3Q

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more. 

About Jeff:

A major record label veteran, with stints at EMI/Capitol and Virgin Records, and most recently with Warner Music Group, where he has been an executive leader across Global Digital Account Management teams overseeing retail marketing and partnerships across the globe. Now he leads the label’s operations for Frontiers Music in North America with global responsibilities in the Digital Sales & Marketing environment.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more. 

Lyndsey Havens is a senior editor at Billboard. She has written cover stories on global stars including Billie Eilish, and Post Malone, reported live from the Grammys red carpet and regularly covers music management and vinyl. She formerly co-hosted the weekly Sirius XM show Billboard Live and is a frequent moderator for organizations including She Is The Music, The Grammy Museum and more. 

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more. 

I started my career 16 years ago working for the band Linkin Park as an assistant at their company Machine Shop. My first jobs included being a receptionist, office manager, personal assistant, and whenever needed – tech support. Before long I started interacting with their fans online via messageboards and chat rooms and worked closely with their management to support the band’s digital marketing initiatives. I started the band’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook accounts and was eventually promoted to Digital Marketing Manager where I ran the band’s socials, growing them to over 50M combined followers in just a few years, and conceptualized and executed digital campaigns for various albums, singles and tours. Eventually the band brought me on tour where I coordinated nightly fan club meet and greets. I also helped conceptualize and produce unique fan club events all over the world. In 2013 I made the leap to their record label, Warner Records, where I joined the digital marketing department. In my 7 ½ years there, I worked with artists including Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance, Michael Buble, Disturbed, Avenged Sevenfold, Liam Gallagher, and many more. In 2020 I moved over to Elektra/Fueled By Ramen/Roadrunner where I’ve worked with Twenty One Pilots, Brandi Carlile, Slipknot, Alec Benjamin, Gojira, and more. In 2022 I was promoted to Head of Digital Marketing at the company.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more. 

About Gregory:

Gregory Hirschhorn is a music executive and entrepreneur. Gregory is currently the CEO/Co-Founder of Too Lost, one of the fastest-growing music distribution companies in the world. Too Lost provides SaaS solutions for independent music creators. Their distribution and publishing services deliver, monetize and protect songs across the globe for over 200,000+ independent artists and labels.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more. 

About Nicole:

Nicole Plantin was most recently General Manager of award winning television and film producer and director Kenya Barris’ joint label venture Khalabo Music/Interscope. Previously she was head of A&R at Rostrum Records, an independent label born in Pittsburgh and known for launching the careers of both Wiz Khalifa and the late Mac Miller.

While an undergraduate student at NYU, Plantin cut her teeth in the industry as an intern in the A&R admin department at Elektra Records, then helmed by Sylvia Rhone and whose roster included Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott and Ol' Dirty Bastard. Nicole’s professional journey crystallized at Star Trak in 2001, where she joined president and CEO Rob Walker in managing the day-to-day operations of a label partnership with Arista Records, as well as the management needs of artists and producers like The Neptunes and Kelis. As the A&R coordinator for all of the label’s releases, Plantin is credited on notable projects such as Clipse’s ‘Hell Hath No Fury’, Kelis’s ‘Tasty’, N*E*R*D’s ‘Fly Or Die’, and more. Following five successful years at Star Trak, Nicole was enlisted by super producer Rich Harrison to help launch his joint venture with Atlantic/Richcraft Records.

Shortly after the label folded, Nicole was offered a role at BMI as the Director of Writer/Publisher Relations in Los Angeles, where she was responsible for discovering new talent such as Jhene Aiko, Schoolboy Q, Nipsey Hussle, Joey Bada$$, T-Minus (Nicki Minaj, Drake), Illangelo (The Wknd) and more, and signing them to their roster—a position that reflects one of the most important parts of her career. As a multidimensional executive with both a flair for tastemaking and a mastery of the business of the music industry, Plantin “connects the dots” in ways that align nurturing artist's creative talents with the promise of success. While at BMI, Plantin brought a much-needed showcase to the west coast with Next Fresh Thing, a series whose stage was graced by L.A.-based artistsMiguel, Dom Kennedy, Big Sean, Priscilla Rhenea (now Muni Long) among others.

After five years at BMI, Nicole returned to working on the label side of the business with the desire to work more intimately with artists and their projects. As VP of A&R at Rostrum, Nicole worked alongside President and founder, Benjy Grinberg to oversee the curation and growth of the label as it entered into its next phase. While there, she took on the projects of existing artists Mod Sun and Vali (now Emotional Oranges), and signed a variety of talent reflective of the many diverse sounds emerging from regions throughout the US and the UK. Her signings included DC rapper Inannet James who was deemed “one of the best new talents in hip-hop” and whose album Keep it Clean “one of best projects, front to back of the year” by the lifestyle publication Hypebeast. Other signings included UK R&B singer-songwriter Taliwhoah, DC rapper Kelow Latesha, Atlanta based multi hyphenate Natalie Lauren and Baton Rouge rapper Caleb Brown.

Nicole sits on the board of the Recording Academy. In her spare time, Nicole volunteers as a Grammy NEXT and Next Gen Femme mentor, travels and collects art. Nicole is also the creator and host of the podcast Soeur Lab which highlights creative womxn who drive culture and set trends from behind the scenes.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more. 

About Veli:

Imowo Udo-Utun, known as Veli, is a Philadelphia-based entrepreneur, music executive, and artist manager with an international footprint. Currently, he's a partner in Sounds Music Group where he manages various musical artists, including Cochise and Shy Glizzy. Clients have been a part of a 3x platinum record, two platinum records, three gold records, and a gold album. His past management projects have included working with viral sensations PP Cocaine, StaySolidrocky, 645AR, and BFB Da Packman.

In addition to Sounds Music Group, Veli built his own company through managing friends and putting on exclusive live shows in the Philly area. Eventually, Veli Brand was born, centering around the mission of finding "who's next" artists and bringing them to cities for their first shows. This led him to book many top selling and GRAMMY-nominated artists such as Rod Wave, Da Baby, Lil Tjay, $not, PNB Rock, Luke James, YBN Cordae, Rico Nasty, Iann Dior, 24KGoldn, Tierra Whack, Cam'ron, among others. Since 2015, Veli Brand has put on more than 100 shows around the country with the majority being in Philadelphia, his home base. 

Veli is also an active investor in hospitality brands around the country, as well as an advocate for entrepreneurship while creating genuine environments for community building.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more.

About Brian:

Check out his billboard article - here!

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more.

About Mike:

Mike Weiss is a third-generation music industry executive with vast experience spanning A&R, artist management, marketing, strategy, and operations. Currently, the HITS Noisemaker is the VP of Music and Head of A&R at UnitedMasters – the global independent music company that provides premium distribution services and facilitates unique partnerships between artists and the world’s biggest brands.

In his time at the company, UnitedMasters has had a number of significant successes with artists like NLE Choppa, Tobe Nwigwe, 2kbaby, J.I the Prince, and more. In 2020, Mike was the Head of A&R and Head of Operations where he oversaw all distribution operations, growing UnitedMasters to over 1.5M users. In 2021, Mike was promoted again to his current position where he now oversees artists including Brent Faiyaz, BigXthaPlug, Ekkstacy, Alina Baraz, among others. In 2022, the team accomplished their first Global Billboard Top 10 with “Dreamers” by Jung Kook and BTS which became the official song of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Prior to UnitedMasters, he was an artist manager at Maverick Management developing the careers of Noah Cyrus and Labrinth, achieving multiple platinum records and billions of streams. He lives and works in NYC.

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more.

About Johnny:

Johnny Cloherty is the CEO and Founder of Genni & Co. Genni & Co is a creator marketing & media provider, who uses its portfolio of technology products and agency to differentiate its services and products to best serve marketers and creators. Genni & Co is made up of Songfluencer, Preffy, Yo Suzy, and Genni.