WILMINGTON—A couple times a month, dozens of people pack into Modern Legend in the name of supporting authentic performances by local musicians. This has been the case since March of 2017 and the events have only become more popular.
The positive response sparked this fast-growing flame that is now Blank Agency. After only four months of existence, Blank Agency now represents a range of musicians in Wilmington, Raleigh, Nashville and Atlanta.
Encouraging an abundance of artists
The Wilmington-based business specializes in the management of creative artists. Booking venues, producing photo and video content, and everything else just short of providing studio time all fall within the scope of Blank Agency’s mission.
The agency is a joint effort comprising four friends — Modern Legend owner, Catherine Hawksworth; videographer, Matt Marino; photographer, Haley Smith; and musician, Morgan Roberts.
After curating such successful performance lineups and footage to match, the group of four believed that finding a way to encourage the abundance of talented artists in town “just made sense.”
“They were all areas we had separately dabbled in on a much smaller scale,” Hawksworth said about her managerial skills and the creative clout of the other members. “So we were like ‘why don’t we just do this for real.’”
Hawksworth knew she wanted to start making time to host in-house performances once Modern Legend moved from the Cotton Exchange to its current spot in North Front Street Centre.
The shows especially became a hit among the performers, who got photo and video coverage of their sets courtesy of Marino and Smith.
A new brand
When those same musicians started asking Hawksworth about setting up shows for them at other venues and providing video and photo services, she knew grouping all the amenities under the Modern Legend name would get confusing.
To avoid branding issues, the group began brainstorming the beginnings of what would be Blank Agency, but they had some trouble coming up with a title.
Smith and Hawksworth say they all finally agreed on the name after having used “blank” as a placeholder for so long prior to making the final decision. Finally, someone said, “why don’t we just name it Blank Agency?”
The four agree that the title certainly fits because, where other labels and agencies typically focus on one genre, Blank Agency is inclusive of all musical genres. Hip-hop, indie rock and folk are a few of the artist categories that can be found on the roster.
Hawksworth said their fluidity exemplifies that for her team, it’s just about getting good music out there.
Making sure music gets the recognition it deserves, according to Smith, involves marketing with photo and video coverage.
She explained, “The ones that really wanna pursue it as a career have to do something to stand out versus the next band that’s equally as good or maybe they’re a little bit better than them.”
She went on to clarify that video proof and sound proof are important when attempting to book choicer venues.
Video content especially comes into play when performers want promotion footage to broadcast on social media or to create music videos. For Marino, who also owns a videography company called Beat Bath, it isn’t always a simple task to transfer someone’s music video concept into an actual video.
“It’s hard if you don’t have a videography or photo background to realize what’s feasible to do and what will actually look good as a final product,” Marino said.
The team is working on their first highly stylized set of projects with the band Unity. They are also booking tour dates for Arson Daily and booking several other shows for their clients including Wax Imperials and Chris Frisina.
After rapidly adding 11 acts to their roster, Hawksworth said they aren’t adding any more right now, but she is hopeful about collaborating with other agencies and artists in the near future.
Have a story about a person or persons doing something notable in the community? Let us share it through In Our Hometown? Send us the details at PCD@localvoicemedia.com.
