Conversations with Kasey Gelsomino

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kasey Gelsomino

Hi Kasey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got my start in the music industry back in high school in the suburbs of Chicago. Live music was my favorite thing in the world, so I started writing show reviews and artist interviews for a few blogs to get involved in the industry.

I later moved to NYC for college, and while I was there, I took on every odd job and internship I could find in the music world. I tour managed, sold merch, interned at a couple of major labels—you name it.

When COVID hit, I was a marketing intern at Columbia Records and still in my junior year of college. Suddenly, all of my plans to land an industry job after graduation fell apart and I was left trying to figure out what to do next. The most productive thing I could think of was picking up new skills that would set me apart as a candidate for future employers. One of the most obvious skills to me was learning how to market music on TikTok.

At the same time, I started curating playlists on Spotify for my friends during quarantine. I was discovering so many amazing independent artists during my newfound free time and figured I might as well spread the word about them!

Eventually, I realized I could combine my love for sharing music with what I was learning about TikTok, and that’s how Kasey’s Playlist came to be. It’s grown to over 100k followers since then, which is honestly wild!

Running the blog has been such a blast, and it eventually led to my full-time role as an A&R at Nettwerk Music Group. Having a career built on music discovery is honestly a dream come true!

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Definitely not! I don’t think anyone’s career is a smooth ride if we’re being real.

The most obvious obstacle I can think of was graduating college right in the middle of the pandemic. It was such an uncertain time to be starting my career, and there were definitely moments when I felt super discouraged. Most companies had hiring freezes, and for the ones that didn’t, the applicant pools were way bigger because of all the job scarcity.

I got pretty lucky that my TikTok took off when it did—it opened so many doors in the music industry! I honestly don’t think I’d have my current full-time job without it.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
As an A&R at an independent record label + a content creator, my jobs combine both creative and business skills on a daily basis.

For Kasey’s Playlist, I’m responsible for writing scripts, filming/editing videos, curating playlists, and all of the admin related to running a small business. It’s a lot of work but I love having ownership over every piece of the operations.

At Nettwerk, my responsibilities range from scouting new artists & negotiating record deals to helping strategize unique ways to grow their careers. Again, it’s a great fit for me because it combines both creative and analytical work.

We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
It’s so hard to choose, but since we’re on the topic of music I’ll say that it was my first concert back in 2007— Hannah Montana & The Jonas Brothers at Allstate Arena in Chicago.

I was 8 years old and my mom surprised me with the tickets as an early Christmas present. The whole thing was completely mesmerizing!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://open.spotify.com/user/kngelsomino?si=9716bb85149b459d
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kaseys.playlist/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@kaseys.playlist