There’s no business like the music business. Chelsea Kempchinsky, a 2010 graduate of Elizabethtown College with a degree in business, agrees wholeheartedly. Now an office manager for Loretta Lynn Enterprises and the founder of 12th Street Management, an entertainment management firm in Nashville, Tenn. Kempchinsky has utilized her passion for music and her time at Etown to make her goal of working in the music industry a reality.
As a young adult, Kempchinsky was very enthusiastic about music, enjoying a variety of genres and trying to listen to as much music as possible. “I knew I wanted to work in the music industry ever since the age of 13,” Kempchinsky said. “At every concert I went to I would always ask everyone there how I could get a career working in music. I always asked them, ‘Where did you go to school? How did you get your job? What do I need to get a job like yours?’”
While at Etown, Kempchinsky was a part of the FBLA – PBL chapter. Not only did she compete in several competitions and attend conferences within the chapter, she was also heavily involved with Students Working to Entertain Etown (SWEET)— an organization she joined her first semester. While in SWEET, she started out as the SWEET Sounds Assistant Chair and was promoted to SWEET Sounds Chair. “If you ask anyone in my class, they knew how passionate I was about music and how much I talked about wanting to be a manager and work behind the scenes in the industry,” Kempchinsky said. “If you couldn’t find me during the day, all you had to do was come to the SWEET office because I was always there working on programs and thinking about new ones.” Kempchinsky’s time with SWEET reassured her that she was “actively pursuing” the right path. This drive led her to aim to have a major concert at the College. “During my last year on the board, we managed to book Safetysuit just as they were starting to get their major start,” Kempchinsky said. “I just remember landing the concert and hanging out and talking with them about wanting to move to Nashville and they were giving me tips and advice.”
Kempchinsky is confident that her choice in major was the best option for her. A business major with a concentration in management and marketing, Kempchinsky worked hard to ensure that her time at Etown would provide her with a “strong stand” for post-graduation plans. “I will say that those classes within the business program heavily assisted me in landing a job,” Kempchinsky said. “Throughout Etown [College], I worked as many internships as I could in different facets of the entertainment industry.”
After graduation in May of 2010, Kempchinsky moved to Nashville, but not before she took an unpaid internship at The Press Office with Jim Della Croce in Pennsylvania. A native of Nashville for over 25 years, Croce has worked with acts such as The Beach Boys, Martina McBride and many others. Kempchinsky learned the tools of the trade from Croce, taking jobs like tour press, publicist, production assistant and anything else she could. “This internship was the first real taste of the industry because I was dealing with many different things on a daily basis,” Kempchinsky said. “I am blessed he took this opportunity and gave me a shot.” After only two weeks of being in Nashville, Kempchinsky heard through contacts at her internship about an opening at Loretta Lynn Enterprises, applied, and got the job. Having now worked there for almost three years as an office manager, Kempchinsky is grateful for all the opportunities she’s received. “I’m so blessed because through this office, I’ve learned to do many different things from office management to inventory control, to tour managing to being a personal assistant, and anything they will allow me to get my feet wet in,” Kempchinsky said. “I will always keep trying and learning.”
Two months ago, Kempchinsky also took a leap of her own and started her own entertainment firm, 12th Street Management. “[12th Street Management] all started as a dream and a passion when I first knew I wanted to work in the music industry. I knew right from the start that I wanted to do artist management,” Kempchinsky said. “I drive on Music Row on a daily basis and imagine which one will eventually be the future of 12th Street Management.” An artist manager’s job includes everything from developing an album, tour preparation, interviews with the media and planning the “big picture” for the artist’s future. “One thing you have to keep in mind is if you do not have heart and passion for the artist you are working with, you should not be working with them because people can tell when you don’t passionately talk about their music or career,” Kempchinsky said.
Two of Kempchinsky’s clients include Jeremiah, a Christian rock artist, and Jeff Radford, a pop/rock musician. “I met Jeremiah through a mutual friend in 2011 and again when he was beginning to talk to different individuals about doing his solo album in Nashville during the summer of 2012,” Kempchinsky said. “Our manager/artist relationship came about when I mentioned he should meet with my friend [music artist and producer] Shay Watson and talk about the project with him and that’s where our process began.” Kempchinsky then assisted with “planning the release date of the album, the photo shoot for press photos and album shots.” Kempchinsky met Radford through Musicians on Call, a nonprofit that brings live and recorded music to the bedsides of medical patients at no cost. A volunteer guide, Kempchinsky took Radford around to each room, wanting to hear music at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “As soon as I heard him sing acoustically, I knew he had talent,” Kempchinsky said. “His voice was one that anyone who heard it stopped to listen and take note.”
Kempchinsky has a passion for the work of her clients, insisting that Etown students would enjoy both Radford and Jeremiah’s music because their musical styles and lyrics are unheard of in the music industry because of their ability to connect with the listener. Both artists are genuine and Kempchinsky believes that they’re relatable to the public because people “can recognize themselves” in the music. “Jeremiah is a mixture of Sidewalk Prophets with a hint of Switchfoot and his song, ‘Like A Star,’ is a perfect story of how people can connect,” Kempchinsky said. “Jeff is something that hasn’t been heard before. His voice has an influence of Miles Davis with John Mayer lyrics and Gavin DeGraw vocals.”
An advocate of communication and jumping out of comfort zones, Kempchinsky urges post-graduates to take risks. “When I came to [Nashville], I wasn’t afraid to cold call people and ask them to coffee to learn about their career. I moved here knowing nobody, which is something I would have never thought I would have the guts to do, but I knew I had to try and achieve my dreams.”
Though always a Blue Jay, Kempchinsky still resides in Nashville and is building 12th Street Management up from the ground, as well as becoming involved with SOLID, the Society of Leaders in Development, and WMBA, the Women’s Music Business Association, taking a leadership position with the WMBA as the Events and Education co-chair to plan workshops, network and learning opportunities, and community service projects.