Sound Healthcare & Financial

What Sound Healthcare & Financial does

Sound Healthcare & Financial is a privately held insurance brokerage and financial advisory firm headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 2006 by RJ Stillwell — a former musician, producer and songwriter — to serve creative-industry professionals (musicians, songwriters, producers, engineers, managers, agents, touring crews, publicists and attorneys) who face difficulties obtaining affordable coverage through traditional brokerages. Its core products are health insurance plans (individual, family, small-group, and the flagship Nashville Musicians Sound Healthcare Plan — an exclusive ACA-compliant True Group plan underwritten by Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN available only to members of AFM Local 257), supplemental coverages (dental, vision, accident, critical illness, life, long-term care, disability, pet, travel, home/auto, international air ambulance), and financial planning services delivered through a partnership with New York Life. The firm earns revenue primarily via insurance carrier commissions on new policies and renewals, plus advisory and product commissions from its New York Life relationship; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. There is no proprietary technology platform; distribution is relationship-driven through music association endorsements, event sponsorships, referrals and direct phone/email advisory consultations, with exclusive enrollment rights to the union plan serving as the primary differentiation.

Name

Sound Healthcare & Financial

Legal name

Sound Healthcare & Financial

Website

https://soundhealthcare.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sound Healthcare & Financial is a Nashville-based insurance brokerage and financial advisory firm that provides individual, group, and union-based health insurance plus financial planning exclusively to creative-industry professionals in the music and entertainment community.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Nashville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Insurance Brokerage Commissions: The company earns commissions from selling health insurance policies (individual, group, and union-based plans) sourced from carriers including Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN, with plans also underwritten by six top insurance companies. Commissions are earned on new policy sales and renewals.
2. Financial Planning Services: Following expansion, the company now offers financial planning services including retirement planning, wealth creation, estate planning, life insurance, and long term care through a partnership with New York Life, generating advisory/service revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Sound Healthcare & Financial is a Nashville-based insurance brokerage and financial advisory firm that specializes in serving the music and broader creative-entertainment community. Its core offer is the Nashville Musicians Sound Healthcare Plan — a fully insured ACA-compliant True Group health insurance plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee available exclusively to Nashville Musicians Association members — plus individual/family health insurance, group benefits for small music businesses, retirement/wealth planning through New York Life, and pro-bono healthcare advocacy (prescription help, claims disputes, reform navigation).

Product overview

Sound Healthcare & Financial offers a suite of insurance and financial services for the creative community, built around a core advisory and advocacy model. The flagship product is the Nashville Musicians Sound Healthcare Plan, a fully insured ACA-compliant True Group health insurance plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee available exclusively to Nashville Musicians Association members. This is supplemented by Individual and Family insurance programs and Group Benefits offerings that include health, dental, vision, life, and supplemental coverage. The company also provides Retirement Planning services and a differentiated Healthcare Advocacy service that offers pro-bono support including prescription assistance, claims support, and healthcare reform navigation. The Music Association Alliances program extends services across the broader creative community through partnerships with industry organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nashville Musicians Sound Healthcare Plan: A fully insured ACA compliant True Group health insurance plan with Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN, exclusively available for members of the Nashville Musicians Association, AFM Local 257.

Products and services

• Nashville Musicians Sound Healthcare Plan A fully insured ACA-compliant True Group health insurance plan underwritten by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee, offering National Blue PPO Networks exclusively to members of the Nashville Musicians Association, AFM Local 257. Available in Bronze and Silver tiers with optional add-ons including dental, vision, accidental injury, critical illness, and life insurance; enrollment is available only through Sound Healthcare & Financial.
• Individuals and Families Insurance Customized individual and family insurance programs tailored to personal needs, budget, and underwriting criteria. Portfolio includes Traditional Co-Pay Plans, HSA-Qualified Plans, Catastrophic Plans, Dental, Vision, Medicare Supplement, Life Insurance, Long-term Care, Disability, Critical Illness, and International Air Ambulance coverage. Targets music-industry professionals and their families.
• Group Benefits True Group Employee Benefits for small music-industry businesses with three or more employees, providing access to top-rated group insurance carriers with optimal plan designs and competitive pricing. Includes health, dental, vision, and other group insurance options.
• Retirement Planning Services Comprehensive retirement and financial planning including Life Insurance (personal and business), Disability Coverage for musicians and professionals, Retirement Income Strategies, Wealth Creation, Estate Planning and Protection, and Long Term Care Coverage, delivered in partnership with New York Life.
• Healthcare Advocacy Services Pro-bono healthcare advocacy for clients including prescription help programs, claims dispute resolution, medical expense resource navigation, physician coordination for underwriting, healthcare reform advocacy, and non-profit partnership development.
• Music Association Alliances Partnership program delivering insurance and financial planning services to music-industry professionals through alliances with entertainment-related organizations including the Americana Music Association, Songwriters Guild, Folk Alliance, Country Music Association, BMI, and other creative community associations.

Quantifiable outcome

• One client reported saving over $12,000 per year on insurance costs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Nashville Musicians Association, AFM Local 257flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Sound Healthcare & Financial is the exclusive enrollment partner for the Nashville Musicians Sound Healthcare Plan — a fully insured ACA-compliant True Group health insurance plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield of TN with National Blue PPO Networks. The partnership with Dave Pomeroy's AFM Local 257 provides members access to unprecedented group health insurance without an employer/employee relationship. The partnership has grown union membership and serves hundreds of creative professionals.
• GallaghercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Gallagher (insurance brokerage) to co-develop and roll out the Nashville Musicians Sound Healthcare Plan, enabling fully insured True Group Health Insurance plans for union members.
• New York LifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSound Healthcare & Financial expanded its services through a partnership with New York Life to offer comprehensive financial planning services including retirement planning, wealth creation, estate planning, life insurance, and long-term care to the creative community.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of TennesseecoreTechnology or IntegrationInsurance carrier providing the fully insured ACA-compliant True Group health insurance plan exclusively available to Nashville Musicians Association members through Sound Healthcare & Financial. Includes National Blue PPO Networks.
• Americana Music AssociationcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAmericana Music Association partnered with Sound Healthcare & Financial to assist their membership in navigating healthcare reform. The association recommends Sound Healthcare & Financial to members for ACA enrollment, plan selection, and subsidy determination. Sound Healthcare & Financial was featured in the AMA newsletter's premier spot.
• Folk Alliance InternationalminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFolk Alliance International partners with Sound Healthcare & Financial to provide healthcare solutions for their members attending the annual conference in Kansas City, MO.
• Songwriters GuildcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSound Healthcare & Financial provides healthcare advocacy and insurance solutions to members of the Songwriters Guild, one of the entertainment organizations served since the company's founding.
• Blues FoundationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSound Healthcare & Financial partnered with the Blues Foundation to pioneer a first-ever IBC Health Fair at the 30th Annual International Blues Challenge in Memphis, providing health screenings, presentations, and insurance access to blues music professionals.
• Country Music Association (CMA)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThe CMA was the starting point for Sound Healthcare & Financial's founding in 2006. The company established itself by helping CMA members navigate healthcare.
• Cronin CreativeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNashville boutique design and marketing firm that designed Sound Healthcare & Financial's initial logo and advertising, and created the branding for the company's expanded financial services. Featured RJ Stillwell in their 'Inspiration At Work' newsletter.
• Rooftop ComedyminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSound Healthcare & Financial launched a partnership with Rooftop Comedy in November 2013 to extend healthcare and financial solutions to the comedic community, adding a new creative industry vertical to their client base.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• USI Insurance Services: USI serves mid-market entertainment, music, and media companies with group benefits, executive benefits, and personal lines. Comparable as an established brokerage with creative-industry clients and a multi-product offering (health, life, retirement) that mirrors Sound Healthcare's full-stack positioning.
• Aon: Aon's entertainment and media practice places health, wealth, and risk products for studios, labels, touring acts, and athletes. Comparable as a global broker serving the same creative customer base with the same multi-line product mix, including NFP as a subsidiary.
• Alliant Insurance Services: Alliant runs an entertainment and music practice providing group benefits, executive benefits, and personal lines, alongside multiple other specialty verticals. Comparable as a full-service specialty brokerage whose entertainment team competes for the same music-industry clients Sound Healthcare serves.
• Marsh McLennan: Marsh operates one of the largest entertainment insurance practices globally, serving studios, performers, and live events with health and benefits placement alongside risk and surety. Comparable in customer overlap (entertainment professionals) and benefit-brokerage capabilities, though at substantially larger scale.
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Gallagher is Sound Healthcare's explicit co-development partner on the Nashville Musicians True Group plan and runs a large entertainment insurance practice. As a top global broker with national reach, it competes for entertainment accounts while also being a distribution channel — a dual role comparable to the positioning dilemma Sound Healthcare faces with its partners.
• NFP, an Aon Company: NFP runs a recognized entertainment and music industry practice providing health, retirement, executive benefits, and personal risk solutions. Directly comparable as a specialty brokerage whose vertical depth and product breadth match Sound Healthcare's advisor-led creative-community model.

Direct peers

• HUB International: HUB International operates a dedicated entertainment and music industry insurance practice offering group health, life, and specialty coverage. It is the closest large-broker direct peer to Sound Healthcare & Financial in serving the same creative-community customer base with similar advisory, brokerage, and advocacy services.

Emerging players

• Acrisure: Acrisure is a rapidly scaling tech-enabled insurance brokerage built on acquiring specialty firms, including entertainment practices. Compares to Sound Healthcare as a growing platform where vertical specialization meets technology-driven scale; it represents both a competitive threat and a potential acquirer profile.
• Coterie Insurance: Coterie is an InsurTech that distributes small-business insurance through embedded partnerships and APIs — addressing the small music-business customer segment (labels, studios, production companies with 3+ employees) that Sound Healthcare's group benefits offering targets. The embedded/thin-tech approach contrasts Sound Healthcare's high-touch advisor model for the same small-business buyer.
• Founder Shield: Founder Shield is a niche-specialist brokerage that built category leadership among venture-backed startups using deep vertical expertise and tailored coverage packages — the same vertical-thesis playbook Sound Healthcare applies to creatives. Comparable in business model (specialist broker serving an underserved segment) but tech-era in customer profile.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/mysoundhealth
• Facebookfacebook.com/soundhealthcareadvocacy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sound-healthcare/about

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sound Healthcare & Financial