Some Pretty Great Music...

If you didn't know, I offer consulting on an hourly basis to a handful of up and coming artists each month. It's a really fun way for me to share what I have learned managing our full time clients and help more great music get out there into the world. If you are interested in learning more about consulting–fill out the form on our site by clicking the button below.

In the meantime, enjoy this incredible playlist of some of my recent consulting clients and their recent releases. I am SO proud to get to have a hand in so much art being released. 

Super Cool Hush Kids Covers!

by Madison Moll

We love Hush Kids and we love to see fans share their love of their tracks by creating and performing their own spins on them! Here are some of our favorite Hush Kids covers from some super awesome fans. Check it out!

“Goodbye Rain” Cover by Jacob McCoy feat. Langley Burton

Nashville Singer-songwriter Jacob McCoy invites his friend, Langley Burton, to cover this amazing Hush Kids tune!

“Morning is Made” Cover by The Huixqui Sisters

Acoustic vocal duo “The Huixqui Sisters” giving us beautiful harmonies in their rendition of “Morning Is Made” by Hush Kids!

“All My Love” Hush Kids Cover by Kyle Simmons

Charlotte vocalist Kyle Simmons and his wonderfully colorful cover of “All My Love” by Hush Kids!

“Wake Up” Hush Kids Cover by Sahana and Ranjani Naresh

These sisters covered the Hush Kids tune “Wake Up” and provided such a beautiful performance!

“Oasis” Drum Cover By Max Sansalone

Rounding us out on our favorite Hush Kids cover is drummer Max adding a “simple groove” to the Hush Kids track “Oasis”!

Thank you to these wonderful musicians and fans for their beautiful takes on some popular Hush Kids melodies! Be sure to check them out and also listen to Hush Kids newest single “Weatherman” out everywhere now!

Olivia Management's Summer Playlist: Splash into Summer

by Jessie Mellott

Summer is right around the corner and Olivia Management has got you covered with the perfect mix of summer songs! During the summer, everyone needs a mix of upbeat jams and some tunes to relax and enjoy the hot Nashville summer weather. If you are looking for an upbeat jam, Smooth Hound Smith has got you covered with “Knockin’ At My Door.” You also can’t go wrong with enjoying Hush Kids’ harmonies in “Taking to Myself” or relaxing to Street Corner Symphony’s cover of “Drift Away”. Whatever vacation or summer events you have planned this summer, you can Splash Into Summer with the perfect music to get you through! Happy Summer!

Welcoming New Interns to the Team!

It’s summertime! And thank goodness because summer means new interns! It’s an honor and a privilege for us to introduce to you our brand new interns. Please welcome Jessie Mellott, Dawson O’Brien, and Cali Weddle to the team! Though we haven’t known them long, it’s obvious they’re full of passion, drive, and kindness. You can learn a little bit about them with us by reading on below!

Welcome to the team, you guys! So glad you’re here.

Jessie Mellott

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?

Aside from music, I love soccer, drama tv shows/movies, and fantasy novels. I love watching women's soccer and British premier league. Some drama shows I like watching are Supergirl, Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, and Gossip Girl, but I also loved the comedy show The Good Place. Some of my favorite book series are The Darkest Minds and The Taking.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

Mangos! I know it's not a meal, but I love mangos.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I have not quite decided yet between management or publishing. I think both sound very interesting and am looking to figure out which I would prefer to pursue.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.

My taste is music has been changing a little since I started college. I used to exclusively listen to pop, but I currently love listening to folk, acoustic, and alternative music. One of my current favorite artists is Gordi and I have loved Jason Mraz for many years. In my hometown, Hershey, PA, I saw my first concert Matchbox 20 and the Goo Goo Dolls, as well as Train and Maroon 5. I also enjoyed seeing For King and Country here in Nashville my freshman year, but haven't been able to see too much down here because COVID hit in the middle of my freshman year. I am excited to start seeing live music again as more continues to open up. I love that music can bring people together through artists and songwriters experiences and carry you through tough times by connecting to songs on a deeper level. Music is taken in through your ears, but I love the way music can make you feel in your heart.

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

I'm not sure exactly what my favorite thing is, but the difference in weather from my hometown in Pennsylvania is nice. I also find that people tend to be slightly nicer here out on the streets.

Why did you choose to intern here? 

I chose to intern here because of what I took away from the spring internship fair at Belmont. I knew I was looking to intern at a management company, but really liked the conversation I had with Erin and Maggie about the work environment and being able to learn as much as I can with this opportunity.

What would you like to get out of this internship?

I am hoping to use this experience to be able to apply what I am learning in my classes at Belmont and learn more at Olivia Management through hands-on experience. My goal is to do and learn as much as I am able to during my time here.

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Dawson O’Brien

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?

Outside of being a normal Belmont student, I am a lacrosse coach for a local middle school. Also, comedy has always been a passion of mine, so you might catch me at an open mic!

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

T A C O B E L L

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I have two dreams: I really want to become a business manager for entertainers, or become a professional comedian.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.

Favorite Artists/Bands (currently): - The Kid Laroi - Machine Gun Kelly - blink-182 - Silk Sonic - Post Malone Favorite Musicians: - Kurt Cobain - Tom DeLonge - Miley Cyrus - Travis Barker - Mark Hoppus Favorite Shows: - Travis Scott's Astroworld Tour - The Beach Boys - MGK's Tickets To My Downfall Tour (I haven't gone yet but I know it'll be one of my favs) - Kendrick Lamar - blink-182

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

I love the vibe here. "Music City" is the perfect name for Nashville because it is not simply country music anymore like it used to be. It is all kinds of musical genres here! I also love how the city loves their professional sports teams, as well as have one of the biggest comedy clubs in the nation.

Why did you choose to intern here? 

I have heard great things about Olivia Management, and I felt very at-home and at-ease when I had conversations with the team members.

What would you like to get out of this internship?

I want to learn more about the duties and activities that go along with management in the entertainment industry, as well as make long-lasting friendships and business relationships.

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Cali Weddle

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?

My biggest passion is songwriting and making music. I play guitar and piano and love to sing! I also played college basketball and love anything active! But I’m at my happiest when I’m on a boat somewhere in the middle of the lake :)

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

Hot Krispy Kreme donuts!

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be some sort of mix of a manager / creative collaborator / songwriter where I get to work with artists on every aspect of their craft.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.

Some of my favorite artists are Old Dominion, Julia Michaels, Tyler Childers, and Jon Pardi, but NOTHING compares to a live Taylor Swift show! My all time favorite!!

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

I love being in a city full of so many driven, creative people who are working hard to get where they want to be.

Why did you choose to intern here? 

I loved the idea of learning the industry from smart, powerful women and being in a space where I was encouraged to ask questions and grow as an individual.

What would you like to get out of this internship?

I hope to get a better understanding of the behind the scenes of the music industry, as well as make connections to help me pursue my future career as an artist manager or songwriter.

Our Returning Superstars: Madison Moll & Kylie Rose

We’re so excited to have Madison Moll and Kylie Rose returning to intern with us this summer. They’re so hardworking, intelligent, welcoming, and kind. Olivia Management is beyond lucky to have two amazing women working alongside us. Cheers, ladies!

Intern Wrap-Up Blogs: Madison Moll

by Madison Moll

As a rising senior who’s had some prior internship experience, I never imagined starting my first day at Olivia Management would launch me into a stage of such immense self-growth and discovery of all of the buried skills I already had and new skills I was able to learn from my time here. This internship truly is like none other.

Already from my first day, I knew Olivia Management was a safe and nurturing environment for students and young music industry professionals. I instantly felt welcomed and invited to become a part of the team, that I was a valued asset to the company and the other interns and employees and Erin. They all put so much trust in me to get challenging and impactful tasks done without batting an eye.

The most valuable skill or takeaway that I’ve learned from my time at Olivia is that extending just a little bit of trust goes such a long way. I have been lucky to have the opportunity to attempt and have my hand in some really cool projects that other companies wouldn’t even consider putting into the hands of their interns. Erin believes in all of us and that we are capable of achieving any task she throws our way!

I’m so thankful for the opportunity to intern at Olivia Management alongside some amazing and talented interns and I’m so excited to be coming back for the summer!

Devin Wrap-Up Blog

By Devin Renspie

As I’m writing this, I’m finishing up my final day of interning with Olivia Management for my second semester. Throughout my time here, I learned a lot about all the hard work that goes into artist management. The sliver of information on this profession that I had previously obtained through the classes I’ve taken merely scratches the surface of how broad and fluid of a career it is.

Because of the expansive nature of the profession and in turn this internship, I’m struggling to adequately summarize my time here, but my favorite part would have to be how different each day was. No one day or task is the same at OM, which kept things interesting and left me feeling like I learned something, if not multiple things, new everyday. I am particularly grateful to have been able to gain experience in graphic design, copywriting, and social media management. That being said, I am appreciative of all that I have learned here and believe that it will be transferrable to virtually wherever I end up in my own career, though I am hoping to stay within the realm of artist management.

Of course, this internship would not be nearly as great if it wasn’t for the wonderful team here. You can tell that Erin, Maggie, and Mackenzie all truly enjoy and believe in the work they do and want to help their interns gain real, beneficial experience in any way they can. The culture of positivity and excellence that they work hard to cultivate is evident in everything they do.

Each Monday, the company meeting begins with everyone affirming one another for the excellence they exhibited during the previous week and ends with an always-unique pep talk (usually by Mackenzie) about how we’ll each strive for excellence in the coming week. Even though I interned remotely, these meetings made me feel connected and like I was still part of the team.

All in all, my experience interning at Olivia Management was a great one that allowed me to learn skills and build relationships with my team that will stick with me long after my time here comes to an end.

Intern Wrap-Up Blogs: Cynthia Birkett

by Cynthia Birkett

Olivia Management was one of the best internships I have ever had. The amount of knowledge that I have learn in my two semesters of interning at Olivia Management is incredible. My journey at Olivia Management started in the Fall of 2020, and they instantly became like family. Erin puts so much trust in her interns and really motivates us all to do our best. I couldn’t imagine a better place to intern!

My favorite part about this company was starting Mondays with affirmations from the team. You don’t realize how much that helps the morale, it gives us encouragement to keeping going and to keep doing our best. I learned so much interning at Olivia Management from how to submit songs to PROs and Sound Exchange to learning more about making graphics for our artists shows and social medias as well as everything in between! Interning at Olivia Management has definitely confirmed that artist management is what I want to do.

Intern Wrap-Up Blogs: Kylie Rose

By Kylie Rose

I have never felt more cherished and challenged than when I’m with the family that has been built within Olivia Management. As a current sophomore, this has been my first industry internship, and can’t imagine anywhere better suited to help find my spark in the music industry. Each day has brought constant growth, and I can’t wait for even more lessons learned as I return this summer!

Artist management has always been something I was interested in but never had the skills or direction to effectively understand. At Olivia Management, you learn how to market an artist on various social platforms, organize merchandise shipment, have hard (but necessary) conversations, and use empathy to benefit those around you. You gain hands-on experience through meeting our artists, sitting in on important meetings, attending photoshoots, etc. Without the amount of trust that Olivia places in its interns, I wouldn’t have been able to take these vital lessons and successfully apply them to my classes and my own individual management projects.

My favorite moments have been Thursday chats with Erin, sending “gotd” (gif-of-the-day) check-ins to Maggie, and fun morning messages with Mackenzie. I am so thankful to be able to come back to the office this summer and hope to gain even more knowledge and memories!

Maggie and I at a photoshoot for one of our artists, Street Corner Symphony!

Olivia Management's Spring Playlist: Nashville in Bloom

Nashville in the springtime is something to celebrate! Spring brings new life through blossoming flowers, trees re-growing their leaves, and the sun making a soft reappearance.

This spring, we’re bringing you new music to listen to! Drive around the city with your windows down and let all of your worries float out as you vibe out to Nashville in Bloom!

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Happy springtime!!

Slack: Keeping Communication Professional and Organized in a Work Environment!

By Madison Moll

During an ongoing pandemic, communication between co-workers and employers had to evolve from being in a typical office setting with face-to-face communication to trying to complete tasks and collaborate on projects through an online world. It can seem almost impossible to get work done when you can’t tap your co-worker on the shoulder to ask a question or knock on your boss’s office door to “grab a moment to chat”. However, Slack, an instant messaging app targeted for companies and businesses, makes it easy to communicate together on all-things business. 

What is Slack + What Are The Benefits of Using Slack in Your Work Environment?

Slack is a (free) channel-based messaging platform which allows people to work together more effectively, connect all their software tools and services, and find the information they need to do their best work. The benefits of using Slack compared to a GroupMe, an iMessage groupchat, or Facebook group is that Slack allows the users to organize the channels however they would like (ex. alphabetical, level of importance, etc.) This allows members of the intended workspace to have access to the files and messages sent in those channels, and even create private channels that are only open to specific users. You also have the option to go back and be able to search for a specific message using keywords in a specific channel or in the whole workspace. Finally, one huge benefit is the option to link and connect your work’s apps and profiles for social media platforms, Zapier, Toneden, Dropbox, Google Drive, and so many more!

The working world is one where you want to keep conversations relevant and professional. There are so many ways to contact a potential employer or current co-worker that can blur some lines between personal and professional (Texting, DM’ing, Emailing, Facebook Messenger), but with Slack you can stay connected with everyone in your workplace and maintain that work environment level of professionalism, plus have the added benefit of everything being in one-access point for the company.

How Olivia Management Uses Slack

My favorite part about Slack is the different “channel” options–which can help moderate and distinguish different areas for specific conversations. At OM, we have many different channels for all of us to communicate back and forth about specific projects or areas of the company! It’s very convenient and relieving to have some separation of ideas and areas for organization sake, plus then we have a way to go back and track specific conversations about ideas or find answers to questions already asked. It’s a way to also keep our messages and emails de-cluttered since Slack is the one-stop space for all of those work conversations. 

There are also options we use to make sure everyone sees a specific message, either about a project that everyone at OM has a hand in or a message about if we will be in person or online for a specific day. By sending @channel in a specific channel, everyone in that channel will get a notification that they have a “mention”, which ensures that most everyone will see the message. Typing @here is another way to notify everyone in a channel about a certain message as well! We can update our status in slack, which is helpful if someone is in a meeting or out to lunch, to notify those in the workspace that we might not see any messages for an hour or two.

To update your status, you click on your profile image at the top right-hand corner, type what you are doing in the “update your status” bar, and then pick an appropriate emoji for the situation. This makes communicating easier and a little more fun online!

Image found at Slack.com/features

Get Started with Slack!

Hopefully, after reading some of the benefits and how we use Slack at Olivia Management, you feel compelled to try it out for yourself. If you’re looking to enter the professional business world or start up your own company– you invest some time into getting comfortable with using Slack!

Instructions and installation download for Mac users click here!

More information on how to get started at Slack.com

3 Tips for Growing Your Social Media Following and Avoiding Burnout

By Devin Renspie

Whether you’ve just started trying to establish your brand on social media or you’ve recently come down with a case of social media burnout, keep reading for three tips on how to sustainably grow your online presence in a way that’s enjoyable for you.

Focus Your Efforts on What Inspires You

First and foremost, you need to make sure that your social media strategy is centered around the platforms and forms of content that feel most authentic to you and your brand. Growing your following will be much easier if you genuinely enjoy the process. Are you the type of person who expresses themselves primarily through images and aesthetics? If so, Instagram and Pinterest could be where you thrive. Are you good at creating intriguing short videos? TikTok, Instagram Reels, and even YouTube Shorts might be your zone. Whatever your strengths are when it comes to content creation, if you put some thought into it, you’ll find a gap in the market that only you can fill.

As such, the majority of your social media activity should occur on whatever platforms inspire you. If you haven’t already, experiment with posting content that covers 3-5 different topics that interest you, and assess what kind of engagement each topic gets. Adjust the scope of your content as necessary. If you have an idea of which platforms and kinds of content you enjoy partaking in and your audience responds well to, then the next step will be fairly straight-forward, and you might have even already subconsciously implemented some of it into your strategy. If you don’t, it will hopefully help you find your content’s focus! You can also check out my last blog post where I discuss a few other things you should consider when deciding on what kind of content to post.

Seek Out Inspiration

The world of social media moves too fast for you to try to conjure up completely original ideas every time you post. Thus, it’s important for you to look to other content creators to help get your creative juices flowing. Start by looking at what other creators are doing that’s getting a lot of engagement. Specifically, pay attention to a variety of other creators whose brands are similar to yours, general trendsetters of the platform, and content curators. Save or take note of any content they post that you enjoy or that speaks to you.

With the content you’ve saved, try to identify which elements of it make it work. Which aspects can you replicate and include in your own content, and which aspects do you need to change to make it fit your brand? These could be anything from the format, the topic, the tone, or the trend that the content embodies. Searching for inspiration is an ongoing process, so if you find yourself bored of browsing content on a specific platform, that may be a sign that you should shift your focus to a different one.

Make Content Specifically for Each Platform

While you should continue to be primarily concerned with posting on the couple platforms that you identified in the steps above, it is also a good idea to have at least somewhat of a presence on every current platform, as well. That way, you will be able to reach the widest possible audience. If this sounds too daunting right now, that’s okay! Many times, however, content you post on one platform can be repurposed in a way that works for other platforms, so you really don’t have to invest much more energy in this process. For instance, if you make YouTube videos, you can take snippets and post them on places like Instagram or Facebook.

However, take heed, since platforms will punish you for posting content that is not native to them and/or directs users off their sites. For example, Instagram’s algorithm will suppress TikToks that are reuploaded to Reels (side tip: editing your TikToks/Reels in a third-party app and then uploading them to each respective platform can remedy this), and Facebook’s algorithm will suppress your post if it includes a link to a YouTube video instead of a video that is uploaded natively to Facebook. Therefore, make sure to upload content natively to each platform!

Moreover, it’s important that you use each platform as intended. While it would be extremely time-consuming to be totally invested in the cultures of every current platform, you should at least know the basics of each platform you intend on using, such as the optimal aspect ratio of pictures and lengths of different types of videos on Instagram. Check out these Sprout Social guides on social media image and video specs, respectively. If you don’t take the time to learn these things, your content will likely look out of place.

Overall, if you’ve grown weary of trying to foster your social media presence, you might just need to rethink the way you go about it! Start by focusing on specific platforms and forms of content that inspire you most, and stay up-to-date with what other creators are posting to add fuel and ideas to your creative fire. Once you’ve got those steps down, start to build up your presence on other platforms while keeping your efforts centered on those platforms and forms of content that inspire you. Best of luck!

Make Merch a Pleasure Not a Headache

By Maggie Adams and Connor Kozlecar

I’ll just say it. I hate dealing with merch! History has taught me that I prefer not to deal with any tasks that are in the physical world because I don’t have the same control as with tasks that can be completed online. Social media? Yes. Emailing? Yes. Marketing? Yes. Slacking humans I work with? Yes. Sending a shipment of vinyl across the ocean in hopes that it’ll arrive to a hotel during a very specific window of time that corresponds with an artist passing through on tour? NO. Absolutely not. However, there are some things in this life that must be dealt with! Our intern King, Connor, is amazing at handling the logistics of merch, and saves me from that hassle. I, on the other hand, can tell you about merch from a marketing and sales perspective. Read on if you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by either aspect of your merch business! - Maggie

Connor modeling a rare Olivia Management t-shirt and the best trucker hat that ever existed courtesy of Smooth Hound Smith.

1. quality over quantitY

   If you have a plethora of fans that’ll buy up anything and everything you put in your store than you may at first have an averse reaction to this point. If you’re one of those people, I’m not necessarily talking to you. Sounds like you have great fans. But if you’re a DIY musician who’s growing your fan base and who has limited funds, then this is for you! It might seem like the better play to put up a lot of different designs on your store so that there’s something for everyone. However, paralysis of choice is a real thing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone to an online store with the intention of spending money (even using a gift card!) and become overwhelmed by all the options. To avoid your fans experiencing this on your web store, invest time and money into being really intentional about what you offer. Look at the buying history of your fans, and decide on products and high quality designs that not only represent what your fans like, but also accurately represent your brand. -Maggie

2. Work with companies that you trust or that have come highly recommended.

   Stickers: Sticker Mule - Check out our full blog post about Sticker Mule, and then head to their site to check out their offerings!

   T-shirts & Posters - Friendly Arctic - We can’t say enough good things about this team! They’re a screen printing company that handles all aspects of the merch ordering process from design to printing to shipping, and even in special cases, to fulfillment. Their design team is cool and creative, and you’ve probably seen their eye-catching work in the wild before. Not only are they quality designs, but they’re also affordable. Once you begin the order process, they’re wonderful at communicating about your designs, costs, and what to expect. We work with them for designs as often as possible!

   Fulfillment - Port Merch - These guys are pros at what they do. Just check out their client list, and it speaks to their trustworthiness and expertise in the field of artist merchandise fulfillment. Head to their info page which includes just about everything you’d ever want to know about working with them!

   On-demand products - Printful - If paying for merch in large quantities up front scares you, then consider companies like Printful! You can order on-demand or one-off designs. They’ll print, fulfill, and ship the product to wherever it needs to go. Printful also integrates with most website hosts, which makes life much easier if you want to continue running our online store and just add a few printful products to your existing offerings.

3. Collect designs along the way

   Our very own Smooth Hound Smith does a great job of this! One way to gather designs over time is to be aware of fans that might be posting fan artwork for fun. Usually they’ll tag you. Maybe they’ll even hashtag your band name. Save those to your Instagram account or a dropbox folder with that person’s handle or email address. You can even reach out on the spot to the fan and negotiate a fee for you to use their work on your merch. And oftentimes because they’re a fan, it might be more affordable than going to a popular designer that all of your friends are using! Another helpful habit to start is reaching out to designers or visual artists when you’re scrolling through your feed and you see a design you like! You can even create a spreadsheet or dropbox folder with designers and examples of their work for the next time you need inspiration for a new piece of merch. - Maggie

4. Take the time to work out a manageable process to fulfill orders.

   Process is everything! As a company, we strive to work through every process to the point of ease and excellence. Basically, if we see something that doesn’t work perfectly or could be better in some way, we change it! Recently I took the initiative to migrate our Ecommerce fulfillment system over to a newer, more user friendly, and overall time-saving system called Shipstation. The biggest upgrade in this change was the fact that our new system directly integrated into the selling channels that we use for our artists. What this means is that as soon as we received an order for any one of our artists, our new system would automatically gather all of the information from the website (SquareSpace in our case) and populate a new order with a unique shipping label all on its own, basically eliminating several tedious steps in our old process. Next, after filling out just a few dropdown fields and pressing a single button, our new system will have: 1. Created a shipping label 2. Automatically fulfilled said order in SquareSpace 3. Sent a confirmation email with tracking info to the customer and 4. saved me probably 10 minutes on shipping a single order. And let me tell you, that extra 10 minutes multiplied by a bunch of orders is game changing. Ultimately, taking the time to find a system that works best for you and your situation is paramount. Once you find your groove, get in a routine, and get going with the right tools, you will be able to spend less time worrying about fulfillment and more time doing the things you are passionate about! -Connor

5. Try using a tool or system that will help you deal with organization.

   Try thinking big. When it comes to efficiency for systems like these, it’s all about organization and practice. If you don’t care to work through an online system that keeps track of everything for you because you can’t afford it, thats fine! Just get in the habit of thinking ahead, being meticulous about your logging and inventory tracking, and thinking ahead. For many, the shipping system that you use online will keep track of your inventory for you! For us, since it integrates with several of our other processes, we use Airtable to keep track of all of our artists inventory, and have made it a habit in our fulfillment process to manual adjust it every time we remove or add a piece. It’s all about consistency here people! If you are a pen and paper person, try using a google doc instead! If you already use a typical spreadsheet, look into systems that integrate those options directly into your selling channels! If you have more inventory than you know what to do with, break it up into chunks and take it piece by piece. Its all about what you’re comfortable working with and that you have an organized, consistent plan/process! - Connor

We hope you’ve been able to take away some actionable tips from our experience with merch! Now check out this amazing video of Connor creating his own t-shirt folding apparatus.

The Making of a Great EPK

by Erin Anderson

In the arsenal of tools that artists have at their disposal, EPKs are pretty important. EPK stands for electronic press kit. Years ago, artists would mail physical press kits including paper print outs of bios, full copies of CDs, and full color photos or headshots. Thank goodness it’s no longer that time consuming or expensive to put your music and face in front of managers, agents, promoters, label execs and more. These days, an EPK is a one-page website link that incorporates content and information to help business people get a full picture of the artist, their music, their accomplishments, and their branding very quickly. You can check out an example below.

Here are my top 6 tips for making a great EPK:

1. Consider your audience.

   Your EPK shouldn’t be fan facing—it’s for business people. It’s a place for bragging on yourself, sharing stats that fans don’t care about, and sharing information that is important to the agents, managers, labels and promoters. The goal of your EPK should be to use this one page to give someone, in 30 seconds, an overview of who you are and what you have done. 

2. Bullet points are neat.

   We are all overwhelmed and inundated with information. If someone opens your EPK and sees lots of paragraphs, they will immediately close it. Don’t make them work to find information. Create sections on your EPK so folks can quickly sort through your career and understand what you have accomplished. Suggested sections for bullet points: press, career highlights, touring highlights, streaming/sales highlights, and sync licensing.

3. Get the good stuff above the fold.

   I would recommend using the entire width of the website so you can pack in a lot of things before anyone has to scroll. The name of the game here is: don’t make them work for it. Have a stunning image at the top, have your music embedded to stream right there. Put the most impressive press quotes or sales highlights high up on the page. Hit them with the good stuff! You should ultimately include your bio, but put those paragraphs of information towards the bottom of the page so that people intrigued by your images, branding, audio, and career highlights can read on if interested. 

4. Put your EPK unlinked on your website.

   Let your EPK live on your website, but don’t have it linked. This means, the general population cannot navigate to your EPK from your website, BUT business people that have been sent your EPK link can choose to peruse the rest of your website if they wish.  

5. Update your EPK often.

   Much like a resume, it is helpful to always have an updated EPK ready to go in case the need arises. Every time you get a new great review, release a new song or video, or hit a career milestone, make sure to update your EPK to reflect that!  

6. Do not lie or exaggerate.

   More often than you would believe, I am sent an EPK that has a gross exaggeration or straight up lie on it. If you played at 11am at a festival where Radiohead headlined at 11pm, you did not open for Radiohead. If your track has 22K streams on it, it does not have 30K. Do not round up, do not exaggerate. That just makes business people question what else that you have told them is smoke and mirrors! 

Okay. Now that you’ve got the lay of the land, here is what I suggest you include in your EPK! This is not an exhaustive list, so get creative with what you include. Just remember: the goal is to put your best foot forward and display who you are to business people quickly. 

What should be included in your EPK? 

• Photos — this is where your branding can shine. Use professional, on-brand photos. Use more than one.

• Embedded streaming music — use Soundcloud or Youtube, NOT Spotify because people without a Spotify subscription cannot listen to an embedded Spotify playlist. Make it easy for someone to listen to your music right there on the page and listen while they read more about you. 

• Embedded music videos — include both live performance videos and regular music videos if you have them. 

• Bullet point list of career highlights (can including touring, press, streams/sales, sync, awards, etc) 

  • However, if you have enough in one category, you could break this out into further more specific sections.

• Artist Bio

A Playlist for Your Nashville Valentine

by Kylie Rose

Valentine’s Day, but Nashville edition. No matter your relationship status this Sunday, we’re bringing you stellar music to celebrate this holiday.

Check out our playlist, “Nashville’s Valentine,” for a perfect date night or an evening exploring new tunes!

Nashville based artists and their tales of love, for your Valentine's Day listening.

Happy Valentines Day <3

Street Corner Symphony!

by Mackenzie Fey

In case you haven’t heard, things have been pretty exciting over here at Olivia Management. With the new year came a new addition to the roster: Street Corner Symphony. We’re beyond honored to be working with these guys and absolutely over the moon about getting to be a part of the art they bring into the world.

Street Corner Symphony is a contemporary a cappella group based out of Nashville, Tennessee, founded in May of 2010 to compete in NBC's all-vocal competition, The Sing-Off (which they did more than great on). They’ve done countless amounts of shows performing across the US and globe with albums for any season on every platform you can think of. Their music reaches every corner in music ranging from pop, rock, gospel…you name it, they sing it. There’s truly something in this for everyone. Not only are they incredibly talented guys, but they’re kind, smart, dedicated, driven, and so much more.

Partner Series: 5 Questions with Tone Tree Music

By Erin Anderson and Maggie Adams featuring Elly Tate

One of our favorite parts of doing business is finding partners that we trust and using them as much as possible. Tone Tree is one such partner. Erin met the founder Shawn Fowler back in 2010 when she worked at Amazon Music and he was distributing the Civil Wars. Who would have guessed that more than a decade later we would still be working closely together on music we love? A few years ago, Shawn brought Elly Tate on board at Tone Tree and we have loved working with her ever since. Elly is the organizational backbone of Tone Tree, in charge of wrangling assets from artists, meeting deadlines, and setting up clients for success by covering all of the logistical bases. During her time in the music industry, she has worn hats including manager, business management, agent assistant, and now distribution coordinator. Elly is well-versed in artist relations and organization, which makes her a huge asset to our team. As a part of our on-going mission for music business education, we asked Elly some of your questions about distribution, and she thoughtfully answered them for you.

If you’re an independent artist looking for a distributor, what you’re really doing is starting to build your own label.

1. How long of a lead time do we need to put a single out? 

I’d recommend delivering 3-5 weeks ahead of the release date, though depending on which online distributor you use (Tunecore, CD Baby, Distrokid, etc.) they may have different guidelines. Each release ultimately goes through a review process before it’s sent to DSPs, so allowing for a longer lead time gives you space to

1. Address any edits/corrections that the review process kicks back

2. Ensure that your release goes live with all DSPs at the same time (each platform has a different turnaround time once sent)

3. Utilize the Spotify for Artists Pitch Tool, which is available up to seven days ahead of your release.

Getting assets together can sometimes be out of your control, so my best advice is to work ahead and give yourself time for master revisions, artwork revisions, and other unexpected delays before delivery. And it’s not a big deal to shift your plans. The most important thing is that you’re happy with the final product!

2. What timeline is optimal for putting out an album and/or a single?

Digital distribution is a singles-driven market, but we’ve found that most programmers still like to see projects culminating in EPs and albums. For that reason, we recommend releasing several singles spaced 3-7 weeks apart ahead of a full project. Each single is an opportunity to build momentum around the release, grow your numbers, and get in front of curators for potential playlist placement. Sometimes we’ll release as many as six singles ahead of a ten song album if that makes sense for the rest of the artist & team. 

3. What should we look for in a distributor?

If you’re an independent artist looking for a distributor, what you’re really doing is starting to build your own label. Look for someone who loves your music, understands your goals for the future, and can confidently communicate your story to the folks at Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, Pandora, etc. There are tens of thousands of songs released in the U.S. each week, so a good distributor will be someone that programmers look to week after week for suggestions of what to pay attention to. 

4. What does Tone Tree look for in artists?

First and most importantly, we have to love the music. From there, we’ll consider several other factors. Do we love the music and feel that we could have playlisting success with it (sometimes the answer is no!)? Do we have space in our schedule to give the release the right amount of attention, and does the artist’s ideal timeline work with ours? We’re a small company that is hyper-focused on the artists we work with, so balancing our calendar is an important part of doing our job well. 

One of my favorite parts of my role at Tone Tree is being involved in the early stages of release strategy. Shawn & I both love to work closely with artists from the start of a project to map out a plan and help them connect with other team members (like PR) if needed. For that reason, we choose not to work on one-off singles or projects that are already partially released. 

5. Do some distribution companies help get songs placed on Spotify playlists?

Yes, some do! But places like Tunecore, CDBaby, DistroKid, Ditto and others are aggregators, so they do not. The value-add of working with a company like Tone Tree is that we will both get your music on DSPs and, through our relationships, be your advocate at places like Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music that curate playlists with high listenership. This is different from submitting your music to third-party playlisters, though we do have a few partners in that space as well. It’s worth mentioning that no distributor should guarantee playlist placements. A distributor's role is to pitch the music, but it’s ultimately up to the programmers to make the final call. 

Thanks to Elly and Shawn for being our partners and contributing to our efforts in educating, supporting, and believing in artists! Go check them out @tonetree or at their website www.tonetreemusic.com, and give their roster a listen on all the DSPs.

Welcoming New Interns to the Team!

New year, new semester. We all know what this means: great new additions to our team! As we begin to put 2020 behind us, we’re so excited for what lies ahead with these new interns we’re bringing on board. We’re over the moon to introduce you to Madison Moll and Kylie Rose. Keep reading to hear a little bit about why we just had to have them join us this semester.

Madison Moll

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?

I sing and songwrite on my own time, I love to collect crystals and color in coloring books. I also have been making candles recently out of my old candles, and that's been fun. I love to write in general, I've tried to start a blog multiple times to no avail, but I'm working on it! I love exploring Nashville, going to coffee shops and thrift stores. When it's nice out I love to go on walks, hammock, and swim!

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

Ooooooh, honestly, probably pasta. There are so many ways to prepare it and I basically already eat it everyday! I also love sushi.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I want to be a manager, but most of all a creative in the music industry. Whether that be management or marketing or a creative director of a publishing company or label, I want to be able to be creative every day that I work.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.

Some of my favorite musicians of all-time include Fleetwood Mac, Billy Joel, and Sara Barielles, buuuuut, recently I've been listening to a lot (and LOVING) Clairo, Maude Letour, Hippo Campus, Josie Dunne, Phoebe Bridgers, Ben Rector, Lennon Stella, and Still Woozy. One of my favorite shows that I went to was a band called "Joan" in the Highwatt, also in the Highwatt I went to a "Vacation Manor" show that was really cool! I love listening to Alternative, pop, some christian, folk-pop, and some country music!

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

The live music, pre-Covid and hopefully sometime in the near future! Nothing is better than hearing music live in Music City surrounded by so many creative people, getting to meet those people, and make connections! I also love Love Circle because I can see the whole city.

Why did you choose to intern here? 

I first heard of Olivia Management at a Music Row Promotion Event with Smooth Hound Smith and it was one of my favorite events. I love OM’s vibe and mission and I think they are very ambitious and a great place to learn. I have since only heard the best things from previous interns and other peers about OM, which drew me in. I'm very passionate about learning more about the industry, especially artist management, so I felt that this was the best and most perfect opportunity for me and my development as a professional.

What would you like to get out of this internship?

I want to connect with my co-interns, with the team, and learn more about artist management! I'm hoping to learn more about myself and what I truly want in the industry as well as gain some new skills!

Kylie Rose

What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?

Above all else, I honestly just love being around other people. Anything where I get to learn about other's stories and what makes them come alive! More specifically though, you can find me watching Sing Street, at the GoodWill Outlet, grabbing some matcha, making a slightly above average apple pie, attempting to learn photography, or memorizing each and every Just Dance routine.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?

Vegan chicken nuggets, it's honestly questionable how much my diet consists of them.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

I would hopefully like to be managing world tours, or working at a label in Europe. My biggest passions are travel and music, but wherever I end up, I hope to be constantly evolving and helping inspire others.

Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.

Favorite Artists: Jon Bellion, Novo Amor, Jack Garratt, Joy Oladokun, Passenger, Sleeping at Last, Declan McKenna, Anderson Paak, The Wrecks, Jet Black Alley Cat, and Mr. Ed Sheeran himself. Favorite Genres: Acoustic-Folk and Indie-Rock Favorite Shows: The "Live. Life. Love." suicide prevention benefit concert last November will always be one of my favorites. Not only was the message so beautifully empathetic, but the lineup was incredible. That night consisted of Jon Bellion, Lizzo, Lovelytheband, Chelsea Cutler, Louis Tomlinson, along with a few other Nashville local acts. I remember screaming the lyrics "Tell me what you hate about me", from Jon Bellion's "Good Things Fall Apart", to some random strangers. Those random strangers are now some of my closest friends. That was the last time I really got to experience that live-music adrenaline before COVID-19 hit, and I miss it so dearly.

What is your favorite part about Nashville?

Coming from Louisville, Kentucky, I love how Nashville still has that southern charm whilst maintaining a bigger city feel. I also love the inspiration everywhere you turn, and how people aren't afraid to go after their passions.

Why did you choose to intern here? 

Reading about Erin's story was my biggest pull to interview for Olivia Management. Female empowerment within the music industry is lacking big time, so it was incredible to find a company with women at its core. OM first appeared to me as a confident, genuine, and values-based business that I could not wait to get to learn under.

What would you like to get out of this internship?

I want to experience the artist management industry's most intricate functions, especially under the lens of a global pandemic. I hope to understand how to adapt when change comes around, and how to maximize growth among artists.

The BEST Christmas Songs

by Kaila Divak

Hello, hello! I’ve put together a playlist of my favorite Christmas songs to fuel your gift wrapping and cookie baking this holiday season. These are some I’ve got some classics and some newer tunes in there, as well. Shameless Christmas music listening is one of my favorite parts of the holiday season, and I hope you enjoy these songs as much as I do. Happy Holidays!

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Giving Tuesday: Girl's Write Nashville

A few years ago, we hosted a fundraiser in the form of a concert at the Analog for our 7th anniversary. The funds raised through ticket sales (almost $1K!) were donated to Girls Write Nashville, a spectacular local Nashville organization that uses music to help students process trauma.

Girls Write Nashville participant performing. Photo by Jonathan Sommer at Olivia Management’s 7th Anniversary Concert

Here’s how they describe their mission: Girls Write Nashville is a songwriting mentorship program and production community for middle and high school girls in Nashville, TN. (We're also a 501(c)(3) public charity which means your donation is fully tax deductible!) Our organization is committed to creating a culture of inclusivity and so all of our programs are entirely scholarship based! The cost/value for one girl to complete our six-month online program is about $500. In this program, students are guided through the process of writing and recording original work by a professional teaching artist in a supportive community of peers. Our program also provides important Positive Childhood Experiences that are scientifically proven to reduce the longterm negative effects of trauma, so we are proud to continue to serve during the Covid-19 pandemic as our society undergoes a collective trauma. 

Throughout 2020, Girls Write Nashville has stepped up their programming because they know how important their work is helping students process their lives, and what a year to process! They have:

• moved all programming to distance learning

• extended programming through the summer and fall because we know how important the Girls Write community is to our students

• offered free online songwriting classes to all of MNPS during the month of May

• Partnered with The Contributor (local newspaper) to publish bilingual youth-written pieces

Girls Write Nashville participant performing with her songwriting mentor. Photo by Jonathan Sommer at Olivia Management’s 7th Anniversary Concert

Today is #GivingTuesday, and I am raising money for 501(c)(3) nonprofit Girls Write Nashville and their Community Powered Scholarship Fund! I really believe in this organization and the way they are reimagining music education and working to make it empowering, equitable and accessible for all. We’re looking to raise $5,000 that will go directly toward free participation for smart, cool, deserving students in Title I schools in Nashville in virtual programming that 95% of students said was essential to their mental health during a time of isolation! Would you consider donating today? 

WAYS TO DONATE

• FUNDRAISER: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/girls-write-nashville/givingtuesday-help-students-singthroughthequarantine-with-our-community-powered-scholarship-fund

• VENMO: @girlswritenashville

• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/donate/380281096381971/2014574065345287