Meet Griffen Lee | Artist Manager

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

Hi Griffen, how do you think about risk?
I’ve always looked at risk as a tool to help with self growth. Although risk can be overwhelming and often times not necessarily the right decision – it does always lend itself towards a life lesson.

In 2020 I decided to start my own artist management company called Pulse Artists. When I started I had no idea what was in store for myself and to be honest I did not have the experience at all. I had worked in the music space for roughly 3 years all on the dance (house + techno) side of things. My jobs included – Prisma Artists on the agency side of things, Dirtybird Records for the label side & at Pollen as a marketing manager for brands/festivals. All three jobs taught me something different and allowed me to understand the music industry from different angles. Once I was done with these three positions I felt confident enough to take a chance on myself and start my own thing.

Currently I have 7 artists under Pulse Artists and we are all a family. All of us are best friends and we come from all over – North Carolina, Manchester, New York, Los Angeles etc. I have sacrificed/risked a lot to make this possible as but I knew that this was my passion and that I needed pursue it.

Risk is pivotal to the music industry as it can be used to help you stand out, get out of your comfort zone and help with personal growth.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I started Pulse Artists in 2020. Pulse is an artist management company specializing in dance music (house + techno). Before starting Pulse I had worked in many different facets of the music industry all of which I picked up various skills/tools that lead me to going down the management path.

Getting into the entertainment industry, specifically music, is not at all what I would call “easy.” When I was first trying to break into the space I was going out almost every night, not because I wanted to per say – just because I knew I needed to meet the right people and if I showed up enough someone would eventually have to see. I would sneak backstage if I could hop fences, carry flash drives with my resume on me at all times and literally do anything I could to get on the phone with someone or set up a meeting.

With that being said a large part of navigating my career has been through networking. I always say that in this space relationships and favors are better than the dollar. With this being said you really just need to eat breath and sleep whatever you are pursuing in this space. The music industry operates at a very fast pace so you really need to be on your toes as trends are constantly changing, markets are shifting, things that were once “cool” is no longer etc. You just always have to be in the know more or less.

Today I manage 7 artists ranging from the UK to the United States. We are a family and have been battling as one. The dance market is very saturated and its hard to break out as an artist/manager. My whole team including myself started out with nothing but just a love for the music and we figured it out along the way. We have all had great successes and even worse failures but we are learning more and more every day and loving every step along the way.

The one thing I would like to say here is that if you love something enough you need to pursue it. It doesn’t always have to make perfect sense, just go for it and give it 100% if it doesn’t work out, at least you tried. I know it’s a bit corny to leave off on this comment but it’s just so accurate.

Pulse Artists include – Ky William, James Wyler, Kamino, Delacour, Fletch, Wyatt Marshall

Keep an eye out in the dance space – we’re coming 🥷

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
LA can be a bit overwhelming as it’s a huge city. I live in Santa Monica and as a Westside enthusiast I would say if you visit LA stick to the coast.

Westside Things to Do/See: [Santa Monica, Venice, Marina, Malibu]

Elephante – Great restaurant in downtown Santa Monica, fire eggplant dip
The Fairmount – really nice hotel with great restaurant/pool zone to kick it in during the summer
Proper Hotel – Extremely good place to work, grab a coffee – super cool interior design and great views of ocean with rooftop pool
Santa Monica Pier – just one of those things you have to see, you’ll feel like you’re in a simulation
Abbot Kinney – prob one of the coolest streets – lots of great restaurants, boutique clothing stores, in tons of movies
Sushi Enya – insanely good sushi spot in Marina Del Rey
Pirates Cove – private beach in Malibu
Sunset Bar – only a few feet away from the sand and have amazing espresso martinis, located in Malibu
Rustic Canyon Hiking Trails – tons of cool trails with both views of DTLA and the coastline
Bikeride alongside the Ocean – take your bikes down to either Santa Monica Pier or Venice Pier and people watch / bounce around to various bars

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout “All You Need to Know About the Music Business” by Donald Passman. This book is essentially the bible for the music industry.

I’d like to also give my roster at Pulse Artists a shout – Ky William, James Wyler, Kamino, Delacour, Fletch, & Wyatt Marshall all of which I consider to be family. We are all still growing and constantly helping each other learn, picking each other up when we’re down, and celebrating each others wins. I view the music industry is way more enjoyable to share with others – this is a team sport and couldn’t have asked for a better team.

Shouts out to my one of my best friends/creative director Nathan Gorey. Nathan does almost all of the promo videos, label artwork for each artist, and keeps me sane on days where I feel like I’m a tornado lol. Being able to bounce ideas off one another at any given point in the day is one of my favorite parts of my job.

Lastly, want to thanks my family and friends whom all have supported me through the years. There has definitely been some pretty rocky low points and without their support I wouldn’t be here.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/griffenlee/?hl=en

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/griffen-lee-b2965a2b2/