Lawrence Vavra co-founded Deckstar with his friend and business partner Matt Colon. It grew from a gap in the industry that they perceived when working with DJ AM. Many years later, Deckstar now boasts a roster of more than 70 artists, including legendary acts like Blink-182, Steve Aoki and Air. We discuss the current state of the music business, advice for an individual looking to break into the industry, whether it be as an artist or on the business side, the importance of building a social following … and even our favorite music festivals. Listen and enjoy!

Author Bio:

by Andy Shore

Andy Shore found his way to Benchmark when he replied to a job listing promising a job of half blogging, half social media. His parents still don’t believe that people get paid to do that. Since then, he’s spun his addiction to pop culture and passion for music into business and marketing posts that are the spoonful of sugar that helps the lessons go down. As the result of his boss not knowing whether or not to take him seriously, he also created the web series Ask Andy, which stars a cartoon version of himself. Despite being a cartoon, he somehow manages to be taken seriously by many of his readers ... and few of his coworkers.