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Keep up with the latest news from our artists as well as industry insights and more.
by Bri Cummings
Fall is officially here! We have the perfect playlist for all your favorite fall festivities- cozy nights in, sitting in a coffee shop, or watching the pretty leaves fall. Enjoy the music that put us in the mood for autumn as well as new songs from our favorites. We’ve featured Smooth Hound Smith’s catchy cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Friend of the Devil” and Hush Kids’ sweet love song “Spend My Time” to make sure you’re up to date on our new favorite tracks.
There are so many amazing artists performing this year, and it can be daunting trying to decide which events to go see. I’ve put together a list of the performances I’m the most excited for. You’re not going to want to miss seeing these artists!
If you’re looking to see several incredible artists all at one event, this show is the perfect opportunity. Presented by Olivia Management and hosted by Mr. Steve, the performance features Hush Kids, Jill Andrews, Derek Webb, Ruthie Collins, Peter Groenwald, Smooth Hound Smith, and Madeleine Kelson. Tone Tree Music is sponsoring this event, and it will be free to attend. I’m so excited for this show!
You never want to miss a chance to see Jill Andrews live. She’ll be performing an official Americanafest show at The Basement East on the 23rd at 10pm. Jill’s performance will be a great way to end your Thursday night!
Make your way over to Tin Roof on Broadway on the 24th for a chance to see Smooth Hound Smith perform at 6pm! Grab some dinner and watch these amazing artists do their thing.
Ruthie Collins is in town and you don’t want to miss out on seeing her perform live! Swing by The Basement at 7pm on the 24th to hear some of her incredible songs.
To round out this fantastic festival, you should definitely check out this event featuring Ruthie Collins and Jill Andrews alongside many other great artists. The performances will all be tributes to the iconic music of 1971. Make sure to stop by this amazing event!
By: Delaney Jennings
Here at Olivia Management we love how our artists are so unique and inspiring. We are so excited to have Alex Blue on our roster. We feel so blessed to have such a beautiful, talented artist to share her stories with the world.
Alex Blue is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter who tells a unique story with every song. Alex began her career under the name Alex G. She posted cover videos on YouTube and at one time was the fastest growing music channel on the video streaming site. Under the name Alex G, she released an EP, a full length pop album, released over 200 songs, and also had campaigns with massive brands. However, after all of this Alex found herself being burnt out by all the demands for her time and attention. After taking some time to rediscover herself as a person and an artist, she relaunched her career, under her married name, Alex Blue. Since then she’s released multiple singles, collaborated on an EP with artists she’s admired for years, been hired as a songwriter, and played a supporting role in a Broadway scale musical podcast. Alex continues to write new music and a full length album is to come in the future.
I want to share with you three of my favorite songs from Alex Blue: “Blue” , “Noise”, and her latest release “The Songbird”.
This first song is so amazing. I adore the way the melody flows and the harmony’s that add to the chorus.
This song is so captivating. Alex’s voice and just the guitar sound so beautiful together!
I love the idea behind this song. My favorite lyric is “if you’re changing, congratulations.” It’s a reminder that changing is not a bad thing it’s a beautiful thing.
It was so hard for me to narrow down my favorite Alex Blue songs to just three. Her voice is so soothing and whimsical. As I listen I feel as though time has stopped and I am in one of those slow motion videos where it’s just me standing in a meadow with the breeze blowing the flowers. I implore you to listen to these three songs as well as everything else from Alex Blue from now and the years to come.
New year, new semester. We all know what this means: great new additions to our team! We’re so excited for what lies ahead with these new interns we’re bringing on board. We’re over the moon to have Jessie Mellot back with us and introduce you to Brianna Cummings, Delaney Jennings, and Maddy Hicks. Keep reading to hear a little bit about why we just had to have them join us this semester.
What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?
I like to bake, play guitar, read, and go on road trips! I can usually be found with my friends in the stands at a USC football game or Dodger baseball game, sitting in the grass somewhere (a rare commodity in LA), or in the GA section at a concert venue.
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Tough call, but I have to go with waffles.
Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you've been to...tell us anything and everything you love about music.
My first concert was One Direction's Take Me Home Tour with 5 Seconds of Summer in 2013 at the Staples Center... it was INCREDIBLE. Nowadays my favorite artists to see live are Bad Suns, Hippo Campus, and COIN. I love the storytelling aspect of music and gravitate towards artists who tell stories in their songs.
What is your favorite part about Nashville?
I've never been to Nashville, but I have seen Hannah Montana: The Movie 20+ times so take that as you will.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
A kind, supportive, and hardworking gal in the music industry.
Why did you choose to intern here?
I think that Olivia Management is a place where I can truly enjoy my work and the people working alongside me. I'm really excited to learn all about artist management!
What do you want to get out of this internship?
I hope to gain new industry-relevant skills, understand artist management on a deeper level, and be an asset to the Olivia Management team and their artists.
What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?
I love to write music, go to concerts, watch movies, go to church, and traveling.
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Chicken nuggets or pizza.
Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you've been to...tell us anything and everything you love about music.
I love country music. Some of my favorite artists include Taylor Swift, Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Aldean, Carly Pearce, Maddie and Tae, and so many others. I have been to over 20 concerts and my list continues to grow! The feeling at a show and the lights go down, the crowd gets louder and the first note hits. That feeling sticks with me every single time. I adore concerts and music. The way that music connects us all is so mesmerizing. Everyone has their opinions on what genres and artists they like but whatever you do like you can find someone who agrees and you can make genuine connections just through music.
What is your favorite part about Nashville?
My favorite part about Nashville is that music is literally everywhere. Every corner you turn there is live music being played. I have never been anywhere else like Nashville and I have always been drawn to this amazing city.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I am not exactly sure what I want to be yet. I know I want to work in the music industry but I am not sure which of the many paths I want to take yet.
Why did you choose to intern here?
I chose to intern here because I'm interested in management and working with artists and Olivia Management's team really impressed me in my internship search and I am excited for the opportunity to learn from this great team.
What do you want to get out of this internship?
I want to gain experience in management and new skills in a business setting that I can then take into my future career.
What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?
I love writing, recording, and performing music! I'm also a big movie/TV show fan, and I love to read.
If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Spaghetti and meatballs.
Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you've been to...tell us anything and everything you love about music.
Taylor Swift is my all-time favorite; she's been a huge role model to me as a songwriter, performer, and businesswoman, and I've loved following the trajectory of her career. My favorite live show experience is probably seeing Paramore at Nashville Municipal Auditorium. My top albums right now are SZA's Ctrl, HAIM's Women In Music Pt. III, and Hayley Williams' FLOWERS for VASES / descansos. I listen to all genres, but my favorites are pop and alternative. And I think my favorite part about music is the actual song itself. I love analyzing what went into writing it, and I love experiencing it on an emotional level. It's so fascinating how it engages both sides of the brain!
What is your favorite part about Nashville?
My first favorite part about Nashville is the way that it inspires me. There are creatives everywhere, and the networking nature of the city empowers me to connect and learn from some hugely talented people. Everyone is so kind, too. In that way, it sometimes feels more like a small town than a city.
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Primarily, I want to fully support myself as an artist through writing, recording, and touring. But I'm also interested in writing for/with others, and I would love to write a film script or a musical at some point. And I'm super interested in music supervision! I have a lot of different interests, but as long as I'm working on something creative, I'll be happy.
Why did you choose to intern here?
I heard about this internship from Madison Moll and Kylie Rose, and they expressed how much they learned from it and how beneficial it was for their careers overall. I felt more passionate about the internship the more I heard about it. The energy of the company is one that I really resonate with, and I can see myself learning a lot and achieving my best work here.
What do you want to get out of this internship?
I would love to learn how to promote an artist to achieve professional success. As part of that, I'm excited to learn more about networking and industry standard practices when it comes to communication.
Where are you from?
Santa Clarita, California!
Why did you choose to work here?
I love music. SO much. I want every opportunity to be surrounded by it. As someone who has dreams of making it big one day in music, I have a passion for helping other musicians’ dreams come true too! I am thrilled to help artists’ visions and art come to life.
What do you love to do? Hobbies? Activities?
Like many people in this little city, I write and record music in my downtime. When I am not doing that, I can be found thrifting or antiquing around town, looking at the new art installations at the Frist, or watching yet another crime documentary that will keep me up at night!
If you could eat one thing for the rest of your life what would it be?
French fries! What a great way to live out the rest of my days, right?
Favorite musicians, artists, genres, equipment, shows you’ve been to...tell us anything you love about music.
It is so difficult to pick a few favorite artists but I will certainly try…. Allen Stone, Stephen Day, Sammy Rae, Amy Winehouse, and Ariana Grande are on a constant loop in my car each day. But my “must-see live” artist will always be John Mayer. His songwriting, presence, and epic guitar shredding skills are unmatched. Hit after hit and some pretty great jokes too.
What is your favorite part about Nashville?
What I love most about Nashville is that it has this perfect balance of small-town vibes and big city excitement. There is music all around and the most beautiful greenery I have ever seen. Especially at my alma mater, Belmont University!!! After spending my entire life in California, I thought it’d be impossible to love anything more. But I must say….Nashville is the place to stay!
What do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be a real-life, touring musician!!! Admittedly, I have tried to suppress that love with other passions but music is the only place where I feel completely happy and safe. I feel so lucky to work at Olivia and be around it every single day!!!
By Madison Moll
Within the past 2 weeks, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative’s newest report entitled “New report shows diversity on the charts, but not in executive ranks of music companies” highlighted some not-so-shocking statistics about women in music industry roles, specifically in higher-up executive positions.
The study examined executive diversity in three ways: among CEOs and presidents across 70 major and independent companies, across senior management teams at nine major music companies, and in executive roles across 119 companies from the VP-level and above in different industry categories.
Graphic creation credit to Instagram account @AMPLIFYHERVOICE
As an artist management company run mostly by women, it is interesting to see such little representation in other large areas of the industry. Covering 4,060 executives from the vice president level to C-Suite roles across 119 companies and industry categories including record labels (reported 11.7% women in executive roles), publishing (reported 22.2% of women in executive roles), streaming (reported 7.1% women in executive roles), live music (reported 6.7% women in executive roles), and radio (reported 20% women in executive roles) (See image above).
Image credited to Annenberg USC Research
Next in other major positions, amongst 70 major and independent music companies, only 13.9% of the people in the roles of CEO, Chairmen, and Presidents were reported to be women. This is more of a median statistic compared to the previous findings in the five different industry categories.
Figure 2 image credited to Annenberg USC Research
And finally, data provided from 9 major music companies broke down and reported their percentages for women in leadership positions in areas such as Music Groups (31.6%), Radio & Streaming (23.4%), and Live Music & Concert Promotion (40.6%). The highest being Live Music & Concert Promotion is a step in the right direction for inclusion and equality, but there still are miles required to get to full inclusion of women in music industry leadership roles
As women and advocates for women’s equality in executive roles in the music industry, it is crucial for you to let your voice be heard and to speak out about inequality in these roles so that we all can see change!
by Kylie Rose
Ever wondered what the day-to-day of one of the best artist management & consultation companies looks like? Well, seek no further ladies and gents, welcome to a day in the life of an intern here at Olivia Management!
Coming upon my sixth month here at OM, my tried-and-true first morning step is logging in to check my Asana task board. Asana is a team project management platform, designed to easily format task distribution. I’ll login, check what tasks/projects I am working on today, ask my questions, and get started!
Up first this morning, I worked on shipping out merchandise with some of our rockstar interns, Jessie Mellot and Madison Moll. Using systems like Shipstation and Squarespace, we packaged up some t-shirts for our artist Jill Andrews (which are so cute and available here, wink wink).
Coming up next on our intern lineup for the day, I start checking our artist’s ticket links and sales. Now that live music is starting back in full swing here in music city, we’ve got a lot of brand new tour dates on our hands. My job is to check that the links venues provide are functioning well, all of the information is correct, and our artists’ branding is up to date.
Here comes one of my personal favorite moments, lunch break with an (almost) full intern crew! The biggest draw for my interest in interning here was the honest connection and trust between every member of our team. Since one of our newest interns, Cali, was in town, we stopped in for a special lunch munch at The Nashville Farmers Market!
My last project of the day was to write up this wonderful blog on all of the day's details! What I love about it here is that everyday brings new challenges and lessons learned. Whether it's attending our artists’ shows, creating tour spreadsheets, producing content for youtube, creating graphics, etc. There is never a moment that I am not learning something new to apply to my career in the music business.
If you’re interested in interning here at Olivia Management, which honestly who wouldn’t be, we are currently interviewing applicants for Fall or Spring 2021!
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.
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!
Nashville Singer-songwriter Jacob McCoy invites his friend, Langley Burton, to cover this amazing Hush Kids tune!
Acoustic vocal duo “The Huixqui Sisters” giving us beautiful harmonies in their rendition of “Morning Is Made” by Hush Kids!
Charlotte vocalist Kyle Simmons and his wonderfully colorful cover of “All My Love” by Hush Kids!
These sisters covered the Hush Kids tune “Wake Up” and provided such a beautiful performance!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!!
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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
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
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
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