UTA’s Mike G Is Looking to ‘Reinvent’ Music Agency: ‘I Didn’t Come From the Mailroom’
05.02.2022 - 00:51
/ variety.com
Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicThe road to UTA was a circuitous one for Mike Guirguis, better known as Mike G, one of the top agents working in music today with a roster that includes Young Thug, The Kid Laroi, Burna Boy and Wizkid, among others. The Los Angeles-born and -bred industry veteran, who’s of Egyptian descent, started out in radio, segued to management and landed at UTA in 2017, where he capitalized on relationships built over his 20-plus years in the business. The diversity of his experiences, from doing sales at L.A.
hip-hop station Power 106 to guiding Chris Brown at NiteVision Management, gave him a perspective from multiple purviews that have served him well. So when UTA cofounder and CEO Jeremy Zimmer came calling, and Mike G was looking for a chance to reinvent himself, he says, “Something in my heart told me that that was the right play.” Coming up on five years at the agency, Mike G took some time to reflect on his journey, and to look ahead to what’s next for touring. When you first went from management to an agency, did you feel like you had enough institutional knowledge to hit the ground running?Mike G: I had a really great relationship with UTA and would constantly refer them clients, so I was familiar with the building and very comfortable because I knew the people.
And I felt confident because, when I was a manager — specifically, with Akon, one of the first clients I landed — I focused on his live business. So it did give me a foundation. I was on tour with him and Usher and learned that part of the business.
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