RED LIGHT MANAGEMENT

Haley McLemore’s can-do attitude is evident in multiple success stories: Roughneck balladeer Lee Brice winning the Academy of Country Music 2014 Song and 2015 Single of the Year awards for “I Drive Your Truck” and “I Don’t Dance”; hard-hitting traditionalist Tyler Farr topping the charts with “A Guy Walks Into a Bar” and mining platinum with “Redneck Crazy”; and songwriter/singing duo Maddie & Tae (seen right with McLemore) striking a nerve with the bro-country-impaling “Girl in a Country Song,” which won the Country Music Association’s Video of the Year Award and racked up 35m+ Vevo views. A promotion exec by trade, McLemore teamed with Enzo DeVincenzo to build a company based on serving a client’s needs, not creating a management conveyor belt.

How do you shift—or swerve around—the classic management model?

Trying to do what’s best for each act individually, based on their current needs and where they are in their careers. Maddie & Tae’s need isn’t what Lee Brice requires. Sometimes it’s simple: helping the label embrace the idea of Tyler Farr using Jason Aldean as a producer, or finding Lee a support act for a tour at the last minute when somebody had to cancel. We have great Rolodexes—we call in the right people for the job.

What’s your greatest triumph? How’d you pull it off?

We knew there was possible interest from Bloomingdale’s for Maddie & Tae. We wanted it really bad, but also knew it could be a tough sell because this is a young country act in Manhattan. The meeting went well, but we stalled in the negotiating.

I called Frank Doroff, the Vice Chairman, and got us back on track. This is a huge deal for Maddie & Tae, who now have their own branded capsule collection within Bloomingdale’s fresh, young AQUA line. This is the first time Bloomingdale’s has aligned with any country artist—and we’re really excited about it.