Office Hours - for emerging artists
An agent, a manager and a promoter walk into a bar*.
But this isn’t a joke. It’s the LAUNCH Music Conference and Showcase Festival and they are here to check out your band. This workshop will explore how they ended up in front of your stage, and how you can end up on their roster. A few lucky artists will come on live to ask our panel of experts all the questions they have about getting noticed and getting signed or booked.
*It’s either pre-pandemic or they are WEARING A MASK.
Full workshop video:
Special Guests:
Jeremy Weiss - Founder and Owner, The CI Companies
Jeremy Weiss is the founder and owner of The CI Companies, the umbrella brand of his career endeavors: CI Records (label), LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival, CI Productions, CI Design & Printing, & the CI band management arm.
CI Records (est. 1987) has signed notable acts, such as August Burns Red, The Pink Spiders, Texas In July, Carousel Kings, Sense Field, The Pavers, and many more.
CI Productions, a production company Weiss started at the age of 15, has staged more than 2500 live shows, primarily at The Chameleon Club & the CI-owned all ages venue, The Champ, while also producing shows in Pittsburgh PA, Allentown PA, Philadelphia, and select out of state locations.
Jeremy is the Director & Founder of LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival in Lancaster, PA, an annual 3-day showcase festival and conference in it's 12th year. LAUNCH hosts industry panels and seminars by day featuring some (50) industry pros from across the country, and over 175 performances on average, by night on 15 stages, and at different venues throughout the city of Lancaster, PA.
The CI Companies is the band management moniker, as well. Weiss has facilitated in the transitioning of many of his CI Records roster acts to labels such as Equal Vision, Geffen, Tooth N Nail/Solidstate, Victory Records, etc; onto tours such as Take Action, & Vans Warped Tour; sent his bands to Europe, Asia, Australia, & throughout the U.S. & Canada; Festivals like Milwaukee Summerfest, Purple Door, Cornerstone, iMatter; negotiated licensing and endorsement deals, and much more. Weiss managed and/or has/had integral roles in the career development of acts such as The Pink Spiders, Texas In July, August Burns Red, Carousel Kings, and more. The CI Companies and Weiss also consult for/work with New Lane Entertainment, hip hop artist PnB Rock-owned label and management company.
Jeremy Holgersen - Agent at United Talent Agency
Jeremy Holgersen is a booking agent for United Talent Agency (UTA) in New York, NY. He has been a booking agent for over 20 years, having worked with some of the greatest agents in the business, and has helped put together some of the most powerful teams in the world of Hip-Hop. Jeremy has worked with artists such as Action Bronson, G-Eazy, Hatebreed, Gojira, Protoje, Ms. Lauryn Hill, and many more.
From his days at The Agency Group, Jeremy has always been surrounded by some of the most talented agents in the business, and eventually started building teams with current superstar agents. Early in his career he worked on teams with Ken Fermaglich, Steve Martin, Steve Kaul, David Galea, Josh Dick and others. And learned working alongside people like Dave Kaplan, Bruce Solar, Peter Schwartz and many more. Today he has built and put together stellar teams at UTA.
Quotes from Jeremy Holgerson:
“You’re a real partner with the artist and the manager.”
“Make sure you’re thinking about the bigger picture for the artist.”
“Protect and focus and make sure you’re taking care of their brand.”
“Every artist is different; every manager is different. Each personality is different and you’re figuring that out every day.”
Randy Nichols - Owner, Force Media Management
Randy has guided artists to multiple Gold records and Grammy nominations. Overseen record releases on and sold out tours on six continents. Managed artists for a combined sales of over 5 million records and $20 million plus dollars in merchandise sales.
He is regularly invited to speak about artist management, merchandise and technology at conferences including SXSW, CMJ, Launch Music Conference, Montauk Music Festival as well as multiple universities that bring him back annually.
Randy manages or have managed Beach Slang, Vacationer, Bayside, Underoath, The Starting Line, Say Anything, Person L, Aaron Gillespie, The Almost, Hit The Lights, Fake Problems, JamisonParker and The Pilfers.
He also advise atVenu, the leading Live Event Commerce Platform. Used at over 100,000 events each year
If you find value in the workshops, and have the means, I’d greatly appreciate a tip to keep this workshop machine running. I will donate a portion of all proceeds to help roadies out of work during the pandemic. Thank you!
