WASSERMAN MUSIC TAKES THE STAGE

After a long, long process, it’s finally soup: Wasserman Music is here at last.

The new agency, the result of chief Casey Wasserman’s deal to acquire Paradigm’s North American live-music division, will function as part of the larger Wasserman org, with its significant reach in sports, film, TV, lifestyle and other sectors.

Joining Wass’ existing team, agents Marty Diamond, Jonathan Levine, Jackie Nalpant, Sam Hunt, Corrie Martin, Lee Anderson and Matt Rodriguez will run the biz on a day-to-day basis, with Tom Windish, Joe Rosenberg and Lori Feldman rounding out the team with biz dev, marketing and other support as well as expertise in an array of areas we don't even remotely understand.

With 130 employees, the company is gearing up for an aggressive plunge into a resurgent live-music business later this year and into 2022. The well-liked Wasserman enters the music sphere buoyed by the esteem of the biz, which is rooting for his success.

The agency’s music clients include Kenny Chesney, Coldplay, Billie Eilish, Imagine Dragons, The Lumineers, Dave Matthews Band, Janelle Monáe, Kacey Musgraves, Old Dominion, Phish, Ed Sheeran, Lorde, Sturgill Simpson, Black Pumas, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Kaytranada, Normani, Run the Jewels, Tash Sultana, Diplo, DJ Snake, Flume, Jack Harlow, ODESZA and Skrillex.

The agency and its parent are touting a “music meets method" model, wherein data analytics (much of it proprietary) features prominently in its process.

Inclusivity is also fundamental to the nascent entity’s ethos, it says. Wasserman has forged a partnership with Color of Change and signed on to the #ChangeMusicRoadmap initiative. Wasserman Inclusion Council’s women-centered group The Collective, meanwhile, is working hard to ensure a progressive strategy regarding gender.

Wasserman was represented in the new deal by Sullivan & Cromwell LLP and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC acted as Wasserman’s exclusive financial advisor. Paradigm was represented by Venable LLP.