A Music Company Fighting For Diverse Rosters

While the music industry proves to have become more inclusive since 2020, there is still work that needs to be done. It is vital that gatekeepers do their research and use their powers for good, putting the onus on white people to educate themselves. It is more than slapping a few diverse artists on a lineup. It is more than claiming diversity but not giving the same opportunities to women, people of color and LGBTQI+ folks. That’s why music managers Evange Livanos and Zack Zarrillo, the co-founders of Alternate Side, are at the forefront of supporting diversity and inclusion within the alternative, rock, indie pop and metal scenes.

The business represents all types of artists, with the majority of the roster being LGBTQI+ talent, people of color and Gen Z artists. The full-service music company boasts a diverse roster of platinum and gold talent with a combined catalog of over 5 billion streams throughout the aforementioned scenes. Some of the artists they represent include Cavetown, Addison Grace, Chloe Moriondo, Citizen, Hot Mulligan, Meet Me @ The Altar, Coco & Clair Clair and Summer Salt.

Alternate Side was founded in 2019 as a way to “have a home for artists who need a platform for their talent,” Livanos says. She previously founded and owned Synergy from 2012-2018, a full-service management company with label services and publishing. According to Zarrillo, Livanos made him a business partner and reinvented the company. It was the same roster but the ethos changed because the times had changed, and they embraced it. Alternate Side was mainly pop punk white cis male bands very heavy on touring, which was what was happening in 2012. As the two evolved as managers, they made it a point to diversify the roster.

Zarrillo says they are able to build a community for their artists and their audiences, starting by working with acts that may only sell 50 tickets to helping them sell as many as 500,000. In addition, the pair have the privilege to work with a diversified roster, allowing them to learn from their experiences, what concerns them and what the artists want to celebrate in order to better serve them and future artists alike. An example of how they learn from talent’s experiences is the common trouble many of their trans artists are facing: U.S. states have passed punitive laws against the LGBTQI+ community.

“We want to go to Florida more now,” Zarrillo says. “It’s more important than ever to go to Florida and to take action to help those communities however we can, especially when they’re facing adversity.”

As for how to help these artists grow, Livanos says audiences can support diverse artists by showing up, buying tickets, purchasing merchandise, posting about the talent and being engaged on the musical side of the industry. When attending a show that has a diverse bill, she says representing and showing up for the artists proves to help them gain more exposure.

The inclusive music company proves to be at the forefront of change in the youth alternative scene. In addition, their touring plans for LGBTQI+ artists involve sensitivity to the type of acts they align with, as well as the open-mindedness of audiences, demographics and more. Alternate Side shows how minority artists need sensitivity and support from the communities they are placed in so they are supported properly—managers must fight harder to get them recognized and make sure they are treated equally in their careers. The business also provides artists with mental health support, financial tools and holistic career/life guidance to develop long-term success both in their music careers and in their overall personal development. This is something other management companies who do not have such diversity on their roster tend to be less focused on.

“I think there is a need for diverse acts to almost be extra careful with who they align themselves with, the kind of touring that they do and who they collaborate with because there is more scrutiny, I believe, on them than there is on your white cis male group of dudes in a band,” Livanos says. “There needs to be more sensitivity to who you align them with so that there isn’t that excuse for people to want to hate on them.”

“I think it’s incredibly important to be fighting to get our artists on festivals and tours that may not be getting the first look at,” she adds. “I think rock has been the last genre to diversify. You look at pop, rap—it’s all over the place with different types of artists. But rock is still primarily male-based, white-based. We have a lot of artists that are kind of breaking the mold of that, which is really awesome. We’re working really hard to give them the platform to break into the mainstream.”