mtsmanagementgroup.com
A Mission to Help Indie Artists: An award-winning industry veteran of over 30 years, Michael Stover took a fascinating, highly organic road to becoming an artist empowering one stop shop on a mission to help budget strapped indies achieve their goals and get them the coverage they deserve alongside major label artists. A graduate of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, he spent years as a gigging musician, then successful DJ and karaoke host (KJ).
He was selling drums at Guitar Center when an old band mate reconnected and told Stover he had just recorded a country album in Nashville. Stover liked the project and offered to help his friend find a manager. Everyone he randomly contacted said the same thing––good project, but he has no social media, no merch, no tour, nothing going on.
Though the music business had changed since his gigging days, Stover took up the challenge of managing and promoting his friend. Tying in with a personal return and dedication to the Christian life, his dogged determination and extreme work ethic led to press and radio traction. Another friend referred a metal guitarist to him, and then Stover took on a country singer from Alaska. Business snowballed from there, and soon he had a growing clientele. Officially launching MTS Management in 2010, he has achieved great success with hundreds of clients in a wide spectrum of genres––including pop, rock, country, jazz, CCM and classical.
Array of Services: The MTS Management website details the wide range of services that Stover developed over time to help take his clients to the next level. He considers the most important of these to be publicity and promotion, what he calls the “nuts and bolts of PR” to secure interviews and reviews at high profile outlets. His artists have been featured in Billboard, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Music Row, New Music Weekly, Christian Music Weekly and Earmilk, among countless others. Though Stover doesn’t do radio promotion in-house, his deep contacts in that realm have helped his artists get national and international airplay. Other services include social media marketing campaigns, Spotify playlist promotion, press releases and distribution, SEO and licensing for TV, film and commercials.
While he has kept the “MTS Management” as his branding and continues to offer career guidance, day-to-day management now plays a smaller role. He also offers his clients the opportunity to sign with his indie label, MTS Records, which has international distribution though Sony/AWAL. All sales and streaming revenue is given back to the artist.
Quote from Michael Stover: “Thirteen years in, my goal is still helping worthy indie artists develop their careers via these many services and the network of connections I have cultivated. The only area I haven’t engaged in yet is booking, and I’m currently working on that. I am a workaholic in the best possible way. I work as hard for my clients as I would want someone to work for me. I hold myself to a very high standard, while offering very fair pricing and indie friendly monthly payments.”
Contact MTS Management, 412-445-5282
