- 696
- 10
- Joined
- Jul 23, 2005
If you want to learn what it takes to become a successful behind the scenes marketing guru, READ THIS RIGHTNOW. PROPS TO MR. WEISMAN FOR DROPPING SOME SERIOUS GEMS.
[size=-2]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Position of Power
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)](Wale's Manager, founder of Elitaste, Inc, a management,marketing and music supervision company)[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]In this era of "internet rappers", where anyone and their mother can uploada video to Youtube, Myspace, or even WorldStarHipHop.com with the hopes of blowing up, it is inevitable that the quality of the product will be overlooked andovershadowed by the quantity. And with the universal accessibility granted by the Internet, the tools available to market and promote oneself appear infinite.But what about that behind-the-scenes talent that is still using word of mouth, grassroots promotions, and the constant grind of networking to get gainexposure for their art? What about the passionate individual who constantly has doors slammed in his face and has to experience the good, the bad, and the uglyfirst-hand, not via faceless critics on some Message Board, and yet their spirit remains unbroken? Those are just a few ways one can describe Wale'smanager, and co-founder of Elitaste Inc, 26 year-old Daniel Weisman.[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Before linking up with the budding D.C. emcee, Weisman began paving his own lanewithin the South's burgeoning presence in the Hip-Hop culture, and got a taste of the dog-eat-dog nature of the realm of party promoting with hisinvolvement with local parties at Emory University from 2000-2004. "I started out DJing in clubs, then turned to promoting my own parties to my school bythe end of my sophomore year after being screwed over by another student promoter," recalls Weisman. "I think it was one of those instances where Iwas in the right place at the right time; people were making serious money off weekly Thursday night college parties that were essentially only promoted to myschool. I'm not sure if similar things were going on at other schools around the country, certainly none of my high school friends were doing anything likeI was, but there was a market for it at my school. It was a very cutthroat business; friends became enemies, people would go abroad for a semester and comeback expecting to still be involved and someone would have taken their place."[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Luckily for Weisman, the experience of party promoting offered an exclusive glimpse ofwhat the music business had to offer. Atlanta was the reigning champ on the charts at the time, and Weisman was undoubtedly in the epicenter of the talentpool: "I got a little taste of dealing with artists as it wasn't rare to have the hot artists at the time come through the parties and do a few songs;Nappy Roots, Killer Mike, Chingy, J-Kwon, Cee Lo, and many more would come through. We even did a party for Ciara the week "Goodies" went number 1 onBillboard." Not too shabby for a rookie.[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Upon graduating with a double-major in journalism and African-American studies,Weisman recognized the finite potential for growth and expansion in Atlanta and ultimately decided to head out to the Los Angeles to pursue a career inHollywood. Working his way up from the mailroom to manning the phones at a top-tier talent agency, Weisman began to appreciate the grind and commitment ofdealing with entertainers as clients and acknowledged the hectic lifestyle, but was not deterred. "That job groomed me big time," says Weisman."I had to deal with four phone lines across two phones with somewhere between 100-300 calls per day. Add emails and script submissions on top of that,plus tracking money for clients and dealing with a lot of mediocre people, the job was literally hell. But you make a game of it; don't take it tooseriously and somehow you wake up for work everyday." Realizing the agent lifestyle was one of which he wanted no part, he started to consider becoming alawyer. But just like how the Hollywood agent route wasn't ideal, neither was becoming a lawyer. However, it would be an online interview with Rick Rossthat Weisman came across by happenstance that would serve as the catalyst for Weisman's future career in artist management.[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Ironically enough, as he found out reading the interview, Ross' manager shared thesame Alma Mater as Weisman. This news was very encouraging, and Weisman began reaching out for advice. After being set-up with an e-mail address and instructed"to find some talent", Weisman would indirectly be introduced to his future first client while on a trip to Washington, DC to visit an old collegefriend. His friend played for him a Go-Go track titled "Dig-Dug" by a local artist named Wale, and Weisman was instantly hooked and wanted to getinvolved with his career. Weisman remembers being "totally blown away by the song as it was unlike anything I'd ever heard before, plus he seemed tobe really into sneakers; a passion I shared with him. As soon as I got back to work on Monday, I sent Wale a Myspace message letting him know I was interestedin getting involved. I'm assuming because I wasn't a female he didn't respond, so I messaged DJ Alizay, his DJ. He didn't respond. Finally Iwas able to connect with Kenny Burns who had Wale signed to a production deal through a friend of mine who had interned for him. Kenny and Wale were coming toLA for the BET Awards and we set up a lunch as I was not able to get away from work for more than an hour. The morning of our lunch, Kenny said he had to moveit to a dinner and chose Mr. Chow's, arguably the most expensive spot in LA. I hurried from work, making sure to dress extra snappy that day in aseersucker suit and sued nubucks, and brought a copy of the Talking Heads' concert film Stop Making Sense, as I envisioned Wale's stage show to besomething like their show someday. I think they were kind of impressed by that. I admitted to having no connections and no experience in the music business butwhat I lacked in that area, I could make up for with hard work and passion. The bill came, I swallowed my weeks' paycheck and picked up the $600 tab fordinner. Not sure Wale is even aware of that [laughs]."[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Now that his relationship with Wale had been established, the next step was to landhim a deal. While Wale was appearing on Tim Westwood's radio show to lay down a freestyle, Mark Ronson was in fact filling in for Westwood and wasimpressed by the young MCs lyrical prowess. So much so, he offered to executive produce Wale's debut album, but unfortunately could not offer him a deal.But after an invitation to tour alongside Ronson in the UK, some creative business deals brokered by Weisman, and shopping at multiple record labels, Walewould eventually go on to ink a deal with Ronson's Allido imprint in a joint venture with Interscope Records. And as the saying goes, the rest ishistory.[/color]
READ THE FULL FEATURE ARTICLE AT STUDENTSOFHIPHOP
[/size][/color]
[size=-2]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Position of Power
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)](Wale's Manager, founder of Elitaste, Inc, a management,marketing and music supervision company)[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]In this era of "internet rappers", where anyone and their mother can uploada video to Youtube, Myspace, or even WorldStarHipHop.com with the hopes of blowing up, it is inevitable that the quality of the product will be overlooked andovershadowed by the quantity. And with the universal accessibility granted by the Internet, the tools available to market and promote oneself appear infinite.But what about that behind-the-scenes talent that is still using word of mouth, grassroots promotions, and the constant grind of networking to get gainexposure for their art? What about the passionate individual who constantly has doors slammed in his face and has to experience the good, the bad, and the uglyfirst-hand, not via faceless critics on some Message Board, and yet their spirit remains unbroken? Those are just a few ways one can describe Wale'smanager, and co-founder of Elitaste Inc, 26 year-old Daniel Weisman.[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Before linking up with the budding D.C. emcee, Weisman began paving his own lanewithin the South's burgeoning presence in the Hip-Hop culture, and got a taste of the dog-eat-dog nature of the realm of party promoting with hisinvolvement with local parties at Emory University from 2000-2004. "I started out DJing in clubs, then turned to promoting my own parties to my school bythe end of my sophomore year after being screwed over by another student promoter," recalls Weisman. "I think it was one of those instances where Iwas in the right place at the right time; people were making serious money off weekly Thursday night college parties that were essentially only promoted to myschool. I'm not sure if similar things were going on at other schools around the country, certainly none of my high school friends were doing anything likeI was, but there was a market for it at my school. It was a very cutthroat business; friends became enemies, people would go abroad for a semester and comeback expecting to still be involved and someone would have taken their place."[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Luckily for Weisman, the experience of party promoting offered an exclusive glimpse ofwhat the music business had to offer. Atlanta was the reigning champ on the charts at the time, and Weisman was undoubtedly in the epicenter of the talentpool: "I got a little taste of dealing with artists as it wasn't rare to have the hot artists at the time come through the parties and do a few songs;Nappy Roots, Killer Mike, Chingy, J-Kwon, Cee Lo, and many more would come through. We even did a party for Ciara the week "Goodies" went number 1 onBillboard." Not too shabby for a rookie.[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Upon graduating with a double-major in journalism and African-American studies,Weisman recognized the finite potential for growth and expansion in Atlanta and ultimately decided to head out to the Los Angeles to pursue a career inHollywood. Working his way up from the mailroom to manning the phones at a top-tier talent agency, Weisman began to appreciate the grind and commitment ofdealing with entertainers as clients and acknowledged the hectic lifestyle, but was not deterred. "That job groomed me big time," says Weisman."I had to deal with four phone lines across two phones with somewhere between 100-300 calls per day. Add emails and script submissions on top of that,plus tracking money for clients and dealing with a lot of mediocre people, the job was literally hell. But you make a game of it; don't take it tooseriously and somehow you wake up for work everyday." Realizing the agent lifestyle was one of which he wanted no part, he started to consider becoming alawyer. But just like how the Hollywood agent route wasn't ideal, neither was becoming a lawyer. However, it would be an online interview with Rick Rossthat Weisman came across by happenstance that would serve as the catalyst for Weisman's future career in artist management.[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Ironically enough, as he found out reading the interview, Ross' manager shared thesame Alma Mater as Weisman. This news was very encouraging, and Weisman began reaching out for advice. After being set-up with an e-mail address and instructed"to find some talent", Weisman would indirectly be introduced to his future first client while on a trip to Washington, DC to visit an old collegefriend. His friend played for him a Go-Go track titled "Dig-Dug" by a local artist named Wale, and Weisman was instantly hooked and wanted to getinvolved with his career. Weisman remembers being "totally blown away by the song as it was unlike anything I'd ever heard before, plus he seemed tobe really into sneakers; a passion I shared with him. As soon as I got back to work on Monday, I sent Wale a Myspace message letting him know I was interestedin getting involved. I'm assuming because I wasn't a female he didn't respond, so I messaged DJ Alizay, his DJ. He didn't respond. Finally Iwas able to connect with Kenny Burns who had Wale signed to a production deal through a friend of mine who had interned for him. Kenny and Wale were coming toLA for the BET Awards and we set up a lunch as I was not able to get away from work for more than an hour. The morning of our lunch, Kenny said he had to moveit to a dinner and chose Mr. Chow's, arguably the most expensive spot in LA. I hurried from work, making sure to dress extra snappy that day in aseersucker suit and sued nubucks, and brought a copy of the Talking Heads' concert film Stop Making Sense, as I envisioned Wale's stage show to besomething like their show someday. I think they were kind of impressed by that. I admitted to having no connections and no experience in the music business butwhat I lacked in that area, I could make up for with hard work and passion. The bill came, I swallowed my weeks' paycheck and picked up the $600 tab fordinner. Not sure Wale is even aware of that [laughs]."[/color]
[color= rgb(255, 255, 255)]Now that his relationship with Wale had been established, the next step was to landhim a deal. While Wale was appearing on Tim Westwood's radio show to lay down a freestyle, Mark Ronson was in fact filling in for Westwood and wasimpressed by the young MCs lyrical prowess. So much so, he offered to executive produce Wale's debut album, but unfortunately could not offer him a deal.But after an invitation to tour alongside Ronson in the UK, some creative business deals brokered by Weisman, and shopping at multiple record labels, Walewould eventually go on to ink a deal with Ronson's Allido imprint in a joint venture with Interscope Records. And as the saying goes, the rest ishistory.[/color]
READ THE FULL FEATURE ARTICLE AT STUDENTSOFHIPHOP
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