Chip Hooper
Worldwide head of music, Paradigm Talent & Literary Agency
Made breakouts of fun., the Lumineers, Janelle Monáe and Ed Sheeran on the road
Chip Hooper spent a lot more time shuttling between New York and his Beverly Hills office than ever before this past year to oversee the integration of EDM agency AM Only into Paradigm’s already thriving roster of alternative, rock and pop. That included spending more time with head of music Marty Diamond, who runs the East Coast, and AM Only partner Paul Morris and his growing team. In total, Hooper oversees more than 40 agents and 700-plus artists. But despite the extra miles and longer hours on both coasts, ”everyone’s having fun,” he says. “If we’re not having fun, there’s no point doing it. It was a really positive, fun year.”
Fun, indeed. “We Are Young” trio fun. finished its biggest year yet on the road with a long run of headlining amphitheater dates. Other emerging acts that had a stellar 2013 included the Lumineers, Janelle Monáe and Ed Sheeran, the lattermost of whom had his first headlining date at New York’s Madison Square Garden sell out in three minutes. AM Only thrived with a booming festival season for dozens of its artists, while acts like Disclosure, Zedd, Rudimental and AlunaGeorge came into their own on headlining U.S. tours. “It was great to see some of our young agents grow in an accelerated way and see their clients have breakout years,” Hooper says.
Many of Paradigm’s stalwart acts had active years, too. Dave Matthews Band delivered the 19th-highest-grossing tour of 2013, with $52.9 million in Billboard Boxscore receipts from 61 shows and total attendance of 882,000. Phish, Toby Keith and the National all had solid bookings, while Coldplay and the Black Eyed Peas plotted returns for later in 2014. AM Only also has superstars like David Guetta, Skrillex and Tiësto. Hooper will look for more international growth opportunities in the year ahead, and continue to “support and invest in people we really believe in,” he says. “We’re never going to stop doing that, in a selective manner.”
