RSS
Help
CartRaw Power Sets Up Shop In U.S.
Thu, 16 Aug 2012 10:38:39
Trend-setting UK management outfit Raw Power has recently set up shop in the United States, opening an L.A. office earlier this year.
The management company founded by C.E.O. Craig Jennings and Rod Smallwood and Andy Taylor has been a cornerstone of heavy music and punk since its foundation in 2007. They boast a diverse roster including modern luminaries Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me the Horizon, Cancer Bats, You Me at Six, Gallows, Sharks, and Axewound to name few. Recently, gaining a foothold stateside, Raw Power signed two of Warped Tour 2012's hottest young names Miss May I and of mice and men.
The man behind this big move to L.A. is VP of Raw Power Management USA Matt Ash.
"We were always considering opening a U.S. office," comments Ash. "We felt the West Coast was the right one because so many of the management companies who are our peers, agents, and labels who we work with are based out here. In Los Angeles, you're in an environment that lends itself to what we're doing. There are constantly shows going on, and it's very easy to get business done."
Those other companies have also welcomed the Raw Power expansion with open arms.
Ash adds, "Everyone has been so helpful and welcoming. From Rick Sales who we co-manage Bullet for My Valentine with to Cory Brennan and 5B Artist Management, everybody is fantastic. There's a lot of cooperation between each company, and being in the mix is a great thing."
That synergy has already proven paramount to Raw Power's success. Whether it's putting Bullet For My Valentine and Cancer Bats together on tour and leading to the formation of Axewound to collaborating with Rise Records and finding two new U.S. signings, the company and Ash's mindset has laid the groundwork for some incredible things.
"Through working with a band like Sharks, we developed a relationship with Rise Records," he continues. "It was through that relationship we started discussing other acts. That's how we ended up with Miss May I and Of Mice and Men."
Ash and Raw Power will undoubtedly prove instrumental in the success of both acts stateside and beyond, and they're a bastion of some vibrant, genre-changing new acts. Welcome to America, fellas.
—Rick Florino
08.16.12
