Reflections From A CEO - October 2023.
As a manager, you’re not often acknowledged for the work you put in, you’re the first to get calls when things go wrong and the last to get congrats when things go right and that’s a part of the job, it comes with the work. During my time as a full-time, self-taught, self-employed, independent manager, I’ve been blessed to work with EXTRAORDINARY talents that have allowed me to see every side of the music business and industry. From making the shift to multi-million dollar studios, observing to playing a hand in creating records, executive producing entire albums, directing videos, and creating immersive marketing strategies (some with shoestring budgets and very limited resources) to the stage and planning shows, tours, brand collaborations, sponsorships, retaining and developing staff, restructuring bad deals, negotiations, handling and redlining agreements with each of the major labels. Not to mention handling publishing, arranging license and sync, being a liaison in every capacity, mentoring young managers, consulting local artists, traveling the world and the list goes on while pursuing this dream. During this time, I never once made it about me because I know my role and I play it…damn well if you ask me. All while the music industry was reforming and rebuilding itself in real time ( I’m going to do a whole other article about that). I thought my early struggles were because I wasn’t good enough, so I read every book you can read on the business of music. I didn’t sleep, barely ate, didn’t party, just worked and worked and worked and the universe rewarded me with the greatest blessing: more work. I was able to assist and manage some of the best talent in my region while also managing some of the best talent behind the boards in the industry. During this time, one of my artists won a Boston Music Award, the first award any of my talent had ever won, that night was special, the Boston Music Award was the first award show I was able to attend and grab a win from fast forward almost half a decade later, a global pandemic, 15+ RIAA Gold and Platinum and Billboard charting plaques (as a talent manager), a whole lot of personal and professional wins and a whole lot of losses, we’re back here.
Boston means everything to me, it’s my hometown, a city that saved me and gave me a reason to live and the resources to become a better man and a contributor to several communities on a local, regional, and global level. The creation, growth, and protection of art and culture will forever be my life’s work and Boston is the city that really made me understand it on a deeper level. Boston Music Awards is a historically relevant platform for musicians in the City of Boston (over 30 years in existence), if you know me you know the love I have for my hometown.. so it’s an honor to be nominated for not one, but two awards as ARTIST MANAGER OF THE YEAR in the category’s inaugural year and with my publication PUTINWORKTV as Music Publication Of The Year.
PUTINWORKTV getting nominated for Music Publication Of the Year at the Boston Music Awards, that’s fire to me fr. PUTINWORKTV started as an idea to fulfill a need, not a need for more content but a need to have an index of information on what’s currently happening musically and culturally in the urban sphere not only in Boston but overall. With the rise of great creators, amazing music, and inspiring visuals along with the growth and development of great platforms like TheMuseumTV, BNF, 2BLUNT, CWTFB Radio, Fully Loaded Pod, LFOD, WBUR, Bad For The Community, Do Over Don’t and more. We are building a hub for people to get a lot of the content the region has to offer and also get news/updates on music, creation, and culture. Our goal at PUTINWORKTV is to not be “THE '' source but “A” source, our goal is to contribute value and promote the creativity that is happening in our region and I think we’re heading in the right direction. In the first two years, we have independently produced over 100 hours of content, have over 5 original series, have published over 300 articles, have interviewed a lot of creators in Mass, and are soon going to expand into other states in our region while also developing new content that educates as well as entertains. We’re committed to building an amazing digital hub for content to be consumed and that mission hasn’t stopped since we started.
A very special thanks goes to the PUTINWORKTV team: Direction of Operations Stephen Lafume, Production Manager/Head Videographer Taijai Slaughter, Lead Interviewer Zo Prophete, Program Coordinator Poetic Pattie, Social Content Coordinator Trill Manny, Producer Noble, Producer: Blacc of Colours, On air talent: Cinner Blanco and Sauve and our writers, editors and the creatives in our community that assisted by interning or contracting with us in any capacity. Special thanks to Thrill Studios, PUTINWORK Studios, Dover Street, Saje Kitchen, The Record Co., and The SoundLab for providing space for us to build and develop our content and platform. Most importantly, thank you to every creative in Boston and beyond that is pushing our region forward, sonically, culturally, and impactfully, and thank you for trusting us with your stories and allowing us to be a platform in this beautiful city of ours. PUTINWORKTV is a subsidiary of a company that I wholly own named PUTINWORK which started ax studio on Blue Hill Ave and has expanded into a bevy of endeavors of undertakings that I am 100 percent dedicated to building through and through and I’ll talk about that transition in another article soon but for now, THANK YOU!
Oh, yea be sure to vote for Robert Kelley-Morgan for ARTIST MANAGER OF THE YEAR and PUTINWORKTV for MUSIC PUBLICATION of the Year for the Boston Music Awards here: https://bostonmusicawards.com/vote/
Let’s get it!!!!!!
With Passion & Purpose,
ROB.
