Nue Agency was built on the promise of doing something “new”; something different; something the mainstream agencies weren’t thinking of. That’s why in the early days we focused on two areas where we knew we could form an advantage: the burgeoning tech scene and the college market.
When our company launched, the music industry was being decimated by the digital revolution. Gone were the days of fat CD profits (I never experienced those days beyond being a regular at Sam Goody). I was in college during Napster and Limewire and loved having tens of thousands of songs at my fingertips, but the only safe space from a business standpoint was the live industry. Representing artists on stage made the most sense in a fragile landscape of price gouging and piracy.
I felt strongly that tech was going to be the great savior of the music industry despite the fact that “downloads” appeared at odds with it. So my strategy was to befriend tech founders and explore ways of creating innovative partnerships to break my talent live. My thesis proved true (in many ways) and my passion for great tech companies has remained a pillar of every project and campaign I work on.
The other area that gave Nue an edge was the college market. Our primary competitors at the time (the major agencies) didn’t see the value of the college market. They may have had a college agent or two inside the company, but they treated the college market like amateur hour. I did the opposite. Nue fully embraced the college market because it had great endowments and was a fantastic testing ground for breaking artists. College is where your taste is tested. What you discover there lasts a lifetime. I can remember every show I went to in college, whereas I’ve lost track of most of the thousands of sets I’ve seen since.
Fast forward to 2023 and I’m headed back to college, this time as a professor. That’s right, I’m teaching a class at American University’s Kogod’s School of Business this semester on The Streaming Revolution!!! Each week I’ll dive into different topics on the streaming boom that revolutionized entertainment forever. My goal is to get the students up to speed on the rapid emergence and cultural implications of streaming, and to help them understand the landscape for building strong POV’s on where things could and should go in the future. There will also be guest speakers.
Streaming has not only saved the music business, it has shaped culture and content more than any format of our lifetime. I’m excited for this opportunity and look forward to visiting D.C., tapping into academia, and opening new ways of thinking for myself and others. I’m thrilled to be giving back.
Musically Yours,
Professor Kirshbaum
Also published on Medium.