NOISEMAKERS:
ALL THE RAGE
In our latest roundup, we present eight rising professionals from various parts of the biz whose dedication and effort may or may not get them invited to their companies' Grammy parties. Either way, a shout-out from this rag and eight bucks will still buy them an oat-milk latte at Starbucks.
Joanne Hunter
VP, Media and Brand Strategy, Def Jam
Among other career highlights, Hunter was ecstatic to see Muni Long earn three Grammy Award nominations, including for Best New Artist, this year. She also witnessed Armani White perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards and make his late-night debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! She’s presently focused on White’s Def Jam debut and upcoming tours by Kaash Paige, Fridayy, YG and more. In her spare time, Hunter raises chickens and grows a variety of fruits and veggies on her farm in Ecuador. We’ve been known to grow tedious.
Aaron Stern
Senior Director, Marketing, RCA
A founding drummer of emo-punk groups Matchbook Romance and D.R.U.G.S., Stern has gone from touring with Taking Back Sunday and Goldfinger to overseeing campaigns for RCA acts of various genres, including rock legends Foo Fighters, next-gen rap group BROCKHAMPTON and left-field country favorite Tyler Childers. He recently collaborated with P!nk on her TikTok channel and is now dedicating his energies to the release of her next album, Trustfall. Though it’s a little foggy, our ’00s also consisted of drugs and the Warped Tour.
Shelby Durkin
Manager, Brand Partnerships, SALXCO
Among other “surreal” achievements, Durkin served as the brand manager for The Weeknd’s partnership with Monty’s Good Burger and Postmates, then served the featured meal backstage during his L.A. shows. Other collabs have included Swedish House Mafia x Spotify, Hope Tala x Skechers and Dreezy x True Religion. Durkin was on set for Doja Cat’s Taco Bell Super Bowl commercial, which spawned a deal for Doja involving the momentous return of the Mexican Pizza, announced during Coachella. Now that’s living más.
Edgar Cutino
CEO, To the World Soon
Four years ago, Cutino direct-messaged Fridayy to say, “Let’s work!” Since then, the artist has appeared on DJ Khaled’s “GOD DID” (recipient of three 2023 Grammy nominations) and earned his first Top 10 record (Lil Baby’s “Forever”). In the past five months, Cutino has seen his clients earn eight Grammy noms and contribute to two #1 and six Top 10 albums. He’s looking forward to Fridayy’s Def Jam debut album and 2023 tour. Somewhere on the Internet, you’ll find a track Cutino made in high school that won multiple awards. Just don’t Google us.
Jackie Carrasco
Manager, Digital Marketing, 740 Project/Blac Noize!
Carrasco has come a long way from writing for a local Chicago music blog: Among other things, she’s received a gold plaque for her work on behalf of French Montana’s Jungle Rules and was complimented by Usher for the content she curated for his socials. Coming off a successful 2022 with Hitkidd’s “F.N.F. (Let’s Go)” w/GloRilla and “Shabooya,” Carrasco notes, “I was destined to be in music since I was a little girl; I used to take down our purple curtains and perform like Selena around the house.” Our performance is perennially abysmal.
Alex Stolls
Senior Associate, Boyarski Fritz LLP
Stolls, Boyarski Fritz Managing partner Jason Boyarski and client Louis Bell once watched Post Malone play beer pong backstage before his show at Madison Square Garden. Having cut deals for legends like Prince, Earth Wind & Fire, Joan Jett and Donny Hathaway, Stolls is currently securing arrangements for Meek Mill, Lil Kim and Marc Anthony; agreements for producers Bell and Cirkut; a Latin partnership with the NFL for Tainy and NEON16; and pacts for Create Music Group. He was the captain of his high-school basketball team. We were band geeks (shocking, we know).
Clark Mims Tedesco
VP, Artist Development, Warner Music Nashville
Post-pandemic, Clark’s first concert was Cody Johnson’s opening of the 2022 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo before a sold-out crowd of more than 70k fans, which made him only the third artist to sell out night one. Also that year, she helped launch 2023 Grammy nominee Ingrid Andress’ sophomore album, Good Person, plus new music from artists like Kenny Chesney and Blake Shelton. Clark provided background vocals to Shelton’s #1 gold single “Gonna.” Our singing is limited to the shower.
Eddie Fourcell
A&R Executive, Prescription Songs
For Fourcell, nothing tops hearing Fridayy, whom he signed to Prescription, on DJ Khaled’s “GOD DID” for the first time and seeing him score his first Top 10 hit as a featured artist, on Lil Baby’s “Forever.” Fourcell’s lately excited about new signings KP and Derelle Rideout (inked with Bizness Boi). He’s also working with Malibu Babie, Lunch Money and emerging Nashville talent like Tim Gent and Bryant Taylorr. Somehow, Fourcell has managed to never even taste coffee. We can’t survive without it—which is not an invitation for you to turn off the spigot.
