds. “We understand that there’s no one way of doing it anymore.” Their bespoke approach has resulted in some notable recent successes. In August, Rogers will embark on an international arena tour — including two shows at Madison Square Garden — though she has yet to achieve platinum sales with an album. In 2018, Leithauser began a five-night residency at the swank, 100-capacity Café Carlyle in New York, playing to “a few die-hard Walkmen fans and some fairly confused business travelers,” as Eshak puts it. This year, Leithauser sold out 12 nights, and the concept will be expanded with potential notable guests in 2025. And in June, The Marias celebrated the release of their new album, Submarine, with a secret pop-up show in downtown Los Angeles for approximately 5,000 fans. Eshak says 38,000 RSVP’d.
“What each of those things speak to is us finding interesting ways that the artists appreciate and superserve fan bases,” McDonald says.
Eshak saw his first concert in the late 1980s when George Strait and his band headlined the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo at the Houston Astrodome. “Thirty-plus years later, I was given this belt buckle by the rodeo when Leon Bridges headlined,” he says. “Truly a full-circle moment.”
Michael Buckner
What are the challenges of running an artist management company today versus 25 years ago?
Jonathan Eshak: When I first started with Michael, the sky had started to fall on the recorded-music business. This was the dawn of file-sharing companies like Napster and Kazaa. It was attractive to join Michael for that very reason. He was coming from building a world that was unique, not just to the ebbs and flows of the success of recorded music but also, how do you do things well in touring, merchandising, etc. He understood the creation of cultures, having worked with Dave Matthews and Coran.
Like the Grateful Dead, Matthews built a culture around his music.
Eshak: The Dead were the godfathers of that, and Mick’s ethos effectively starts there. While the challenges of the industry have evolved, the code of building an artist’s career remains the same. Which is, how do you focus on building a meaningful, long-lasting relationship with your fan base? We always say, “How do we make the artist the hit and not just the songs?” Music is just part of the cocktail. It’s also, how are we creating a dynamic of connectivity between the artist and the fan? How are we merchandising with them? How are we creating live shows that are meaningful, that evolve? There’s been a lot of lip service about artist development throughout the history of recorded music.
Michael McDonald: There were fewer breakthrough moments then, whereas today, because of the way technology and culture has evolved, it’s been democratized. The upside is that more people can succeed. The downside is there are fewer channels that create that star-turn moment.
Eshak snagged this copy of the run-of-show for Saturday Night Live on Nov. 3, 2018, when Rogers appeared as musical guest. “It’s an honor each time our acts receive the invite,” he says.
Michael Buckner
Maggie Rogers seems to be a prime example of someone who has grown through connectivity with her fans.
Eshak: Maggie has understood the importance of connectivity from the start. She had this moment of Pharrell-ity, for lack of a better word, and instead of sitting back and working that, she understood the importance of going around the world and connecting with her fans face-to-face. To your point, she’s doing two nights in Madison Square Garden without a platinum record. Now, she obviously wants that and we want that for her, but people who are in are in. Even as she’s grown, the No. 1 thing on the checklist is, what are we doing for that audience?
What’s an example of that?
Eshak: When we were announcing the fall arena tour, we created pop-up shops in all the markets where people could line up to buy exclusive merchandise and, most importantly, reduced-price tickets. She was hearing from unsettled fans about ticket prices, so we tried to create solves. Fans could walk [into the pop-ups], point at a seat map and get a ticket that was going to cost less than if they paid for it online. Because of that, her fans understand that she sees them.
What questions do you ask before signing an artist?
McDonald: Most importantly, “Do we love the music? Do we feel like we can really grow this career?” And then, “Do they, will they, work hard?” We can’t want it more than they do. Some of this is research you can do before you meet the artist. Much of it we do through conversations, but there’s also data that’s crucial. We’ve had great success following our passion and guts, but to not use the tools at our disposal to help make those decisions would be foolish. Data is a great strength of Jonathan’s and why we’ve evolved in using it to inform decisions but never to unequivocally make decisions. If we did, we never would have signed some of the artists we have.
Why did you partner with Firebird?
McDonald: Firebird brings us resources that a company our size doesn’t have. There’s a data department and an analytics department of 10 to 15 people. There’s a finance department. There are all sorts of things that allow us to double down on the data and free us up to stay focused on our artists.
McDonald celebrated “turning 50, 20 years of sobriety, raising nearly $500,000 for MusiCares and crossing something off my bucket list” by participating in the 2019 Iron Man World Championship. “It was an epic journey and one of the greatest days of my life,” he says.
Michael Buckner
What’s your pitch to artists you want to sign?
Eshak: It really comes down to having a shared code, so it’s important that we take the time to sit down with artists and say, “What are your life goals in addition to success in recorded music?” This is such a deep relationship that we talk all the time. We talk on weekends. We’re there with them for very big life stages, and it’s really important for us to have at least a common set of goals because it takes a lot out of everybody. Where we do a good job is acting almost as coaches now. It’s our job to be highly informed about how people are having success, distilling that and applying it to the artists that we represent, who are all quite different. In other words, how can we do this with you so that you remain true to yourself? We can’t do that for a thousand artists. It’s not the business model that Michael and I have elected to build.
You have a label.
Eshak: We have a label, and we’re working with some of our artists whose repertoires are returning to them and they need a mechanism to put music out. Some of it is also identifying artists that we like and helping them put music into the world.
Do you encourage your artists to own their masters?
McDonald: One hundred percent, whenever possible. Today, we would be hard pressed to pursue a deal that started with perpetuity music being somewhere else. There’s always a chance that it’s going to happen, and ultimately, it’s an artist’s decision. If they feel like this is their shot and they’re willing to give that up — absolutely. But one of the reasons we created the label was to say, “All right, let’s have an easy mechanism where we can control the deal terms. Let’s put music out and try to build on that. Then, if a great licensing option is not available today, let’s take a year and try to build something.” Ray LaMontagne’s album Trouble reverted to him in May after 20 years. So it’s not always a three-year or five-year reversion. But 20 years ago, we were able to take a long view and say, “Let’s take whatever percentage less today so at least there’s the option to sell those recordings X number of years later.”
Are your agreements with artists traditional percentage deals or partnerships?
McDonald: It varies. We have a lot of traditional deals, but any time we’re in true partnership, where we’re sharing [intellectual property] with an artist, it’s fully above board and clear with everyone’s legal teams. There is an evolving way that artists are going to get into business with different companies. We welcome that as things evolve.
A friend of McDonald had this box made for him. “It’s where I keep my most cherished and memorable notes and small keepsakes from artists, family and friends.”
Michael Buckner