B23 Management

B23 Management is an artist management company headquartered in New York. Originally founded in by Brandon Schmidt, B23 focuses on identifying artists early and working with them to develop long-term careers. Brandon Schmidt has been a key figure in the independent music community in NYC since he first arrived. He has done business development, independent distribution, A&R, content programming, label relations, licensing, concert promotion, and now is primarily an artist manager. Schmidt grew up in the Philadelphia area where he was classically trained as an oboist before attending Oberlin College. While at Oberlin he ran the student concert committee and was responsible for promoting shows with Pixies, Robyn Hitchcock, Phish, A Tribe Called Quest, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, fIREHOSE, Michael Hedges, Diamanda Galas and more. From there he moved back to the Philadelphia area and managed Repo Records while also playing guitar/bass in Emily's Prize and Ink - helping secure support slots for shows with Oasis, Adorable, and Wanderlust. After moving to NYC, Schmidt joined the nascent MTV.com and helped develop MTV's online music strategy. He oversaw a team responsible for label/talent relations and music content programming and production for MTV.com and MTV2.com. During this time he worked closely with artists/labels that took an early-adopter approach to the internet: Radiohead, Björk, Madonna, Chemical Brothers, and Moby. In Schmidt first saw Interpol performing at the legendary East Village venue, Brownie's, and approached them about working together. It was then that B23 Management was established. Schmidt left MTV in 2003 to focus his attention solely on artist management. Since then he has worked with Elefant, Nightmare of You, Tokyo Police Club, Young Galaxy, Lavender Diamond, Blacklist, and The Ropes. In 2013, Schmidt put B23 on hiatus and joined the executive team re-launching Caroline Distribution - Universal Music Group's independent distribution arm - as VP of Label Acquisition and Development.