For a lot of artist managers, myself included, Th3rd Brain stands out not only for the success and strength of all of their acts such as Gallant, ZHU, Krewella, and more but also their unique approach to the art of management itself. Founder Jake Udell has had a variety of success in different projects and has recently launched a new initiative aimed at helping musicians and their teams make it big.
The initiative draws from traditional business accelerators as well as Silicon Valley’s Y Combinator, a seed accelerator program that’s had a large hand in a lot of the successful tech startups today and looks to assist artists with marketing and brand development. The pilot program is currently underway with applications for both artists and managers alike open here.
The initiative is led by Th3rd Brain’s head of business development Fred Hwang and emphasizes “living and breathing” the artist vision that managers and artists alike have set for themselves, and also long-term goals such as three-year plans and how to get there. Udell will serve as an advisor for various aspects of the artists’ careers. Whether it’s through rollout strategy, branding, press, or more, the Th3rd Brain team remains committed to helping out where they can. 
The program will also feature plenty of different guest speakers from external platforms which will allow the artists and managers to build important relationships moving forward at every step in their careers. The program also emphasizes the importance of surrounding the artist with the current support structure including agents, lawyers, business managers, and more.
For Udell, the importance of building the proper team and taking the correct operational steps in building aligns greatly with his own methodology as a manager. In an industry dominated by creativity, music has seen avenues such as operations and business development take a backseat. Not so, says Udell who draws inspiration from different industries such as in medical and construction. Industries where operational protocol has to be maintained and completed with the utmost precision at all times. In doing so Udell reminds himself of the importance that operational protocol has and the need to ensure that “all bases are covered” for the artists and that their music is “exposed to the right audience”.
H/T: Wall Street Journal
