Hidden Gems: Meet Lindsay Teske of Carnival of Oddities

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Teske.

Hi Lindsay, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When I was in my junior year of high school, I got really into a handful of independent bands — particularly those based in and around Chicago, which is where I grew up. I remember constantly wondering how it was that these bands weren’t more well-known despite the obvious quality of their work. I genuinely didn’t understand how it was that these artists weren’t being more avidly written about, aired on the radio, and given more opportunities that mirrored the strength of their music overall. It made me really upset, and that’s when I first started to realize that the music industry isn’t fair.

Later on, when I was undertaking internships in different areas of the industry throughout my college years, I gradually got the answers to every question I had when I was seventeen. I learned that there are an astounding amount of barriers in place that make it extremely difficult for a new band to “break” or even get a solid foundational start. A good deal of those barriers are frivolous too, such as otherwise talented artists being taken out of consideration for contracts solely because they don’t have a certain amount of Instagram followers yet. Once I became disheartened over learning things like this, I never lost that feeling. That feeling ultimately drove me to create Carnival of Oddities.

I did this after moving to London to obtain a master’s in entrepreneurship at Goldsmiths, University of London. I had previously completed a bachelor’s in public relations at DePaul University, so this felt like a natural next step to prepare to launch the business. Goldsmiths was absolutely instrumental in giving me comfort, confidence, and courage in the mechanics of business development and operation. Now, I have an ability to do what I’ve wanted to do since I was a teenager, which is fight for the visibility and success of emerging artists. Like back then, I still don’t think there are any good reasons or excuses for why a talented band shouldn’t be given support if the quality of the work is there. Carnival of Oddities is my way of trying to change the perception that a band is somehow unworthy or a risky investment just because they’re a fresher face. After all, the music industry should be about supporting music.

I guess, in some strange way, what I was most angsty about as a teenager ended up evolving into my life’s work. Who knew!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
When you create anything, including a business, you’re putting a piece of your heart onto the world’s stage. That can consume you just as much as it can feel more gratifying than words could describe. For example, I feel an immense sense of responsibility toward my clients. I’m pretty selective about who I enter working relationships with and have only become more so since starting the business. That means that whoever I do take on, I’m ready to fight to give them the world and genuinely believe they deserve it. As fulfilling as it is to play a role in building up an artist you believe in, it also makes it so much harder to digest when things don’t go their way.

I’ve had a few instances before where I’ve put clients forward for something only to be told that they’re “obviously talented but it’s too soon” or something like that. Given my outlook on the industry, reading emails like that makes me feel disappointed because I find this mentality to be shallow and unproductive. Primarily, however, it makes my heart break for my clients who were unfairly discounted from an opportunity. My least favorite moments of running Carnival of Oddities have been the times where I’ve had to tell a client that something didn’t work out. It hurts me probably just as much as it hurts them, and I let it linger with me too. I’ll think about it long outside working hours, and usually for days. It’s like a hangover but worse — ibuprofen can make your headache go away, but there’s no such thing as an easy fix for industry gatekeeping.

I can’t just close my laptop at the end of the day and completely switch out of work mode. I’ve learned to accept that that’s just not the way I’m wired. When it comes to my clients I care, I worry, and I can’t turn that off. As a result, I deeply feel the highs and lows they go through. As raw as the moments where something doesn’t pan out as desired can feel, feeling this way is a blessing in disguise because it means I’m connected to and invested in who I’m working with in the way I should be.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Carnival of Oddities is a public relations agency that exclusively represents emerging artists in the heavy music sector. This means that the business exists solely to support fresh faces in rock, punk, grunge, goth, alternative, etcetera. If it’s guitar-driven, I’ll probably be open to listening to it. I have this policy in place because that’s the kind of music I like the most. Carnival of Oddities is different than what’s on the market because it’s not only specific to emerging artists but genre-specific at that. It’s niche, but that’s by deliberate design.

I operate under a broader definition of what public relations is than other agencies tend to. A lot of other agencies tend to only incorporate the media relations aspect, which is the process of pitching a client’s work to media in hopes that they’ll feature it. While that’s obviously an important piece of the puzzle, it’s not the only one, and it means that artists only receive the benefits of public relations when they have new music to release. However, that’s not the only time they’re relevant or worthy of development. The months in between are important too, and artists deserve to have their careers nurtured outside the limited context of a forthcoming release. So, it was important to me that Carnival of Oddities did exactly that.

After all, public relations can refer to and encompass any undertaking that strengthens and bolsters your client’s relationship with the public. This is why instead of engaging in media relations alone, I spearhead other components like booking tours, applying for festivals, connecting clients with other intermediaries to round out their team, and developing branding. There’s absolutely no clear path to “making it,” but artists have the best advantage if they have at least someone who is willing to get in the trenches with them and actively invest in their growth. Carnival of Oddities exists to serve every angle of the public relations process, and to me that involves going far beyond the limitations of what a release cycle can offer.

I’m also extremely proud to say that Carnival of Oddities is entirely self-funded. I’m the sole shareholder in the business, and always will be. I’ve never liked the idea of pursuing investment. I don’t want to compromise the integrity of the business by giving a finance bro who knows nothing about independent music a seat at my table. The autonomy I have over the company’s finances and ethos is something that’s really important to me, especially as a woman in a notoriously male-dominated industry.

Also, I’m really strict about representing bands who are truly relatively new. I have absolutely no interest in working with someone who is already headlining festivals and having their label post on their Instagram for them. That’s not who I’m here for. I’m here for the bands who are, for example, playing in the back room of a pub on a Wednesday night. That’s who I’m here for. That’s who I’m going to want to sink my teeth into. Carnival of Oddities is here to make the underdogs the main characters.

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
I have a big fear of feeling stuck. To me, there’s nothing worse. So, it really matters to me that I give myself freedom and flexibility in everything I take on. Whether that manifests in being able to make a break from a working relationship that I no longer feel is beneficial or deciding to take on a new project on a whim, giving myself that room is something that I’ve found to be paramount in keeping myself fulfilled and happy as my own boss. The times I’ve felt most disenchanted while running Carnival of Oddities have been in situations where I’ve felt like I’ve had to begrudgingly slog through something, and at the end of the day, I didn’t start my own business to not feel like I had full control. Running Carnival of Oddities is the most beautiful, stressful ride of my life. Having freedom and flexibility as anchor points keeps me joyful (and sane!) throughout.

Also, the heart of Carnival of Oddities is the amazing community of people around it. Every client I’ve had, assistant I’ve collaborated with, member of the media I’ve connected with, and intermediary who has come into the orbit of one of my clients has a bigger place in my heart than they know. That community really is the fuel to my fire and one I feel beyond thankful to have. Even though they’re not people I have working relationships with, a huge cornerstone of the Carnival of Oddities community is my immediate family and three closest friends. They never fail to stream and pre-save all of my clients’ work, listen to me rant, and my childhood best friend Megan deserves a special mention here for even appearing in one of my clients’ music videos! Their collective support has been just as instrumental to me as any degree or job I’ve completed in the past, and it’s something I feel really lucky to have.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.carnivalofoddities.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carnival_of_oddities/?hl=en
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindsayteske