Rising Stars: Meet Jaime Bilotti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaime Bilotti.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I somehow always knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. As my parents didn’t know much about it, being an X-ray Tech and NY city worker, it was a process convincing them it was worth seeking out for college. I learned the hard way just how expensive college music programs were and my high school focused on tech / math degrees, so the application process was a maze to say the least. Although after navigating it for a year and being so thrilled to get into the programs I applied to, my tuition was still too high to make it happen. After much consideration, I attended John Jay College (CUNY) in NY with an undergrad in Pre-Law. I sometimes wish I could tell my freshmen year self that I now wouldn’t change a thing but I was very much not initially happy about it, as my passion was with music. But I let every single person I spoke to know exactly that, music was the plan and I was going to make it happen.

I think everyone who gets anywhere worth going is a little crazy in the right ways and my professors and soccer coaches saw flickers of this in me. Freshmen year I was also diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease, something that I developed from being in soccer fields so often / not realizing I had a tic bite, which gave me about six months of (attempted) bed rest where I might have listened to every podcast, movie, doc, and audiobook the internet had to offer on the music business. I try my best to not make my story about this, as it’s caused multiple health issues that affect me to this day, but I’ve realized it is important to note my multiple autoimmune diseases for those who might also struggle with their own health issues and need some kind of proof it is still possible to achieve what you want – (it just takes a ton of extra steps.)

After I had my health regulated I got to work!! Through networking, curiosity, tons of lessons, and long nights I ended up at Atlantic Records Promotion, Sony The Orchard, Republic, Atlantic International Marketing, WEA, Jingle Punks, and more. This was after about 150 rejection emails which I turned into a game – one more no closer to a yes. I knew I would need a ton of “no’s” and tried to convince myself I was happy to get them under my belt. If Oprah had tons of rejections I knew there was no way I would escape them.

I noticed two huge themes / gaps. One – I wish I knew how to put my fan experiences on my resume because they truly prepared me for success for working in the music industry. Making shipping labels to send my mutuals in Brazil merchandise, emailing radio stations to play my favorite artists, participating and making what I now are marketing campaigns on stan Twitter, and tons more. ALL aligned with the work I was doing throughout my jobs and internships. I saw fans who were working in the music industry but it was always followed by a massive stigma that they were fans, especially for women. I learned there was such a thing as being “too passionate” and I wanted to shatter that stigma every chance I had. I knew early on that would require me to be the most professional version of myself. First one in, last one out, extremely organized, always willing to help, and always taking full accountability for both my wins and my mistakes. All of this did not – emphasis on did not – come naturally. When you ask my family if I’m organized it is often followed by laughter – yet in the industry, it is a trait I was again stigmatized for – “she’s so corporate – so business – not everyone can work in docs.” Go figure! I’m still unsure how that fully happened but if I had to guess it was that I am so curious and creative that if I didn’t organize it all to execute – I might simply go crazy, and not in the right way.

It was from this motivation that I created Fan To Band in 2019 and launched in 2020 to the public. A global brand that empowers superfans to be their most authentic selves through content and community. We then launched our Virtual Street Team that provides free resources for our niche audience that also wants to get started working in the music industry. Now in 35+ countries, over 350+ people placed in jobs, and over 50K+ organic followers across all platforms – we only continue to grow. Fandom has a ton of upside that in my subjective opinion is worth navigating every downside. I can honestly say the crossroad from fandom and education has been the hardest to navigate which is why on the Fan To Band Virtual Street Team – everyone is let in with multiple ways to get involved.

Through Fan To Band’s success came a lot of need / demand for a company that provided fan engagement services to artists to truly cater to and understand their audiences. At this point, we succeeded in breaking stigmas placed on fan engagement while also finding most industry professionals now using it as a buzzword. There now was more than one definition of what fan engagement was in an industry where it was only newly appreciated in a mainstream context. After navigating exactly what we wanted this to look like in many ways, mutuals Agency was launched in 2022. mutuals Agency is an entertainment company with an emphasis on audience, using market research to empower and inform all of our work. By investing our time, energy, and resources into each of our clients, we seek out artists and audiences that add value to the larger conversations happening both within and outside of their work. We act as an extension of your team through the three avenues of agency strategy, market research, and management.

It has been the most rewarding experience to work with a team that anticipates fandom changing the roll-out, emphasizes a work ethic that’s backed by intention, and truly values getting to know audience to its core. Our clients have true vision for the conversations they want to have and the opportunities they’ll create for fans to join them. Fandom is subjective and means something different to everyone we work with but what the first step we always take is – we ask. Which strange enough has become a step most industry professionals don’t get to take due to the large workloads we all have. I said it in my first podcast about Fan To Band – fan engagement is no longer an afterthought. It shouldn’t be but now for artist to be successful it can’t be. I’ve always been what again most call “too passionate” about fandom. A lot comes with the territory and I’m at a point in my career where I accept that fully as a responsibility in this industry, one I am more than grateful to have.

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?
It has not BUT I did not expect it to be.

Some struggles I’ve had are.

Making sure I don’t operate from other people’s definition of success.

Not allowing others to put a cap on what kind of executive I can be – often women are told they need to be either creative or business oriented not both and I am actively proving that wrong.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’d say what sets me apart from others is the ability to know what I don’t know and trust myself enough to learn how to get there.

I am extremely proud of my work across clients such as SERGIO, Alexa Cappelli, ok, Tyler, Pepsi, Kailee Morgue, Chelsea Market and more.

Traditional demographics do not provide a 360° view of an audience. Understanding audience and community is a job within itself. In fact, it is our sole job. Our intensive insight allows for a deeper understanding to cater to and work alongside your direct audience. Other companies cater to age, gender, and location – we tell you that and everything else.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
I’m really grateful for this!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.mutualsagency.com/about
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mutualsagency/ 

Image Credits
Sara Bowman on SERGIO and Alexa Cappelli