3Q Episode Twenty Two: Lynn Lendway

No matter where you are in your career, you’ll benefit from listening to 3Q. 3Q provides a window into the careers of some of the best in the music business. Every episode is an insider's view of the realities of life as a music executive. Topics include issues of empowerment, uncertainty, trust, finances, etc; issues that will impact you both personally and professionally. The executives we interview represent every aspect of the industry including but not limited to A&R, Marketing, Music Supervision, Artist Management, Promotion, and more. About Lynn: Starting from the bottom as a receptionist at MCA Records, Lendway quickly worked her way into the A&R department assisting the VP and Director of A&R. With great support from her bosses, she was fast-tracked to a Manager of A&R and became a fixture in the NYC music clubs. After a shake-up at the label, Lendway took the opportunity to move into artist management working with legendary rock superstars, KISS. While working with the band as Label Liaison, Recording Manager & Tour Coordinator, she experienced artist management and the ins and outs of touring at the feet of the masters. Not wanting to leave NYC when the band relocated their home office, Lendway found an opportunity for herself at Zomba Music (parent company of Jive Records) building their new producer management arm until a friend lured her away to become booking manager at the world-renowned recording studio, The Hit Factory. The education she received at the studio was invaluable and, having developed a passion for managing music producers, when given the opportunity to lead the producer division at a management company, she jumped at the chance. With this new position, she was able to manage her own stable of producers until she finally broke off and started her own producer management company. During this time, Lendway was urged to jointly manage a developing rock band and she decided to accept that wildly thankless task. Interestingly, though thankless, it’s also the most creative position she had ever held. Managing a well-known band is hard work but it’s easy to get people to answer the phones. Developing artists is a challenge. During this time, she was also able to find significant funding to start an independent record label and co-created and co-produced a TV series for the IFC network starring the band she co-managed.  As the financial market turned, the label investors decided to cut and run and the TV series was wrapping up its run, in a tale as old as time, the band broke up shortly thereafter, so Lendway found herself once again in the major label system as Sr. Director of A&R at Sony Masterworks and then VP of A&R at Decca US / Verve Music Group / Universal working with classical, adult contemporary, and Broadway artists as well as film score composers, and movie soundtracks, and Broadway cast albums. As the pandemic gave everyone to pause and shone a bright light on the changes in the music industry, like so many, Lendway reevaluated her circumstances and went back to running her own business. Currently, she’s focused on developing artists and creating partnership opportunities between music-focused and music adjacent businesses.