Meet Justin Benedict | Owner & Lead Talent Agent

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Benedict and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, we’d love to start by asking you about lessons learned. Is there a lesson you can share with us?
The most important lesson my business/career has taught me is to invest in people.

Not only does empowering and investing in the people you work with greatly increase your chance of long term success, but ultimately is the reason anyone should be in business to begin with. We should all seek to uplift, empower, and help others, and grow together through that process.

I think the world needs more of that these days.

Investing in people gives my business purpose, particularly in the entertainment industry, and is one of the primary driving forces of Veridian Management. It is also what helps the clients we work with and our partners’ event succeed.

What should our readers know about your business?
Originally from Buffalo, New York, I migrated to Texas to study at TCU. After graduating with an honors Advertising degree and business minor, I wound up in beautiful Austin Texas,
doing Graphic Design for a local print shop PostNet.

I was referred to a local promoter (now Mark My Words LLP) by a date and figured I would go check out one of their shows. Fast forward 4 years and I am now the Director of Operations, head of Artist Relations, and Graphic Designer for that same promoter.

It was through this experience that I took on managing an artist in February of 2020. I found that I had at least a moderate amount of natural talent in artist management (which I would in part chalk up to my newly gained experience as a club promoter and my upbringing, being raised by two psychologists).

Fast forward another 2 years, and I now represent 12 multi-genre clients in Central Texas under my company Veridian Management, as well as a 5 person staff and a growing system of partners/affiliates.

This was a long road, and not something I envisions leaving TCU. Anyone that operates in the music industry can tell you, IT AINT EASY. But it’s worth it. And I certainly have a long way to go.

But I can assure you. I’m just getting started.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
When I went to TCU I would frequent Ellum and Uptown. I loved going to shows in downtown Dallas, and the food culture was much better there than in Fort Worth.

Now that I am Austin-based, there really are endless options.
I would ideally have them out for one of our upcoming shows at our new venue opening this month.
Additionally I would take them paddle boarding on Town Lake, and spend some time at Auditorium Shores.

Austin is a huge foodie town, so there are too many options to list on that, but any of the following would be a win for me: Lin Dim Sum, Aba, Loro, Tommy Want Wingy, Cosmic Coffee, Evangeline’s, BBG’s, III Forks, Lambert’s, Black Sheep Lodge.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are far too many to list, including the Austin community that has embraced my business and myself more than I could have ever asked for.

But I would have to say my mentor Robert Brooks, Alex Reid of PRIME NIGHT CULT, Jason Millsap of ILLfest, and Parker Bronson of PhaseShft.

These four incredibly gifted industry gents are undoubtedly responsible for much of my success, and have helped me learn the ropes on the industry. Accelerating my career from recent college grad and event goer to business owner, Artist Manager, Director of Operations, industry Graphic Designer, Head of AR, and more.

I truly believe that what this group brings to the table is a rarity, not only in the music industry, but in general.

Website: veridianmgmt.com

Instagram: @veridian_management

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/veridian-management/?viewAsMember=true

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VeridianMGMT

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeridianMGMT