Photo courtesy of Third Side Music
With a film director mother and musician father, Brontë Jane began as a bassist in bands around Montreal before starting in the business of music as a consultant for music supervisor Michael Perlmutter (at Instinct Entertainment). Projects including Fargo and Degrassi had her diving into the catalog at Third Side Music (TSM), Jane became a fan, and Perlmutter got her an introduction to the team. Offering to make coffee, ship merch, and do whatever necessary to get her start, Jane was hired as an intern. Ten years later, she leads an all-female publishing and sync licensing team, with offices in Los Angeles and Montréal.
With no initial A&R team at TSM, Jane saw an opportunity, spent time researching and listening to music, and sent weekly emails of unsigned artists to founders Jeff Waye and Patrick Curley. Says Jane, “We ended up signing a few.”
One such signing was Sofi Tukker—TSM’s biggest artist to date. “It made my case a little easier once the Sofi Tukker thing happened,” admits Jane. She began doing A&R full-time with one other person. Now there is an A&R team and creative department. Jane believes her success has been equal parts formal training and learning on the job, admitting that a lot of it felt intuitive. She also pays close attention and asks questions.
While the industry plays the volume game, TSM signs one poignant act in each lane. “We don't need to create roster competition - there's already so much out there,” adds Jane. “That's the way we maintain the best copyright-to-staff ratio in the industry.” It’s also what drives their eclectic roster, including everyone from Steve Monite, Kurt Vile, Courtney Barnett, Sky Ferreira and Future Islands, to Surf Curse and the recently signed Alan Watts Estate. “At a certain point, music can become real estate, but we're not thinking of an acquisition or catalog. This is a partnership. We're going to do our part, and expect you to do your part as a writer. Proactivity across sync, admin, creative, that level of attention, is only possible because of that ratio. We have bandwidth by design.“
Administration deals are transparent. “Our version of administration is ‘everything included,’” says Jane. There is no upsell.
Leadership is an integral part of the team’s success. “That’s a huge reason why I’ve been here so long,” reveals Jane. “I’ve had autonomy to bring artists to the table. I was 20 years old, trying to get my voice heard, and they really listened. That felt incredibly empowering. That mentality has stayed and spread across the company.”
Jane also says that not being the only one in the room is a game-changer, and that everyone’s voice is heard and people have real power. “Other companies have female-identifying people, or people of color, but all in junior positions,” says Jane. “That's a distinction I've noticed.” Unlike the behemoths, TSM has always used their own money, freeing their team to navigate based on genuine inspiration. Reporting to her two bosses, Jane adds, “I don't have anyone breathing down my neck to meet numbers or sign people to make investors happy.”
Roster successes to date include Steve Monite’s life-changing Amex platinum placement (bringing a renaissance moment for 1984’s Afro Boogie hit “Only You”), and Surf Curse becoming a TSM top ten earner, hitting the Spotify billions club for “Freaks” (which first went viral on TikTok). Sofi Tukker had an Amex run during the U.S. Open,“Ninety Three ‘Til Infinity and Beyoncé” was used in Beyoncé’s Renaissance film, and True Detective and Tommy Hilfiger UK campaigns include Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s work.
Contact Rebekah Alperin - [email protected];
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