What Excellence Means to Olivia Management

by Juils Cervizzi

“We are committed to excellence, honesty, integrity, and genuine connection.”

Here at Olivia Management, we strive to provide excellence, and nothing less, for our artists. How do we do this? Keep reading and find out!

Erin Anderson

Manager, Founder, and CEO

“With hundreds of tour dates, links, and venue names, we've learned how easy it is to make mistakes. So, we made it a rule that no emails or posts go out to fans without multiple people double checking them. Also, we try to keep the office snack box full of good snacks so we stay happy and fueled to provide excellent work!”

Mackenzie Fey

Manager, Touring & Marketing Coordinator

“When stepping into any setting where I’m representing our artists, the company, and myself, I strive to have excellence visible in words I say, emails I send, social posts I schedule, shows I attend, and beyond. This can include having someone double check a tour poster for accuracy, carving out intentional time for new marketing ideas for our artists, connecting with people who are kind through and through, thinking before speaking, etc.”

Grace Carey-Hill

Touring & Marketing Assistant

“We want to go above and beyond when supporting our artists' dreams and businesses. With applications like Artist Growth and Asana, we try to make sure that we provide as much information and attention to every area in the artists' lives. Our ideal situation is to have all of our artist’s questions and worries answered before they can even pose the question.”

Maddy Hicks

Marketing & Logistics Assistant

“I think a good example of excellence is when our artists ask us to do something and we can tell them we already did it! We stay on top of things to make sure they feel taken care of.”

Music I've Been Digging

by Steven Metrejean

Aside from my first music love of pop and R&B, I have grown to be a fan of many of our artists who range in the folk and Americana realm. I’m coming to find that genre can be an incredibly restrictive qualifier placed on music. As far as I’m concerned, as long as the music is enjoyable, then it’s good music! This is a fairly comprehensive, but by no means extensive, list of the music that I have been digging lately:

“You” by James Arthur 

I have been a fan of James Arthur now for a few years, and it is his voice that I can never get enough of. His natural rasp, his range, and his ability to convey the most desperate and heavy of emotions through my headphones or speakers makes me envious, to say the least. Many of his songs are on the heavy side of lyrical content – his struggles with addiction, anxiety, family troubles, and struggling with fame. I discovered his sophomore album, “Back from the Edge” about two years ago during a time in my life where hearing someone sing about those issues was very familiar and therapeutic. “You” is James’s most recent release, coming out only last week and it has been on repeat everywhere I go. It was hard to wait so long for new music from him, but he made it worth the wait. Overall, the album is a bit more optimistic, but his voice has lost none of its power and emotive potency.

“Truth Is” by Sabrina Claudio 

Delving into the R&B world, Sabrina Claudio is one of my favorite R&B newcomers of the past couple of years. Again, it’s her voice that has me so captivated. Whoever she works with on her vocal production and recording is an absolute genius! Her lyrics are so full of imagery and intimacy that you can’t help but feel like she’s crooning directly into your ear. Her latest album, “Truth Is”, capitalizes on these strengths even more. She is growing up before our eyes, and her material continues to broach more mature themes – but she is never gratuitous. Plus, she has a song with ZAYN on this record, so One Direction fans should be excited about that! 

“Forces” by Jill Andrews

I’m not sure how much I can say without giving too much away, but Jill Andrews is working on a new album and ooooooooh my god it is SO good!! “Forces” is the second single from the upcoming album, and it is just phenomenal. Her voice has such a lived-in quality to it, and her lyrics about “Forces that we can’t control” are very poignant to the close-to-graduating college student that I am. If there is one thing that I have learned over the past three and a half years of life on my own, it’s that sometimes life happens. And most of the time life is completely out of our control. After a little listening party we had with some of Jill’s biggest fans, this song just gets me so excited for the entire album! 

“Turn Off the Light” by Kim Petras 

If you’re a fan of pop music, chances are you’ve heard of this German pop princess in the past couple of years. She has burst onto the scene with her ear for a hook and some of the best synth-pop production in the past decade and I love every second of it! “Turn Off the Light” is her Halloween themed project that actually expands on a similar project she released in the fall of 2018. Songs like “There Will Be Blood”, “Bloody Valentine”, “Massacre”, “Demons”, and “Everybody Dies” are just a sample of what to expect from the album. Petras really leans into the camp and spectacle of the spookiest time of year, and she does so with some of the best pop songs to be released in 2019. It’s perfect to put on at your costume party this year!

“Velvet: Side A – EP” by Adam Lambert

After four years, we finally have new music from Adam Lambert. If you weren’t a huge fan of his 2015 album, “The Original High”, because of its electropop and house music roots, then you might be a big fan of this new project. Featuring all organic instrumentation, Lambert is harking back to his roots in glam rock and classic rock leaning pop music. His voice is stronger than ever (if you can sense a theme, it’s pretty obvious that I love a good singer). Listen to “Closer to You” for a master class in power balladry that is sure to blow you out of the water!

As I said before, this is by no means a complete list of all of the music that I have been recently digging. But I think it’s a pretty good sample of the music that has me inspired and excited to be starting a career in this industry. Let us know if you’re digging any of these artists or what music you’re diving into this week!

Autumn’s Favorite OM Artist Songs

This summer, I have had the pleasure of getting to know a handful of new artists, in a genre that I don’t find myself listening to as often. Nonetheless, I have still enjoyed this adventure, and I wanted to the share the songs that have stuck out to me during my time here. It’s always hard to pick a favorite song from an artist, so really, a more accurate title would be “the ones I’m digging right now”.

“Dog in a Manger” - Smooth Hound Smith

Whenever I fall into one of those “roots rock” or folk moods, I will definitely be going back to this song and the rest of Smooth Hound Smith’s discography. Seriously, this is so good.

“S.H.a.M.E.” - Matthew Mayfield

As someone who tends more towards rock music than any other genre, I really appreciate Matthew Mayfield’s style. His whole album Gun Shy is fantastic, but I definitely love his song “S.H.a.M.E.” for its depth, relatability, and its message of hope. I’m also a big fan of using strings in guitar heavy songs. (Also, sidenote: I LOVE Matthew’s cover of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” on YouTube)

“Tell That Devil” - Jill Andrews

My true favorite Jill Andrews song is one that has yet to be released (shhh), but since I can’t tell you about that, my other favorite is “Tell That Devil”. I love it’s upbeat vibe and it’s eerie sensibilities.

“Good As New” - Jenn Grinels

I absolutely love the bouncy, jazzy vibe of this song. I wish there were more artists who brought this kind of vibe to their music, no matter the genre. This song reminds me of an artist I used to listen to a lot when I was younger, Francesca Battistelli.

“The Spirit vs. The Kick Drum” - Derek Webb

This song has a nice groove with an important message. In this song Derek draws a distinction between authentic faith and a faith built on feelings that ultimately don’t last. If you’re a little confused, that’s totally okay. If you want to know more, you can check this blog post which breaks down the song.

“Talking to Myself” - Hush Kids

As someone who prefers uptempo songs, this Hush Kids tune is especially enjoyable for me. I love the background vocals in this song, and how they help make it memorable for me.

“Me and Emmylou” - Ruthie Collins

Who doesn’t love a good song of confidence and empowerment? “She thinks she’s the queen of some Mexican desert”. What a lyric!

“Azalea” - Lydia Luce

Last but certainly not least, “Azalea” by Lydia Luce is an excellent track. I love the combination of the heavy, distorted guitar and the strings. Lydia’s thick, strong vocals also fit the whole vibe of this song. Catch her live in the next few Wednesdays at The 5 Spot in Nashville, TN. (BTW, Lydia looks exquisite in this video)

I hope this list helps you find your new favorite artist! These are my personal picks, and I’m sure others in the office have different songs they like best. Be on the lookout for new music from each of our artist. First up: Smooth Hound Smith’s new album coming August 9th!