Managing flipturn: Interview with Sam Heekin
This week I’m thrilled to feature an interview with Sam Heekin, an artist manager with Charleston based Atlas. Sam got his start out of college when he began working with Flipturn, a band he met while attending the University of Florida. Since then, he and the band have grown together as Flipturn has gone on to open for top indie bands such as Mt.Joy and Wilderado, signed with record label Dualtone Records, and garnered over 85 million streams on Spotify.
I spoke to Sam about what it was like to take the leap as a recent college grad, how he’s gotten comfortable with leveling up as the band grows, dealing with doubt and uncertainty, and the mindset he’s learned from life in the tour van.
What are you up to in life right now? How’d you get there?
I’ll start off by saying that I’m very lucky. I think a lot of things up to this point in my career have been things happening at the right time - things I can’t even explain.
How it all started. I knew out of high school that I wanted to work in music in some capacity. I had a friend who had an uncle who was in that world. As soon as I found out that it was a real career, it was all I could think about doing. When I got to UF towards the second half of my four years I started to get serious about it. UF didn’t have a music degree specialization but we had a student organization called Swamp Records, which was a student run record label that gave students the opportunity to meet other people who wanted to work in music and network. The organization also gave students the opportunity to get hands-on experience by putting artist teams around local bands and having them come up with creative ways to promote those bands. I joined my junior year, the same time that Flipturn was introduced as the next flagship artist. I got lucky there!
I saw them for the first time in 2017 at a house show with maybe 50 people there and it was epic. They had so much energy and even at that time people already knew some of the words to their songs. I spent the next few years getting to know them as people and as artists.
I graduated from UF in 2019. The band was a year behind me in school. They had decided to move back to Jacksonville where we are all from and finish school online. At the time I was applying to jobs. I’d had several music related internships in Nashville and in Jacksonville but I knew that I wanted to manage artists. I found out around that time that they weren’t working with anyone and had some new music. I reached out and just asked if I could get on a call with them and pitch some ideas on where I could help and fill in the gaps. From the get go, I was transparent with them about the things that I don’t know. I just said, “I’m sure you are getting hit up by other people but in the meantime I’d love to just learn and try to do this with you and see where I can help.”
The last 4 years have been holding on for dear life and keeping up with how quickly they are growing, how talented they are, and what a great project they have. I’m trying to grow my career where I can keep up with that and be the best manager for them that I can be.
What was the mindset shift you made when you were back home applying for jobs and decided to go for it and reach out to Flipturn?
It was really scary to be honest! I was the last among my friends to land a full time gig. Even to this day my full time looks very different from most of my friends. For me, I had a heavy belief in Flipturn’s project. I knew that they were going places and were great people with great heads on their shoulders and incredible music. A lot of it was the belief in that. I was also lucky to be surrounded by really good supportive people in my life who said, “You will never be this young again to try this out and take a risk. If it doesn’t work out then there will be other options to go the traditional route.”
The other thing I’ll touch on is the next phase of my journey. I moved up to Charleston and joined a group of guys doing the same thing called Atlas Touring. Realizing that there were other guys who’d taken similar routes of just hopping on with an artist they believed in and trying to make a career out of it was a game changer. I was able to see that it was doable and something I could make a successful career out of.
You mentioned holding on for dear life. What enabled you to get comfortable with the idea of leveling up at the same time that the band was growing rapidly?
There’s an incredible amount of trust that goes into the artist manager relationship in general. I think the trust they placed in me gave the confidence to grow into the role. If they didn’t trust what I was doing and we didn’t have the foundation together, I don’t know if I’d have the confidence to go have a meeting with a record label or publishing company or represent their business at festivals. Having that foundation in the early years of traveling in the van with them everywhere and being there for everything I could is something I wouldn't have traded for anything. That’s really where we laid the foundation we have now. We trust each other a lot. There’s still times where I’ll mess up or have a learning moment but I'm always transparent about what I don’t know and that continues to grow the trust we have with each other.
What else did you learn via life in the van?
There’s a lot you learn about how to travel and take care of yourself physically and mentally. The biggest thing I learned is how difficult it can be to be a touring artist that is just starting out and how much hard work goes into it. I think people who aren’t in the industry might sometimes think that if you are touring you have made it and are living a glamorous life. Even some of the artists you love can still have a really brutal lifestyle. You are away from your family and friends, you are making a lot of sacrifices, it’s physically grueling, it’s mentally grueling. It made me appreciate that lifestyle a lot more. It makes me think about touring in a different way and appreciate the artists I work with more. It’s one of the most fun careers ever and is still a job.
It can be a long journey to become a successful artist. How do you help your artists deal with the inevitable moments of doubt or uncertainty?
I don’t want to give myself too much credit. I’m lucky to work with artists that don’t have the stereotypical ego. The artists I work with inspire me to not get in my own head because of how good they are at handling the pressure and rising success. We all do a good job of reminding each other that it’s important to be focused on an end goal but to enjoy the journey along the way. With the artists I've traveled with we’ve had enough experiences on the road to realize that we are really lucky to be doing what we’re doing and making money along the way.
I’ve read a lot about Flipturn’s high level of professionalism and dedication to consistency. What have you learned from them about being consistent in doing something you love?
Consistency and the effects it can have over a long period of time is key. They, and other artists I work with, treat it like a job. They recognize that it’s a fun job and they are lucky to be living their dream but I think every artist that I work with really takes seriously that every single person that comes to see them is doing something that might be the highlight of their week or month. They put a lot of pressure on themselves. Sometimes when I’m out on a tour cycle for four weeks, it can be easy to say “it’s just another show.” But then I see how they prepare for each show. I watch things like Devon the drummer doing his warmups or the way band members take care of themselves and it brings me back to realize how important every show is.
Has there been anything that surprised you in joining Atlas and working with other managers?
Definitely. I’m really lucky where I love the guys that I work with and have gained a lot of different new ideas and ways of thinking. The most surprising thing has been how many different personality types can exist in this industry. It’s been cool to get together with a group and grow with them so that I now know where my strengths lie within the group. I know areas that I can be working on that people in the group are really great at. It’s like being in a band in a way where we get to riff off each other to drive the greater thing forward. The team mentality takes killing your ego.
What have you learned about managing your ego? What are some of the shifts you have made?
I read a book called “The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle that I definitely try to keep with me at all times. Of all the books that I’ve read it’s the one that’s had the most profound impact on me. Whenever I’m getting in my own head about something, whether I’m anxious or overthinking, I’ll pick it up and flip to a random page and it always brings me back to where I need to be.
Surrounding myself with people that are so good at maintaining their own ego and headspace has also been inspiring.
The music industry is changing a lot. What stands out to you as the important ways to develop as an artist and grow a career?
There are so many different ways to get your music out there and it’s often the things we least expect that end up blowing up a band. The best thing you can do as an artist is a little bit of everything. Have a presence on social media, working on recorded music and putting out the best music you can, working on your songwriting. But, among those things, I think the biggest thing you can do to develop yourself is play live as much as you possibly can. Go play 100 shows, then put out your record, and then go play 100 more. It’s the way you will develop as an artist and personally. If you’re in a band you will become closer or realize that it’s not going to work faster than any other way. Whatever it takes, playing a local coffee shop or supporting a bigger artist, go get out in front of people and do it as often as you possibly can.
What advice would you give to a young person thinking about becoming an artist manager?
Go find an artist you love. There are so many artists out there that need help that have the early seeds of a great career like a song doing well or selling 100 tickets in their hometown. The best way to gain experience, learn, and meet other people in the industry is trying to do it with an artist. You don’t need to know everything. For many artists you might be the only person willing to give them a shot and help them out. Find the music you love and go try and do it.
