944

Nate Anderson Throws Concert, Saves Music

The plight of music programs in schools has been on a well-documented — and, frankly, rather depressing — downward slide. Even with hard data that proves music education improves math aptitude and overall academic experiences, school districts continue to cut funding, if not scraping programs altogether. Local businessman Nate Anderson felt compelled to stem this tide (“This is 1 million percent why I’m on this earth,” he says) through a unique venture that has generated massive buzz even though his Ear Candy Productions is still in its infancy. (In fact, the organization only just received their official 501C3 non-profit designation last month.) Anderson’s idea is a simple one: Use music to make music. By throwing charity concerts, Anderson and his team generate income to help supplement or create music programs in schools and for youth groups. Ear Candy’s long term goals also include more than just Phoenix, or Arizona for that matter. Anderson believes his business model can thrive anywhere in the world and envisions a day in which it will, ensuring kids across the globe are exposed to music. “My favorite thing in the world is to share music,” he says. “This is where my heart is at.”

944: How did you come up with Ear Candy? How did this whole thing start?

NATE ANDERSON: Well, I come from a family of entrepreneurs and very socially minded individuals, but they didn’t get really philanthropic until the kids went to college and then they could do stuff. So I thought there’s really no reason I should have to wait for that aspect of my life because it’s such a fulfilling aspect. My favorite thing in the world is to share music, and my second favorite is being an entrepreneur. So what’s nice is that I can have for-profit entities set up and they can do their thing but this is where my heart’s at. I’m working 16 hours a day — if you call it work, it’s going from cool event to cool event and planning exciting stuff. I don’t really have a background in non-profit, I don’t really have a background in event planning, but this is 1 million percent why I’m on this earth. I’m positive that I have a successful vehicle, meaning that I’m using music to get music; I’m addressing a growing need that unfortunately states and school systems aren’t addressing, which is arts and music programs being ripped out and kids not having that conduit to that other aspect of life, that richness, that helps them in other aspects of academia as well. I don’t even play music. (When I was a kid I played piano, and now I’m looking for the right teacher, because I might get back into it. I have a kickass piano that’s more of a pretty cool furniture piece right now than anything.) But I know the richness of life I’ve been able to experience as a direct result of being exposed to music as a kid. I know how instrumental it can be in someone’s development.

 

How long have you been working on this concept?

I came up with the concept a year ago, I incorporated in October and then in March I decided, “Hey, let’s go for it.” I have a real estate brokerage that I own that’s a for-profit entity, so I needed to make sure it was kind of on cruise control — which it is — and once that was set up I could 100 percent in and do what I need to do. So realistically, it’s only been, what, four months since we’ve really hit the ground running. Our first event — like I said, I don’t really have a background in event planning — had the [Phoenix] Business Journal there, Desert Living magazine, two radio stations and the mayor of Scottsdale there. I thought that was a pretty good showing for our first event considering we had never done anything before. Needless to say, in a short amount of time people have really been grabbing hold of it because it’s something different. This entire community is not only sick of bad charity events and the same charity events, but furthermore our music scene needs help unifying, it’s very de-segmented. This is a fun way to do it and keep the money here locally and if you’re going to see live music it might as well go to music programs.

 

How are you identifying the schools and the youth programs that are going to receive this money?

It’s very dependent on … it’s an event-by-event basis. I like to get very geographically based dependent upon the event. So if the event’s in Tempe I like to be right around in that area that it’s really developing. And not only geographically based, but also on a as-need basis. We’ll do an event sometimes with other organizations or sponsors and sometimes they have a big influence. They’ll say, “Alright Nate, we’ll bring ‘X’ amount of dollars to the table to really mitigate your cost, but we want it to benefit this cause.” And other times they’ll say, “We just want to support your cause, we don’t really care where it’s going.” In that situation it goes into a general ECP pool of money that is distributed on an as-need basis. To be honest, I’d love to be going into some of the areas that really, really need the attention, but to pull of a successful event in those areas like a South Phoenix it’s going to take time. I need to be dependent upon on some of the more affluent areas that are charity givers, that are supporters, that are sponsors, win them over and get that credibility. Then I can say, “Alright, we’ve made some perfect music programs in your area. Can we now go help these people now?” But it’s going to be tough for me to do an event in North Scottsdale to benefit South Phoenix. It’s, like, OK, but my kid wants to play the violin.

 

How many people do you have working for you? Is it mainly volunteers?

It’s predominantly volunteers, I have a handful of independent contractors, I have a very solid advisory board that just believes in what we’re doing and furthermore me, which is very gratifying to have a crazy, loyal support group. And a database of about 1,400 or so that on a consistent basis updates from me and are always at a drop of a hat willing to volunteer or involve their business somehow. I moved to the desert three years ago and didn’t know a single person. I moved from Chicago, never been to Phoenix, I had no clue what I was doing. I had a buddy who said, “Hey, want to go into real estate?” I was working in corporate America in Chicago and I was like, yeah. I’m an entrepreneur so I was going nowhere there. I could see my demise right in front of me. So I came out here, and just through networking and getting out there and establishing real estate Nate as a brand for the last three years, I’ve really been able to build a network. In a matter of a couple of years, from initially moving to Surprise to North Scottsdale to Old Town and really getting myself out there, I’ve been able to build that loyal database. Fortunately, people loved working with me as a realtor and now they’re like, “Wow, we really love working with you now.”

 

That database was built through your real estate work and everyone else you’ve met through this thing?

That’s crazy thing. I’ll have a meeting now, and it’s like, “Oh my God, you have to meet ‘X,’ ‘Y’ and ‘Z,’ and ‘A,’ ‘B’ and ‘C.’” I’ll walk into a meeting and by the end it’s like, “I love what you’re doing, and you need to meet with these other four or five people.” So the two most important things I’m working on right now are exposure and partnerships, because there’s so many good non-profits out there in terms of their causes but they’re horribly run. And that’s what’s great because I can have an infusion of my passions; not only am I getting to give music, but I love being an entrepreneur. I love running a smart business. I’m just getting better and better at seeing that I have potentially 50 or 60 meetings on the docket to go to, but here are the top 12 that I need to go to and are really going to be making an impact and I know are going to be doing something that’s going to yield what I need to be yielding to put the company where it’s going to be. And that’s because, to be perfectly honest, Phoenix is the start. It’s going to be everywhere. We want to revolutionize the music industry by keeping the money local.

 

What has been the difference for you running a non-profit as opposed to a for-profit entity?

If I was just a normal event coordinator or concert promoter, doors wouldn’t be opening like they’ve been opening. So many more people are open to helping and supporting as opposed to the past where you would have to go to someone and say, “Hey, I need $10,000 in sponsorship.” Now, I can go to somebody and say, “Hey, I need $10,000 in sponsorship and by the way you can write the majority of it off, and you’re help X, Y, Z, and you’re going to get a bunch of press.” That interests people. So from a business perspective, what helps is I have so many other tools, meaning there’s a [return on investment] for everyone involved. From a concertgoer to a sponsor to working with another charity to a venue, it benefits everyone to be involved in the situation. What’s nice is that coming from a for-profit situation, it’s kind of like pulling teeth. It’s like, “You really want to work with me. I know you do!” Well, why? So from a business perspective it gives me a lot more access and it’s really fun. It’s fun to see how I can leverage all these things and play jazz with them. It’s like I need this vendor and this venue and these bands and I throw everything together and the next thing you know I have this very unconventional event that people think is cool — oh, and by the way, we’re making a significant impact on the community. It’s fun, I get to play jazz and improv every single day.

 

What kind of musicians are you bringing on? Are they predominantly local?

Eventually I want to be doing a lot more regional and national talent. And I know our music scene needs more of that stuff. There are a couple of key players in the industry here who are getting all the shows and I think there are plenty more to bring to town. In fact, I’m positive of it because we miss out on so many great shows that I want to see. That’s why I travel so much; I was in Denver last weekend for a music fest. So I’m very dependent on the local people because like I said when I’m growing this thing as a brand not only do I need to keep it very geographic centric to I’m earning credibility in that community, but people love seeing their local musicians getting that exposure. We’ve got 2,500 live acts here locally, you have your pick. So if there’s a four-string orchestra that needs to be in, that’s what it is; if it’s a hip-hop band, that’s what it needs to be; if it’s a cover band … it’s all dependent upon when you walk into a space. We can do events from roll out a red carpet at a private mansion to there’s peanut shells on the floor and their selling Bud Light at a battle of the bands. The central theme is it’s music. I love giving those local bands a chance, that opportunity to shine.

 

Are you out there five nights a week listening to local music?

I can’t and, to be honest, I don’t want to. Not to throw Phoenix music under the bus, but there’s a lot of shit out there. Now, there’s also a lot of good stuff. I’m just very selective and I’ll be the first to admit I’m a music snob. I travel a lot to go see great music. This year so far I’ve been to Coachella, Joshua Tree, Bonaroo and I’m flying to Red Rocks to see My Morning Jacket and the Black Keys. That’s the type of music I love. I can’t wait to bring some of that here, but I have to be dependent on local bands to bring the credibility that will open those doors in multiple ways. So not only is it Nate and Ear Candy are a great brand that’s helping the community, but furthermore he really knows what he’s doing. OK, we want to work with him. It’s not just going to be instantly call the Jacket and get them booked, because that’s not going to happen. I have to be very dependent on local music because I have to be. I want to support as much as I can, but I’m not out there six nights a week screening local bands because it doesn’t make sense for me to.

 

What do you have going on in August?

In August we’re actually putting together a battle of the band series, so we’ll be unveiling a lot of that in August. The summer is rough. I’ve got so many people lined up for September, October, November. I just sat down with the guy who puts on the P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon and he already gave me the verbal commitment that I’m going to be doing the big 12,000 person show at the end. I’m probably going to be doing a food and wine festival in Downtown Phoenix with the Gay Chamber of Commerce — which I didn’t realize is the biggest Gay Chamber of Commerce in the nation. Needless to say, from an August perspective I’ve nixed anything that’s come on the table because I know trying to get support right now … I don’t want to have anything half-ass. But knowing that my goals are exposure and key partnerships, trying to have anything in August without have this totally founded — meaning having the credibility where I want to go to everything Ear Candy — it’s not advantageous for me.

 

You’ve been getting a lot buzz. How are people hearing about this?

Word of mouth. I don’t advertise or anything. People just find out. Going back to how I built that entire real estate business, it’s all been on personal relationships. So for the last three years all I’ve done is meet 1,400 plus people. That’s fairly good in a short amount of time while knowing absolutely no one. Fortunately people just like plugging me. I don’t mean to get self-righteous in this thing, but I’ve got a pretty unique brand from Ear Candy to the fact that I don’t look or act like your average joe schmo. It’s nice because people voluntarily spread what I’ve got going on and they always have.

 

 

 

 

 

Read the full interview at 944.com and hear the music at
www.earcandyproductions.org