Radio Milwaukee and gener8tor expected a big response when they announced their music accelerator program Backline this spring, and they got it. More than 300 artists applied for Backline’s inaugural accelerator session, which promised four artists $20,000 in grants as part of an intensive music mentorship program. In September, Backline announced the four that made the cut: R&B and pop singer Lex Allen, singer/rocker Abby Jeanne, rapper Zed Kenzo and EDM producer Crystal Knives.
The first test of those artists’ commitment came early. From the date they were selected, they had just two-and-a-half weeks to clear their schedule to prepare for the full-time, 12-week accelerator session, which Backline Program Director Enrique “Mag” Rodriguez describes as a trial by fire. There’s no road map for a program like this, and as snappy as it was, the program’s early elevator pitch—invest in musicians as if they were a business—doesn’t quite capture the realities of the music industry or Milwaukee, a city far removed from the industry’s power centers.
“The reality is there isn’t a ton of talent in Milwaukee that is ready to be ran like a full business,” Rodriguez says. “My approach was more to bring in the resources, and prepare the artists so when they do start running like a business they have all the resources and connections that they need to be successful. So the accelerator program was run as a big mentorship. At times it felt like I was managing all the artists in the program, or co-managing them with their existing manager, so it became kind of an A&R job.”
The program took a holistic approach to mentoring its artists. In addition to guidance from industry experts, each artist received access to a financial adviser, a life coach and physical and mental therapy sessions. Beyond that, each artist’s experience was tailored to their needs. “Every artist is going to be different,” Rodriguez says. “We didn’t just write them a check at the beginning of the program like, “Here you go, here’s $20,000 for your bank account.’ We managed the budget throughout the whole program, and the purpose of that is we want to be able to give them options.”
Sometimes the artist’s needs were obvious. In the case of Crystal Knives, Rodriguez says, “he had the vision, he just never had the funds to do it. He was like, ‘I want to be in the studio making music all day, but my computer doesn’t even work.’ So, the first thing we did was get him a new computer.”
Other artists’ needs were best served by leaving Milwaukee. Lex Allen flew to London to record, while Zed Kenzo ended up logging 200 hours in the studio, with sessions in Milwaukee, Chicago and Atlanta.
“My advice to the artists was to let Milwaukee be your foundation,” Rodriguez says. “Go to the studio here. Do your writing here. It’s a good place to stay, but you have to go where the music is, too. Atlanta, L.A., New York, those are the main hubs. That’s where everyone’s at. That’s where the publications are at. That’s where the agents are at. So I was trying to get them used to the idea that Milwaukee isn’t the end of the road for them. Zed and Lex ended up performing in New York for the first time, and that was a big experience for them.”
So how much of a difference did the program make for the artists? Only time will tell, and even then it’ll be difficult to chalk up any success they achieve to Backline alone—as Rodriguez tells it, “Everyone selected for this program was going to be successful anyway.” But the program did help put its artists on the industry’s radar. According to Rodriguez, one of its artists was offered a record deal, one was offered a booking agent and a couple were offered licensing deals, though he’s mum on the specifics and on whether any of those deals were accepted.
“The reception we got from the music industry was really inspiring,” Rodriguez says. “We met with publicists and publishing companies and even representatives from Apple Music, and everyone was down to help. The head of artists relations at Apple Music came in while he was on vacation to meet with the artists, because he was like, ‘This is amazing; programs like this helping artists don’t exist.’ So that was the biggest surprise for me. The music industry really does care about helping artists and offering resources to them.”
Backline’s artists will perform a showcase at Radio Milwaukee on Friday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are sold out, but the performance will be streamed online. Backline is planning to run two more accelerator sessions next year.
