Verswire, the first ever Venture Capital for artists, is changing the music industry, one satisfied and successful artist at a time. They are revolutionizing the relationship between labels and artists by taking a brand-new approach on a very outdated business model. Today, idobi Radio is proud to announce the launch of Face The Music, our newest radio show and podcast hosted by the creative minds behind Verswire. Verwire is the brainchild of Nick Lippman and Sherry Saeedi. Both are seasoned veterans in the music industry, with an incredibly impressive history. Now, listeners will have the opportunity to join this intelligent and passionate duo every week as they delve into specifics about the industry, lifting the veil on the traditional deal structures of artists and what the long term repercussions are, pose questions about what is actually important for new coming artists. Tune in to learn how Verswire is making the music industry a better place.
Artists are fed up with the current label model in the music industry, it’s that simple. Most record deals are extremely unfavorable to artists and bands, leaving them struggling to make ends meet all while handing over their most intimate creations to a money making machine.
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“Verswire was basically built out of frustration,” Saeedi explains in the first episode of Face The Music. “This structure doesn’t serve the artist. We want to make a difference and show that there is a better way.” Saeedi’s whole goal with her career is to leave the music industry better than she found it. Her first company, Veeps, in addition to Verswire, help artists and provide solutions that have never existed before.
“My entire career has been dedicated to artists. I was always taught that no matter what you do or what decision you make, you ALWAYS put the artist first. The further I got in my career the more I realized that this was not a unified philosophy, which was disconcerting to say the least,” Lippman adds.
For artists to become a worldwide entity, they require a major label to fund their recording, marketing, and distribution. Typically, an artist will sign 100% of their rights to a label in exchange for an advance and label services. This is debt. It’s like taking out a loan from a bank. The worst part is, the artist must recoup ALL of these funds back to the label before they ever see a dime. Sometimes artists will be massive in the eyes of the public but unable to pay their rent. Once they have fully recouped, they usually only get 15% of earnings after that, while the label receives 85%… and they still don’t own their masters. Crazy, right? This happens on every level of the industry too, from up-and-coming indie bands all the way to Taylor Swift. Verswire is entirely different.
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To clarify, Verswire is NOT a label. Verswire treats artists like a business, investing in their catalog before they peak. They co-own their masters, and provide full label services without following the typical label financial model. They also give unique A&R services that help mentor the artist. With partners like blink-182’s Mark Hoppus who serves as a direct A&R for Verswire clients, and Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz, the artists are provided insight from firsthand experience. Verswire is a VC-like artist incubator that invests in the artists they believe in. It is designed to be custom to the artist to meet all of their individual needs. Their first partnership was with Beauty School Dropout.
The Los Angeles-based rock trio was making serious waves in the underground alternative space and Verswire noticed. A band with a little over 100K monthly listeners on Spotify and only a four-track EP released to their name, at the time of Verswire’s partnership beginning with the band, they had never played a headlining show or been on tour. After connecting with Verswire, it is an understatement to say that the band exploded. They sold out their first headline show in two days, performed at Reading & Leeds, Download Fest, and went on to support a stadium tour in the summer following a successful headlining run. Beauty School Dropout has over half a million listeners now with an album under their belt and another one due out this fall.
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Lippman goes on to share, “When I was approached by Sherry about Verswire, it took me less than 30 seconds to stop her pitch and let her know I’m in! I want everyone in this business, in all facets, to put the artist and the art first! So we started this podcast to have the conversation about how we can adjust the multiple areas of the music industry to evolve back to being an artist first business. We all understand that this is in fact, the music BUSINESS, but that does not mean we need to sacrifice the artist to succeed.”
“I’m so proud of Verswire, the amazing team behind it, and our incredible clients for believing in the future of music and that things can be done better. No artist should have to settle for unfavorable terms in order to grow their business. We didn’t see any good solutions out there, so we created our own. We’ve accomplished so much and in such a short period of time and it’s just the beginning of a big part of music history,” Saeedi adds.
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Verswire is here to change the game and Face The Music is where they aim to share their experience with you. This is a show for everyone, whether you are a musician, someone working behind-the-scenes in the industry, or simply a fan looking to learn more. According to Lippman, “Verswire is the step in the right direction and here is where we discuss it and more.”
Tune into the first episode of Face The Music this Tuesday at 6 PM ET right here on idobi Radio! If you want a sneak peek, catch up with them on Gone Fishkin tonight at 9 PM ET.
