Welcome to #shoutout where we find and interview members of the music industry, entrepreneurs and tastemakers – all bringing you a glimpse of their expertise to inform, inspire, educate and help.
Introducing Jason Knight – Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer at CrowdSurf, a new company that aims to connect users, performers & an audience into one live, shared experience; changing passive live streams into interactive experiences. In a career that has seen success across the marketing and music industries, Jason has also worked as Global Communications and Commercial Lead for Red Bull, worked with major brands and entertainment superstars and many moons ago managed bands with deals on Island, Universal, BMG, K7 and more.
Interview
Who are you? (name and role please)
My name is Jason Knight and I am a strategist and creative director in the advertising and entertainment industries. I’ve worked with or for brands such as FIAT, Red Bull & Ferrero and with cultural entities such as the British Fashion Council, Dynamo the Magician and countless record labels & artists.
Where are you based?
I’m based in London mainly
How did you get into the music industry?
I was running a club night in the early 90s and met a band. I offered to be their manager, not really knowing what a manager did or knowing anybody in the music industry or anything about making music. I didn’t even know bands needed to soundcheck! I then learned as much as I could as quickly as I could and was lucky to be around some great musicians & people.
Tell us about what it is you do? (elevator pitch)
I create partnerships using synergies between the brand, culture, technology & media industries to push forward culture and sell products.
Who does this help and how?
Hopefully everybody. The culture gets investment, audiences have great experiences & brands sell more products. That’s the aim at least!
What advice would you give someone starting in the music industry?
Widen your scope in terms of the role you might want to play. There are a lot more ways to have a great career that are outside the traditional roles you hear about. When push comes to shove, always back yourself and understand that a good attitude and an ability to adapt can take you a very long way.
Who would be your most played artist of all time?
Oh, that’s hard but I guess for me it’d probably be the Cool Ruler, Gregory Isaacs. One of the richest voices ever and a master of melody. Mr Cop is the track of his I go to most.
What’s next for you?
Our interactive live streaming platform (CrowdSurf) launches this year and I’m sure that’s really going to cause some ripples and working on some fantastic immersive experiences that should go live later in 2022. So steep learning curves, lots of pressure and best of all a wild ride!
