In a time of unprecedented change in the music industry, one thing remains a constant…the hunger for good songs and quality music. However, the type of visionary artist development that it takes to elicit this “quality†from raw talent, once the role of label A&R departments, often falls to the wayside as these departments are increasingly downsized. Sounds+Sights Entertainment is a production and management company and indy record label that seeks to provide this missing link by nurturing raw talent and delivering polished artists that are ready to be upstreamed to larger labels.
Sounds+Sights is the manifestation of the dream that arose from the decade-long alliance of founders Mari Dew and Trevor Kustiak. The two met on the road in Texas in 1998, when Trevor was the guitarist/songwriter for Cool For August and Mari was a record promotion rep. A strong friendship ensued, fueled by their shared fascination for finding the best strategy to survive and conquer the ever-volatile music business.
Ultimately, Trevor’s experience in the “music†side of it and Mari’s background in the “business†would prove to be the solid combination that they were looking for, but many challenges lie ahead on the path to that discovery. The journey began in early 2001, when Mari left Los Angeles and moved to Atlanta to manage Cool For August. The band had been dropped by Warner Bros Records and was in search of a new deal.
Cool For August soon caught the attention of renowned producer She’kspere (TLC, Pink, Destiny’s Child) and the President and CEO of Arista Records, Antonio “LA†Reid. Mr. Reid saw the band play in Atlanta and wanted to host a second showcase for his staff back at home. Mari and the band were booked to fly to New York City…on September 12, 2001, a flight that never happened.
By the time the dust began to settle, Cool For August imploded. The guys decided to go their separate ways, and Trevor had his sights clearly focused on the goal of becoming a producer. In December 2001, Trevor signed a deal as a writer/producer with She’kspere’s Classic Music Publishing, Mari signed on to manage Trevor, and together, they launched Push ‘N Pull Productions and started working as a management and production team to develop young artists.
The team spent the next few years honing their skills and learning largely through trial and error. They moved from Atlanta to Los Angeles but found the “post-9-11†industry there to be in a lull. Undaunted, they made a bold move just a year later and relocated to Toronto, motivated by the great music coming out of Canada and the opportunity of government programs that fund Canadian artists and producers such as Trevor.
In April 2004, they teamed with a partner to build and launch The Pocket Studios in Toronto, and by February 2005, Mari and Trevor had signed Canadian rock band Evans Blue to a production and management deal. Nine months later, they had a finished album and a deal with Hollywood Records. Since then, the band’s 2 albums, both produced by Trevor and bearing The Pocket Recordings imprint, have collectively sold over 300,000 copies, plus an additional 300,000 digital tracks, and Evans Blue was nominated for a Juno (“Canadian Grammyâ€) in 2006 for New Group of the Year.
2008 marked the launch of Sounds+Sights Entertainment, a company, tailored to today’s music business model, that has been a decade in the making. Sounds+Sights develops artists and their repertoire; produces their music; works with them on their live show, image and marketability; and then promotes their music to the industry, in search of partners that can increase the level of exposure. Sounds+Sights released a new single from Evans Blue and an album from Rains on March 31st, 2009, and will release the third, self-titled album from Evans Blue on June 23rd, followed by an EP from Toronto band In My Coma in the Fall. And this is just the beginning…much more to come.
For more information on Sounds+Sights, please drop us a line.
