Backstage Pass with Legendary Music Agents Rod Essig, Curt Motley, and Nick Meinema
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Who are the legendary music agents featured in this episode?
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very special edition of On the Bus. Today, we are going off the topic of artists, and we're going behind the scenes. It's a real special place to go. I have three of the most high-profile agents in show business who are... I'm very honored to have them here today. And they're old friends, and we have some discussions that I think are going to be pretty interesting to see how the process works and how artists get booked on shows and the trials and tribulations of putting on an event. And these are the guys who make it happen. So I'd like to introduce Rod Essek from CAA.
And I'm definitely the oldest one here. I know we're old friends, but definitely the old one, okay?
He is the godfather, and there is no doubt about that. Nick Ninema from Action Entertainment, and Kurt Motley from UTA. I'm going to start with Kurt. So, Kurt, you have a very interesting story, how you got into show business. So, Kurt's roster was, unfortunately, we lost Toby Keith, and Kurt had been Toby Keith's agent for how many years, Kurt?
Just under 30.
How did Curt Motley become a music agent?
30 years. And Kurt has other rosters. Jamie Johnson, who is a other artist who are on his roster. Oliver Anthony. Oliver Anthony. Never could get that right. See, he's too much money. That's why I always keep forgetting his name. Sawyer Brown in America. And Sawyer Brown. So you have a very interesting story. Early in the 90s, you were a maintenance guy. Among others.
And how did you become an agent? I played a basketball game to get a gig with T.K. Kimbrell. who I think was working for Vector at that time. And he was just about to go out on his own. And I worked with his wife at the famous Iroquois Apartments in Bellevue. And he came over. He's an Indiana boy. And he said he was starting a gig. And I said, hey, man, I'll play a basketball game for it. I mean, it had been fun. The 80s were awesome. Anybody that says they weren't just didn't live in the 80s. And... But, I mean, I thought I had it made, you know. I was... Work all week, drink Friday, Saturday, Sunday, go back to work on Monday, and had just enough money to make that work every week. And I thought that was living. And it was at the time. If I'm being honest, I was happy as shit.
So anyway, one day, I just knew. And so I... I don't know, man. I was sort of in a funk. I didn't know what I wanted to do. So I was going to go be a hardware salesman in Knoxville. And I was talking to TK one night. I think he was just road managing Steve Warner then. And he's like, are you fucking crazy? Can I say fuck on this? He said, are you fucking crazy? And I said, well, it's either that or I was thinking about maybe going to the Coast Guard or becoming a cop or something. He goes, what's wrong, man? And he said, why don't you get in the music business? And I'm like, do what? You know, I dropped out of college about three times and I was working probably three different jobs. And I mean, I was a maintenance man, security dude.
I did heat and cooling work on the weekends, delivered pizza for Pizza Hut. I did all that stuff. And yeah. Anyway, we played a basketball game. I beat him on a court that I built. And then he started his deal, and I started with him in July of 1990. And, you know, one day I was wearing steel-toed boots and brown pants and a shirt with my name on it. And the next I was answering phones at a management company and couldn't understand what people were even saying when they called in. I had no idea. I had no idea. Didn't know what their names were or anything. So, yeah.
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Chapters
6 chapters
1
Who are the legendary music agents featured in this episode?
0:40–1:51
2
How did Curt Motley become a music agent?
1:51–6:03
3
What was Rod Essig's journey to becoming an agent?
6:03–10:50
4
Why did Nick Meinema decide to become an entrepreneur?
10:50–17:26
5
How do music agents maintain long-term relationships with artists?
17:26–22:48
6
What is the significance of Tim McGraw's early career decisions?
22:48–44:25