Jake Udell

Last updated
Jake Udell
Jake Udell.jpg
Background information
Birth nameJake Udell
OriginNorthbrook, Illinois
GenresPop, R&B, dance, alternative rock, indie
Occupation(s)Music manager, entrepreneur, founder/owner/CEO of TH3RD BRAIN
Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Metalink Labs
Years active2012–2018
LabelsTH3RD BRAIN
Websitewww.th3rdbrain.com

Jake Udell (born February 21, 1989) is an American music manager, entrepreneur, founder of TH3RD BRAIN (a talent management company), former head of activation at Community.com, and founder of Metalink Labs. [1] [2] [3] [4] At the EDMbiz conference in Las Vegas in June 2014, Udell moderated a panel featuring panelists in the industry under the age of 30. After viewing the panel, music industry analyst Bob Lefsetz included an excerpt about Udell in his newsletter, "Jake is a new Shep Gordon, maybe a new Irving or Geffen." [5] Udell was featured in Forbes 2016 30 Under 30 list in the Music category, and was listed as one of Billboard's 40 Under 40 in 2017. [6] [7]

Contents

Education and early career

At the age of 13, Udell began selling autographed sports memorabilia, most of which he attained by encountering athletes in-person, on eBay. Initially operating out of Chicago, by the time he was 16 Udell had hired a team of people in different cities which allowed him to cover most of the major sporting events in the United States. [8]

Udell attended Indiana University and briefly pursued a career as a performer before getting involved in music management and promotion. In 2011, Udell graduated from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business with a degree in entrepreneurship. [9] After graduating, he worked for Campus Candy for one year as the company's chief marketing officer.[ citation needed ]

TH3RD BRAIN

In early 2012 Udell founded TH3RD BRAIN, a talent management firm, claiming his motivation for becoming a manager was that Krewella was the first act he believed in more than his own performing career. [10] Udell had attended Glenbrook North High School in Chicago with Krewella. He vacated his CMO role at Campus Candy and assumed management responsibilities. TH3RD BRAIN has helped launch the careers of the platinum-selling electronic music group Krewella, Grammy-nominated musician ZHU, and Spotify Spotlight Artist Gallant. [11] [12] Billboard noted Udell's social media strategy for Krewella and chronicled their meteoric rise in 2013, focusing on TH3RD BRAIN's work with blogs, narrative building, and free downloads. [13] Udell's recording artist roster also includes Pegboard Nerds, Stephen, and others. [13] [14] [15] [16]

After a bidding war, Krewella signed to Columbia Records, and released their first album Get Wet in 2013. The album debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart. After selling out all 55 dates of the group's first North American headlining 2013 Get Wet Live tour, Krewella's single "Alive" reached platinum status in 2014. [12]

While still managing Krewella, in 2013 Jake Udell began developing TH3RD BRAIN's next client ZHU. [17] In December 2014, "Faded" was nominated for Best Dance Recording at the 57th Grammy Awards, and ZHU continued to perform with a hidden identity and embraced non-traditional advertising methods with street art, flash announcements, and guerrilla digital marketing. [18]

In November 2016, Udell interviewed music manager Shep Gordon. [19]

In 2017, Udell signed 2016 America's Got Talent winner Grace VanderWaal to management under TH3RD BRAIN; [20] and led the marketing campaign for her debut album Just the Beginning . [7] VanderWall said of Udell, "Jake doesn't think the way most people in the industry do, that makes him stand out to so many young artists." [7] Udell was named one of Billboard's 40 Under 40 leading media industry executives in 2017. [7]

Udell writes a daily newsletter covering topics for the music industry. [21]

TH3RD BRAIN Accelerator

In 2016, Udell launched TH3RD BRAIN Accelerator, a twelve-week program aimed at helping the development of promising musicians, modeled after tech entrepreneur Paul Graham's Y Combinator. [22] The program helps teach artists how to grow their business and maximize their impact on culture and in the marketplace. [23]

Community.com

Udell became head of activation for Community.com, Inc., a SaaS company specializing in outreach, after launching a text-messaging campaign to reach musician's fans due to limitations he saw with social media algorithms. [24] "The thing I kept noticing was that the algorithms were making it really challenging for us to reach our audiences," Udell told dot.LA. [24]

In July 2021, Udell founded Metalink Labs, becoming the company's CEO. He later left Community.com in September 2021, going full-time on "The place where NFTs hang out". [25]

Related Research Articles

<i>Welcome to My Nightmare</i> 1975 studio album by Alice Cooper

Welcome to My Nightmare is the debut solo studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on February 28, 1975 by Atlantic Records. A concept album, its songs played in sequence form a journey through the nightmares of a child named Steven. The album inspired the Alice Cooper: The Nightmare TV special, a worldwide concert tour in 1975, and his Welcome to My Nightmare concert film in 1976. The tour was one of the most over-the-top excursions of that era. Most of Lou Reed's band joined Cooper for this record. Welcome to My Nightmare is his only album under the Atlantic Records label in North America; internationally, it was released on the ABC subsidiary Anchor Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krewella</span> American electronic dance music band

Krewella is an American electronic dance music band from the Chicago suburb of Northbrook, Illinois, United States, that formed in 2007. Their musical style has been mainly described as EDM, dance-rock, and dance-pop. However, Krewella's style has been influenced by a number of electronic sub genres, including progressive house, electro, dubstep, drum and bass, trap music and future bass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owsla</span> American record label

Owsla is an American record label and creative collective. It was founded by Skrillex, Tim Smith, Kathryn Frazier, and Clayton Blaha in 2011. Skrillex announced the label on August 17, 2011. The label's first release was Porter Robinson's Spitfire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adventure Club</span> Canadian electronic dance music duo

Adventure Club is a Canadian electronic dance music duo composed of Christian Srigley and Leighton James, based out of Montreal, Quebec. The duo began as a hardcore pop-punk band before venturing into electronic dance music in 2011. They are best known for their remixes of "Lullabies" by Yuna and "Crave You" from Flight Facilities. The duo's debut album Red // Blue was released on 2 December 2016.

Life in Color was a United States-based EDM event company, best known for their "paint party" Life in Color concert tours. The company was founded by Sebastian Solano, Paul Campbell, Lukasz Tracz and Patryk Tracz as Committee Entertainment and the concert tour Dayglow in 2006. Billed by its organizers as the "world's largest paint party", the tour features performances by electronic musicians, joined by artistic performers and the tour's signature spraying of the audience with paint throughout the show. The company changed to its current name shortly after it was acquired by Robert F. X. Sillerman's SFX Entertainment in late 2012, with the original founders remaining as partners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tchami</span> French DJ (born 1985)

Martin Joseph Léonard Bresso, better known by his stage name Tchami, is a French record producer and DJ from Paris. A founding member of the Pardon My French collective, he is best known for his solo work and regarded as a pioneer of the future house genre – the term for which he coined – alongside Dutch DJs Oliver Heldens and Don Diablo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhu (musician)</span> American musician and producer (born 1989)

Steven Zhu, known mononymously as Zhu, is an American electronic music producer and singer who has been active since the beginning of 2014, signed to Mind of a Genius Records. Until mid-2014, Zhu remained anonymous, asking to be judged by his music alone. His debut album, Generationwhy, was released on July 29, 2016 and first premiered at Coachella during his closing set in the Sahara Tent. Zhu's Coachella performance was praised, with a writer for the New York Observer suggesting that he could be "the next Daft Punk".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pegboard Nerds</span> Scandinavian electronic music duo

Pegboard Nerds is a Dano-Norwegian electronic music group, consisting of Norwegian DJ Alexander Odden and Danish DJ Michael Parsberg. The name Pegboard Nerds is an anagram of the duo's surnames, Odden and Parsberg. The duo first met in 2005 and formed the group in 2011. Previously, their records were released under separate projects and both have been producing since the 1990s.

The Committee is an EDM event production group founded in 2006 as Committee Entertainment by Sebastian Solano, Paul Campbell, Lukasz Tracz, and Patryk Tracz. At the time all four founders were friends and college students in Florida, and they originally started the Committee as an informal party promotion team. Since then, Committee Entertainment has founded the Dayglow tour series and Life in Color, an international EDM concert company. After jointly selling Dayglow/Life in Color to SFX Entertainment in 2012, all four members remained partners, and as of 2015 they continue to operate both Life in Color and Committee Entertainment. On January 5, 2015, Forbes included Life in Color CEO Solano on their annual list of "30 Under 30 In Music" for 2015.

Monstercat is a Canadian independent electronic music record label based in Vancouver, British Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kshmr</span> American musician, songwriter, DJ, and record producer (born 1988)

Niles Hollowell-Dhar, known professionally as Kshmr, is an American musician, songwriter, DJ, record producer, former rapper, and singer. He was ranked 23rd on DJ Mag's 2015 Top 100 DJs poll and was awarded highest new entry for the year. In the same poll he elevated to 12th in 2016 and 2017, and again in 2020. He was ranked 11th in the same poll in 2021; and in 2022 in same poll he ranked 12. In July 2017, he launched Dharma Worldwide, a sublabel of Spinnin' Records. Kshmr performed live at many music festivals like Coachella, Tomorrowland, EDC, Ultra and Sunburn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Krewella discography</span> Discography

This is the discography for American electronic dance music band Krewella.

<i>Ammunition</i> (Krewella EP) 2016 EP by Krewella

Ammunition is the third extended play by American electronic dance music band Krewella. It was released on May 20, 2016 by Columbia Records on streaming and digital download music services. Ammunition was preceded by the release of the single "Beggars", on April 28, 2016, shortly followed by the promotional single "Broken Record", which was released on May 10, 2016. It is a six-track extended play, and the duo's first major release since the departure of former member Kris Trindl. It is also their first major release since their debut album Get Wet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaun Frank</span> Canadian electronic musician

Shaun Charles Frank is a Canadian DJ, singer-songwriter and record producer. He was a part of the band Crowned King and later left that to join Envy. He ventured on his own after Envy broke up and has collaborated with EDM artists around the world. He has many charting singles and remixes credited to his name.

Bitbird is an independent record label and creative company based in The Hague, Netherlands founded by Sander van Dijck in 2014. The label is jointly run by Sander van Dijck's manager Budi Voogt and his longtime friend and associate Thorwald van den Akker, who is also the label's creative director and co-founder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nghtmre</span> American DJ and producer (born 1990)

Tyler Marenyi, better known by his stage name Nghtmre, is an American DJ and electronic dance music producer from Raleigh, North Carolina.

Lost Kings are an American DJ duo consisting of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz, based in Los Angeles. The duo gained popularity beginning in 2014 through their official remixes for artists such as Imagine Dragons, Krewella, Halsey, Vance Joy, Echosmith, Rihanna, and Tori Kelly, and through their original progressive house music. Managed by Disruptor Management, a joint venture at Sony Music Entertainment, they signed to Disruptor Records/RCA Records in October 2016.

Hayden Capuozzo, better known by his stage name Kayzo, is an American DJ based in Los Angeles, California. He is best known for remixing songs and incorporating trap and hardstyle genres into his remixes. His collaboration with Riot "Wake Up" received more than 200,000 plays in less than 24 hours.

Zachary Krane, better known by his stage name KRANE, is an American musical artist, producer and musician from Oakland, CA. Krane is known for his distinct and inventive blend of electronic, hip-hop and dance music.

References

  1. ↑ Karp, Hannah (25 September 2016). "Boot Camp Aims to Help Musicians Amp Up Careers". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  2. ↑ Bain, Katie Gallant Played a Show for Ten People, but Two of Them Helped Launch His Career L.A. Weekly. January 17, 2016
  3. ↑ Buerger, Megan IMS Engage 2015 Announces Lyor Cohen, Jake Udell, Seth Troxler and Chuck D for Unmoderated Debate Billboard. January 17, 2016
  4. ↑ "Metalink Labs Company Profile: Valuation & Investors | PitchBook". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
  5. ↑ Lefsetz, Bob (21 June 2014). "More Vegas / EDMBiz".
  6. ↑ "30 Under 30 2016". Forbes. 2016. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Billboard Staff (6 October 2017). "40 Under 40: Music's Top Young Power Players Revealed". Billboard. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  8. ↑ Morris, David Are These Guys The New Rock Stars? How Super-Managers Are Taking Over The Game AskMen. January 19, 2016
  9. ↑ Two successful IU alumni among those in Forbes' "30 Under 30" lists in tech and music Indiana University Inc. January 17, 2016
  10. ↑ Robehmed, Natalie The $6.9 Billion Bubble? Inside The Uncertain Future Of EDM Forbes. January 17, 2016
  11. ↑ Sills, Greg Your EDM's 30 Under 30 Your EDM. January 18, 2016
  12. 1 2 American single certifications – Krewella – Alive Recording Industry Association of America.
  13. 1 2 Buli, Liv How Krewella Leveraged Its Social Strategy Into A Career Billboard. January 18, 2016
  14. ↑ Miller, Kiera Aspire to Inspire 003: DANIELLE GRUBERGER Your EDM. January 17, 2016
  15. ↑ Medved, Matt Billboard Dance Picks: Listen to Four Tet, ZHU, Hot Since 82 & More Billboard. January 17, 2016
  16. ↑ Mazur, James Earmilk Interview: Jake Udell, Manager Of Krewella Earmilk . January 19, 2016
  17. ↑ "The Truth About ZHU: From Frat House Outcast to Grammy Nominee | Thump". Thump. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  18. ↑ "How Dance-Pop Act Zhu Scored a Major-Label Deal Using Just His Logo and His Music". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  19. ↑ Medved, Matt. "Manager Shep Gordon: 'Everybody Beat Up Donald Trump for Saying Exactly What Jay Z's Songs Were Saying'". Billboard.
  20. ↑ Kaufman, Gil. "'America's Got Talent' winner displays maturity on a new tune". Billboard.
  21. ↑ Cherie, Hu. "Double Vision: Behind the Popular Trend of Releasing Two Singles at Once". Billboard.
  22. ↑ Karp, Hannah. "Boot Camp Aims to Help Musicians Amp Up Careers". Wall Street Journal.
  23. ↑ "JAKE UDELL LAUNCHES ARTIST DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM TH3RD BRAIN ACCELERATOR". Magnetic Magazine.
  24. 1 2 "The Pandemic Has Changed the Music Industry Forever. Meet the LA Music-Tech Startups Poised to Reshape It". dot.LA. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  25. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeudell/ [ self-published source ]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.