Going South: Eva Trifonas

In the lead-up to South By Southwest, TMN is profiling four Aussies heading to Austin for their first crack at the sprawling festival, starting last week with muso-run Melbourne startup Everywhere Roadie. Next up: meet artist manager and label rep Eva Trifonas.

Eva Trifonas is the founder of Incgnto– a Sydney-based artist management company with Kučka, Nick Hill and Dress Thèque on the books – as well as working part-time for Ninja Tune as their Australian A&R and Marketing Manager. She’s tackling SXSW for the first time this year with Kučka; they’re hoping to capitalise on a huge twelve months for the Perth artist, including high-profile collaborations with Flume.

TMN: When did you know you wanted to work in music? What was your career path up to now?

Eva: I was studying a degree in music performance and did a class in Music Business. From then, I knew I wanted a job on the other side. From here I undertook my first internship in London and came back to work for etcetc/Ministry of Sound. I spent three years there and moved over to Inertia where I spent four years, before resigning to start my own management company.

What’s made the biggest difference for you so far – the biggest bit of luck or hard work or serendipity or support that’s given you that crucial bump?

Definitely hard work and support for sure. I am incredibly determined to make both of the artists I work with achieve their dreams and will work as hard as I can to make it a reality. No ambition – of any of the artists I look after or my personal ones – is unachievable. I’m incredibly lucky to have the support of my family and key music industry people who have helped me at every step of the way so far.

The great thing about being an artist manager is that there is a community of supportive managers at all levels who will do their best to help you. Special mention to Jesse Flavell, my AAM [Association of Artist Managers] mentor, who has the right answer for everything and inspires me every time we meet to be the best manager I can be.

What’s been the biggest challenge so far?

One of the biggest challenges I’ve found is that there is no ‘guidebook’ to management. You really need to think on your feet and ask as many questions as possible, which can be hard sometimes. I always trust my intuition and go with my gut feeling, which has been something I’ve learnt to do over the past eight months.

What does a typical day look like for you in your role?

I usually get to work early and I start off by always writing down a list of things I need to do in order of priority. I go through my emails that I’ve received overnight and spend my time replying. I then start doing the priorities for the day before Laura (who is Kučka) wakes up as she is in Perth. Then we usually catch up every day on the phone about what’s going on and what her plan is for the day.

I always take a break and go for a walk to come back to my desk feeling refreshed and ready for part two of the day. I almost always find something new to listen to every afternoon. Every afternoon is different – from sourcing outfits for Laura, to talking through who Nick is going to do his next session with, it varies from day to day.

What do you think a day at SXSW will look like for you? How have you been preparing? What’s your game plan?

It’s going to be hectic to say the least. Laura will be a part of Songhubs for the first few days when we arrive and then will be showcasing every day until we leave. I’m going to have meetings every day with people I’ve wanted to meet for a while and I will be networking for the rest of the time when I’m not sleeping! I’ve been using the SXSW Social tool to navigate my way through target lists and setting up meetings and this has been very helpful.

Also, I’ll be scheduling in breakfast tacos every day!

How do you look after yourself and avoid overload or burnout at hectic events like this?

With events like these, I want to be at my absolute best for myself and for my artists so I can achieve the best results and make the best, most memorable impression possible. I always absolutely make sure I sleep for at least 6 hours each day and know when to go home or I just do not function the next day.

I always make sure there is a break in the day, even if it is for 30 minutes to recollect my thoughts and reflect on the meetings I’ve had and evaluate my next steps or else I’ll just get lost in a sea of meetings.

What are your expectations and goals for Austin? What are you most excited about?

My expectations and goals for Austin are to show the world just how talented Kučka is and why she should be the next breakthrough artist from Australia. We hope to lock in our publishing and label deals for the world.

I am most excited to meet people from all over the world and expand and broaden my international networks to benefit my business and artists. I’m particularly excited for all of the Sounds Australia events that I’ve registered for as Esti [Zilber], Millie [Millgate] and Glenn [Dickie] have basically created money-can’t-buy opportunities for artist managers like myself.

What’s the value for you of major events like SXSW?

SXSW will give me the opportunity to network with people from all over the world, which is something that is hard to achieve when you’re managing an artist who still developing. There is only so much you can do over email, and I always find it is best to connect with someone face to face to really establish your relationship. I’m hoping that I can create relationships with people that would otherwise be unreachable and continue them for years to come.

What makes an artist stand out for you?

An act that can engage an audience, who feels completely comfortable on stage, who is naturally talented and lets the audience know it.

What’s next after SXSW?

I’ll be spending a few weeks in LA straight after SXSW. Nick Hill has a new EP (which sounds incredible) and we’ll be putting out his first song for the first time in 18 months very soon. What’s also very exciting is that Kučka has some great feature tracks coming up and will be starting to put together her debut album!