Adam Merola is part of the great team over at The Truth By Blood Agency. As a co-founder of the company, he and his staff have put 
together what I would consider to be one of the best artist service agencies on the eastern seaboard. Primarily focused on the Metal genre, the group has expanded the horizons of each band that they are currently handling. I had an opportunity to chat with Adam about the direction of this exciting business, and the path it has taken to get to current time.
Erik: How did the team come together that would become the Truth By Blood Agency? How did it get started?
Adam: A couple of years back I had come across Jeremy Stanton at Save Our Scene Productions. Originally I was inquiring about booking a date for one of my bands in NY. The show ended up being a record label showcase, and at that time the band I was working with was offered a deal to sign with this record label. The label ended up screwing everyone over. Throughout the whole process I had stayed in contact with Stanton because he was involved with some of the bands on the label as well. In the end, we decided to form what is now called The Truth By Blood Agency.
Erik: You seem to handle all aspects of the band management experience. Tell me about the mission on keeping everything in house, so to speak, and how this benefits you more?
Adam: The Truth By Blood Agency is basically a parent company to multiple divisions. We offer management and booking and we are currently starting to dip into the PR aspect of the business. We believe in doing the most we possibly can for the bands that we work with. One way we ensure that we are doing that is by surrounding ourselves with industry professionals and experts in each category. Stanton is the Director Of Marketing, Christine Palmer is handling our PR and I manage the booking side of things with the help of our agents. By offering these services to our bands, we believe it will benefit them as well as us. We have plans to break our PR department into a separate division and we are also toying with the possibility of a clothing line.
Erik: When choosing the bands you have selected to represent, what criteria do you use to make your decisions?
Adam: We currently work with different levels of bands. First and foremost we look for quality. If we don’t like the band’s music we will not represent them. We are always looking for bands that know they need to work hard to reach their goals. There are too many bands out there that say they want to make it in the music business, but aren’t willing to put in the work. In addition, we look for general things like draw, tour history and marketability.
Erik: Tell me a little bit about the bands that you are currently handling?
Adam: Currently we have a roster of 8 bands, and we are always looking for more. We are hoping 2012 is going to be a big year for us. A Night At The Chalet, Mummified In Circuitry, Conforza, Rebuilding The Ruins, The Harteck, Elysion Fields and One Last Time are all either releasing an album or have recently released an album. This means we are planning a lot of tours and CD release parties.
Erik: Do you have any other bands that you are looking to add to the roster?
Adam: We are always looking for new bands at The Truth By Blood Agency. I can say that we do have a few bands in the works, but unfortunately that information will have to wait for a later time. We do have submission instructions in the “Notes” tab on our Facebook page. Any bands interested should be checking that out!!
Erik: I see you have a pretty strong relationship with Innerstrength Records, obviously you are handling a couple of their artists. How did this come into being?
Adam: I will start by saying that Innerstrength Records is a great label to work with. We had been working with Heal These Wounds from Innerstrength for a short period of time. One of the bands I manage (Mummified In Circuitry) had also signed with them. We had developed a good working relationship with the label and ended up working with some of their bands as well.
Erik: I know your help is spread out in many different areas around a couple of states? What is the future plan with the expansion of your plan?
Adam: Currently we have agents in NY, MA and FL. Our goal is to have strong points in key markets in the United States. We definitely plan to expand. but have not worked out the details in full as of yet.
If you are interested in applying for representation through the company, check out the information below. Serious Inquiries only please! This is a serious step up for your band, and requires the flexibility to go, go, go!
If your band is interested in working with The Truth By Blood Agency and you think you have what it takes….Feel free to send us a submission.
Please complete the following information and send it to adam.onenightstand@gmail.com and stanton.truthbyblood@gmail.com (we will get back to you)
We ask that you are 100% truthful in your answers
Required Information
Name of your band:
Hometown:
Contact Information:
List of band members names/positions/ages: (ex: John Smith(25) – Vocals)
Band website/Link to EPK: (Facebook/ReverbNation)
At least 2 MP3’s: (Mediafire/Facebook/ReverbNation)
Draw / How many people can you bring to hometown/away shows:
How long has your band been together with the current lineup:
Availability/Has your band toured:
A high resolution picture of the band: (promo shot preferred)
A high resolution band logo:
Band Bio:
For more information on Truth By Blood Agency-
http://www.facebook.com/TruthByBlood
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