2025 Workshop Information
TIMES AND LOCATION -
THE MUSIC IS READY TO GO, NOW WHAT?
EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MAKING MONEY AS AN ARTIST BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK
Workshops : PRESENTED AT SHAGWONG RESTAURANT
Presented by the Montauk Music Festival & Sponsored By The Montauk Sun
Food Sponsor- Shagwong Restaurant and Tavern
FRIDAY 5/16/24-
11am-2pm
Free lunch will be provided.
You are only in it for the art? That's fine. You are only making music for yourself? That's fine too. But if you want to make a living as an artist, there are certain things you need to know. Knowledge is power even in the creative world. As an independent artist, it can seem like a daunting task to figure out how to release your next project. What do I need to do, how do I do it, when do I do it, are just a few of the questions you may have.
The Montauk Music Festival has once again invited more than a handful of Music Industry Experts to help answer all these questions and more. So come and meet the folks from Warner Music Group, The Orchard/SONY, CI Records and Launch Music Conference & Festival, Sentric Music Publishing and Hot Rats Entertainment, Wasserman Agency, Magnetic Vine PR and GNR Events, and others!!!
This session will discuss:
The different options available to release your music and the pros and cons of each:
* Major label, Indie label or DIY
* Singles, EP's or Albums
Type of revenue streams you should be earning from:
*streams and sales of master recordings,
* publishing of the songs,
* live music performances,
* merchandise
Best practices on marketing your music to existing and new audiences
How can you get booked locally and nationally
It is FREE!! Come hang with them, learn from them, get their opinions, ask them questions, pick their brain, and don't forget to invite them to see your show. Always informative and always a good time!
2025 Speakers –
Lou Plaia
Founder/Artist Manager/Artist Services: Hot Rats Entertainment, LLC
Plaia launched Hot Rats Entertainment in 2022 to provide consulting and various artist services for solo Artists, Bands, Songwriters, Producers and Managers. At Hot Rats, he also manages the Spinefarm/Universal recording artist, Deadlands, a female-fronted metalcore band.
From 2022-Feb 2025, Plaia was the A&R Director for Sentric Music, a global, award-winning independent music publisher that offers rights management services and sync licensing opportunities. His main role at Sentric was to sign talent to their roster.
In 2006, Plaia founded ReverbNation and “disrupted” the music business by offering ALL artists the promotional tools, distribution, publishing administration, and opportunities that were previously only available to artists who were signed to record labels. Within a few years it became the largest DIY Artist Services Platform in the world, with more than 5 million artists/bands using the platform. After 15 years, Plaia sold the company to BandLab in November 2021.
From 2002-2005, Plaia was the Head of Marketing and Artist Development for Atlantic Records imprint, Lava Records. And from 1990-2002, Plaia was VP of Strategic Marketing at Atlantic Records. In those roles, he worked in some capacity with Kid Rock, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Matchbox Twenty, Simple Plan, Jewel, Hootie & the Blowfish, Stone Temple Pilots, Collective Soul, Brandy, Lil’ Kim, O.A.R., Skindred, George Carlin, Mike Stern and many others.
Plaia is also an Adjunct Professor at Five Towns College in New York where he teaches classes on Artist Management and Concert Production & Promotion.
Jeremy Weiss
Jeremy Weiss is the founder and owner of The CI Companies, the umbrella brand of his career endeavors: CI Records (label), LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival, CI Productions, CI Design & Printing, & the Christmas Burns Red Festival.
CI Records (est. 1987) has signed notable acts, such as August Burns Red, Texas In July, The Pink Spiders, Hawk, Carousel Kings, Vision, Sense Field, The Pavers, and many more.
CI Productions, a production company Weiss started at the age of 15, has staged more than 2500 live shows, at the former Chameleon Club (Lancaster PA), the CI-owned all ages venue – The Champ (Harrisburg PA), & currently at several venues throughout Central Pennsylvania, while also producing shows in Pittsburgh PA, Allentown PA, Philadelphia, and select out of state locations.
He is the Director & Founder of LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival in Lancaster, PA, an annual 3-day showcase festival and conference in its 17th year. LAUNCH hosts industry panels and seminars by day, and over 150 performances on average, by night on 11 stages, throughout the city of Lancaster, PA.
Weiss is the founder and co-owner of Christmas Burns Red annual festival, occurring in December each year, partnered with and featuring the iconic Pennsylvania band, August Burns Red. It is a 2-day festival event that enjoys more than 6000 attendees each year, from across the U.S. & around the world.
The CI Companies is the band management moniker, as well. Weiss has facilitated in the transitioning of many of his CI Records roster acts to labels such as Equal Vision, Geffen, Solidstate/EMI, etc, onto tours such as Take Action, & Vans Warped Tour, sent his bands to Europe, Asia, Australia, & throughout the U.S. & Canada, Festivals like Milwaukee Summerfest, Purple Door, Cornerstone, and iMatter, negotiated licensing and endorsement deals, and more.
Weiss has been House Talent Buyer for several venues in PA.
Helena Horn
Senior Director, Artist & Label Partnerships
The Orchard
Helena has been working in the music industry for 7 years across roles in partnerships, strategy, and business management. She started her career in finance before coming to her senses and transitioning into an industry that aligned with her roots. The daughter of two musicians, she grew up singing and playing both piano and flute – and her world has revolved around music ever since. She is currently a Senior Director on the Artist & Label Partnerships team at The Orchard, the world’s largest independent music distributor, signing artists and labels to global distribution and services deals.
Danielle Geiger
SVP, Global Marketing: Warner Music Group
Music Industry Veteran and Global Marketing Expert Danielle Geiger is a seasoned professional that has risen through the ranks to become SVP of Global Marketing at Warner Music Group (specifically working Atlantic Music Group projects). Throughout her tenure, she has spearheaded international marketing campaigns for a diverse roster of talent, ranging from emerging artists in development to established global superstars like Bruno Mars, Lizzo, Cardi B, Jack Harlow, and Twenty One Pilots.
Recently, she shared her wealth of knowledge with the next generation of music industry professionals, teaching a semester of Global Music Marketing at Hofstra University. This experience further solidified her position as a thought leader in the field.
She looks forward to joining her fellow peers in this Montauk Music Festival panel.
Ben Martines
Ben Martines is a Booking Coordinator at Wasserman Music, a global booking agency helping artists build & develop strategy to achieve their goals on the live/touring front & beyond. He has been with Wasserman for over 6 years, working on agent teams that represent artists such as Knocked Loose, Skepta, Poison the Well, We Came as Romans, Elmiene, and more.
Martines’ passion for working in the live music space began as a young teenager gigging in punk & alternative bands across Long Island. His interest in booking shows for his bands & his love for the Long Island music scene developed into a career working in concert booking.
While studying Performing Arts Management at the University of Hartford, Ben independently helped manage & book tours for up-and-coming alternative/indie bands — while also running a DIY concert venue in the basement of his living residence. Since graduating in 2018, he has been able to utilize the network & community he’s built to continue to grow in the career he has today.
