Prime Social, Paradigm’s Paul Morris plot blockchain-powered fest

EDM producer 3lau, blockchain entertainment platform SingularDTV and independent promoter Prime Social Group have announced Our Music Festival (OMF), billed as the world’s first “blockchain-powered festival network”.

The debut OMF event will take place at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza (25,000-cap.) on 20 October, with DJ Zedd headlining and more hip-hop and dance music acts to be announced in the coming weeks.

The OMF team also includes digital marketing firm CrowdWaves, with AM Only founder and Paradigm partner Paul Morris, as well as major agents Lee Anderson (Paradigm), Hunter Williams (CAA), Sam Hunt (Paradigm) and Phil Quist (CAA), as strategic advisors.

The partners say, after “exploring the potential synergies between blockchain technology and the festival business”, they intend to use the Ethereum to combat ticket counterfeiting, touting and “dozens of other inefficiencies that plague the industry”

Future editions of OMF will see fans earning cryptocurrencies simply by participating in the festival, with OMF Tokens – of which there is a total supply of 1m – redeemable for tickets, VIP upgrades, exclusive access, merchandise, food, beverages and more.

“OMF will revolutionise the live events business in a major way”

In the long term, according to a statement, token holders will be able to “influence festivals themselves, from line-up to location”. The OMF Token will eventually be available publicly, and the team is seeking partnerships with festivals and artists around the world.

OMF CEO Justin Blau (3lau) comments: “The blockchain space is littered with promises that lack real-world application. We’re throwing our first event this year to show our commitment to inciting change. While it will take time for OMF to reach its full potential, our team has studied blockchain-layered applications and legal compliance for years to facilitate realistic steps toward decentralisation.”

“With over 900 concerts and 50+ festivals produced in our career at PSG, we’ve learned all the positives of this amazing industry,” adds Prime Social Group’s founder and co-CEO, Adam Lynn. “We’ve also found some room for improvements, and with the team of incredible partners and technology experts we are going to break down some barriers that we never would’ve thought had been possible.

“OMF will revolutionise the live events business in a major way and I am ecstatic to be part of the team leading the charge.”

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AM Only and Windish rebrand as Paradigm

AM Only and The Windish Agency have rebranded as Paradigm Talent Agency after a successful joint venture and partnership since 2012 and 2015, respectively.

The news reduces the number of brands under the agency conglomerate to just two as Paradigm continues to work with its European partner, the London-based CODA Agency, to offer worldwide representation for its artists.

AM Only CEO Paul Morris and Tom Windish, founder/president of The Windish Agency, will continue their leadership roles within Paradigm’s Music Executive Group along with Dan Weiner, Marty Diamond and CODA’s Tom Schroeder.

In November, Paradigm, AM Only and Windish moved together to a new combined office space in downtown New York. The two firms join prior acquisitions Monterey Peninsula Artists, Little Big Man, Third Coast Artists Agency and Ellis Industries under the Paradigm banner.

Windish brings acts such as St Germain (pictured), Aphex Twin, Coldcut and LCD Soundsystem into the fold, while AM Only adds DJs and producers like Chris Lorenzo and Tiesto.

“In working with like-minded professionals, we’re able to expand our reach, resources and clients without losing our focus. Our mutual respect and shared values makes this integration a natural fit.”

“I’ve found that the same entrepreneurial spirit that leads to successful business building also lends itself to successful career building for our clients,” said Paradigm chairman and CEO Sam Gores. “In working with like-minded professionals, we’re able to expand our reach, resources and clients without losing our focus. Our mutual respect and shared values makes this integration a natural fit. I consider us very fortunate to have the brilliant minds of Paul and Tom on our team.”

Morris said: “By combining forces with Monterey Peninsula Artists, Little Big Man and, now, AM Only and Windish, Paradigm has built an inclusive culture that keeps the spirit of these independent companies alive which allows our unique attributes to continue to flourish within the unified agency.”

Windish added: “The partnership with Paradigm has brought a tremendous group of agents and resources together under one roof on a worldwide scale. We have always shared the same values and I am proud to now share the same name.”

In a post on Facebook, Windish, who launched his agency in Chicago in 2004, said after growing his roster to over 300 acts, “all the big companies called me for years to talk about selling. I was skeptical and unsure.”

However, after getting to know the Paradigm team, “these guys struck a chord with me, they had done things the same way as we had for their entire careers too,” he added. “We formed a partnership with them and sold them a small piece of the company in August 2015. The night I signed the deal, I walked to Mercury Lounge and watched one of my clients play to 50 people at Mercury Lounge. I danced in the front row and had the same feeling I had in college when The Feelies played our campus ballroom – butterflies.

“Since [Windish did its first deal with Paradigm], we have been working towards becoming the same entity. We had a picture in our minds of how we could create an agency that did not currently exists in the business and we have all been working tirelessly to build it.”

“Since then we have been working towards becoming the same entity. We had a picture in our minds of how we could create an agency that did not currently exist in the business and we have all been working tirelessly to build it. Today, I’m changing the name of my company to Paradigm Talent Agency. I’m doing this for the same reasons I did a deal with Paradigm in the first place – to service our clients even better.

“We’ll be working as hard as we are now for as long as I can see into the future. I love it more now than I ever have in my career. Best of all, I still get butterflies at concerts.”

Paradigm, an industry leader with offices in Los Angeles, New York City, London, Monterey, Nashville, San Diego, Oakland and Chicago, guides the careers of clients in television, music performances, motion picture, theatre, book publishing, digital, commercial/voiceover, content finance, media rights, brand partnerships and beyond. Its music roster includes The 1975, Aerosmith, Blur, Coldplay, Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Tame Impala, The xx and many more.

For further reading on developments and consolidation in the agency sector, read this article by UTA’s Jules de Lattre.

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