Meet Julie Shama Stephens of THINK Music

Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Shama Stephens.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I left Boston (where I grew up) when I was 21 and moved to LA, where I began working for a company that managed Green Day, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Alanis Morissette to name a few. I loved management, but I disliked my boss, and the politics I felt were within the company. Less than a year later, I was offered a job at Hollywood Records, where I spent the next three years.

I loved my family at Hollywood Records, but radio promotion was not what I wanted to do with my life. I was kindly asked to “leave” once my bosses realized I was lacking the motivation to do… anything there. I went over to CAA for about six months, working for one of my good friends who was an agent there – who later said I was the “worst assistant he had ever had.”

Around 2006, once I had saved a few bucks and was able to get some unemployment money, I decided I wanted to start my own company managing artists. I’d basically been fired from every job, so why not try being independent, I thought. Being self-employed, you have your ups and downs, but I needed to be in control of my own fate.

To date, I’ve helped start five companies, (three of them were successful), and I’m happy to say, THINK Music, Inc., has been around for just over two years, and it’s my most successful company so far. I started THINK right before I got pregnant with my daughter, and built it up with my right hand/other half of my brain, Shannon Quisenberry.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
After I left my job(s) and decided to do it on my own, life was pretty rough for a while, and I had some bad months here and there. I worked two days a week for an artist manager to make sure I had rent money. I ate burritos or bags of frozen veggies almost every night for a year.

I’ve also had a couple of challenges that I’m not legally allowed to talk about. One situation being with my first job in LA and another being with my first management client. He eventually thanked me for everything (almost a decade later), so at least that was nice to hear.

I also recently decided to stop managing an artist I had for ten years, which was one of the biggest and most gut-wrenching decisions I’ve ever had to make. I’ve changed since having my daughter and my priorities have too. I no longer have the drive to do it all AND have time for family.

That said, I love overseeing my family of licensed artists. Their drive motivates me. Their music excites me. And their passion for what they do, makes me passionate about them even more. That said, I switch my phone to silent from 7pm-7am every day, and I try to detach from my daily grind, just for a bit.

Please tell us about THINK Music, Inc.
THINK Music, Inc is a boutique music licensing company and publisher. We license artists’ songs to television, ads, trailers, film, etc.

We are known for being easy to work with, quick to respond, and we primarily have songs that are “one stop” or at least very easy to clear – which means that our clients don’t need to spend much time trying to clear a song through a major publisher or label, or simply, a writer who doesn’t quite understand how to quote on a song or do paperwork.

“One Stop” means that our clients ONLY need to come to us in order to use a song and negotiate a fee for the master AND publishing – which makes things appealing, especially when they are busy working on multiple TV shows or when they need to clear 20 songs for a film.

We also don’t consider other licensing companies our competitors, but our partners. We love to collaborate with our peers and become successful together. Also, our artist deals are all pretty much the same and rarely negotiable. We ask for what we think OUR time is worth. If they want to sign with another company for a slightly better “deal,” we understand and will still collaborate with them.

A proud moment for us was when we landed a song in a 2018 Super Bowl commercial. But I am most proud of our artists who continue to spend every minute of their lives creating music that we love, listening to our advice, and exceeding our expectations. I love what I do because of them!

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I wouldn’t have done anything differently, per se, as I’ve learned a lot about people and life. Although, I do wish I was able to have more faith in myself and what I was able to accomplish on my own. I wish I had just listened to my gut some days.

I also wish I hadn’t put all my eggs in one basket when I started managing in 2006. I let one client rule my life and when we parted ways it hurt more than it should have hurt.

Lesson learned: always have multiple eggs in your basket, so when one breaks, it’s not a big deal.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.THINKMusic.la
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/thinkmusicinc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/thinkmusicinc

Image Credit:
Desi Valentine, J.R. Jones, Michael Hannigan

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