Neon Coast's Janie Whitefield Helps Musicians Reach More Fans Online

Taking a community approach and breaking some rules

“I love that we are seeing so much crossover between all genres, especially in country music,” Janie Whitefield, director of digital at Neon Coast, tells Muse.

At Neon, a music and entertainment company in Nashville, she helps guide the crossover dreams of artists including Kane Brown, Restless Road, Julia Cole, Randall King and Nightly. These acts blend various styles for maximum appeal, with Jamie employing social media and digital to help engage and grow their fanbases.

Muse chatted with Whitefield about her background, aspirations and fave campaigns.

Where did you grow up, and where do you live now?

I grew up in Gallatin, Tenn., about 30 minutes from Nashville.

What’s your earliest musical memory?

Singing around the house constantly when I was younger—probably around 4 or 5. My younger sister and I tore up the karaoke machine in our living room.

Who are your favorite musicians today?

Joshua Slone, Role Model, Don Toliver and Ruel.

Tell us about some of your favorite projects.

Back in my intern days, I had the opportunity to work with Chase Atlantic at MDDN during their self-titled album rollout. With influencer campaigns, social rollouts, design work and more, it was the first time I ever felt like my ideas and work mattered to an artist. That gave me the confidence that I was on the right journey and ultimately led me to where I am today.

In the fall of last year, I worked with the band Nightly for their surprise Halloween album The Void. As a team, we put an entire plan together for the release and digital strategy within a month of it dropping and spent every day grinding to make it happen. We didn’t care to follow the typical rules of release and marketing—we just did what felt cool for the fans.

What book, movie, TV show or podcast have you found inspiring?

Michael, the movie! I haven’t left a theater feeling that inspired in a long time. A must-watch for everyone, but especially for young artists and music business professionals.

Who’s your favorite fictional character?

Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill. She’s epic!

Who’s someone worth following on social media?

I always recommend that artists, especially independent artists, follow Russ and Nic D. They give so much incredible advice on how to market music even if you’re starting from scratch.

What’s your main strength as a marketer?

I’ve always been a superfan and think that’s given me an advantage when it comes to marketing music and engaging with fanbases. I used to run fan pages on Twitter back in middle school—and now I get paid to do it!

Your biggest weakness?

I’ve been learning the importance of delegating and finding people I can lean on to carry out tasks that I don’t have the bandwidth for.

Tell us something people would find surprising about you.

I have zero artistic abilities when it comes to music. Can’t sing, can’t keep a beat—nothing. When I was younger, I always participated in music programs such as choir, talent shows, dance. But no matter how hard I tried, I was terrible. A lot of people I work with in the industry came from some sort of artistic background and wound up in the business along the way. So sometimes I feel like a weird outlier.

What would you be doing if you weren’t in the music business?

Probably running a professional sports team’s social media.