Unknown Speaker 0:00
I have this really interesting view on life. I honestly don’t feel that someone has to lose in order for someone to win. I feel like everyone can win

Unknown Speaker 0:08
and you can have it all. Hey, it’s Nate Disarro and welcome to titans of industry, the podcast where I talk to industry leaders and innovators who are at the top of their game and leading the pack in their fields, uncovering some of the best stories in today’s business landscape. In today’s episode, I sit down with Dan wise, an artist manager in the Nashville music industry. Dan talks about how fake until you make it actually works, how he opted for practical experience over an academic path, and how hustling helped him end up on a management team that is home to artists like Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton. And now let’s get to the episode. But before we do, it’s important to know that whether you’re a small business owner or the face of a multibillion dollar industry, your organization has a great story to tell, and content Titan wants to help you tell it. We’re a digital content creation powerhouse built for the 21st century Providing all in creative strategic production post production and distribution services for a 360 degree 24 seven world. In our world Titans are passionate, creative doers. They have the experience to take your project from start to finish, minimizing your involvement so you can focus on what matters most running your business. So if you’re ready to take your content, strategy and production to the next level, our Titans are ready to help.

Unknown Speaker 1:28
Now here’s my conversation with Dan wise.

Unknown Speaker 1:33
Alright, so we’re here at starstruck entertainment in the green room. I don’t know how many people have come in and enjoyed this this facility. But here with Dan wise Dan, it’s great to be with you today. Thanks so much for taking a few minutes. Yeah.

Unknown Speaker 1:46
Thanks for having me.

Unknown Speaker 1:48
So just want to jump right in and get your background. Where are you from? How did you get into the music business?

Unknown Speaker 1:55
Originally from Las Vegas, or a little suburb called Henderson, Nevada. And in high school moved to the end of high school moved to San Diego. So I spent a lot of time there but music business you know, I started in high school I was really excited. So, you know, playing in band in junior high, and I’ve always wanted to be the leader. So in junior high playing band, I would go to the teacher and I would say, I want to conduct and she did she gave bought me a baton in a case and I got to Kentucky conduct the whole band, right. And so it was always kind of like taking that role of more of a leadership role in music. So when I started playing bass, I realized that the creative bass playing wasn’t for me, but I wanted to produce I wanted to be in the studio. So in high school interned at studios around Vegas, one of them was digital insight was what it was called. I can’t remember the name of the owner, but you know, I was probably 15 years old, you know, I have no idea what I’m doing in life and the owner of the studio is probably 28 years old. driving a Ferrari, you know, and I was just like, I thought that it was the coolest thing in life and watching all these local bands come up in this really awesome studio in Vegas. But I remember my mom driving me an hour every single day after school to go to the studio to watch Tim for me to go in and like watch this guy’s car and clean the bathrooms and you know, do all that, you know, just in hopes that I can sit in in one session, you know? And so But yeah, I was really interested in kind of that like taking a step back and the in overseeing, I guess the process of music. So

Unknown Speaker 3:34
from there I kind of really got interested in

Unknown Speaker 3:38
in sound, right? So audio engineering, so I started mixing live sound and doing some like technical theater stuff in high school and just kind of, you know, recording buddies bands and stuff like that in the house and got really interested in that, that process. So so when I moved to San Diego, just looking for any sort of random job, anything I could find and there was a audio company hiring to do to like build speakers or something. And I just needed a summer job before. The plan was to go to college in San Diego. And this audio company turns out to be one of the largest audio companies in the world as far as live touring production. So at 18 I got this job at this company called sound image and Escondido, California. And building speakers, which was horrible is the worst, because they weren’t like wooden speakers. They were like carbon fiber composite, like chemicals. And it was horrible. It was horrible. I mean, it’s a really cool company. People were great, you know, but that was horrible. So three months in I just went went to the boss and I just said that this isn’t what I’m made to do. So if you have another role for me, I’ll take it otherwise unfortunately, I’m gonna have to walk away and and I, you know, first person, you know, in the music industry, really That kind of gave me a shot with him and his name’s Rick Stanley out of San Diego and he really kind of was just like, Okay, well, let’s dive in and kind of threw me into the fire and within less than a year of being with that company, they put me on the road. And they sent me on tour with my very first professional tour was a country artists named Mary cheapened carpenter, she’s still around touring. She’s awesome. I remember that being my first tour and I’m 18 years old on a tour bus like well, this is this is great, you know, making more money than anybody my age and just really excited and and that just kind of led to more tours and more tours, more tours and college ended up being a distant, distant memory or distant thought.

Unknown Speaker 5:42
So I’m curious what you did on those tours, were you audio engineer,

Unknown Speaker 5:47
I was kind of a tech as I learned, and then, you know, when bands would have a support act, I would go mix the support act or whatever and just kind of that was kind of a definitely a learning process. When you’re 18, so no. But anyone from you know, I was a tech for a long time, but anyone from Mary chipping Carpenter to like Jimmy Buffett and you know? And yeah, so people like that. So it was great.

Unknown Speaker 6:16
So I started kind of from a tech side, you’re intrigued with audio and all the all the technical stuff, but then eventually, I guess it moved into more of a management role.

Unknown Speaker 6:26
Yeah, I think the first, actually I was still only maybe 19 or 20. And I remember the guy I mentioned a little bit ago, Rick Stanley, but still a dear friend of mine, and somebody that I respect more than anything that probably taught me the most about just being a good human being. His name is john schinsky. And he’s a he’s a good friend, business partner. He’s just a great guy. But he gave me my first real opportunity to be to production manage and to make sound for Jason Mraz when he was first. Coming up when his very first single broke, and he was starting to tour a lot, and I ended up working for Jason for a long time, but that, that experience and what he taught me about production, managing and kind of taking on a different leadership role was, you know, very important part of my life to kind of watch that. And what was the reason why it was so important for me, I think is because it was finally that point in my life where I was, knew that I could design my future. And so it was kind of that point of, you know, I’m an audio engineer, I’m a tech, right? Well, I want to be an audio engineer. So I just tell people, I’m an audio engineer, and I just go do it and figure it out. Right. And it was kind of like, well, who’s that guy’s boss? Was the production manager. Great. That’s what I’m doing. You know, that’s, that’s the gist. That’s the life I’m going to design for myself. And then from there, it was, you know, well, who’s the production managers boss or who kind of runs the tour? Oh, it’s the tour manager. Great. I want a tour manager. That’s what I’m going to do and kind of stepped into it. toward management role, so leading tours and building teams and doing that for years, and then from there same kind of thing is, okay, well, you know, who oversees the tours who see who oversees that part of it. It’s the manager, right? And so just kind of stepping into that management role and designing that, that path for myself. And I think, you know, as silly as it is designing your life and figuring it out, that’s kind of how it all worked. I mean, I literally told people, I was a tour manager, and I’ve never managed a day in my life. And they’re like, Oh, you are? Yeah, of course. Of course. Yeah. That’s what I do. And you get thrown into it, you create this opportunity, create this, you know, this person that you want to be, and you just do it, and you’re it and all of a sudden, it’s like, Whoa, I did it. I made it happen. Now what you know, what’s real fake it till you make? Yeah, yeah. So that’s kind of how that’s that, you know, really long story of how I kind of kept going down the management.

Unknown Speaker 8:55
So were you in San Diego most that time or when did you transition to Nashville?

Unknown Speaker 8:58
Yep. I was in San Diego. Pretty much that whole time.

Unknown Speaker 9:03
I moved to Nashville about nine years ago,

Unknown Speaker 9:06
there was an artist in town that was just breaking. And they wanted somebody to kind of build that team when he went to help him grow, build the team around them, brought me in as a tour manager, building his road team building his band, kind of building the family, and the culture around him. Really young kid. And we and I did that in this it was very successful. And he’s very talented. It was an amazing experience. And as it grew, it grew so fast. I ended up kind of stepping into more of a management role and just kind of handling day to day stuff between tour managing, you know, even audio, some audio engineering, just kind of like everything I needed to do to kind of help grow his career, and or just help support, you know, where he needed it. So do we get to hear who this first artist was managed. First move in here Yeah, his name was hunter Hayes. And yeah, he’s talented and amazing amazing musician amazing guys. Yeah, it was a it was quite a journey with him you know we spent eight years together and unfortunately you know just recently we we parted ways but no it was it was an amazing journey it was a really important time for me to to work with him you know coming into Nashville at that time something on the rise something as Nashville still just kind of growing and you know, the the country music genres changing a little bit and just kind of that that moment where, you know, country music is there’s a ton of people moving to town, there’s a lot of growth, there’s a lot of things happening and changing and moving. So came into town for that thinking it would just be maybe a temporary solution, I’m not sure and I never looked back. I never went back to San Diego, you know, just ended up moving out, had some friends move all my stuff out from San Diego, I never went back. That’s the best move I’ve ever made. That’s great.

Unknown Speaker 10:57
Yeah. And it’s safe to assume that when you Move to Nashville Nashville just started going nuts. Maybe we can attribute your moving here to the towns? I don’t know. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 11:07
totally. No.

Unknown Speaker 11:11
No, it was man it was Nashville was an I kinda I think I’ve I stumbled across Nashville right at the beginning of that. When it started going crazy. I remember like, things like the Gulch, where they tried to build this little area of town. They couldn’t. It wasn’t working. There wasn’t enough buzz yet. And so I remember these, these condos, and the goal was that they couldn’t give them away. They I mean, they couldn’t sell these things, because it just wasn’t working. And where was I at that time? Yeah, exactly. And now you know, there are million dollar condos and it’s you know, right in the heart of downtown and it’s it’s an amazing spot but yeah, it’s it’s been amazing to watch this town grow and, you know, watch watch people come here and yeah, it’s it’s pretty magic.

Unknown Speaker 11:57
So I want to talk a little bit about kind of what artists manage It is how it’s different from working, you know, specifically for a record label. And then that relationship that comes with artists because like you said, sometimes it’s not a forever thing. What is that like as an artist manager and kind of the relationship with the artists? Are they normally long term short term contract based relationship based within the scope of the big picture of an artist touring and recording and all those things?

Unknown Speaker 12:24
Well, yes, it management is definitely relationship based. And, you know, I don’t think that there’s really a set structure on what management is some some managers have contracts. Some managers don’t, it’s a handshake deal. Some managers are very involved, some managers step back and kind of have some day to days handle it until it gets to a certain level. So some managers there’s some companies that you know, acquire other smaller managers and smaller artists, you know, just to be under their umbrella. There’s just so many ways about you know, how to manage an artist or Managing or what that relationship is, sometimes your your, you know, if you work for a company, you’re thrown an artist that hey, this is your new day to day manager. And obviously you build a relationship with those artists. Sometimes you’re, it’s your childhood best friend that has made it and now you’re, you know, you’re with them and you’re helping them grow. So I think it’s, there’s not really a set structure on what that is. But overall, as an artist manager, yeah, it’s relationship based. And, you know, our job is to, is to guide and counsel, an artist based on their vision and where they want to go with their career. So the way I describe a manager and this is just one way of looking at it is, you know, I’m holding this Lacroix can for people that can’t see but if you know if an artist is a Lacroix can and that artist wants to be in every single hand and every person in the world. How do we make that happen? You know, how do we come up with that vision in creative marketing strategy? Geez, you know, even from production or recording or producer, you know, what, what production facility Are we going to use? What distribution are we going to do use to get that Lacroix into every hand in the world, you know. So it’s very similar in the sense of as an artist, they want their music heard by everybody, right? As big as you can possibly get it. And so how do we do that? What producers do we record with? And that’s a you know, it’s a big collaboration, you know, with an artist at that level. You got to collaborate with everybody, right? You got to crowd collaborate with this record, label the band with everybody, you got to be in sync, I guess. While still kind of following the artists vision, making sure that we’re in you know, following that same path. So anything from the recording process distribution, marketing strategies, you know, once it comes time when when musics heard and things are going well. How do we build a tour around you know, what’s the tour look like? How many dates what markets are hot You know, are we? Is it working globally? Do we move into a global market? You know, what do we do there? So I think as a manager is just kind of advise and counsel those, you know, making sure that we’re in line with artists vision, and we’re making things happen there. I guess a lot of that all makes sense. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 15:16
absolutely. And kind of in theme of how you sort of designed your career path, you know, from from saying, This is what I want to be I’m going to start telling people in this, is there a similar kind of mentality that goes into that with managing an artist as far as if they’re currently playing, you know, honky tonks and small bars and they want to start playing theaters. You kind of fake it till you make it or is it a very structured kind of streamlined path? Because I know that the game has changed a little bit over the last decade, especially with digital streaming and everything else has that impacted the the touring and, and the way that all happens as well.

Unknown Speaker 15:54
Yeah, it’s definitely changed and it’s, it’s, I think, just in general In your own business, my personal opinion is there’s a lot there’s a lot more ways to market a song and a product, I guess, or, you know, sticking with music, there’s a lot more ways to market it and get it out there. But that means there’s a lot more noise to cut through. Right. And so, I think that, you know, at the end of the day, the best song wins if it’s heard by enough people, right? And so, you know, yes, there’s a strategy but at the end of the day, the songs got to connect with fans in so but the beauty of today with digital is, you can kind of pivot on a dime, you know, you can put a ton of marketing dollars on one song and it goes, but you realize the other song you released on Spotify, just to put it out is blowing up, well, let’s pivot throw some money towards that song, and kind of grow that and, you know, you have to answer your question people that want to play, you know, people that want to play arenas. Yes, you absolutely have a have a vision and a path and a plan and goals and how to get it there. Uh, you know it all at the end of the day, the music has to connect, you know, the music really has to connect.

Unknown Speaker 17:06
Yeah, one of my favorite phrases is the market always wins, right? You can’t. Especially in the creative world, you can’t subjectively make something that you love, and then just force it on people and they’re never gonna see it the same way you do. I just had an experience with somebody creating great product. But it wasn’t what the world loved. And that’s okay. You know, you pivot, you move on. And you just keep at it. Yeah. I love Chris Stapleton, I think was talking about he has written you know, well over 1000 songs or some insane number. But he wrote most of them for him, you know, and then he he would write songs for other people, but he was like, as an artist, those aren’t the songs I want to play. And so for a long time he fought being an artist. And then eventually, you know, it came to fruition and he became what was it a musician of the year Newcomer of the Year? Yeah, I think so. It’s just interesting. How you know, in this creative world creative process? The market always wins.

Unknown Speaker 18:04
Yeah, period. Yeah. And that’s, that’s interesting that you say that I mean, I creative types don’t necessarily like this, this, this thought process in this viewpoint on it. But, you know, to your point, you know, again, if this Lacroix was the product, and I wanted it to taste like salt and pepper, because that’s my favorite thing. then great. I’m going to sell three cans of it to the people that want to go to that tastes like salt and pepper, right? Yeah. But you know, and that people put a lot of time and effort into that, to making a great product that people want to enjoy and love. And, you know, you got to keep that in mind. You know, there’s, there’s a ton of musicians that just want to open up and write poetry in their bedroom to release some emotions and feelings, you know, and some of those will connect with other people. Some of them won’t, but you know, you kind of got to realize that going into it, and there’s some people Go write songs that mean absolutely nothing to them just because that’s what the people want to hear, you know. So finding that lane that kind of satisfies both of those is I think the the goal.

Unknown Speaker 19:12
So, Nashville, I mean, I’d be interested in know the statistics of how many talented musicians move into this town every single day. It’s insane. If you’re a musician, and you’re ready to take that next step, how do you get an artist manager? How do you get to that point? Do you have to be discovered? Can you knock on the front door at starstruck and say, hey, you’re the hiring manager? How does that process work? What’s kind of the inside of getting to that point where you’re ready for a manager?

Unknown Speaker 19:39
I think it’s a little of both I I’ve told this story 100 times I just told it this morning, but there was this. this awesome pop singer this this kid from Florida, and he comes in and he comes to Nashville, and he’s getting ready to play the show and it’s coming from an artist. This means even more to me, but You know, he came, he made him to start talking great guy, forget his name, but great guy, great voice amazing artists. And he said, Man, I came to Nashville with this dream of like getting a record label and a booking agent and a publishing deal. So I can really make the music that I want to make. And I’m so excited. And he stops and He kind of looks at the sky a little bit, and he looks at me and he says, You like cupcakes? And I’m like, Yeah, man, where are we going? You like vanilla cupcakes? I’m like, sure, man, you know? Yeah, of course, like vanilla cupcakes. So imagine I’m on Shark Tank. And I tell all the sharks that I have the best vanilla cupcake. It’s the most amazing vanilla cupcake. It’s gonna melt in your mouth. It’s you’ll never have anything like this. And they get excited. their mouth is smell start watering. And they’re like, Okay, well, yeah. Do you have a sample? Oh, well, I I can’t really give you a sample and tell you you invest in me. And he said, and that’s kind of a mentality with a lot of these new artists is I’m going to come to Nashville and get a record deal and a publishing deal and a booking agent and they’re going to do the work and make me a big star. The reality of it is, is for companies to invest that much time and money into somebody, they want to see that it’s working, they want to see that they’ve built a market, they’ve built a story for themselves, they have a vision for their company, they have, you know, they have all these pieces in place, you know. And so, once you have that, and you’ve built that foundation, it’s easier to find a manager and a team to put around you. But if you’re just, you know, a kid that’s has a couple good songs that you wrote in your bedroom, you know, it’s really tough to find that, you know, to find that team that’s going to support that not saying that, it doesn’t happen, some people will believe in you and some people want to take that chance. But, you know, at the end of the day, people want to see that, that drive and that hunger and that, you know, I’m, I’m building it, you know, I’m, I want to build this thing and I don’t care who you with whether you’re with me or you’re against me, I’m building this, this future.

Unknown Speaker 21:51
So I love it. I love it.

Unknown Speaker 21:54
So let’s talk a little bit about where the music business is right now. Again, you’ve been at it for a while, from Both production standpoint, management standpoint, you’ve seen kind of ins and outs. But there’s a lot of talk that the industry has changed a lot. Again, digital streaming has certainly affected how album sales happen vivo and YouTube has affected how music videos are distributed and consumed. From your perspective, just where is the music business right now compared to where it used to be? And then conversely, where do you see it going?

Unknown Speaker 22:24
You know, as far as digital streaming, again, going back to how many ways to put music out there now there’s a lot and there’s a lot of talent out there. There’s a lot of artists out there. And you know, we’ve seen it now with like, Chance the Rapper and a bunch of other ones, right, you kind of can do it on your own and build a build a successful career on your own without, you know, Major support and, and, you know, I think that that’s the beauty of the digital age. You know, I think that there’s still a lot to be figured out as far as payment goes royalties, songwriters and keeping that keeping that alive and healthy. You know, So people don’t get burnt out. I mean, there’s so many people, you know, in this office upstairs, we have probably 20 songwriters upstairs right now. And their job is to write songs, you know, that’s their, that’s their life. That’s their career. And when you’re not getting paid on that, you know, when you’re in there working 40 hours a week writing songs. And you might make 20 grand this year, it’s really, really tough, you know, and I don’t think anyone wants to go to work 40 hours a week, and then go network and play shows and do all this for 20 grand a year. And so I think that there’s a lot to figure out. And 20 grand a year is an example. Like, don’t quote me on that. I don’t get all kinds of messages

Unknown Speaker 23:40
on that one. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 23:42
I don’t know what they make. I really don’t I mean, it all depends, but it’s an example of, you know, how much work they put in and, you know, at some point that the pay is gonna equal out and so I think that there’s a lot there’s a lot to figure out as far as payment. I’m not saying it’s wrong or it’s bad. I’m just saying, you know, there’s a lot of There’s a lot to stay on top of to keep the arts alive, you know, to keep the writing process alive especially.

Unknown Speaker 24:06
Yeah, and in one regard it’s it’s much easier now to consume and get yourself out there and everything else but but it used to be so cut and dry, write a song, it gets on an album, you get paid, ya know, and it was very simple mathematical equation. And now it’s, it’s like, well, this song could end up streaming and hit millions of hits. And then who knows what that’s worth.

Unknown Speaker 24:26
Yeah. And, you know, everyone knows this, but just to kind of put it and put it in people’s face and just have people remember that, like, you know, as an artist, not just a songwriter, but as an artist. When you have a big team of all those people that I mentioned, a publisher, the booking agent, business manager, and attorney manager, you know, they all take a cut. And so, you know, everyone has a piece everyone needs to get paid. It’s a it’s a business and so when you get another person takes a cut, or those royalties aren’t paying out or whatever is not paying, you know, it’s really hard to be an artist or a songwriter. You know, Make make a living at it. It’s a fun hobby in your bedroom. But you know, it’s still people’s lives, you know,

Unknown Speaker 25:07
their career. Yeah, for sure. So, what do you think is kind of on the horizon of Have you seen anything fun or innovating or kind of exciting that you know, you’re looking forward to in the next few years as far as a music business is concerned?

Unknown Speaker 25:21
There’s so much to be honest with you. There’s a new company here pitching about some sort of AI recording process or voice recognition software or voice matching software and there’s just there’s so much going on right now that it’s who knows what’s next to be honest with you? I mean, who knows? The biggest part is just making sure that it’s connecting with fans, right? That’s the biggest part of the music industry. Is it connecting with the fan in the best way, you know, because fans fans kind of see right through all the all the noise as well. They just want they just want to connect they want to connect with an artist feel like they’re connected with an artist through their music. Through their personality, through their social media channels, or whatever that is. And when it feels like it’s not authentic anymore is when you start seeing people kind of drop off, especially in country music, you know, they’re, they’re so loyal to their fans, and they they, and it’s authentic. It’s true. They want to meet their fans, they want to be there, you know, story of Garth Brooks signing for 26 hours or whatever Taylor. I mean, that’s, that’s real, they want to do this stuff, you know, they don’t feel obligated. And so,

Unknown Speaker 26:27
so the human connection is never gonna go away. We always need to find ways to bring it back to that human connection. I mean, as a storyteller myself, it’s all about that exact same thing that how do you create a connection with the brand with the organization that doesn’t feel inauthentic that always allows for the viewer or the consumer or the fan, to feel like they’re a part of something. I saw this thing the other day, the Dallas Cowboys, they have this big display, I think at the football stadium, and there’s a camera and it’ll take the environment you’re in capture that environment. puts you back there and then through augmented reality it pops those players in around you there so now it looks like you have a picture with your favorite five players out there that was the coolest thing. Do any artists do anything like that that kind of gives you almost instant access even though it’s augmented reality

Unknown Speaker 27:15
actually Yes. What’s really funny about that is we just talked about that last night I’m there’s an app out there really great app that does like a lot of business to business called video bomb. And it’s amazing and they do the same kind of thing. Point your camera at anything he can point it at this Lacroix can and all of a sudden you have a you know, you pick it artists movie actor pop out of the Lacroix can kind of tell you more about it and just have augmented reality opportunities like that. So it is more and more and you can Yes, you can walk around to a to a concert Lollapalooza pointed at something and one of the artists will pop out and you can take a picture with them if that’s what you want to use. So there’s a lot of those happening right now. But also there’s a lot of I’ve seen a lot of app companies come out with like Virtual meet and greets where you can sit and actually have a FaceTime meet and greet with an artist just from your phone. You know, there’s, it’s Yeah, there’s a lot of access to artists now, you know, but I think you know, it’s scary because I feel like a lot of people now expect the access to the artist, you know, when we go to shows everybody expects to get backstage because they bought a ticket. Yeah. And, and they’re really upset if they don’t. And so it’s really, you know, because there’s so much access, it’s hard to, you know, it’s hard to navigate sometimes.

Unknown Speaker 28:33
I was having a conversation actually a couple years ago in LA with the marketing director for the Goodyear Blimp, and she was trying to come up with ideas, brand partnerships, different ways to market the Goodyear Blimp because most people don’t realize that is a 100% marketing effort for Goodyear. I mean, it’s it’s functional at football games, but it’s obviously marketing for Goodyear. And she’s like, we want to find new innovative ways to market and so at the time, somebody had come out with augmented reality where you point your phone Something in it sort of identifies that thing and it transforms it into something else. And so we were talking about like, you know what if we go to Lucas enterprise and turn the Goodyear Blimp, you point your phone at it turns into, you know, a ship from Star Wars or something, you know, so all of a sudden, you can take pictures of like, you saw one of the Star Wars ships flying through the air, but it’s really good your plant, but when it has to do with humans, does that get a little scary from an artist manager standpoint where people feel like Hey, I know I want to take a picture with this person. I kind of have a fake version of it. And I don’t know it just seems like there could be almost a line that people would cross because some pants get crazy. Let’s be on

Unknown Speaker 29:39
Yeah. And you know, I think it’s it’s definitely got to be branded as such in you know, there is a lot of there’s a lot of things you can do with a picture of you know, somebody that doesn’t know they’re there, right you can you can make some really bad bad examples and that can circulate the internet. So that’s, that is that can be scary for sure. I think that You know, there’s there’s a lot of things happening, where you’re using an artist, name, likeness, image, voice, without them knowing is a very scary thing, you know. So if they have a voice or an image or something that is offending fans that they didn’t even know they used, it’s a it’s, you’re going, you’re going the wrong direction, right? So it’s very scary and that’s part of our job is to kind of watch all that stuff and make sure that nothing Nothing like that gets out. Every pictures accounted for every you know, every interview, you know, is making sure it’s in the right hands.

Unknown Speaker 30:35
How much of what you see, I mean, just industry wide. You know, we see things all the time that we call fake news or this or that or the other because everybody now has access to cameras and video and we can post our own content everywhere we go. Do you see a lot of people doing the wrong thing with it?

Unknown Speaker 30:52
I think that there’s a lot of people that just want reaction, especially reaction on the internet. I think that there’s a there’s a giant amount of people a large amount of people in the world that is looking for the most amount of likes clicks, you know, these analytics to show that they’re popular and whatever that whatever that it takes to get there, they’ll do that whether it’s a goofy meme whether it’s a you know, politically incorrect video, whatever those things are, that’s gonna get a reaction. I feel like that’s what’s driving people some of the time.

Unknown Speaker 31:22
So not every artist or entertainer is this way, but a lot of them are great personalities, right? That’s part of what I think makes them who they are and likeable and great onstage. Do you have any good funny stories of any artists that come out that just you know that you like being around or that you’ve seen kind of behind the scenes do things that that most people might not know?

Unknown Speaker 31:44
I don’t think I have any specific stories. However, I will say that um, I think one of my favorite people of all times in this, this isn’t because he’s on our roster at all, but Blake Shelton is exactly what you see is what you get. I mean, he is Hilarious. He’s got the best personality. He’s always a great person to be around. I mean, he’s, it’s, it’s great, you know, even before I started working here and he’s in on a roster, I’ve toured with him for years. I mean, 10 years ago, we, you know, it was the first time we started working together. And, I mean, he’s just he’s that way, you know, what you see is exactly what you get. He’s just as real as it gets. He just tells it like it is and, and you just love him for it. You know? He’s I love I love Blake. But I wish I had some good stories for you. If I think so I’ll I’ll let you know.

Unknown Speaker 32:36
Yeah, well, that was definitely one of the things I wanted to get to was was sort of the artists under yells management and kind of who stands out but of course, Blake, you know, now he’s on the voice. And he’s a staple on a major TV show is that becoming more and more commonplace in the industry where people start to crossover as I would assume that affects his ability to put out new albums and tour and everything else, but or maybe it doesn’t?

Unknown Speaker 32:59
It does. definitely affects it in a in a good way. But, you know, the people that shine through on TV, I think it’s just a different thing. I mean, they’re just like you said, it’s personality, right? You have to have a big personality on TV for it to translate and and so with that being said, No, I don’t think it is for everybody. I don’t think it’s I don’t think some artists belong on TV, you know, just based on what you’re looking for. But But no, Blake, we have Kelly Clarkson on our roster, and she has her own TV show now. And she obviously is on the voice and she has the best personality. And you know, and it’s real. You these, they’re not putting on for TV, that they’re like that offstage, they’re like that if they came in, hang out with us right now, you know, they just have this great, amazing infectious personality. And that’s why they’re amazing on TV. You just want to you want to hang out with them, right? That’s just the kind of personality they have. And that’s that’s the kind of people they are.

Unknown Speaker 33:53
So is that just kind of back to the artists management side of things are those contracts are those Career moves still things that fall under you guys as artists, managers to help them make those decisions or when it goes outside of the music world? Do they kind of make their own decisions or work with other people on that? Or is it just a, whatever the situation is for that individual artists

Unknown Speaker 34:16
now there’s a there’s obviously another team of people that are brought into their world once you have TV, you know, maybe different agents, different TV agents versus music agents, and, and things like that. But overall management kinda is there to help guide the artist, you know, the best, the best moves for them, you know, advising counsel and making sure that they’re, they’re on point and looking out for the artists best interest, obviously, you know, whether it’s a record label, or TV or agency or whatever, everyone has their own agenda. And I’m not saying that’s bad, but everyone has their own agenda. And so just making sure that somebody is looking out for the artists behalf of the best interests of the artist.

Unknown Speaker 34:54
So you mentioned a couple people that have sort of been instrumental in launching your career that you still have great relationships today, who are some of the people that you continue to look at now and say, you know, that’s where I need to be or that’s, that’s kind of who I want to emulate, or that’s where I want to go. Do you have those people as mentors that are pushing you further and harder and since you’ve designed your career to this point, you kind of are looking at that next step.

Unknown Speaker 35:18
Yeah. I think that

Unknown Speaker 35:21
I honestly feel that the universe has brought me to this to this company for that reason. I honestly do. I think that the the owner of starstruck, norval Blackstock is my biggest mentor. I mean, he really is he’s just a brilliant man. And it’s the fact that I get to work with him every day is, is incredible, but he, he’s taught me more I think about this industry and management in general in the past year and a half and you know, than the 18 years of my career, you know, and he’s just been, he’s just been an amazing, amazing leader for the for the company and just for me, personally.

Unknown Speaker 35:57
So what do you personally do to kind of continue developing yourself growing, you know, are you a reader? What are the kinds of things that kind of push you further and further in your career.

Unknown Speaker 36:08
Um, I’m a nerd when it comes to personal growth and like, you know, self help and personal development and those type of books and, and learning and I’m really big on on mental health and just taking care of yourself. And I, they, I think that this is very cliche to say, I mean, everyone says it, but you know, if your inner world is not strong, your outer world is not going to be strong, your outer worlds, like crap, you know, and so, like, taking care of yourself first and making sure that you’re strong mentally physically healthy, you know, internally is going to give you a better chance of success externally, you know, once you can kind of take on that personal responsibility that you can design your own life, you know, but it all starts within you know, once you kind of accept that and understand that, you know, you kind of look at view the world a little bit differently, and you kind of have a for me personally, I have a much better success rate of happiness when I wake up I know that I’m on, you know, 80% or above on the happiness scale. Yeah,

Unknown Speaker 37:09
that’s pretty good. That’s a pretty good percentage. Yeah. So you know from a sort of tactical standpoint, what does that mean for Dan? What is the daily kind of best case scenario from the time you wake up to go to bed? What do you what do you do to keep that happiness above 80% or whatever

Unknown Speaker 37:28
exercise every day no matter what that’s that’s the one thing that I’ve learned about myself that mentally when I don’t do something in the morning mentally I’m just a little bit more drained everything’s just a little bit harder. And you know, for obvious reasons, you know, just getting that blood flow in first thing in the morning is is crucial for me.

Unknown Speaker 37:46
I have to cardio guy weights, yoga combination, all of

Unknown Speaker 37:50
it. Sure. Just something that’s you know,

Unknown Speaker 37:54
really loving. The company just got a peloton bike upstairs and I’m really enjoying that but Just anything really, I mean, I’ll even if it’s a light jog, even if it’s 25 push ups and you’re done, even if it’s, you know, 10 jumping jacks out of bed, whatever that thing is, that just really kind of gets you moving and blood flowing is really important to me. And that’s, that’s crucial. But, you know, I think, you know, meditation is huge. I mean, it’s, it’s very important and, you know, visualization imagery of what you want your life to look like, and what you want your even your data look like, you know, taking that few minutes to just kind of, you know, view what this outcome is, you know, a buddy of mine sent me a video of the Blue Angels and how they do this imagery in this chair flying and they walk through their whole process sitting in a conference room table before they even jump in the plane. I mean, from from the time they close that, you know, close the cockpit window or whatever, till the time they’re back on the ground, they they talk through and visualize the whole process. And, you know, athletes do it’s very important you know, all these mental skills coaches and you know, The mental skills team on every sport, every sports team has them, you know, and they do the same thing, the visualization, the imagery, the staying present, you know, versus getting in your head about what went wrong in the past, worried about what’s going to be in the future. That’s not going to serve you. Well, you know, you’re not going to be on your best, your best level, your highest level of performance. If you’re worried about those things. You know,

Unknown Speaker 39:22
you can get me geeking out over the Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, guys, I love to watch all their behind the scenes, they if you follow them on Instagram, they post some really cool stuff. But you’re exactly right. I think the mental preparation that goes into any especially, you know, at that level, there is no margin for error. But if you translate that down, why would you not do that for any important decision you have to make in life, you know, whether that’s designing your career, if you have a big meeting that day, visualize the outcome, and play to that, like if you’ve already visualized it, you can make it happen. Yeah. But I think that’s such a simple, tactical thing that most people Don’t even contemplate.