“Every artist is going to be different,” Rodriguez says. Beyond that, each artist’s experience was tailored to their needs. In addition to guidance from industry experts, each artist received access to a financial adviser, a life coach and physical and mental therapy sessions. The program took a holistic approach to mentoring its artists. At times it felt like I was managing all the artists in the program, or co-managing them with their existing manager, so it became kind of an A&R job.” So the accelerator program was run as a big mentorship. “My approach was more to bring in the resources, and prepare the artists so when they do start running like a business they have all the resources and connections that they need to be successful. “The reality is there isn’t a ton of talent in Milwaukee that is ready to be ran like a full business,” Rodriguez says. There’s no road map for a program like this, and as snappy as it was, the program’s early elevator pitch-invest in musicians as if they were a business-doesn’t quite capture the realities of the music industry or Milwaukee, a city far removed from the industry’s power centers. From the date they were selected, they had just two-and-a-half weeks to clear their schedule to prepare for the full-time, 12-week accelerator session, which Backline Program Director Enrique “Mag” Rodriguez describes as a trial by fire. The first test of those artists’ commitment came early. In September, Backline announced the four that made the cut: R&B and pop singer Lex Allen, singer/rocker Abby Jeanne, rapper Zed Kenzo and EDM producer Crystal Knives. More than 300 artists applied for Backline’s inaugural accelerator session, which promised four artists $20,000 in grants as part of an intensive music mentorship program. Radio Milwaukee and gener8tor expected a big response when they announced their music accelerator program Backline this spring, and they got it.
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