Name Tacie Van Liew
Company FADER Label
Role Director of Marketing
Headquarters New York, NY
Website www.faderlabel.com
How did you come to be at FADER Label?
I interned for FADER Label's sister company, Cornerstone Agency, during college. Jon Cohen, the co-founder of Cornerstone, FADER Label, and The FADER Magazine, is a fellow Syracuse alumnus and visits the university every year to speak to music industry students. He and I met during one of these visits my senior year and he offered to assist in my upcoming job search. Soon after I graduated, Jon's assistant announced her departure and I was contacted to fill the spot. One week after receiving the phone call I moved to New York City!
Name three people who've been critical to your career
First and foremost, my parents. They've supported my passion for music from day one: driving me to and from choir practice, allowing me to study the violin, attending each and every school concert for years on end. I'm the first in my family to attend a four-year college and my parents bent over
backwards to give me that opportunity.
David Rezak, a professor at Syracuse University, has been a huge source of encouragement and support. He personally introduced me to Jon Cohen and arranged for us all to go to dinner, which initiated the conversation that eventually lead to my job.
Jon Cohen has given me an incredible opportunity to grow at this company while learning from one of the best in the industry. He's believed in my abilities from the start and has been an inspiring mentor.
What does the FADER Label brand stand for?
FADER Label values originality, creativity, and artistry. Every artist on our roster has an incredible, clear vision for themselves and how they wanted to be marketed. It's often what draws us to them in the first place, that sense of self.
What challenges have you faced over the past 12 months?
Being an independent record label certainly has its challenges. In general, I feel it takes more follow-up than what would be required of a major label. We are in constant communication with our distributor, who, in turn, relays the latest highlights and information about our to the buyers at digital retailers and brick and mortar stores. Our PR team also does an amazing job of keeping blogs and press outlets in the loop. I feel we have to push a little harder for this coverage than a major label would. But this also encourages us to think outside the box and come up with unique and clever ways of marketing and promoting our artists.
What sort of person thrives at FADER Label?
The person who realizes no task is ever too small and takes them all on with great enthusiasm. That's my biggest piece of advice for interns and employees alike because nothing can get accomplished if everyone is trying to shirk a responsibility off onto someone else simply because it's not the "coolest" or most exciting thing to do. We are a small dedicated team and we all do our part to get the job done.
Which artists inspire you on a visual/creative level?
These are some of the most impressive artists I've come across in the past few years in terms of songwriting, live performance, and overall image / brand:
Muse
Eric Whitacre
Pentatonix
White Sea
Die Antwoord
Spoon
Rhye
I admire each of them for having such an identifiable, unique style, seemingly inventing new styles of songwriting, brilliantly connecting their music with the visuals in a live performance, and taking risks with the type of music and video content they create.
In what ways can people be more socially responsible for the health of our music industry community?
The younger generations truly don't understand why they should pay for music. Because it's intangible, they don't view it as a product. Streaming services like Spotify have helped bridge that gap somewhat, but I think we could do a better job of educating the youth to make them understand that just because the technology to illegally download music exists doesn't mean it's acceptable. It's the same as stealing. I think if we could find a way to put it into perspective, they would think twice about illegally sharing and downloading.
If you could provoke change in any area of the music business, what would it be?
By the same token as the previous question, I believe streaming services should pay artists more. The younger generation actually somewhat embraces the idea of streaming. It's the direction the industry is headed in and these services have a responsibility to demonstrate to consumers that music is a commodity. Artists should be paid a decent wage for their work, just as in any other industry.
Tell me about something you learned the hard way?
Don't be afraid to pick up the phone. As a Millennial and someone who loves to triple-check my work, I am drawn to written communication. But the ol' telephone is still the fastest and most effective way to get the answers you need.
*Photograph by Isaac Rosenthal
Shot on location at Space4shoots http://space4shoots.com/blog/