Today we’d like to introduce you to Nirupam Pratapgiri.
Hi Nirupam, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m a music industry professional, guitarist, songwriter, and currently working as an artist manager at Red Light Management. I am originally from India and moved to the United States in 2017 to pursue a higher education in music. I got my undergrad in guitar performance from Berklee College of Music and later got an MS in Music Industry from USC. I’ve worked a variety of roles within the music industry and I’m now focussed on artist management.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely has not been a smooth road. As an immigrant, trying to make a life in this country is not without its challenges. My very first experience with college was in a private school in Minnesota called McNally Smith College of Music. After just one semester there, the college closed down and I was left with nowhere to go. I had exactly 30 days to find a new college or be deported. Those were the dire circumstances under which I started my life and career in the music industry. I was lucky enough to have been accepted to Berklee shortly after that. It truly gave me a footing and has led me to become who I am today and for that, I am very grateful.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I currently work as an artist manager at Red Light Management. I am part of a division of Red Light that primarily focusses on rock artists. Some of our clients include Slash, Stone Temple Pilots, Evanescence, The White Buffalo, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and Billy Talent. Before this, I was working in the creative synch department at BMG where I specialised in creative pitches, placements, and brand partnerships. I’ve also worked as a music supervisor with the Texas based company Weget Music where I was a music editor on the documentary film ‘Numbers’, and also a music coordinator for the movie “The Man in The White Van”.
I have a range of experience in the music industry and a vast array of skills that I take with me. I am most proud of my holistic approach to music and how I can look at art from multiple different perspectives which helps me a lot when analysing the commercial and artistic viability of a song. What sets me apart is my ability to visualise the potential of something by assessing the overall impact of a piece of art which is something that not everyone does. Most people in the industry tend to only look at art in terms of its money making ability and I tend to consider that as just one part of the game.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I believe that risk taking is at the core of my ethos. I have taken some very big risks before, one of them being moving 10,000 miles away from home to pursue a career that has no guarantees and to make a life for myself here in LA. I knew that if I didn’t take that risk, I’d live to regret it forever. Success and triumph is on the other side of fear, thus I believe in also assessing the situation from a calm, rational, and stoic point of view. Risk taking also doesn’t mean putting yourself in harm’s way. To me, it’s about judging whether or not the actions that you take today will pay off in the future.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: nirumusic.98
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nirupam192526/
Image Credits
Photo credits- Christina MacArthur @christinamac5 @christinamacphotography
