Renowned music agent John Huie, who represents stars like Zac Brown Band, Faith Hill, Dwight Yoakam and others, recently spoke to a class at New Mexico State University.
Huie joined NMSU's Entertainment Business and Venue Management class last month as a guest speaker. The class is part of NMSU's School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Management.
Huie told many stories about working in the entertainment industry. He spoke about his career progression, from booking concerts for Davidson College to starting as a talent agent, working with artists like the Police, the Go-Go's, and Joan Jett. He also spoke about founding CAA's Nashville office with five employees and building it to 150 employees today. Along with the music side, CAA is now the country's largest sports management agency.
Huie explained the roles of the talent agency, artist manager, promoter, ticketing company, and venue in collaborating with artists to present concerts. He emphasized the importance of building lifelong relationships.
"Discovering artists and finding creative ways to break them into the industry is what makes me happy," he told the students.
"I found it inspiring to hear from someone with such impressive influence," HRTM student Logan Norton said. "I was amazed at all of his stories and truly honored that he would take the time to come to NMSU to speak to us."
Huie has received many awards, including a Grammy for the Best Country, Bluegrass or Gospel Album, Pollstar's Agent of the Year eight times, and the Country Music Association Touring Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023.
Huie's visit was made possible by Barbara "Mother" Hubbard, who has long ties to NMSU and the entertainment industry. Hubbard has known Huie since he was a student. The visit was sponsored by Hubbard's American Collegiate Talent Showcase program.
"John's presentation helped me understand more of the side of the business that is mostly unseen to music fans, but it is one that I need to understand better so that I can be successful in my future career," HRTM student Shawn Hartfield said. "I feel that I learned more from this presentation than I have from anyone since I started working music events in 2019."
Hubbard also helped bring other guest speakers to the class. They include Mike McLean, a visual communications specialist, and Kent Meredith and Cindy Harper, who manage the United Supermarkets Arena at Texas Tech University. Music producer Steve Dixon will speak later this month.
The full article can be seen at https://newsroom.nmsu.edu/news/top-music-agent-speaks-to-nmsu-students/s/e1ff8101-45c1-476c-8478-e9bb068a9e34
