Each of these blogs for my #10yearsofgoodmusic series has been challenging to write. I tend to have big emotions about the things I work on and today’s story is no exception. Often there is a voice in my head telling me that I haven’t done enough, I haven’t achieved enough, I haven’t done anything valuable with my life. But then, I think of the face of 16-year-old me if I told her that she gets to work alongside talented, wonderful artists, AND that list of artists includes Derek Webb- the picture of my face is enough to keep me going.
Derek Webb has been one of my songwriting heroes since I was in high school. Don’t tell him, but I sang one of his songs at my high school talent show. I cried in the car over boys while listening to his words. I have been a true fan for quite a while. On top of that, Derek founded Noisetrade, which was a brilliant music discovery site that helped grow independent artists. So as an entrepreneur and person with a heart for independent musicians, I knew we were kindred spirits.
That’s why, when he emailed me a few years ago to introduce himself and send me his new record TARGETS, I jumped at the chance to work with him. I wasn’t there for the creation of TARGETS, but I will never forget listening to it for the first time. It was different than his music I had known- he was taking risks, trying new things, growing and expanding. I really, really liked it. One of the saddest songs I have ever heard is on this record (and for this girl who LOVES sad music that’s a big compliment).
Derek at the Basement circa 2019, right after we started working together.
After I signed Derek, we got to work creating a strategy for the release of TARGETS. While the record released during the pandemic, most of the lead up to it was when we were still able to meet and dream and plan in person. We had long brainstorming meetings, and came up with what was then a fairly novel idea: livestreams. We planned a series of livestreams leading up to the release of the album- one for every album he had ever released. We sold VIP lanyards to the shows as a collectible merch item; we designed new merch and dug through his storage unit to find old treasures to coincide with each album and livestream. It was really fun re-living his entire career leading up to the release of TARGETS. We called it The Long Road.
Next came the TARGETS planning. We narrowed down some digital singles and came up with this beautiful branding alongside the record cover he already had. These are some of my favorite single covers because somehow the colors perfect capture the mood of the songs contained.
While working on this blog, I found this weird relic: a tour graphic we created for a tour that never happened in 2020. I shudder to think of all the work we did to coordinate, book, and promote that tour AND THEN pick it up and move it, coordinate, and promote it, only to ultimately cancel. It still stings a little.
This record is one I am proud to have worked on in the 10 years I have been running an artist management company. I have learned so much by working with Derek, and it’s been a fun partnership. He is currently working on his next record, and we are already dreaming up ways to make it special.