Photo: Jason Klagstad - Facebook
Jason Klagstad
Jason Klagstad
When Jason Klagstad takes the reins as president of the Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) organization, he will bring along decades of experience as a musician and producer as well as a wealth of marketing and communications expertise.
Onstage he has been part of The Bill Camplin Band, Semi-Twang, Bristlehead and Plumb Loco. Behind the scenes his resume includes Independent Studios, Cream City Music, K-Nation Entertainment and GMR Marketing.
Of Klagstad, former president Zoy Begos said, “With his expertise, knowledge and life experiences he is going to be able to reach out further” than WAMI had in the past, in terms of connecting with musicians.
Klagstad’s vision begins with a renewed commitment to the original WAMI mission: To educate Wisconsin music industry persons through seminars and workshops focused on the music industry in its entirety; to provide annual scholarships to students and/or emerging artists in the Wisconsin community, and to create, organize and execute an awards ceremony, the intent of which is to recognize the accomplishments and achievements of people in the Wisconsin music industry.
In a statement, Klagstad said the COVID pandemic provided WAMI a great opportunity to make a clean break from the status quo, pause and develop strategies to improve what the organization can do for musicians in the state.
Among his goals, he plans on a new WAMI website that will connect WAMI members to 8,000 Wisconsin musicians and a quarter million other musicians globally. On a smaller scale, he said WAMI plans to reduce membership fees. Klagstad said WAMI needs to meet the needs of musicians in a landscape that has changed significantly over 40 years.
Begos oversaw the creation of the WAMI Wall of Honor which recognizes Wisconsin music personalities and helmed award ceremonies in both Appleton and Milwaukee which drew increased attendance each year. As a non-musician and “huge lover of music,” Begos felt his “mantra was celebrating how awesome our music scene is.”
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