Meet Michael Kaminsky | Music Manager

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

Hi Michael, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I’ve found I’m more inclined to take risks when I’ve had nothing to lose. This applies a lot to earlier in my career, when I was living with my parents and working the angles just to get by. I inadvertently broke every rule because I didn’t know better. When I had my first song going #1 I remember butting heads with the label executives over an issue that seemed completely backwards to me- and now 20 years later I look back and kind of understand where they were coming from, because that’s just how the playbook is written. So I have to understand that this far into my career I’m naturally more inclined to play by the rules, and sometimes I have to force certain constructs on projects so that mentally I can start clean and approach the thing I’m working on with that “nothing to lose” attitude. In retrospect, I’ve rarely had success playing it safe, so making sure to understand the rules enough to break them has been pivotal to whatever success I’ve had.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I work as a Music Manager. Implicitly my job is to work with artists and help them monetize their art. It is sometimes a very difficult place to be, and it has lead to a lot of tough conversations. Sometimes I feel dirty after them! But my job is to help artists turn their talents into a career and I have to remember that’s why I was hired. I never push an artist into business opportunities they don’t believe in, but I do need to offer my perspective into which ones will help them grow and, even harder, which ones to say “no” to.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would start at Sqirl! It’s where I met my wife. Her and her ex went there so often they have their name on a plaque on the wall. When they broke up she would take herself there for coffee in the morning and we ended up reading books next to each other. Next I would go to Skylight Books, my favorite indie bookstore, located in Los Feliz. The people that work there actually care about books, and I have discovered so many great favorites from them. Lastly I would go to Highland Park Bowl, one of the original bowling alleys in Los Angeles! It’s not just beautiful but a great place to hang out and meet new people.

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 started as an intern at a large company. All of the interns were treated the same way (badly) and I understood why- 11 of the 13 interns at this big company were just there to put the experience on their resume. But I worked my butt off and used every opportunity I could to learn. That caught the eye of Kevin Lyman, who was about ten years into starting the Vans Warped Tour, and he started to call me into his office to talk shop. He paid real attention to what I had to say, and when I started my own company a few years later, he was the guy I wanted to mentor me. We ended up spending 11 years together in an office and I wouldn’t be where I am today without his support and encouragement.

Website: www.kmgmt.com

Instagram: @kmgmt

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikekaminsky/

Twitter: @kmgmt

Image Credits
Myself