Students learn the artistry of management

by Christian McCarville

It is always beneficial for students to learn from professionals in a certain subject, since there is much wisdom to be gained from those with established careers and years of experience under their belt.

“It is extremely important to learn from professionals in your field because they have the experience and knowledge that can help you gain a better understanding of the field that you’re studying before jumping for it yourself. They can share personal experiences with you that you would not find in a college textbook and are often able to give you more valuable information,” said sophomore TV, film and radio major Kelly Phillips. 

Professor Linda Lorence-Critelli teaches an artist management class in which students receive insight on how to properly manage talent. Lorence-Critelli was able to contact a friend of hers in the management industry, Cindy da Silva, in order to teach her class about the experiences in artist management.

On Oct. 3, Lorence-Critelli held a live video conference with da Silva in the Fine Arts Center. The event was primarily for her artist management class, but was open to all others who were interested. 

Da Silva explained to the class how she came to be involved with managing artists. She was not always in that field of work, however, as she explained that she started with a job in the corporate world.

“I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was another job out there for me that I would enjoy much more,” said da Silva.

Da Silva eventually shifted her careers and began to work for a booking company, where she handled contracts between the company and the talent being booked. From there, she moved up to a management position, which she greatly enjoyed.

Da Silva explained some of the highlights of her career of managing the legendary rock band, The Zombies. She explained that the band was being marketed wrong previously. “An oldies band was opening for them on tour and it wasn’t very fitting,” said da Silva. She sought to change this once she was in control of their management.

Da Silva took a risk and pushed for The Zombies to play at South by Southwest (SXSW), a large music festival in Austin, Texas. She had faith that their performance would be a push in the right direction in terms of their marketing. 

“This decision was a huge risk, but it certainly paid off,” said da Silva. The Zombies’ inclusion in the festival was a huge success and the band was able to sell a large amount of merchandise.

Eventually, da Silva founded her own management company with business partner Chris Tuthill. Their company became known as The Rocks Management and has since built a very diverse roster of artists.

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, The Zombies are certainly one of da Silva’s most notable clients. “Getting The Zombies inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall ff Fame is my biggest accomplishment. Took four tries, but we did it, and it was magnificent. To see the joy in their eyes when they were accepting their awards, and performed made all the hard work worthwhile,” said da Silva.

Along with them are rock’n’roll band Hollis Brown, Singer/Songwriter Bruce Sudano, Pop Singer AJ Smith, and Artist/Producer Don DiLego. There are two visual artists, Terry Quick and Vivienne Boucherat, who are also signees to the management company.

Lorence-Critelli’s decision to include da Silva in her Artist Management class was a clever way to get students thinking about how their future lives past college. It was insightful to those looking to enter the management industry. 

“If you’re working harder than your act, you need to let them go. Don’t lose sleep over it, someone equally talented will come along and appreciate what you do, and work harder than you. Talent is only part of the equation, ambition and drive are needed as well,” advised da Silva.

Published in the 10/09/19 edition