Incubus Manager Opens Music Industry Mentoring Platform

Steve Rennie, the longtime manager of the mega-successful American rock band Incubus, has created an “online Mecca” for musicians and music professionals looking to break in to the business by launching Renman Music & Business – a place for music hopefuls across the globe to collaborate, get insider access, and mentoring from the music industry veteran. 

For those not familiar with Steve Rennie, he was a record executive and artist manager for over a decade, until one day he decided that he wouldn’t take on any more clients; that he had had enough. That was until the day he found Incubus.

But even after a multi-platinum run with the band, and despite huge commercial success, the current landscape of the new music industry has now placed Incubus (Rennie’s only client) within the same leveled playing field as any other independent act looking to reach an audience. Recognizing this, Rennie was inspired to create an online platform where he could share his knowledge, expertise, and industry contacts with bands and artists seeking advice, mentoring, and guidance.

“This project was in inspired by my huge desire to share my knowledge,” Rennie told Hypebot. “For nearly thirty years, people have come to me and asked for advice, so this was the next logical step to help as many people as possible.” 

Full of exclusive content and video, the site allows Rennie to interact with artists via chats, community forums, daily video blog entries and more, giving artists direct access to Rennie’s singular brand of mentoring and advice – all at no cost. 

Having seen it all during the “good old days” during a time when the business was run by the record industry, Rennie is among a special group of forward-thinking artist managers that understands which tactics of the past still apply today and which ones don’t, and which online strategies will provide substantial results for artists.

“I’m interested to see how this music business plays out,” Rennie said. “Back in the day, the record industry truly drove everything and the consumers weren’t driving it. Now the consumers are the ones driving it, and they demand the content they want. ”

Rennie has been very hands-on with the involvement of every aspect of his site and his personal communication with members is very typical of his management style. This venture represents the intersection of the industry veteran’s "next chapter" with the sea change that has taken place in the music business.  

“Traditional record label-based models for succeeding in the business just don’t apply anymore,” Rennie said. “Today, it’s up to the individual artists to break down the barriers and get their music heard.  Internet is obviously the driver of this change.  This is why I created the website and web show, Renman M&B Live.”

Rennie’s webshow already has artists lining up to participate, and he hopes to meet with all of them. Each week, he will open his office doors to aspiring artists from different musical genres, giving them his no-holds-barred feedback on what they are doing right – and wrong – on their journey to success. But while viewers can expect raw advice, the show is “not a beauty contest” and Rennie is clearly better suited to the role of guru than judge. Guests of the show get the opportunity to tap into his 30+ years of music industry contacts from producers, to marketing executives, to signed bands who are calling in and dropping by the show.

RenmanMusicandBusiness.com officially launches today, and the web series is set to launch in few weeks.

Hisham Dahud is a Senior Analyst for Hypebot.com. Additionally, he is the head of Business Development for Fame House, LLC and an independent musician. Follow him on Twitter: @HishamDahud