Make Wake Artists
Make Wake Artists is a Nashville-based artist management firm founded in 2017 that represents country and crossover acts including Luke Combs, while offering label services, digital marketing, and merchandise support to a broader artist client base.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2017
- HeadquartersNashville, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Make Wake Artists does
Make Wake Artists is a Nashville-based, private artist management company founded in 2017 that represents a roster of seven named acts headlined by Luke Combs, alongside Jon Bellion, Nicole Combs, Flatland Cavalry, Cooper Alan, The Castellows, and Dylan Marlowe. The firm provides comprehensive artist management services covering career development, touring support, streaming growth, brand building, and merchandise, operating under a fan-first philosophy ("G.A.F. Fans. F1rst."). Founder Chris Kappy leads the company as Chief Navigation Officer, with Alicia Mathews heading marketing and commercial partnerships.
The business has expanded beyond traditional management into adjacent service lines. The Make Wake Label Services division delivers digital marketing, release timeline management, metadata tracking, publishing information administration, and social media influencer outreach to external artists on a fee basis. A separate Merchandise Services function handles e-commerce order fulfillment, inventory management, tour merchandise pulls, and social media account support. The firm also runs four parallel seasonal internship programs (Digital, Label Services, Management, and Merchandise) that serve as both operational support and a structured talent pipeline into the music industry.
Make Wake Artists generates revenue through management commissions on artist earnings (recurring, tied to roster success), professional services fees from the Label Services division, and merchandise-related activity. No proprietary technology platform is described; the operational stack relies on third-party tools including Master Tour, Bands-in-Town, Canva, Basecamp, and standard social media channels (Instagram, TikTok, YouTube). Distribution is domestic and direct, primarily serving artists within the Southeastern U.S. music ecosystem, with no disclosed pricing or contract terms.
Make Wake Artists firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Make Wake Artists
- Legal name
- Make Wake Artists
- Website
- https://makewake.net
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2017
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Make Wake Artists is a Nashville-based artist management firm founded in 2017 that represents country and crossover acts including Luke Combs, while offering label services, digital marketing, and merchandise support to a broader artist client base.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Make Wake Artists industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Artist and Talent Management Services
- NAICS
- Performing Arts Companies (7111)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Full-Service Artist Management (MPAIAGAA)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- A&R / Artist Development Services (MPAIAGAL)
Keywords
Where Make Wake Artists is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Nashville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Make Wake Artists business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Artist Management Commission: The company likely generates revenue through management commissions based on artist earnings and career development activities.
- Label Services Fees: Provides label services to external artists including digital marketing, release coordination, and promotional support for a fee structure.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels3 records
Make Wake Artists product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Make Wake Artists is an artist management company that discovers, develops, and elevates musical talent by providing career management, label services, digital marketing, and merchandise support. The company manages a roster of artists including Luke Combs, Jon Bellion, Flatland Cavalry, Cooper Alan, The Castellows, and Dylan Marlowe, while also offering dedicated label services to external artists covering digital marketing, release timeline management, metadata tracking, and social media influencer outreach.
Product overview
Make Wake Artists is an artist management company operating as a single unified service rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core offering consists of artist management services focused on discovering, developing, and elevating musical artists, supplemented by a dedicated Label Services division for clients requiring release management and digital marketing support. The company manages a roster of country and crossover artists including Luke Combs, Jon Bellion, Flatland Cavalry, Cooper Alan, The Castellows, and Dylan Marlowe. In addition to client services, the company operates four distinct seasonal internship programs—Digital, Label Services, Management, and Merchandise—that serve as training pipelines into the music industry while providing operational support across marketing, social media, merchandise fulfillment, and artist coordination.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Artist Management Services Core artist management services focused on discovering, developing, and elevating musical artists, providing unreasonable support, and building enduring careers through alignment with fans. The service delivers comprehensive career development including touring support, brand building, streaming growth, and merchandise management for a roster of country and crossover artists.
- Make Wake Label Services Label services division providing digital marketing, release timeline management, metadata tracking, publishing information management, and social media influencer outreach for external label services clients. Services include release coordination, marketing document development, and DSP and PR hit list creation for non-roster artists.
- Merchandise Services E-commerce order fulfillment, inventory management, tour merchandise pulls, and social media account management for artists on the roster and label services clients.
Companies that use Make Wake Artists
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Make Wake Artists technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration7 records
Make Wake Artists partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Make Wake Artists competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Vector Management: Long-standing Nashville artist management firm managing country superstars such as Keith Urban and Brad Paisley. Closely comparable as a Nashville-rooted, full-service artist management business serving established touring country talent.
- Full Stop Management: Independent artist management company representing a roster of recording artists across genres. Comparable as a similarly-sized private management firm focused on artist development and career management without parent-agency backing.
- Roc Nation: Full-service artist management, label, and entertainment company founded by Jay-Z. Directly comparable as a vertically integrated music management business spanning artist representation, label services, and brand partnerships.
- Big Loud: Nashville-based artist management and label services firm managing top country artists including Morgan Wallen. Directly comparable as a country-focused management company with integrated label and publishing operations in the same Nashville ecosystem.
- TBA Agency: Independent artist management and label services firm working with country and rock artists. Comparable as a similarly-sized private management business operating in the same genre and geographic market.
Broad incumbents
- Creative Artists Agency (CAA): Global talent and entertainment agency representing a broad roster of recording artists alongside film, TV, and sports clients. Comparable as a competitor in the music representation space, though vastly larger and diversified beyond artist management.
- United Talent Agency (UTA): Global talent and entertainment agency with substantial music artist representation alongside broader entertainment verticals. Comparable as a competitor for music management mandates, though scaled across many disciplines beyond music.
- WME (Endeavor): Major global talent agency representing recording artists across all major genres as part of a much broader portfolio. Comparable as a competitor for music artist representation, though operating at significantly greater scale and scope.
Emerging players
- Monument Records: Sony-affiliated country music label closely tied to Nashville operations and artist development. Comparable as a Nashville-based music business with overlapping artist roster and label services overlap with Make Wake's Label Services division.
- Range Media Partners: Newer artist management and talent representation firm with a tech-forward, multi-discipline model (music, film, sports). Comparable as a competing independent management company targeting a similar artist client base with a modernized service stack.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Make Wake Artists social profiles
Digital presenceMake Wake Artists financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Make Wake Artists leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Make Wake Artists funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Make Wake Artists M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Make Wake Artists
What does Make Wake Artists do?
Make Wake Artists is an artist management company that discovers, develops, and elevates musical talent by providing career management, label services, digital marketing, and merchandise support. The company manages a roster of artists including Luke Combs, Jon Bellion, Flatland Cavalry, Cooper Alan, The Castellows, and Dylan Marlowe, while also offering dedicated label services to external artists covering digital marketing, release timeline management, metadata tracking, and social media influencer outreach.
Is Make Wake Artists a public or private company?
Make Wake Artists is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Make Wake Artists founded?
Make Wake Artists was founded in 2017. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Make Wake Artists based?
Make Wake Artists is headquartered in Nashville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Make Wake Artists make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Artist Management Commission is the primary driver. The others are label Services Fees.
Who are Make Wake Artists's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Vector Management, Full Stop Management, Roc Nation, Big Loud and TBA Agency. Broad incumbents are Creative Artists Agency (CAA), United Talent Agency (UTA) and WME (Endeavor). Emerging players are Monument Records and Range Media Partners.
Does Make Wake Artists have an API?
No public API is recorded for Make Wake Artists.
What industry is Make Wake Artists in?
Make Wake Artists's product category is Artist and Talent Management Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAGAA, Full-Service Artist Management, with a secondary code of MPAIAGAL, A&R / Artist Development Services. Its NAICS code is 7111.