This spoken essay is based on a conversation with Lylette Pizarro, founder and co-managing partner of Influence Media Partners, a New York-based music and entertainment company “whose mission is to transform the music space by partnering with artists, songwriters and creative leaders to curate legacy works and build future brand value.” In 2022, Pizarro provided one The $750 million fund backed by BlackRock, Inc. and Warner Music Group to invest in music IP from artists with global reach. Pizarro has built deep partnerships with artists and songwriters throughout her career, working with Bruno Mars, Future, Blake Shelton and more. Last December, Influence announced a huge partnership deal with Enrique Iglesias which includes creating Name, Image and Likeness (“NIL”) opportunities for the artist and amplifying their extensive music catalog.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Influence Media Partners. Lylette Pizarro.
Before founding Influence Media Partners, I spent a lot of time at a marketing agency the formation of partnerships with major artists, record labels, music companies and brands. I love the work and finding the right partners – if Apple, PepsiCo or LVMH. As I did that work, I noticed a white space; The music rights market started to change and while everyone approached it from a financial or publishing perspective, I had a different perspective: Can we collaborate with leading artists, songwriters and entrepreneurs? Can we help them continue to ignite culture today and future-proof their legacy for tomorrow?
We wanted to collaborate with artists who were still out there making music, touring and engaging with their fans. We felt that if we could partner with them in protecting their legacy, IP and catalog, we could turn around and find new ways to ignite their fans through partnerships, whether it's advertisement, film or television, or other ways to engage and drive new opportunities for them. Of course, when it comes to navigating these big deals, it's one thing to write a strategy and quite another to execute a strategy.
It was quite big Ambition. Could we find partners to believe in us and help us get these rights and artistic partnerships? And would some of these top artists allow us to join them and be part of their bench? Enrique Iglesias, who is undoubtedly a very accomplished Latin icon, allowed us to work with him and his team on the rights to his image and likeness. When I think back—and we're at deal five of image and likeness and we're starting to create opportunities—it's incredibly important and exciting to see this come to life. It is a privilege and an honor to work with artists. We have to gives value for our artists and investors, of course.
When it comes to approaching these deals and partnerships, it's so important to make sure an artist or a songwriter really understands our Evaluate the preposition and how we want to work with them: that they value partnership — this is essential as this market continues to become more and more competitive. It's about leading with confidence and having a common sense of what's important. A common challenge in the music business is problem solving under pressure.
You have to be able to do that, and I think about the comparison in terms of sports or other performances. For example, if a player on a team is injured during the season, play will continue; if the lead in a Broadway show gets sick, the bad study will take over and the show will go on. It's a little different with music. There is not always an equal replacement. Tours and releases change and being able to meet both sides of the partnership within these dynamics is not always easy. It doesn't always go according to plan.
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There is one deal that still remains very close to my heart. My client at the time was a consumer products company. The CEO of this company – who is one of the top CEOs in the world – has a non-profit organization that is very close to their heart, and we needed to provide some sort of summer entertainment asset. But the challenge was that they didn't have it bUDGET at the time, and we had some media assets, but we had to find a way to deliver for this nonprofit without a budget.
My internal team at RPM at the time was like, “There's no way we're doing this. There's no way.” And I've always been of the mantra, If there's a will, there's a way. It's a fantastic non-profit; there are these media assets, and maybe there are other (valuable) things that we can offer. So I ended up going out into the market and asking movie studios and record companies if we could find a way to partner. In the end, I came across something I didn't even imagine, but again, I was willing and open to see. So I ended up forming a partnership that involved one of the biggest pop artists at the time who had a movie that was important to them with that movie studio. And we put on an amazing show for this non-profit organization for thousands of people. We solved it because we all came together.
When you see such a challenge, I can't stress enough how important it is to be willing to face it when it can seem really hard. Just take a moment and try to think it through – is there any other way to solve this? It may seem impossible, but is there anything else i can give?
Starting a business AND capital increase in dynamics the music industry can be really challenging, so finding ways to relax and prioritize health has been so important. My family is the center of my world. My daughter is an avid dancer and performer, and my son is obsessed with basketball, so being there for both, being a volunteer mom, and supporting both organizations, whether it's the dance troupe or the basketball team – I love it . I'm “Ms. Lylette” to all the kids. I also enjoy yoga, and working with executive coaches and therapists has been incredibly valuable.
For entrepreneurs hoping to make their mark in the music industry—and I say this all the time—it's so important to know what super power it is. If you're a brilliant writer, or if you really understand your audience, or if you have a keen sense of creativity, know your superpower, lean in and work for it add value. This is a transformative, growing business, and if you're in the arts of any form, it's a privilege to support the arts. However you can add your superpower to the mix to add value, there will be a winning proposition. It doesn't need to make the business stronger and better, and however you can do that, I encourage it.