Radio Edit | 6.23.23

Another Management’s Shira Knishkowy on how her previous roles in publicity shaped her as a manager and helped guide the strategy for Blondshell’s breakthrough album

First of all, congratulations on all things Blondshell. What's been the most unexpected or rewarding part of the journey so far?

In some ways, the most unexpected part is the success thus far! Any time you’re taking a chance on an unknown artist early in their careers, it can be really unpredictable. I had a feeling from the minute I heard Blondshell’s music that it would connect, but I had no idea how quickly it would happen.

All credit to Sabrina (Teitelbaum, aka Blondshell) and producer Yves Rothman for making this timeless, important record – though it’s with the power of the dream team we’ve built that it’s reached the right ears and audiences. Said dream team includes my AMC coworker and Blondshell co-manager Holly Cartwright, label (Partisan Records), US PR (Lisa Gottheil, Devin Velez, and Dana Erickson at Grandstand), EU agent (Alex Bruford and Sarah Joy at ATC), US agent (Josh Mulder at TBA), UK PR (Jon Lawrence at Chalk), creative director (Rian Fossett), and lawyer (Jeff Koenig).

It’s an incredible group that truly understands Sabrina’s vision, and our powers combined have led to great success already – critical acclaim, late night tv, strategic tours & festival bookings, forward-thinking marketing, strong DSP relationships, and beyond. Working with this collective has been deeply rewarding.

Prior to your current role at Another Management Company you did Publicity at Matador Records and Spotify. In the attention economy that we currently live in, how do you think your background in publicity sets you apart from other artist managers?

Being a publicist for so long is what taught me what kind of manager I wanted to be! Over the years I worked with so many different types of managers, observed their communication styles, and gleaned knowledge from them, which has shaped my ‘style’ if you will.

I think having my PR background makes me a pro at pitching all kinds of opportunities for my artists. I may not be calling up a journalist to review an album anymore, but because I know how to craft a narrative and distill large amounts of ‘pitchy’ information into easily digested emails, I’ve found that it’s helped my artists across the board.

What has been the most challenging or unexpected part of transitioning from the label side to management?

The most challenging part of this transition was also the most humbling. Whereas I had mastered the craft of music PR, and saw myself as a music industry nerd/expert of sorts having worked at labels and a DSP, I didn’t know what I didn’t know until I became a manager. The beauty of Another Management Company is that it’s a team of industry experts, each of whom has a different background and area of expertise. From tour logistics to visas to royalties to merch, each person at the company brings their specialty to the table, ensuring our artists have top notch service across the board. As an industry vet, but new manager, being surrounded by such a brilliant team has been a major asset in this career pivot – and working with people I love and trust means I’m not afraid to ask questions and learn new things.

In any management role, you inevitably end up wearing many different hats. Do you have any other roles at Another?

Yes! My title is Artist Manager and Director of Digital and Creative Strategy. I work across the majority of Another Management Company’s roster, leading the charge on DSP pitching, marketing guidance, creative direction, fashion/brands/film outreach, comms strategies, and more.

One of my favorite things you did around the rollout was the marketing campaign involving subway and bus stops. Where did that idea come from?

The idea actually began first with a bus bench outside of the Black Cat in Silverlake. It was included in a list of potential billboard locations in LA, and when I saw there was a bench available at that spot, I immediately remembered that Blondshell used to live a few blocks away (which is where she wrote her debut album) and that she used to be a regular at the Black Cat. It was immediately clear that we needed to riff on the idea that she wrote the record “two blocks away” – and when we learned that we were booking a tandem bench, our creative director, Rian, came up with the brilliant idea about how many bus stops it would take to listen to the album.

Were there any other strategies or campaigns you implemented around the album release

Our strategy from day one was simple: Get music to fans. We did this through the traditional channels (streaming, TikTok, press, radio, industry tastemakers, etc), but more importantly via the live show and tactical touring, and by setting up strategic partnerships.

She played the International Festivals Forum last fall in London, for example, which led to a myriad of festival offers this year. And through early partnerships with Spotify via their Fresh Finds program, as well as working with YouTube Music on their Independent Release program, we were able to harness the excitement of our DSP partners into tangible results.

By getting Blondshell on the road quickly, and releasing a steady succession of singles in the lead-up to the album release, we were able to quickly grow her audience globally.

What's on the horizon for Blondshell and any other artists you're working with at the moment?

I also manage the luminous singer/songwriter The Weather Station and am on the management team of Canadian alco-pop darlings, Alvvays. Alvvays are currently on a victory lap, following their wildly acclaimed Shawn Everett-produced / Polaris-longlisted / JUNO-winning 2022 album, Blue Rev - they’ll be playing a ton of festivals this year in addition to tours with both Maggie Rogers and Alex G. The Weather Station has an upcoming tour with First Aid Kit this summer, before heading into the studio to work on new music. And the Blondshell train has no end in sight – her first-ever NA headline tour kicks off in a few weeks (with more than half of the dates already sold-out), and then she’ll play the Grammy Museum in LA, Iceland Airwaves, and a fall US tour with Liz Phair.

Sky-high ticket prices send Beyoncé fans abroad

Looking to prevent scalpers from capturing the premium on their concert tickets from the secondary market, top-level artists have been setting prices at increasingly elevated levels, but many fans are finding themselves priced out. In fact, Americans frustrated with limited or unaffordable ticket options to Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour in the States are opting to instead catch the singer at international stops in places like Stockholm. With a strong dollar and relatively cheaper tickets available, these fans are finding it more economically justifiable to catch the show abroad and even tie in a European vacation.

This philosophy illustrates the concert industry’s current focus on destination events known as “music tourism”: a market that companies like Live Nation-owned Vibee look to serve. Vibee, which offers “curated music experiences in the most sought-after destinations in the world,” aims to help Live Nation broaden their fan revenue streams to include travel and hospitality.

Glastonbury by the numbers

As hundreds of thousands descend on southern England for this year’s Glastonbury festival, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the festival’s economics. Interestingly, the festival sees itself as more of a cultural institution than for-profit business and operates on a much tighter financial plane than most of its US counterparts. Among the noteworthy figures below, the headliner fees are a small fraction of what Coachella’s headliners were reported to make this year (~$4mm/weekend).

• Attendance: 210,000

• GA Ticket price: $425

• 2023 Ticket price increase: 19%

• Estimated festival cost: $51mm

• Festival employees: 85,000

• Full time employees: 50

• Avg. cost per vendor stall (food): $10k

• Approx. headliner fee: $250k-$635k

• Annual local economic contribution: $125mm

• Annual charitable donations: $2.5mm

• Founder salary: per a 2020 piece in Somerset Live, Michael Eavis pays himself a yearly sum of about $75k

SIGNINGS

OneRPM has signed Nashville-based alt pop group Nightly

MNRK Music Group adds Seattle hardcore group Filth Is Eternal to roster

To release their first album in over a decade, The Hives have signed on with music distribution company FUGA

Kobalt has signed writer OZ (Travis Scott, Drake, Future) to a global publishing admin deal

Sony’s virtual talent management agency PRISM Project adds virtual characters Jun Akane and Yuki Kitashiro to roster

Mom+Pop Music signs synthpop act Magdalena Bay

Niall Horan has signed a publishing deal with UMPG

STREAMING | RADIO

After first being announced in 2021, Spotify HiFi appears to be on the way

As an early Prime Day deal, Amazon Music Unlimited will be offered free for four months

LIVE | TOURING

Over half of Live Nation’s shareholders voted ‘no’ on Michael Rapino’s 2022 pay package ($139mm)

APA and Artist Group International merge, now operate as Independent Artist Group; APA president Jim Osborne to serve as CEO

LABEL

Country star Chris Laine has launched his own label: Voyager Records

As Regional Mexican music continues to gain popularity, Street Mob Records has signed a worldwide distribution deal with Cinq Music

PUBLISHING

Publishers file copyright suit against Twitter, potentially $250mm in damages at stake

ELSEWHERE

For their 2023 class, The Recording Academy has extended membership invites to 2,800 creatives and over 850 industry professionals

MusiCares launches Humans of Hip Hop: a program focused on providing resources tailored to the needs of the hip-hop community

MBW examines a potential deal that would have seen Taylor Swift buy her masters back from Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings

APPOINTMENTS

Warner Chappell Music promotes Wallace Joseph (svp, A&R) and Jon Chen (vp, A&R)

Marguerite Jones named vp, A&R at Republic Records

DEPARTURES

TikTok COO V. Pappas has stepped down

Faye Webster / But Not Kiss (S) / Secretly Canadian

Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon Music

Vineland / Heartless Highway (S)

Spotify | Apple Music | Amazon Music

BELIEVE
A&R Scout
London
Apply Here

Contact | Subscribe