Meet Joanne Ledesma | Music Business Management and Consulting

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

Hi Joanne, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I have been fortunate to wear many hats in the music industry such as music programmer, music publisher, music business teacher and music producer. After twenty years I realized that I’m better off serving clients on a one-on-one basis with all my knowledge rather than adhering to a single company purpose. My clients vary from lyricists and songwriters to touring bands and high profile acts. Their individual needs and talent levels varied so much that I never really felt comfortable offering a single subject or one-size-fits-all approach to a group. The best way to serve clients was to offer a boutique consulting and retainer service where the focus would be on the individual client. Some artists are novice songwriters so I work on improving the songs. Some are stellar songwriters, but need assistance with producing broadcast quality music. Some clients have polished tracks but just need help with social media, touring or management. The most popular request I get is showing an artist how music is placed on film & tv, how to set up performing rights, and how to pitch their music. It’s not fair to answer those questions without screening their music first as the answer varies depending on genre, quality of tracks, and current state of the music business. I am one of the few consultants that works in multiple genres from Americana and Bluegrass to Pop and EDM. I knew  that starting my own business would allow me to better serve the artists, while giving me the freedom to hand pick my clients.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
There are three things that I really love about my work. I love seeing my clients taking their careers to the next level and earning accolades. Sometimes it’s winning song competitions or industry awards. Other times it’s landing a record deal or booking agent or song placement. Secondly, I love the variety of work I do, its never a boring day. In a single day I could be consulting for a big music festival, writing a contract for an artist, placing music in film and write an article for a trade magazine. From time to time I do all of this while on the road touring with an act. Above all else I love working and traveling with my dog Cupcake. She is well known, well mannered and loves festivals and lap time with musicians.

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?
I often get the opportunity to work with musicians who are visiting from out of town. It’s a great opportunity to showcase the area and do some heavy networking and tourism. I love to incorporate food, drink and music together. Sometimes it’s lunch at the Paseo in Pasadena (El Cholo Resturant) or Dinner at Union Station (Traxx) followed by a visit to the Grammy Museum. I also love taking clients to eat at the Claremont Packing Station (Eureka!) and then walking to the historic Folk Music Center . I follow that up with a visiting to Iron Bark Cider works because it’s a female owned business who supports live music and art. I try to get a feel for the clients interests and expose them to all the places I think they would appreciate.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’ve had several folks who provided encouragement and support but the person who stands out the most is Dan Kimpel. He is the author of several books including “Networking Strategies in the New Music Business”. Dan Kimpel is an independent music business professional who I met while producing audio programs for corporate clients like United Airlines, America West, Edward Cinemas and more. He would come to the studio and do some amazing high profile interviews, write in depth artist cameos, and knew just about everyone in the grammy and songwriting circles. I had asked him if he wanted to go with me to a company Christmas Party at Capitol Records, as it was a big deal and I was shy and nervous. Dan asked me to read his networking book before going to the party. When we got to Capitol Records, there was a Pro-Photographer who nearly blinded us with Paparazzi photos as we entered. As we walked on the lot I saw giant holiday decor, piles of snow with kids and Kenny Loggins performed holiday favorites. I was overwhelmed. Within minutes Dan turned to me and said “you read the networking book, you were invited because they are thanking you for providing a service to their artists. I’m going to disappear for a few hours and leave you to network and get three new business cards before the night is over.” I was mortified as he walked away but I wanted to make him proud. I hung out at the snow play area and chatted with folks about their kids. I collected three cards, one was Kenny Loggins manager, one was audio engineer who gave me a tour, and the other was the president of Capitol Records. Those three contacts all became valuable in my programing job. A few months go by and Dan offers me a job to run a music festival in Pasadena as he would be out of town teaching at Sir Paul McCartney school of Music. The event taught me the basics of concert and event promotion, a course which I would later go on to teach at college. In the same year, Dan asked me to cover for him as guest speaker for Songnet.org. “Just talk about your programming job as songwriters all always interested in getting their music programmed” he said. I didn’t know till I got their that it was Pitch a Pro night which required me to stand on a stage and critique dozens of songs in-front of the actual songwriters. It was intimidating but the audience loved my critical input. That was twenty years ago, and I am still guest speaking for them and several other associations today, Many folks gave me encouragement but Dan Kimpel gave me confidence and opportunities to grow.

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