My name is Yves Vrancken; the guy that the Acid Smiley ate ;-).
Like many of us, I have been a music addict for most of my life. However, I was able to transition to a more engaging role in the music industry when I started curating playlists on the Spotify platform.
I have always had the desire to share good music with people. From the early days of creating mix tapes for my friends to becoming a DJ later on. Admittedly, the Spotify playlists started as a casual hobby but soon enough I discovered that people liked my playlists. The number of followers grew steadily and I started to get the occasional Facebook message. As a result, I started putting more time and energy into it.
A lot of this time went into staying on top of the latest developments and releases, particularly in the genres that were relevant for my playlists. I am fortunate to say that the hard work paid off: today, I curate approximately 20 playlists with a total follower base of over 100,000.
Needless to say, I am getting contacted a lot more often now and I’ll use that to segue into the next chapter of my life.
The social media experience
Due to the success of my Spotify playlists, I have been getting contacted by various parties within the music industry. I started speaking with artists, managers, record labels, marketing reps, you name it. Not only was I able to establish valuable connections within the industry but I also discovered other opportunities. This allowed me to branch out into other directions.
I quickly came to the realization that a lot of artists and record labels don’t fully realize the power and potential of having a good social media profile. At first, I started doing social media audits and consulting focused on the main social media platforms and music streaming services. Most of this was on a pro bono basis; I am fascinated by artists and their creative processes and I am passionate about empowering them. As time progressed I expanded on this by including SEO and social media marketing in my services. Let it be noted that most of my clients are active in the music industry and as a result, I was able to tailor my services accordingly.
The artist manager experience
Later on, several musicians and producers started to inquire as to whether I had considered exploring the world of an Artist Manager. The more I looked into it, the more it started to “click”. I am fairly connected in the music industry but I am also an honest and level-headed kinda fellow. Those qualities come in very handy in the world of artist management. Of course, it takes a lot more to become a solid artist manager but the foundations are there. So this is the latest venture that I am exploring and so far it has been a very exciting journey!
For most of his career, Yves has been active in Banking and Enterprise Software. Originally from The Netherlands, Yves moved to the United States in 2004 after having met his American wife, Krystal. They have lived in the beautiful State of Colorado ever since and have a little girl named Jinxie.
