Speaking Of The Arts

Michael Jaworek has been a concert promoter for over 40 years. His activities are focused in the Washington DC and Baltimore markets, where he is Vice President of the Birchmere. (The legendary club just celebrated its 50th anniversary). Michael has been nominated many times as “Nightclub Talent Buyer of the Year” by Pollstar Magazine. He is also a co-founder of the Washington Area Music Awards and has been a NARAS member & served on the Washington DC Board of Governors for philanthropy of NARAS. In 2013, Michael received the International Talent Buyers Association “Club Buyer of the Year” Award.

Speaking of the Arts features Ryan Andrews. Ryan is a Los Angeles-based composer, producer, sound designer and performer. His work has been featured in theatrical advertising campaigns for films and video games such as Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Furious 7, Hercules, and the Call Of Duty series. A versatile performer, he has had the privilege of working with a wide variety of acclaimed artists including Broadway star Lauren Kennedy and country phenom Frankie Ballard. His experience in the music production world goes beyond composition—as Production Manager for Pitch Hammer Music, Ryan helps manage one of the industry’s most elite boutique music libraries that been featured in almost every blockbuster movie trailer campaign since 2012.

Speaking of the Arts welcomes Marc Plotkin! In 2011, Bloomberg Business Week listed Marc and his co-founders in their list of top 25 entrepreneurs for their company CitizenGroove, an online social networking site for pro musicians. The company was subsequently renamed DecisionDesk and now helps hundreds of universities with the application process for music and non-music students alike. In 2013, Marc founded a new company called Wifi Music School, which connects musicians with students through Skype. As a musician, Marc has appeared on albums for major acts such as Ra Ra Riot and Panama Wedding.

We are honored to feature Mike Kappus, founder of The Rosebud Agency. Throughout his career, Mike went on to help launch the careers of Los Lobos, The Robert Cray Band, Ben Harper, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, John Hiatt, The Neville Brothers, Trombone Shorty and more, while helping to raise the profile of veteran artists such as Allen Toussaint, Captain Beefheart, Muddy Waters, The Staple Singers, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker and others. In this episode, Mike talks about the origins of the agency as well as what it was like to work with such renowned artists.

In 2011, Erik Gensler founded the annual Digital Marketing Boot Camp for the Arts, a two-day conference in New York that features some of today's leading digital marketers. In this episode, we chat with Erik about the conference and why everyone in the arts should seriously consider attending. At the same time, Erik is the founder and president of Capacity Interactive, a digital marketing firm that works with major arts organizations including the Kennedy Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Goodman Theater, and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. His company is at the forefront of digital marketing for arts organizations.

20th Episode Celebration! Speaking of the Arts is honored to welcome Carnegie Hall's Naomi Grabel. As director of marketing and creative services at Carnegie Hall since 2009, Naomi oversees advertising, sales, ticketing, e-strategy, publications development, volunteer services and retail operations. In this episode, Naomi shares incredible ideas for marketing including unique digital content, how to foster more interaction between artists and audience members, how to engage audiences, and how to reach new audiences.

All organizations struggle with how to grow their audience base, increase subscribers, increase ticket sales, and attract new fans and customers. Meghan Anderson, VP of Marketing for HubSpot, gives an amazing interview where she discusses how to effectively use content to help attract new eyes and ears to your organization. This episode is a must listen for anyone who is interested in learning more about digital marketing, better email strategies, improving conversion rates, increasing website traffic, the top 3 things to keep in mind when posting on Facebook and Twitter, and much more!

Speaking of the Arts features Jordy Freed, Grey Group account supervisor and former Director of Marketing and Publicity at the Blue Note Entertainment Group. In this episode, Jordy discusses the role of PR as it relates to artists, venues, and major festivals. Highlights include working with Aretha Franklin and Ms. Lauren Hill, as well as key questions artists should think about when considering a PR firm.

Speaking of the Arts features Alain Barker, Director of Music Entrepreneurship and Career Development at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. In this episode, Alain discusses why music students need classes on entrepreneurship, the responsibility of higher education in an ever changing world, and much more.

Speaking of the Arts welcomes Chris Gruits, Executive Director for Interlochen Center for the Arts. In this episode, Chris describes how to establish live streaming for your music venue, what its like to alternate between booking major commercial acts such as Sheryl Crow to acts more geared toward the fine arts market, and major thematic programming concepts and ideas.

Speaking of the Arts welcomes David Sholemson, longtime manager for Pat Metheny. In this episode, David describes many aspects of working with Pat including the recording and touring process. The conversation provides an interesting look at everything happening behind the scenes for this incredible artist.

Speaking of the Arts welcomes Craig Ferguson of Planet Bluegrass! In this episode, Craig discusses his unique background, the history of Planet Bluegrass, and the ins and outs of producing the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, RockyGrass Festival, and Folks Festival in Lyons, CO.

In this special episode, Speaking of the Arts is live at the annual Arts Midwest conference where we interview Jon Poses. Jon is the Executive Director of the “We Always Swing”® Jazz Series in Columbia, MO. In the episode, Jon discusses the origins of the series and the process of creating a subscription based music series for patrons.

Scott Southard, Founder and Director of the International Music Network, booking agency for Wayne Shorter, Lady Smith Black Mambazo, Maceo Parker, etc., describes the origins of the agency, how the company works with artists to build their careers, what artists need to be aware of when looking for booking representation, how artists need to approach their touring careers today vs. 25 years ago, the biggest marketplace challenges, and key differences between artist managers and agents.

Speaking of the Arts is proud to feature Dayna Martinez and Shelley Quiala of the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Minneapolis. In this episode, Danya and Shelley discuss how to implement programs designed for students, how to empower them to appreciate real world performances, strategies for any organization interested in creating similar programs, and their widely successful International Children's Festival.

Marty Wollesen, Executive Director of the Clarice Performing Arts Center, gives inspiring examples of how to create innovative programming ideas. Learn how to successfully launch a new venue within your organization, the importance of creating participatory experiences for new audiences, why you should focus on opportunities which allow audiences to explore what is possible, and the importance of being very clear about the audience you want to build

Amy Lam is the founding principal of Lamling Group, whose major clients include the Celebrity Series of Boston. In this episode, Amy offers unique insights into the organizational programming structure of the series, the importance of growing with your audience, the differences between audiences today and 10 years ago, and examples of successful artists who are embracing these changes.

Don Roth, Executive Director of the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis discusses the more common resources for finding grants, the basic components of a grant, what review committees look for, how much lead time to prepare for, and how to manage grant funds upon procurement

Special guest Isabel Soffer, co-founder of globalFEST and founder of Live Sounds offers key insights and strategies for presenting artists from other parts of the world, how to discover new artists in the world music genre, key resources for presenters, how globalFEST markets its festival, and what it looks for when trying to determine appropriate artists

Executive Director of Duke Performances, Aaron Greenwald, discusses his approach to commissioning new artists, why he thinks about his entire season like a 10 month long festival, unique ways of connecting audiences with students, and the effects of technology on younger audiences