Stephanie Smith is the Head of Talent Strategy for UTA IQ, the research, analytics and digital strategy division of leading global talent and entertainment company, United Talent Agency. In this role, Smith works closely with talent to build their cultural capital through data-informed strategies.
Smith is responsible for analyzing and packaging data surrounding clients’ online brands, enabling them to expand their audiences and unlock new business opportunities. Her work has directly resulted in multimillion-dollar outcomes for projects in television and film, publishing, and endorsements.
Smith also manages the IQ team’s relationships with leading social media and creator economy platforms. Through this relationship, she is responsible for tracking and forecasting trends in the changing social media and creator economy landscape to help clients strategically grow their audiences and create new revenue streams.
Beyond her day-to-day role at UTA, Smith is on the leadership committee for the UTA Unity Employee Inclusion Group that focuses on celebrating and amplifying the diverse set of voices within the UTA family to build community and foster mentorship across all levels of the agency.
Smith is a graduate of the University of Arizona, where she studied Marketing.
There are a lot of barriers to breaking into the music business. Those who dream of an entry-level opportunity may be up against geographic obstacles; internships or starter-job positions that don’t align with their age group; financial limitations for taking on an internship; or they may be physically unable to do an internship.
Game-changing marketing firm Crowd Surf believes that these things are real, but they don’t have to stop you. That is why the powerhouse company is helping aspiring music biz professionals break into the music industry with their inaugural Crowd Surf Career Development Program. The program is completely free, and applications are now open to everyone 13+ years old. The Crowd Surf Career Development Program officially begins early February.
“I see a lot of people carry the stress that I carried as I was finding my footing in this business, and I feel for them all,” shares Crowd Surf co-founder Cassie Petrey. She continues: “With the Crowd Surf Career Development Program, we wanted to create the kind of launching pad we music biz professionals would have appreciated pre-internship and pre-job.”
The Crowd Surf Career Development Program is designed for people who are aspiring to get into the music business, but haven’t had the opportunity to land that first job. Those interested will be vetted through a simple application process. Once admitted, Development Program members will enjoy monthly digital events featuring keynote speakers, a social community program to foment lively discussion and build connections for the future of the music business, and other carefully-strategized career-building and networking opportunities.
Crowd Surf is a digital music marketing company providing catered and specialized marketing services to a roster of massive stars and major labels. Marquee clients include the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Universal, Sony, Warner, BMG, and Hollywood Records. To date, Crowd Surf’s clients boast a collective social footprint of over 1 billion followers.
