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This week Ari sits down with Zena White, the chief operating officer at Partisan Records. Partisan is an internationally renowned independent record label headquartered in Brooklyn, NY. Zena has overseen global strategy for #1 charting, Grammy-nominated, Mercury Prize-winning album campaigns across Partisan’s diverse roster that includes IDLES, PJ Harvey, Cigarettes After Sex, Blondshell, the Fela Kuti estate and many more. Zena is also on the board of organizations like World Independent Network, A2IM, RIAA, and is a Recording Academy Member. Prior to Partisan, Zena was Managing Director at The Other Hand marketing services company in London, where she worked with artists such as Run The Jewels, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, and more.
Zena tells Ari about ORCA (Organization for Recorded Culture and Arts) a nonprofit she’s involved with that uses research to demonstrate the economic, social, and cultural value of music. Then later, she takes us behind the scenes of Partisan Records, explaining where they spend their marketing money, how much they spend, and more. Ari and Zena discuss ‘old-school’ marketing tactics like radio, PR, print media, digital and TV, and Zena sheds light on how artists get on Late Night shows… along with how much that costs. Yep—it costs. Ari and Zena also dive deep into the world of ‘new media’ and discuss how Partisan spends its money in the new age of social media. Tune in to hear stories about how Cigarettes After Sex got off the ground and to get a glimpse into the inner workings of indie labels!
https://partisanrecords.com/
https://www.orcaformusic.com/
00:00 Investing in Artists: The New Music Business
04:48 Inside Partisan Records: A Label’s Journey
10:00 Cigarettes After Sex: A Case Study in Success
24:42 The Balance of Data and Creativity in A&R
34:06 Marketing Strategies for Independent Artists
40:50 The Evolving Landscape of Music Marketing
46:28 Public Relations and Its Impact on Artist Development
52:13 Navigating Television Appearances and Their Costs
55:30 The Role of Local Press in Ticket Sales
01:02 Influencer Marketing and New Media Strategies
01:08 The Formation and Purpose of Orca
01:19 Defining Success in the New Music Business
Edited and mixed by Ari Davids
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take
