MGT113: The Rediscovered Power Of An Indie Label – Tom Sarig (AntiFragile Music)

Music Growth Talks by Dotted Music

Tom Sarig is a music business veteran of over two decades, who has helped a number of acclaimed music artists sell millions of records, either as their manager or as a label A&R, in genres ranging from electronic to rock, pop, and hip hop. Prior to launching the AntiFragile Music label, Tom has run Esther Creative Group, where he's managed the careers of artists such as Lou Reed, Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music, Rickie Lee Jones, CAKE, Against Me!, Blonde Redhead, and many others. For the 11 years prior to starting ECG, Tom served as a Grammy-winning Senior A&R executive at various major labels including Universal Records, Arista Records, MCA Records, A&M Records, and TVT Records, working with the likes of The Roots, Nine Inch Nails, Erykah Badu, Blink-182, Annie Lennox, Mos Def, Imogen Heap, DJ Shadow, Aphex Twin, Squarepusher, and so many others. Tom has also produced several feature films, having served as Film Producer for two acclaimed features, Red Shirley and Lou Reed’s “Berlin”, and as a Producer for MTV’s annual television special on his Shortlist Music Prize.

AntiFragile Music was established as "a reaction against some of the established big labels who are not doing enough for artists anymore." On this Music Growth Talks episode, Tom Sarig explained how their approach to working with artists is different, mentioned how he discovers new talent, shared an interesting artist success story, and outlined terms of a typical AntiFragile's record deal. We also talked about the impact which placements in popular Apple and Spotify playlists have on the label, and how those placements alone never "break" an artist – it's the job of an artist's team to develop them, and turn passive listeners into fans.

Listen to the show in full to learn what Tom is looking for in a music act besides the music, hear his excellent content marketing advice, and a lot more.

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