When we think of branding and brand equity in the music industry, we traditionally think of it when applied to performing artists. Fan bases, stream counts, social media engagement, tour revenue, and NIL deals are just some of the metrics used to define and measure an artist’s brand equity. But this is not the sole domain of artists as accomplished songwriters have found value in defining their own brand and growing their brand equity. In our panel, we will learn how a songwriter’s brand is defined, measured, and developed through their own efforts and those of the team around them. And we will hear how songwriters, publishers, and managers leverage building the songwriter’s brand to unlock opportunities and further their career.
Speakers:
• Kristin Juel is the founder of Juel Concepts, an incubator and music marketing/management firm for emerging artists that encourages them to know their worth, value their craft and prepares them for a high stakes and data driven industry. Kristin founded Juel Concepts in 2013 following a storied career of building brands like Blue Cross, Nissan Automotive, Kahlua, KFC, Church’s Chicken, Hotwire.com, Herbalife, TiVo and Kaiser Permanente, for over two decades. She has created strategies for integrated advertising campaigns, curated music playlists for brands, designed concert series, blogged for HuffPost, and advised boards on the use of emerging music technologies. Through Juel Concepts, she and her team have been passionately building the careers of artists like Australia’s Hamish Anderson (“Top 10 Best New Artists of 2016” – Yahoo!), Atlanta’s Billboard charting Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics, and Grammy-Nominated Songwriter/Author Shelly Peiken among many others Kristin applies her keen sense of what it takes to create meaningful experiences for all audiences to everything Juel Concepts does. She often advises startups on how to integrate brand efforts into their business models from the onset and prioritizes mentorship for young entrepreneurial minds where you can hear her talk about three tenets of her business approach: passionate, proactive and transparent. She curates a Spotify Playlist VIBEZZZ FOR DAYS – and recently started a music-oriented collective, UnCut Juels, which is a hybrid media platform designed to uncover and reveal unique, music-adjacent artist stories. The first season of Uncut Juels launched in 2021 as a Web Series + Podcast.
• Chris Martignago is a senior member of the A&R team at Prescription Songs based in Nashville, TN. He graduated in 2012 with a Bachelor’sdegree in Music Business from Full Sail University in Orlando, FL. While in school, an internship with Steve Robertson (Paramore, Shinedown) turned into a full time job developing the A&R research department as Director of A&R and Research at Atlantic Records. There he signed Anna Clendening and guided her single “Boys Like You” to platinum status in the US. He put together A Day To Remember’s Gold certified collaboration with Marshmello “Rescue Me.” Delivered “Sway With Me” by GALXARA & Saweetie as a fan favorite on Margot Robbie’s Birds of Prey soundtrack which featured Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, Halsey and Normani. He also managed alt R&B artist R.LUM.R overseeing two Top 10 Urban AC singles with “Frustrated” and “How It Feels.” In Nashville he has continued signing artists, collaborating with the creative community, and volunteering his time to local arts programs & schools. He prides himself on being both an outspoken advocate for creatives in Nashville and a bridge of creativity to the rest of the world. His latest signings at Prescription Songs include A.B. Eastwood and Puru Dogra.
Moderator:
• Marc Caruso, CEO & Co-Founder, Angry Mob Music/AIMP LA Vice President
