Industry Profile - Ryan Smith - Nashville Regional Manager Artists Relations for Shure Inc.by Mark E. Waterbury
 Even when someone cultivates a desire to work in the music industry, they may not necessarily know the actual arena they have the most passion for at the onset of their career. The seeds were planted in Ryan Smith that he wanted to be involved in the music biz at a young age. Growing up in the Chicago area the son of a hobbyist guitar playing father, his exposure to music directed him to first attempt becoming a musician, the drums being his weapon of choice. Ryan spent three years in junior college, gaining an associates degree in music business while also playing in Chicago jazz big bands. He then went on to achieve his bachelors degree at the University of Southern Illinois, where he made a decided stylistic switch in music by joining a heavy metal band. Although he loved performing music he knew that his life's path lay elsewhere. "I knew that I wanted to be involved in music and wanted to make a living at it," Ryan recalls. "It's not like in a band where you have to worry about living paycheck to paycheck or worry so much about the money situation. I knew I wanted to follow my heart and be around music, but have some stability as well." While at SIU, he took one class called Open Music Business Class that used to take class members to Nashville once a year, giving them a tour of the various studios, publishing and music row companies and allowing them to interact with people in the business. He also had his first involvement with the business side of music during his college years, working for the school's auditorium helping with various aspects of the major concerts that took place at the on campus facility. "There was a lot of excitement about loading in some of those big shows like Metallica and Van Halen. It was pretty cool to see how everything happened behind the scenes."
Returning to Chicago after graduation, Ryan continued to play on and off in the big band as well as in a pop country band while the multiple resumes that he had submitted circulated through various companies in the industry. He did do an internship at a company called Corporate Productions that set up parties and events for major corporations in the area.After being back in the Windy City for about a year he got a call from Shure Incorporated, one of the industry's largest producers of microphones and vocal equipment whom Ryan had submitted his resume to on advice from a junior college friend who worked there. He had to start at pretty much the bottom rung of the ladder, working in the customer service department expediting rush orders where he took great pride in handling the twenty to forty shipments that usually had to be sent out the same day that the order was received. He knew that this was a mere stepping stone, and next worked his way up to being a representative, working with rep companies in various territories of the U.S. and overseas. He also got to know the head of the artists relations department, and eventually would move into a position of working liaison with artists relations and customer service. It didn't take Ryan long to realize that he had found the facet of the business that he had a true zeal for. "Once I started doing that I found that I really enjoyed doing it. Since I had always wanted to be an artist I really wanted to work with them, and I thought it was the best thing to do. Before that I hadn't been really sure what I wanted to do yet."
When a position opened up in the artists relations department itself in 1996, Ryan applied for it and got it. He immediately dove into his work, finding and taking care of the artists that were best suited to represent Shure products in the industry. He helped with general support of the artists throughout their time frame as endorsers and made sure that the products they endorsed and used were in top condition. After working in that position for five years, Ryan came up with a proposal to open up a satellite office in Nashville, a town he had taken a liking to from his field trips there while in college. The idea had been there to have a representative in a major music community where they could work more closely with musicians and people in the industry, but nobody had actually followed through with it or volunteered to make it happen until Ryan pushed for it. "I am very thankful that they accepted the proposal and let me come down here and give it a try. Here I'm fifteen minutes from music row, and my office is in a rehearsal studio so I get to interact with musicians on a daily basis. Interacting with people is what I really like to do. I enjoy talking with them, helping them out and seeing how products can actually effect the way that they perform. It's amazing to see how some products like the in-ear monitors can be life changing. I really enjoy seeing them use something that can help them do their job better."
Although Ryan is busy and quite happy with what he is doing, he has been educating himself on the recording and live performance facets of the industry. He believes that this will even further help understand the needs of the musicians he works so closely with. His interaction with musicians also fuels his solid advice for any who may want to venture into the business side of the music industry."You need to be a very flexible person as well as being nice to people and get along with them. I've seen a lot of different situations happen down here, and the best advice I can give is to be willing to have an open mind and know what you're doing. If someone asks a question make sure you find out and know the answer rather than just guessing."
Ryan Smith's advice for musicians: "Be different. That's what I look for in artists, something different, something that no one else is doing and doesn't sound like anyone else. I really like to see differences on our endorsement roster, a whole bunch of different types of artists represented by the same company. You have to try to be different and do your own thing."
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TM© May 2004
