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Founder, Dani Thompson started DNT Entertainment in 2010 with one goal in mind, to guide emerging artists on their path to success through education, mentorship, and strategic artist development. Today, DNT Entertainment has been selected for 2021 Best of Tustin Award in the Arts & Entertainment category by the Tustin Award Program.
Tell us about DNT Entertainment. How did you come up with this idea?
Dani Thompson: I have always had a passion and love for the music industry. I spent over half my life on the artist side of the business performing as a lead singer for multiple bands.
I got my start at Fender Museum under the guidance of Lee Zimmer (my guitar teacher and band manager) and my dad Chuck Hirbour who was on the Board of Directors for a non-profit community music program called Kids Rock Free. I came up with the idea to start DNT Entertainment after graduating college and being denied multiple industry jobs due to lack of experience. I was hired as an artist manager and publicist for an upcoming artist/ family friend during her time on a reality TV show and knew I needed a way to process and track income and expenses for this project which pushed me to officially set up my business entity.
Around that same time I was introduced to an influential industry manager who managed the band “No Doubt” and Gwen Stefani, and the advice he gave me I will never forget. I asked how he got to where he was and asked what I should do to become a successful manager and talent rep myself. He said, “work for yourself, develop talent on your own, and eventually you will get to the top of the hill.” That gave me the confidence and motivation I needed to work for myself and stop chasing entry-level label jobs. DNT Entertainment was named after my initials (Danielle Nichole Thompson).
How have you been able to grow your business? Be specific.
Dani Thompson: Growing my business has been extremely challenging!! When I first started “DNT” I was a kid out of college working a part-time job (unrelated to the industry) and barely able to support myself. I also met the love of my life and was planning my wedding in 2010. There were a lot of distractions, lots of life noise, and not much time to focus on my personal career goals. I did however have a dream and a vision and more motivation than my family can handle. I knew what I wanted to do and nothing was going to get in my way. To be a successful business owner you need to be a self-starter and self-motivated. Nobody will work harder for you than YOU, and that’s what I did. 14 hour days sometimes pulling all-nighters. I still do.
My dream job was to manage and develop young talent, mentor them, provide a safe space for artists to be creative contributing members of our local music community, and protect young girls from falling victim to the same industry scams that I did when I was a young artist myself trying to navigate the industry.
My first office was in the back of a warehouse in Anaheim at a studio called ReAmp. I had hot pink and orange curtains hanging from the exposed aluminum wrapped ceiling, a DIY green wall for my video and photo sessions, an old soundboard that doubled as the front of my desk, and music-themed props, surfboards, guitars, fur carpets, bean bags, a makeup station, and all the faux plans and uplights you could imagine to give you the vibes of a creative workspace. There was no air conditioning and the walls would pound all day long because on the other side of the warehouse was the live room where my former partners would be tracking drums and guitar around the clock to meet their publishing quotas. I never complained…I loved the noise. I loved my job… I found solutions any time I hit a wall. My first solution was to put on noise-canceling headphones, buy an AC wall unit that I put on the floor and pumped the air out the side door, and tried to get through my conference calls without melting or losing my voice box from screaming over the drum kit. My second solution was to get a remote workspace at Regus in the tallest tower in OC across from Southcoast Plaza so I could hold my calls and in-person auditions without distraction. I rolled a suitcase in every day, staged my temp office, and pretended like I owned the whole building. Maybe one day I will.
As I started to make some money I felt it was time to move into my own space. The money I was making however wasn’t from DNT, it was from a side hustle job that helped feed my family. In addition to that income, an investor saw potential in my company and gave me an extremely generous gift to get DNT on its feet. I then partnered with my best friend Allie, hired my first assistant, staff photographer/videographer, brought on a few interns, an in-house music production team, and we officially had our “own space.” I worked around the clock with 2 computer monitors balancing 2 careers side by side. One for money and one for love. I didn’t want to quit my “money job” until I was confident that I could support myself and also be a financial contributor to my growing family and help us get into our first home. Fast forward 12 months and I was now married for 4 years and pregnant with my first son Taylor. That pregnancy rocked my world in the best but most dramatic ending to this chapter. I was extremely sick during my pregnancy, knew I was soon going to be in need of child care to continue building my company and was living too far from my mother to help me once the baby came. I decided for my health and well-being to quit my money job, move closer to family, and when the time came not to renew my lease on my office space in Tustin, but instead work from home at a slower pace so I could focus the next few years on raising my son. Balancing work, kids, and home life is a long story in itself so I won’t go into the next 6 years to bring us up to date, but let’s just say it’s been equally rewarding and extremely challenging attempting to grow a business while raising a family. We now have 2 beautiful boys (ages 2 and 5).
Over the years (while working from home) I have partnered with multiple artist development teams, music producers, label heads, local venues, non-profits, artists, event planning companies, and many local businesses that nurtured young talent; it’s those relationships that I owe all my success to. I have never used marketing or advertising to grow my business. I don’t care about quantity but quality when it comes to social media growth. Slow, steady, and organic has been the best approach for my business. My business has all come in from collaborations with other development partners such as OC Hit, insanely talented artists, and the doors they have opened for me (Thank you Lauren Black for all you have done to help DNT grow), industry referrals, and word of mouth. “The larger your network the larger your net worth.” “It’s not about who you know but who knows you.” By working with other artists and partners my audience organically grows from collaborations with others.
What are some secrets to virality/sales in your most successful platform?
Dani Thompson: As a service-based business with no physical product sales, my success is measured by engagement. The key to engagement is collaboration, content quality, and consistency. You can tap into your pre-established niche audiences by working with those who inspire you. The more talent I work with and the more my work is featured by those talents, the more engagement I see and the more opportunities come my way.
One of my day to day roles is content development and curation, photography, brand strategy, etc and in addition to running my own accounts I’m running multiple artists accounts so my personal consistency could improve, but my selflessness is due to my Pisces way of always putting others before myself.
Teach us something we don’t know about the music industry…
Dani Thompson: The one thing I know best is the music industry so let’s talk music. It’s important to know that being an artist/musician is just like any other industry. An artist is a brand; a brand is a business. To be successful in this industry, an artist needs to treat everything they do like a business.
Many times I have someone talented asking me to manage or represent them before they are generating a profit with their own personal brand. Nobody in this industry works for free (managers work on % but 0% of 0 is 0) and it’s extremely important for artists to know that nobody will work harder for them than them and that until they put in the groundwork and money on their own, it’s going to be extremely difficult to find believers who will help take you to that next level.
The days of signing major label or management deals with no pre-established audience or a proven record of streaming or consistent gig revenue are gone. With social media presence in this day and age and the ability to market and promote music independently in a way talent could have never done before, the industry’s expectations are higher and the competition is fierce. Serious artists need to start with finding an artist development partner (like myself), build the brand, and once you have the brand and audience in place with proven success, you can then negotiate those major label partnerships, publishing deals, and management contracts that will bring your business to the next level.
My first word of advice is to get your business license, buy a PA system, learn how to play a 3 hour set of covers and originals so you can get paid gigs, and collaborate with other writers and producers to grow your audience, build your catalog and open your industry network up for opportunities.
What do you think you do better than most people? How are you able to do it?
Dani Thompson: I have a very unique skill set that I have acquired from my time at Cal State Fullerton where I got my BA in Communications and personal hands-on experience over the past 20+ years in the industry. Because I am a female in a male-dominated industry, I have found my niche audience to be young female artists in the Pop, Country, R&B, Alternative, and Singer/Songwriter genres.
I literally do everything when it comes to servicing talent as an artist development leader in the industry. My primary skill sets include artist photography, publicity, brand management, brand development, creative direction, distribution, catalog administration, music video production and directing, audio-video production, singer-songwriter pairing, consulting, celebrity talent buying, event production, booking, contract negotiations, youtube video marketing, Spotify promotion, radio promotion, artist management, and the list goes on.
I have spent years researching, learning, applying what I’ve learned to reach live situations, failing sometimes but learning lessons and growing because of it, and I NEVER give up.
– Dani Thomspson
You can see some of my work at www.danithompsonmusic.com or @danithompsonmusic. How do I do it you ask? I find what artists need/want and I have spent years researching, learning, applying what I’ve learned to reach live situations, failing sometimes but learning lessons and growing because of it, and I NEVER give up.
What is your favorite quote:
You can see some of my work at www.danithompsonmusic.com or @danithompsonmusic. How do I do it you ask? I find what artists need/want and I have spent years researching, learning, applying what I’ve learned to reach live situations, failing sometimes but learning lessons and growing because of it, and I NEVER give up.
What is your favorite quote:
Dani Thompson: The quote I live by that has helped our business succeed and grow: “We rise by lifting others.” It really resonates with me and my values.
We rise by lifting others.
– Robert Ingersoll
What are a few of your top career highlights?
Dani Thompson:
1. I directed and produced a music video for my artist Lauren Black and Idrise that MTV recognized for a competition they were hosting called Cover of the Month. The video got 34 million votes/views and our whole team was flown to the EMA’s in London for an award ceremony and week of incredible events.
2. I have executive produced and booked major live shows for celebrity talent such as Flo Rida, Macy Kate, Iggy Azalea, Zhavia Ward, Brian King Joseph, Evelyn Cormier and Lauren Black at LIV nightclub at the Fontainebleau in Miami.
3. I have produced high scale hollywood red carpet charity events with attendance with many named celebrities in film, television, music and sports industries.
4. Back in the day when I was an artist I opened up for Paul Rogers and Bad Company and many other big names during my time as a singer.
5. I walked the red carpet at the Radio Disney Music Awards with Flo Rida and Macy Kate before he opened the show in 2017.
6. I produced a BTS video for Zhavia Ward where we followed her around Norwalk and visited all the hot spots that were mentioned in her single “17.” I have produced, directed, shot and done post production on over 50 music videos to date.
Where do you see yourself and your brand in the next couple of years? What is your dream?
Dani Thompson: I’m living my dream right now. Special thanks to everyone who helped get me here (God, my family, dad, mom, my amazing husband Ryan, my boys, friends, my current and former artists, my team, my partners at OC Hit, Thomas Barsoe, Lee Zimmer, Cal State Fullerton, Kids Rock Free Music School, the list goes on). In the next few years, I see myself at the Grammys sitting next to my artists (not just one), as they receive the most honorable award in the industry. My dream is to help others discover and live theirs.
Learn more about Dani Thompson and her music by following her on Instagram, and Facebook! 🔥
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