UPDATED: March 20, 2018 at 10 a.m.

When sophomore Justin Goldman isn’t in class or studying, he’s flying across the country, meeting record producers and managing up-and-coming artists.

The Bandier Program student is working to pave his way in the music industry. He manages two up-and-coming artists and is working on his own music data company.

Goldman’s clients, Yung Gravy and Lil Gnar, have both gained traction online: Gravy has about 275,000 followers on Instagram and Gnar has about 135,000.

Goldman manages these artists with his partner, Chad Carrington, who works at Alamo, which is distributed through Interscope Records. The two make sure to manage people who demonstrate the proper commitment needed to be an artist.

“You have to meet them, and they have to tell you that they’re going to be the biggest person in the world, and if they don’t then you shouldn’t be working with them,” Goldman said.

Both Gnar and Gravy met that standard for Goldman. Gravy has just surpassed 175 million streams on Apple Music, YouTube and Spotify combined, and many labels are scoping out Gnar, Goldman said. At the discretion of each artist, Goldman declined to comment on whether either were signed.

Goldman considered last semester a “case study,” as he missed a lot of school to travel and meet with record labels like RCA, Atlantic and Republic. He said having these record labels reach out to him about these artists shows that they’re getting a big enough following.

While meeting with these big companies is exciting, it can also be difficult because Goldman is still young and in school. But Goldman doesn’t let that get to him and instead uses it as motivator to work harder.

“People think you’re too young sometimes, but you have to prove them wrong, and you just have to act like you’ve been there before,” he said.

When Goldman isn’t managing Gnar and Gravy, he’s working on a music data company called Pr1me Sound, which is partnered with another app called Laylo. Pr1me Sound is an in-depth artists and repertoire — also known as A&R — research tool for labels to use. He started this company with his friend Bryan Bernstein.

Goldman met Bernstein in the summer of 2016 when they were interning at 300 Entertainment, and they decided they wanted to build something of their own. Bernstein is currently working at Republic Records and has been working with Goldman since they met.

Goldman is putting in work to get as much experience as he can, he said. Through it all, he looks to both his dad for advice because he works in the music industry, and to his inspirations in the industry such as Scooter Braun and Avery and Monte Lipman.

He tries to stay humble when meeting with high-profile people, but he acknowledges the amazing experiences he’s had. He’s met the Lipman brothers, who founded Republic Records, and also had the chance to be backstage at a Post Malone concert.

To Carrington, Goldman’s drive and determination set him apart. Goldman has a balance of different skills that make him a great manager, he said.

“Usually people who are super creative aren’t that good on the logistics side of it, but he is. He’s kind of both sides of the coin,” Carrington said. “He’s a very punctual and poignant young man, as well as creative himself. We play off each other well.”

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, the app partnered with music data company Pr1me Sound was misstated. The app is called Laylo.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, Chad Carrington’s place of employment was misstated. Carrington works at Alamo, which is distributed through Interscope Records.

Published on March 19, 2018 at 7:44 pm

Contact Sarah: srslavin@syr.edu