We had the good fortune of connecting with Ryan Katz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ryan, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The most important factor by far is the proprietary nature of our business model. To our knowledge, there isn’t a single music management agency in the World, especially in the underground sector, that has such a unique and artist friendly business model as ours. This covers both financially ($120 a month) and flexibility (month-to-month contracts, opt out with no penalty). There are so many companies out there in the music industry who’s sole purpose is to exploit underground musicians who are chasing a dream. They charge them ridiculous amounts of money and hold them for extremely long periods of time, which is actually counterproductive and detrimental to that artist or band’s success. Not only that, but being a month to month management program requires my company to prove it’s success rate each and every month. If we don’t do our jobs and do it well, then our artists and bands won’t have any interest renewing for subsequent months, and this model wouldn’t be sustainable. So not only do we have a business model that doesn’t exist in the rest of our segment, but we do our job so well that artists and bands renew on a 90% or higher basis.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Something I always tell the artists and bands I manage is this: in the sports world (my degree is actually in Sports Administration), you want a coach that has played the game. Whether it’s football, basketball, baseball, or any other sport, 99% of the coaches were once players, and most of them successful players at that. So wouldn’t an artist or band want a manager that also was or is an artist or in a band? Seeing my success with the band’s I have recently been in has only bolstered my abilities as a music manager, and conversely, I am not sure that success would have been possible without my tools and experience as a full time music manager. The thing about the music industry is it is constantly changing. Algorithms on social media are being changed daily. New apps are being developed. New ways of networking and unwritten rules of acquiring opportunities are adapting to society every single day, so something I really pride myself on is being very in touch with those trends and applying them to my own creative projects. I have been playing guitar since 2002, and sure, I am quite capable at playing, but I would never sit here and say I am some virtuoso. I enjoy creating art more as a full song, rather than “riff salad” as some may call it. But what I enjoy even more is seeing what I can do with that art once it’s in the world. I recently started a band called “Killstreak”. We make deathcore music (super heavy modern metal), and while it may not be the most accessible form of music out there, we have come up with a really popular niche that has seemed to work so far: all of our songs and music videos pay tribute to different video games. So whether it’s sync placements in future games, twitch streamers gravitating towards our songs, or just fans that love metal and video games (there are thousands of those!), the combination of making music I love and writing it about something I enjoy doing has never been more fulfilling.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I aged way too quickly for my own good. In college (this is 2009 so over a decade ago now – yikes!) I was one heck of a partier. In fact, I partied so much that my first two semesters were on academic probation. It’s funny how settling down and getting older can change someone, because people who just met me would never believe the lifestyle I used to live. Now that I am 32 (my birthday is today 12/7), I find myself enjoying different things for different reasons. I am a sucker for warm weather, so if it’s the summer, hiking, golfing, or car shows are my go-to. I also have season tickets to the Cleveland Guardians, so going to baseball games is really fun. At the end of the day though, I just enjoy being with my friends and family. The activity is secondary. I definitely wasn’t always this way, but that changed when I had my daughter, who is now three. I get dragged to all these things I normally wouldn’t want to do, but spending time with her supersedes all of that, and I think I can say that about my friends and family as well. With that said, I am the ultimate planner, and everyone knows it. So the agenda is usually mine anyways!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would be hard pressed to find someone I am more thankful for than my wife. We have been together for almost 18 years now (high school sweethearts) and she genuinely has always supported everything I have ventured into, even if the risk is high. After college, I had a few dead end jobs and she was still getting her feet wet in her own career. I have been involved in the music industry in a part time capacity for almost two decades, but I never made the leap to being a full time entrepreneur in the music industry, as I wasn’t sure if or when that would be feasible. I had been developing my business model for years to attempt to be sustainable as a full time endeavor, and finally in 2014, I was ready to take that leap. However, financially, we were at a crossroads. I could stay at my day job, which I wasn’t happy at, but at least it was a paycheck. Or I could take that leap that all entrepreneurs take. I was very apprehensive, but my wife was the very first one to assure me that the time was now and if I didn’t do it then, I may never do it. Without her support, and subsequently the support of my parents and in-laws, I don’t think I would have been comfortable enough to take the risk. I am very happy I took the chance and am forever grateful of their support!

Website: www.liquidsoundagency.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryankatzprofessional/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/moshpitmagic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiquidSoundRecords

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBR14r7u6iRQ1Kn4oM7pbKg

Other: Killstreak Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/47JzuljyUZq3lsXs238Bv0?si=x5pzQ-RcRHK-92jOpkjbBQ Killstreak Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@KILLSTREAKUS LiquidSound Records business email: staff@liquidsoundagency.com

Image Credits
Image with guitar – Keith Delarosa (SceneAmatiX Productions) Image with band and image with car – Clinton Ovalle (co.digital_media)

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