Meet James Bauman | Touring Agent & Artist Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with James Bauman and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi James, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I always knew what I wanted to do, I consider myself lucky for that. However, after making the decision not to go to college, I knew that I had to take initiative and make my own success. I come from a background of DIY touring and New Brunswick house shows. I’ve worked in many different areas of music like recording studios, music schools, etc.

Since I was a freshman in high school, all I’ve wanted to do is work in the music industry. I’ve followed labels, touring agencies and managers very closely over the years, absorbing as much as I can. Being able to wake up every day and do EXACTLY what I want to do means everything. I couldn’t be happier in my role.

No matter what, I’ve always made an effort to be surrounded by music. I’ve never been content with a normal job. I couldn’t care less about getting a degree and working a normal job for a paycheck.

After years of touring independently, I built up my skills and connections to the point where I started booking tours for other artists. I tried it with a few bands and they kept coming back for more. The word quickly spread and I went from having 8 artists on my roster to over 30.

Bands seemed to take notice when I started announcing national tours for smaller-sized indie rock bands. Since then, I’ve gotten a crazy amount of submissions. It’s really great to see this brand progress in the way that it is. When I started Pathfinder, I didn’t know if anyone would ever take me seriously as an agent or manager. Now, I’m working with artists I never thought I would be able to

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Right now, I book tours & manage artists through Pathfinder Booking USA which is an independent touring & management agency that I founded in August of 2019. I’m also the project manager at Know Hope Records. Being able to work in the music industry full-time has been a wonderful experience and it’s something I’ve been working towards for many years.

Back in 2013, I started booking house shows with my friends in New Brunswick, NJ on the Rutgers campus. We hosted hundreds of shows for touring and local bands in a murky basement, embarking on DIY tours whenever we could. That went on until about 2018.

In February of 2018, I started managing a local recording studio and was able to start working in music full-time. Shortly after, in the Summer of 2019, I started thinking about applying for jobs at touring agencies. I don’t know what hit me, but I had the idea of starting my own agency. Shortly after, I put together a small team, found bands that trusted me, and we launched the brand.

Everything was great until Covid 19 hit the world in early 2020. I had to close the recording studio from March to September, touring was on pause, it was full blown chaos. We cancelled hundreds of tour dates and went into quarantine-hibernation-mode, wondering if live music would ever return.

I started working for Know Hope Records in December of 2020. I had wanted to work for a record label for at least a decade and things finally felt like they were turning around. With a newfound motivation, I began to manage artists through Pathfinder. It’s been a really great experience to be apart of an artist’s album rollout or helping them stay organized.

In January of 2021, I started hearing rumors of agents booking again and while I was concerned, I began figuring out Fall 2021 tours, knowing the chances of them happening were slim to none. Since then, we’ve picked up a ton of great clients and have expanded in ways I can’t describe. The word has really spread around the scene and it’s flattering to receive all the submissions we do. Our team of agents is wonderful and we’re ready to work hard, booking safe and well-attended shows for our artists.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Luckily, most of my best friends live relatively close by, so I’ll use my lovely Mother for this example. She lives in Arizona and recently came to visit me here in NJ. We’ve always shared a passion for baseball, so we went to a Yankee Game in the Bronx.

Since she’s been in Arizona for about 5 years now, we usually get whatever Jersey food she can’t acquire in her home state. For example, bagels. We clearly have the best bagels. You just can’t beat ’em.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to thank my wonderful Mother for all of her support over the years, especially recently. Since I began playing music and pursuing my passion, she has always been there, cheering me on. I’m not sure where I would be right now without her wonderful influence. From singing in the car on road trips to having deep heart-to-heart conversations about my future, I can always count on her to lead me in the right direction.

Website: www.pathfinderbookingusa.com

Instagram: @pathfinderbookingusa

Twitter: @pathfinderbusa

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pathfinderbookingusa

Image Credits
All images are not made by myself. All artists have been properly credited and compensated on social media