The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

Building an Artist Management Empire and Breaking Country Artists

Sep 27, 2023

Bruce Kalmick, CEO of WHY&HOW, specializes in developing country music artists and emphasizes the role of marketing and a dedicated team in breaking artists. He discusses the current state of country music, the importance of being where your audience is, and the impact of in-house marketing staff. He also talks about artist management, mental health in the industry, and starting his own record label.

01:00:26

Creator website

Episode guests

Bruce Kalmick

AI Summary

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Bruce Kalmick emphasizes the importance of grassroots marketing techniques and building a loyal fan base in breaking country music artists.

Kalmick believes in creating a culture that prioritizes mental and physical well-being, leading to more successful artists and team members.

Kalmick advocates for empowering artists to maintain ownership of their masters and finding middle ground agreements with record labels.

Deep dives

Building a Culture of Family and Giving Back

Bruce Kalmick emphasizes the importance of family and giving back in the culture of his artist management company, Why and How. He believes in creating a team that operates at a high level, while also maintaining good mental and physical health. Kalmick encourages a healthy work-life balance and believes that happy and mentally healthy team members are key to artists' success.

Introduction

3min

Building an Artist Management Empire and Breaking Country Artists

5min

A Fun Discussion About Baseball Fandom and MVP Predictions

2min

Partnership with Red Light Management

22min

Introduction to the New Edition of 'How to Make It in the New Music Business'

2min

Creating a Website with Band Zugel and the Importance of Marketing

5min

The Importance of Integrating Marketing with Artist Management

26min

Defining Success in the New Music Business

2min

Order THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

Bruce Kalmick, CEO of WHY&HOW, specializes in developing country music artists. Emphasizing the important role of marketing and a dedicated team, he seeks to ensure these artists can penetrate a genre he believes is often stuck in old trends. His work primarily involves artist management, but he has also launched a record label, Hazel Street Records; a joint venture with Sony/Orchard.

Bruce was a Billboard Power Player in 2018 and 2019 and has been featured in Billboard’s “40 Under 40.” Pollstar nominated Bruce for “Manager of the Year” in 2014. In addition to his music industry ventures, his company, WHY&HOW manages 15 clients and has a robust team situated in various US cities.

Learn more about Bruce and WHY&HOW here: https://whyandhow.com/

00:00 - Welcome

08:02 - WHY&HOW’s partnership with Red Light Management, Operations of WHY&HOW

14:17 - The current state of the country music industry according to Bruce, and thoughts about breaking country music artists

19:30 - Breaking a country artist, being where your audience is

29:30 - Why having an in-house marketing staff makes a difference vs. hiring an agency

34:10 - How artist management works within WHY&HOW

39:00 - The importance of mental health for artists and those in the industry

47:27 - Starting his own record label, Hazel Street Records, post Triple-8

54:00 - Working with independent labels vs working with major labels

Subscribe to The New Music Business: https://aristake.com/new-music-business-podcast/

Ari's Take Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com