Broke co-founders Andre Benz and Brandon De Oliveira talk about their goal to build “the best independent record label in the history of the music industry."
The agents discuss country’s surging popularity, Christian music’s big growth and the legacy of Toby Keith: "[He] was fearlessly unapologetic."
Sirota, who has led Merlin since 2020, says he's always thinking of ways to drive more value to the nonprofit's independent partners.
"When you look at what Missy managed to put on that stage, and SWV and Xscape and their years of musicality, you can’t put an age on that. And audiences are turning out."
“We don’t like to refer to ourselves as a management company anymore. We’re a music company," says partner Jonathan Eshak.
The revitalized venue, now approaching its 11th anniversary, just hosted a historic run by Hozier and is looking ahead to shows from The National, The War on Drugs, IDLES and more.
"I never want to feel like an artist is on a treadmill. I always want them to feel like they’re moving forward from A to C, C to E."
"I want Def Jam to be the destination for the next generation of global Black music," the longtime A&R exec says as he leads the iconic company into its 40th year.
Ong also discusses why festivals still matter for artist development, how label layoffs have affected management and why she's a "huge advocate" of AI.
The Music Sustainability Alliance co-founder talks truck emissions and phasing out single-use plastics, plus her "secret mission" to get big venue owners to work together.
