By Jesse Beer-Dietz

The spotlight this week is on a 23-year-old super artist from Kentucky who goes by the name of Amtrac. Also, Check out my interview with Nils, the manager for the Epic duo Karmin. Keep feedin’ my inbox: jesse.beerdietz@hitsmagazine.com

SPOTLIGHT
Amtrac (www.amtracmusic.com @Amtrac): Kentucky born, 23-year old Caleb Cornett, known to the world as Amtrac, is finding his way on to the scene as a vocalist, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist and killer DJ. From a very young age, Caleb found himself heavily influenced by music and spent much of his childhood toying with different instruments to find the sound that has become his signature for self-expression. Relocating to Miami from his humble roots in “bluegrass” Kentucky, Caleb is making music full time and lighting up dance floors and festival stages coast to coast. His music is every bit a representation of who he is, rich with passion, emotion, distinct vocals and unparalleled production. Sept. 27 will mark his debut album release, Came Along, and the title track is out now and available for download here: bit.ly/came along.

ON DECK
Darling Parade (https://www.facebook.com/darlingparade): These Nashville-based pop rockers, fronted by the gorgeous Kristin Kearns, are winning over crowds every night with their catchy hooks and infectious live performances. The band is finishing up four tracks for release next month, when they’ll also premiere another new song, “Never Wrong.” Keep it locked here as things continue to heat up, as we hear the weasels are already sniffing around. Scott Frazier of Primary Wave Talent Management handles the band.

BUZZIN’
Congrats to Fearless Records and Wheels favorite Breathe Carolina, coming off their biggest radio week ever with nine adds at Top 40. Keep it locked as we continue to monitor the band’s success.

EMAIL Q&A WITH NILS GUMS
How did you get involved in the Karmin Project?
I’ve known Amy since my third semester at Berklee College of Music. She and I actually met in gospel choir, when we became close friends. At that time, Nick and I hadn’t met, though I knew of him as a jazz trombone principal. After graduating Berklee in 2006, I started to get my feet wet in the industry working on the digital and business development side for companies such as Fontana/UMGD, Darkchild Entertainment and Milan Records. With a constant focus on digital and mobile distribution and marketing via social networking sites, I started to heavily focus on the power that YouTube can have in an emerging artist's career, noticing acts like Justin Bieber, Esmee Denters and Marie Digby, who garnered attention by performing covers on YouTube. Starting in 2008, my business partners (Matt Maltese, Berklee '04, and Eric Zimmermann, USC '06) and I began to work on several artist development strategies using YouTube. In the summer of last yea,r I reconnected with Amy in Boston and had the chance to listen to her latest EP (independent release). After listening to the EP, as well as seeing some of Karmin's YouTube clips, I felt not only did Amy and Nick (Karmin) have the talent, work ethic and look, but also the personality and identity for what we found necessary to facilitate our strategy. I presented them with the idea of doing several covers and originals each month to create a repertoire of content that would allow them to gain exposure and traction organically online over time.

What was it like making a deal with L.A. Reid as his first signing at Epic?
Incredible. L.A. Reid has proven himself to be one of the greatest record industry men of our generation, and his track record for building careers of artists like Pink, Justin Bieber, Kanye, OutKast, and everyone in between is nothing short of excellent. His business skills and adept ear for building superstars and global brands remains unparalleled. The chance to sign Karmin with LA as his flagship artist is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We are honored and humbled at the opportunity to work with the new Epic Records, a truly music-focused major label that understands how to build artists alongside social media.

Can you talk about how the covers on YouTube took off? Did you guys ever think you were going to have the reaction that it did?
Doing twice as many covers as originals on YouTube was a pre-orchestrated strategy to build a repertoire of content. It was our intention to harness the power of popular covers and gain massive exposure through YouTube and social media channels. However, the speed and magnitude of the response to “Look at Me Now” was surprising, to say the least. We wanted to be sure that we had built up a collection of cover videos that consistently gained a good amount of views while waiting for the right time and song to create our first inevitable viral traction.

You coined the term “artist realization”; would you describe what that means to you and your artists?
In my point of view, the term artist development has a negative connotation in today’s environment, as most labels do not dedicate the necessary resources needed to launch emerging talent. Most labels will take an artist and shape them into what the industry demands versus who the artist really is. Therefore, these days, artist development is left to either management or production companies, who oftentimes do not know how to GROW an artist in today's industry (online, viral, etc.).

With that said, "artist realization" means recognizing an artist’s true talent/vision and developing it via trial and error. We currently focus most all of our efforts in the online social environment, which when used correctly, allows the fan to find the artist rather than the artist finding the fan. Artists now have the opportunity to release whatever material that represents what they feel they are truly about. If the artist learns and listens to the audience's feedback they can put some of that feedback into practice and learn to find a balance between their own vision and that of their true fans who support them. It's much easier to break an artist when the fans know that what they are seeing is honest and authentic.

When does the mass public get to hear some original songs?
Original music has been available since day one. Some original music included (Amy’s) rap verses (which brought her to fame) before the ‘Look at Me Now’ video. Expect the record to have both melodic sections and rap lyrics. Karmin is currently working with Epic to find the first single (slated to be released in the coming months) from the their subsequent first major release at the beginning of the new year.

Favorite superhero and why?
Ha-ha. They may not be superheroes, but a shout-out to Calvin and Hobbes!!! They are dreamers with their heads in the clouds and feet on the ground.