–

The Influencers

In addition to the big moves her clients are making this year – including Janet Jackson’s first-ever Las Vegas residency launching May 17 at the Park Theater at Park MGM – Corrie Christopher Martin is excited about relocating Paradigm’s San Diego team to Los Angeles. 

“We are creating a major music presence in Los Angeles after merging the previous Windish L.A. office and AM Only office and Paradigm under one roof, as well as the team from San Diego,” she says. 

“I’m really focused on growing this office and continuing to grow the music department here at Paradigm.” 

While the love of music inspired Christopher Martin to get into the concert industry, starting as an intern as a small boutique agency while still a senior in high school, what motivates her to continue in the business is an “incredible and profound appreciation for the cultural impact that our industry has on the world and the ability to raise awareness about social causes or affect change.” 

 She predicts that a focus on diversity and inclusion will continue to impact the concert industry as more efforts are made to create a level playing field, both with artists and those on the business side.  

Christopher Martin has used her position as a platform to amplify underrepresented voices through her work on the entertainment leadership board of Times Up and the executive committee for She Is The Music, as well as head of the DAII Team (Diversity and Inclusion Initiative) at Paradigm. 

She is also the executive chair of the LoveLoud festival and on the board of the LoveLoud Foundation, founded by Dan Reynolds of arena- and stadium-headlining client Imagine Dragons to support LGBTQ+ youth.

Hot Takes

The show that changed your life?

The show that changed my life was not one I was involved in. It was Lollapalooza 1992 at Shoreline Amphitheatre. I had never experienced anything like that. I discovered a ton of new artists. I was very inspired by acts like Rage Against The Machine and Tool and Pearl Jam. I was like 14 years old. This was before festivals are what they are in America now. I will never forget that show. It was just mind blowing to me.

What would you like to tell our friends at the record labels? 

I want them to remember the importance of building career artists and not one-hit wonders for the sake of our entire industry’s ecosystem. We can’t afford to support that model long term. 

New tech that has impacted your work?

All of the staff at Paradigm and all of our offices have video phones and there’s something about being able to see people when you’re talking to them. And I would say that that applies to being able to FaceTime my children when i’m traveling, being able to say goodnight to them and having them be able to see them, especially when they were really little. I would say that’s had a tremendous impact for being able to work remotely. I hope that technology continues to refine. I think we’re all guilty of emailing while you’re on the phone and when you’re on video that makes it a little more difficult to tune out. 

Where can you be found during a show? 

Literally all over. I don’t usually stand in one place for an entire show, I like to go to front of house, I also like go to the side stage. But I also like to go get down in to the pit, I go up to the top of arenas and stadiums and I really want to experience what the fans are seeing and feeling. I believe it makes me a better agent.  I like to see how the production looks from different vantage points and get a sense of what the fans are getting for the price they paid for that ticket.

Previous

Next