Noelle Chesnut Whitmore, More In Music
Photo credit: Henry Jones of Love Jones Photography
From an early age, Noelle Chesnut Whitmore was empowered to create. From piano and vocal lessons to having invaluable access to equipment to play and record with, Chesnut Whitmore eventually created her first songwriting composition at the age of 16. Today, she is known as the dynamic force behind some of the music industry’s most innovative live experiences. Through her work as Festival Marketing Manager for Goldenvoice, one of Chesnut Whitmore’s greatest accomplishments was co-producing Kanye West’s Sunday Service at Coachella 2019. Through her organization, More In Music, Chesnut Whitmore aims to use these accomplishments and coveted connections to impact communities of color. By educating them about the various career pathways in music, inspiring the next generation of industry leaders, and creating a culture of empowerment, More In Music is bridging the gap in the music industry. Introducing the organization to the Clubhouse App in September 2020, Chesnut Whitmore was able to extend its reach even further as she Executive Produced & Directed the now-viral and critically acclaimed performance of The Lion King: The Musical.
“There’s a huge educational gap within this business that does not allow access,” lamented Chesnut Whitmore as we spoke in a recent interview. It is with the creation of More In Music that Chesnut Whitmore hopes to ultimately bridge that gap. Through specially curated panel discussions, workshops, mentorships, internships, and digital programming, Chesnut Whitmore says that More In Music will allow for industry vets and hopefuls to come together in safe, curated spaces. In these spaces, vets will share valuable information on their journeys to their current positions as well as giving behind the scenes insights concerning their day-to-day.
“The way in which a lot of people have their first exposure to the music industry is through audio, listening to a song, and visuals, maybe watching a music video or an interview, and they have no context,” she started. “How are these kids supposed to know that they can do any of these behind the scenes jobs if their first exposure to this isn’t until college or older. Imagine if any of us got exposed to this at nine [years old] that careers in music are viable careers that offer 401k’s.”
Trust Your Gut and Push Through Fear
It wasn’t until after an unfavorable experience in songwriting that Chesnut Whitmore began to consider another path in the industry for herself. “I had written this song and was asked to change an ‘and’ to a ‘but’ or one or the other,” she recalled. Once the change was complete, the individual promptly asked for 50% of the song’s rights. “As a 15, 16 year old, my gut knew that didn’t feel right.” Today, Chesnut Whitmore explains that she now has a better understanding of the reasoning behind the ownership ask, but at the time, it motivated her to do something different with her future. “I decided relatively early on that I was going to go to a school that had a music business program,” she began. “I need to understand how this works,” said Chesnut Whitmore, referring to the business side of splits, deals, and contract agreements she’d been unfamiliar with up until that point in her career.
With her education at California State University, Northridge, Chesnut Whitmore became better acquainted with the music industry as a whole. It was while in attendance there that she was introduced to the idea of live production, throwing her first concert in her hometown in collaboration with her cousin and some close friends. “We had made the decision to book Trey Songz,” she said. “We had no contact, but my Google skills were on fire.” After locating a contact and making a call she was terrified at first to make, Chesnut Whitmore says she and her collaborators gathered the deposit – “I used my financial aid check, just like a couple of the other ones” – and booked the artist. “That was literally the start of my career.”
Allow Purpose, Preparation And Perfect Timing To Create Beautiful Things
From that first concert, Chesnut Whitmore went on to work with notable music industry entities such as The Recording Academy, Abrams Artist Agency, and Bounce AEG. When she served as Festival Marketing Manager for Goldenvoice, she was the only full-time, Black female employee on the festival team, working on the marketing for Coachella, Stagecoach and Desert Trip and leading marketing for Camp Flog Gnaw for 2 years as well as Lovers & Friends. It was her experience gained from this work, and the unexpected nature of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting quarantine, that allowed Chesnut Whitmore the opportunity to collaborate with 40 strangers across four different countries on the live Clubhouse performance of The Lion King: The Musical.
“When I think about what my year was supposed to look like,” started Chesnut Whitmore. “There’s no way that I would have had the time to commit to doing what we did that quickly or just having the brain capacity.” For the first time since she’d been a child, Chesnut Whitmore stated that the pause of the pandemic allowed her to contemplate what she really wanted for her life and career. “The way in which I was moving was not facilitating or allowing me to be in a place that nurtured creativity.” Leaning into a much needed break, Chesnut Whitmore brought her whole self to the project as she committed to bringing joy and happiness to the Clubhouse community during one of the most difficult Christmas seasons she and many others were facing.
With only three weeks to prepare and two weekends of rehearsal, Chesnut Whitmore and her Clubhouse collaborators put on a show that garnered so much attention, it still has her in awe today. “I thought my life was going to go back to its regularly scheduled programming,” she exclaimed. As more and more live performances have begun to pop up and strangers have reached out to share their appreciation, it’s clear that Chesnut Whitmore has had a hand in ushering in and trailblazing a new category of media. “I had no clue any of this stuff was going to take place. I still don’t fully understand, but I know that it was purpose, preparation, and timing and God. Period.”
Making Room For The Future
Recently choosing to end her 11-year career in the Live & Experiential space, it was through Clubhouse that Chesnut Whitmore was introduced to her newest position as Chief Marketing Officer at Geojam. After the company’s CEO, Sarah Figueroa, caught wind of Chesnut Whitmore’s thoughts in her hosted rooms, she slid into her LinkedIn DM’s and pitched her the job. Merging music and tech, Geojam is the world’s first rewards-based music platform, allowing fans to earn points through their music interaction to put toward personalized experiences with artists and limited edition merchandise. Chesnut Whitmore could not be more excited to be a part of such a game-changer in the music industry, in addition to the opportunity she has to work alongside Executive Advisor, Mariah Carey. “I’m honored and grateful.”
As she begins to settle into her new role as CMO, Chesnut Whitmore continues to foster the next generation of music industry creatives and executives through More In Music’s new Bridge Building Series. A conversation pairing music industry veterans with a chosen mentee, Chesnut Whitmore recently launched with Merck Mercuriadis, Founder & CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund. Having dove into a variety of topics from artist rights and leveraging catalogs as funding tools, Chesnut Whitmore is confident that this was just the beginning. “I’m hoping through the collaboration and the conversation between the two of them, that will ultimately empower not only the person in which they’re speaking to,” she said, referring to the next generation of music industry leaders. “But also empower us as a community within the music industry to think about new ways [to] tackle some of these conversations from a unique perspective of someone who is fresh.” Having founded More In Music after reflecting on her own adverse experiences within the music industry, it’s clear that Chesnut Whitmore is successfully becoming the change she’s always wanted to see.
