Meet Trailblazer Ciara L. Lee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ciara L. Lee.

Ciara, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
At the age of 14, I began managing concerts with an entertainment company in my hometown of Omaha, NE. I assisted with booking, travel, and production for 40+ concerts featuring Chris Brown, Lil Wayne, Mary J. Blige & Justin Timberlake (just to name a few). Having years of experience on the business side of the music industry, I decided to pursue a degree in public relations/advertising at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln – later transferring to the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In 2014, I founded CL Branding Agency for my senior college project and began assisting local artists with brand exposure and artist development. Post graduation, I started working for LinkedIn where I was able to build industry connections through my LinkedIn profile which led me to Los Angeles to be a production assistant for Katja Glieson’s “This is Us” music video. After facilitation additional concerts, I connect with a few industry executives & record labels which led me to take a leap of faith, leaving my job and everything I know and moving to Los Angeles, California.

My mission for moving to LA was to leverage CL Branding Agency by working closely with brands, artists, and influences to establish a presence that would resonate for years to come. In 2016, I partnered with a start-up music stock market venture, working as a marketing director and curating market entry plans for record labels to collaborate in the movement my team and I was creating. After one year, I decided to withdraw from the team as the values were no longer centered around the artists and their well-being. My purpose in this industry is to ensure that artists get what they deserve for THEIR content. Fair royalty splits, steering away from obnoxious label contracts and artist development are very important items to me when it comes to working with artists. I will never settle with an organization that opposes these things.

During this time, I went back to the drawing board for CL Branding Agency and decided to add a media portion – CL Vision – which allowed me to work the 2016 BET Awards, NBA All-Star Basketball Game, Matthew McConaughey’s Charity Gala along with many other red carpet events. I also began writing in my spare time, as I still had a passion to create. I noticed

Though my company was getting the traction I was seeking, something didn’t sit right with my spirit. In 2014, my father was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and was getting more sick each day.

2017 was a very tough year as I lost the largest client I was working with, I traveled more to Omaha to visit my ill father and finances were taking a massive hit.

End of 2017, my father lost his battle to cancer and I was unsure if I wanted to pursue my dreams any longer. I spent a month in Omaha seeking guidance and trying to find motivation again. My little brother was a big influence because he told me to follow my heart.

I decided to go back to LA and began putting my pain into song. February 2018, I recorded my first song “Kruis’n” which then lead me to write for other artists at Atlantic.

In addition to Founding CL BRANDING AGENCY, I now am now in partnership on a music studio known as Trippy Studios in El Monte, CA. I am providing PR and branding services for up & coming artist who need artist development with assistance if in house industry producers, engineers, composers, and managers.

In the coming months, I will be working on some massive projects with artists we all love!!

Life is amazing and only getting better. 🙂

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No no no!!! No smooth roads all the time, but I’ve learned to turn them into lessons. It keeps me from putting myself and makes me move on.

If I could give advice to other women, I would say, “NEVER SECOND GUESS YOURSELF! ALWAYS GO WITH YOUR GUT.” This industry can be a dog eat dog and you have to be confident enough to stand your ground.

Always keep God first and keep loving people around you ONLY!

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about CL Branding Agency – what should we know?
I am the founder of CL BRANDING AGENCY. We are a boutique branding agency that specializes in PR, Branding and Artist Development.

We are known heavily for our industry media red carpet presence and also my strong ties to the music industry – songwriting and brand developing.

We recently partnered with Trippy Studios in El Monte, CA of which I am also a joint partner.

What I am most proud of about our brand is that we provide a service that will be of use for many many years. We could be like other companies and give you surface services, but I have a strong passion for music and the music business. I hate to see artists lose out because of poor branding strategies such as image, artist copyrights or poor music production.

Our mission is to build artists to the height of sound.

We’re interested to hear your thoughts on female leadership – in particular, what do you feel are the biggest barriers or obstacles?
In general, I feel like women are now calling all the shots and I am very proud of us. We can speak the loudest while still being gentle and if we aren’t gently then so be it!

However, I will say that women in the music industry are slowly still climbing the ladder. Don’t get me wrong there are ALOT of women closing the deals but because this is a male dominated industry that tribes on exploitation for women, a lot of power is hidden behind the walls of who’s really leading the pack.

Pricing:

• $30/Hour Sessions before 5p w/ engineer at Trippy Studio s
• 25% off artist development services at CL BRANDING AGENCY

Contact Info:

• Address: Trippy Studios – 4728 Peck Road, El Monte, CA
  @TrippyStudiosLA
  (213) 262-7586
  BookTrippyStudios@Gmail.comCL BRANDING AGENCY
  @CLBrandngAgncy
  402.213.2993
  CL@CLBrandingAgency.Net
• Website: https://booktrippystudios.wixsite.com/trippystudiosla
• Phone: (213) 262-7586
• Email: cl@clbrandingagency.net
• Instagram: CiaraLLee
• Facebook: CL BRANDING AGENCY

Image Credit:
@ImagesByAhmadK, @IK_Studios

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