Building a Record Label: Lessons from GroundUp Music’s Eric Lense
Eric Lense, founder of GroundUp Music, discusses his journey in building the record label from the ground up. He shares valuable insights and lessons for aspiring music entrepreneurs.
by A2IM
Eric Lense is the CEO of GroundUP Music, which offers both label and publishing services to wide array of clientele in the independent jazz space. The label represents artists like Snarky Puppy, Becca Stevens, Mark Lettieri, Taylor Eigsti and many others who create left-of-center art that has broken through to the mainstream. Under his leadership, the label has received nine Grammy nominations and has garnered five Grammy wins.
Tell us about how you got your start in the music industry, and how it lead to the work you do today!
I actually attended SUNY Oneonta from 2003 to 2007 and received a BA in their Music Industry program. My first job was in the Repertory Department of ASCAP, where I worked to ensure the accuracy of song registrations that were submitted by major publishers. The work was monotonous, but gave me both an eye towards detail-oriented work and taught me the true underpinnings of our industry. I’ve carried with me that clean and accurate data is the difference between some of your royalties being remitted vs. all of your royalties finding their way to you. I stayed in the PRO space for quite a while, moving to SESAC in 2016. In my time their, I got a first hand look at how a for-profit model in licensing differed drastically from the not-for-profit basis that both ASCAP and BMI stem from. At almost the same time, I formed a deep friendship and working collaboration with Michael League of Snarky Puppy. What started as a consulting job that had me build his publishing company has ended with me running both label and publishing services for our ever-growing business.
Is there a success story or career milestone that you are most proud of?
Garnering the first Grammy nomination for Becca Stevens was an absolute watershed moment for both myself and the company. Historically, we had only received Grammy consideration for Snarky Puppy. Becca’s nomination marked the first time that another artist on the roster received such consideration and, for me, acted as a real line of delineation between where we started as an organization and what we had grown into.
Are there any projects you’re working on or company updates that you’re most excited about?
There are so many incredible projects underway at GroundUP right now. We are actively planning the next Snarky Puppy record (which is going to be an absolute banger), preparing for the next Becca Stevens release on August 30, 2024, and have signed multiple new artists that will both grow our reach as a label and widen the scope of the genres of music that we service. While I can’t explicitly say who these artists are just yet, just know that they are some of the heaviest hitters in music and their new music will absolutely blow your mind.
Outside of your work in music, do you have any other hobbies/ particular areas of expertise/interest
Like so many music business professionals, I am a lifelong musician who still plays in multiple projects today. My newest band, Fantastic Gentlemen, had a fantastic debut performance at Drom with more shows coming through the summer. I have another new project with my dear friend Adrian Perry, an IP lawyer at Covington who also happens to be an absolute shredder on guitar (which makes sense, as he’s Joe Perry from Aerosmith’s son). And I have a dance/rock cover band called the Cover Up that will be playing the beaches of Long Island and beyond this summer. Apart from music, I’m a middling at best golfer and have a true love for riding my bike down the Jones Beach trail whenever the weather provides the opportunity.
Any words of wisdom?
I think that perseverance is the ultimate watchword of our industry. Whether you are an artist, an industry professional or anything in between, the only way you will attain your goals is sticking with the work past the point of logic. We aren’t here because it’s easy; we’re here despite that fact. Lean into the challenge and enjoy the ride.
Keep up with Eric!
Keep up with GroundUP Music!
About A2IM:
A2IM is a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit trade organization headquartered in New York City that exists to support and strengthen the independent recorded music sector. Membership currently includes a broad coalition of more than 700 Independently-owned American music labels. A2IM represents these independently owned small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) interests in the marketplace, in the media, on Capitol Hill, and as part of the global music community. In doing so, it supports a key segment of America’s creative class that represents America’s diverse musical cultural heritage. Billboard Magazine identified the Independent music label sector as 37.32 percent of the music industry’s U.S. recorded music sales market in 2016 based on copyright ownership, making Independent labels collectively the largest music industry sector.
Learn more about A2IM here.
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