Inside Scoop: Music Manager Jennifer Yeko
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010
Today’s profile subject, music manager Jennifer Yeko, started out doing music management as a side project while making a living in a very unique way. The creativity she demonstrated during that period, before she was able to call herself a full-time music manager, as well as the foresight she had to focus on licensing music to television shows and films before others were doing it, are two indicators that she is well-suited for this entrepreneurial pursuit. Details of her career journey and the day-to-day of her music managment career can be found below…
Current position: President, True Talent Management, a management company representing artists and bands, songwriters, composers, and producers.
College & degree: I have a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Fairfield University in Fairfield, Connecticut.
Internship: I didn’t have any internships.
First job in the entertainment industry: I started out living in Connecticut and commuting into Manhattan. I was a Conference Coordinator at Variety Magazine. We lined up all the speakers for trade shows, including Showbiz Expo.
Career Path: After Variety, while I was an executive assistant at an ad agency which designed corporate websites, I had a conversation with a friend of mine where I told her I wanted to get more into entertainment. She said if I wanted to be in entertainment, I had to live in Los Angeles. I found out later that she really only meant it as an off-hand remark, not as a directive, but by that time I’d already moved across the country.
When I arrived in LA, I decided I really wanted to be in film or in online content. My ideal job would’ve been to design websites for studio films. But the first job I was offered through one of the recruiters was working as an assistant in Sales & Marketing at EMI Records. I had no interest in the music business, but the recruiter convinced me to take it.
From there, I went to a promotional marketing company, Simon Marketing, which connected brands and entertainment companies. The internet boom was starting up again around this time, so I worked for an internet/entertainment website next, Checkout.com. It was a high-profile site and people had high hopes for it, but they didn’t pan out. But it was a good experience while it lasted.
So how did this lead to music management? At this point, since the supposedly secure corporate jobs I’d had in Los Angeles had ended in either mergers with big layoffs (myself included) or some other financial meltdown, I decided that I should start my own company. (If my work life is going to be this unstable, why don’t I just work for myself?)
During the final stretch at Checkout.com, I noticed my friends there were all starting to manage actors and bands. I thought, if they can do it, why can’t I? So I started True Talent Management and I learned the ropes from them. The first artist I repped came through Checkout and the relationship kind of organically happened. We were at one of his gigs and he was telling me he was having problems getting paid by the venue. He said if he had a manager, he wouldn’t have to deal with it. So… I became his manager.
In the beginning, I was managing artists and had also started a speed dating company. I’d spend 9:00 – 6:00 doing music and run speed dating events at night. I’d recruit people, run the events, do the matches… It definitely enabled me to pay my bills while I was developing my management career.
Was there a moment when you felt confident for the first time that music management was going to be a good livelihood? No, not one moment, but a culmination. I was showcasing bands and a music attorney remarked at one event that he was impressed I was getting these major label reps to show up. So it was probably getting in with the record labels and also being able to license songs for film and TV.
The majority of my business now is licensing songs for film and television. That’s where I’ve really made a name for myself. It’s become very popular in the last few years to do song placement, but I’ve been doing it for ten years so I was ahead of the curve. I also do some radio promotion and some music press and I started an independent record label and publishing company, but it’s very small so far.
Big break: Getting that first entertainment gig at Variety in New York. I must’ve gone to 30 to 50 recruiters to get my first entertainment job. Once you’ve worked in the entertainment industry in one job, it’s like you’re “in the club.” Getting someone to give you that break really does make a difference.
Eureka moment (when you realized you did or did not want to do something or that you should do something differently, etc.): When I realized I could manage artists and bands that I loved and make a career from it!
Best career advice you’ve ever gotten: Always be thinking about how you can help OTHER people.
Describe a typical work day in your current position: What I love about my job is that there is no typical work day….some days I’m on the phone all day, other days I’m driving around to meetings or meeting with artists in the office or out at shows, etc.
Worst job (or day) in entertainment industry: Getting fired. No one wants to be fired by a client. Managing is hard. It’s not if you’ll get fired, it’s when you’ll get fired. And it’s never fun.
Best job (or day) in entertainment industry: Getting songs on “Sex and the City” and “The Hills” and other huge TV shows.
Best thing about your current job: No day is the same. I get to work with amazing artists and songwriters/producers that I LOVE!
Worst thing about your current job: Having to constantly bring in new business, new clients, paying the bills.
Brush with greatness (can be a celebrity encounter or just being exposed to someone being brilliant at what they do): Finding a songwriter that works harder than I do. I work really hard so if I find any artist that is working harder than me, it’s a good day. It’s like getting a winning lottery ticket.
Secret of your success/your advice to the newbie: Have a positive attitude, no matter what. Work so hard it could kill you. (I don’t mean that literally, of course, but that’s the idea.)
Next move: To sign and manage a band that becomes a household name, that everyone hears about and likes.
You can find out more about Jennifer Yeko at www.truetalentmgmt.com.
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