PANEL - Direct Fan Engagement & Monetization Strategies
As engagement rates within social media, editorial playlists, and traditional press channels continually decrease, artist revenues are increasingly dependent on whether a team directly can engage and communicate with their fans and community. Artist teams' ownership and access to fan contact information and other data has been a continually-growing service offered by marketing tech companies and an emerging standard offered by points of sale—especially in the contexts of merchandise and ticketing. As part of MMF-US’ mission to promote excellence in companies’ cooperation with artist teams, we are pleased to highlight three companies whose tools and services facilitate and build upon direct connection between artists and their fans. Join Direct Fan Engagement & Monetization Strategies for a conversation around strategies and platforms for best unleashing the power of fandoms.
Featured Speakers:
Victoria Yip, CEO of SET
As Senior Manager of the SET team at MAX, Victoria will be breaking new ground within the music community to teach artists and their teams how to harness the power of technology to directly own and grow their fan relationships, build their own “brand,” drive more efficient music marketing and ultimately shake the music industry status quo.
Prior to joining the SET team, Victoria worked on the Artist Relations team at MAX, curating artist partnerships with MAX's roster of brand clients. Her work at MAX has resulted in millions of dollars in partnerships across a variety of brands like Ford, Dr Pepper, McDonald’s, Canon, Coors Light, and AARP – as well as amplifying artists across a broad spectrum, ranging from emerging/independent (Thuy, Verite, Ivy Sole, Jade Bird, ARIZONA) to mainstream (Kane Brown, Jon Batiste, Hayley Kiyoko, AJR, Anthony Hamilton, Dawes, Bryce Vine, Michelle Branch, and others).
Garrett Gretsch, Senior Product Manager at SamCart
In addition to supporting the family guitar and drum business, Garrett has spent the last seven years building digital products that help creators make content and get paid for it.
As the first non-engineering hire at UnitedMasters, he helped create their artist-first distribution platform and brand marketplace, which places music in campaigns for brands like Bose and the NFL. Following UM, Garrett created bespoke marketing tools for artists and streamers on Twitch and Apple Music. At SamCart, Garrett leads teams building technology that automates the selling experience so creators and managers can spend less time worrying about their e-commerce operations and more time doing what they love.
Louis Pratt, Senior Marketing Manager of Linkfire
Louis Pratt is a champion for creatives and consumers across music, entertainment, and technology industries. Currently serving as Senior Marketing Manager at Linkfire, Lou works tirelessly to advocate for and ideate solutions supporting fans, customers, and organizations across our ecosystem. Lou brings his background covering Major & Indie Label, Social & Digital Agency, Artist Management, Strategic Consulting, D.E.I., and Higher Education work to the discussion, as well as his passion to create and collaborate as an avid self-managed creator of 15 years.
Moderator: Wesley T A'Harrah, Vice President of Membership and Education of MMF-US
Wesley T. A’Harrah, 30, is an artist manager, marketing-tech consultant, and investor. Wesley is the founder of Hits Differently, an artist-management company whose clients include iAmTheGENIUS, Maty Noyes, Kristian Kostov, Lil Bird, Ellis Miah, and more; and Hyper Orange, a consultancy focused on helping entertainment companies, brands, and agencies build and activate the best marketing stacks. Wesley is business partners with Atlanta-based entrepreneur, rapper, and DJ, iAmTheGENIUS, in Mixtape Monopoly, a marketing agency; Monopoly Distribution, a distribution and label services company; and RARE Sound, a record label, where he and GENIUS have spent years independently operating with K CAMP—whose song Lottery (Renegade) held as the biggest song ever in TikTok for seven months and was the first song in the world to pass 15, 20, 30, and 35 million videos created with it. RARE Sound, Mixtape Monopoly and Hyper Orange are the only independent label and connected marketing agencies to have been honored with the Grand Clio for Music in 2020, where they were awarded for the campaign behind Lottery (Renegade). Wesley serves as the Vice President of Membership and Education of the Music Managers Forum-US, the 501(c)6 trade association for artist managers and self-managed artists. He holds an M.A. in Global Entertainment and Music Business from Berklee College of Music.