Alumnus finds niche in Nashville
Canyon graduate Matt Hadley owns Wander Creative Productions in Nashville, Tennessee.
The lights dim, surrounding conversations slowly die and the wait for the artist’s anticipated appearance brings the audience to a standstill. Few will forget the experience of the concert and the messages performed for them, but even fewer will acknowledge the man who made the night possible.
Canyon High School 2007 graduate Matt Hadley is the founder of Wander Creative Productions. As a student, he was the Co-Editor-in-Chief of the printed paper, The Eagle’s Tale, and played the saxophone in The Soaring Pride Band. Hadley said his role in the newspaper class and participation in the band sparked his interest in public relations, marketing and music.
“After graduating from Canyon High, I went to Belmont University and took some publicity PR classes, as well as some journalism and mass communication classes,” Hadley said. “Those classes led to an internship with a company in Nashville that did PR for various artists.”
When Hadley was initially interested in music, he wanted to be an artist and play the guitar in a band. From his desire, he learned the best ways to promote music and market a product which led him to creating Wander Creative Productions.
“I thought it would be something fun to do,” Hadley said. “I never really thought, at least in the early stage, that this could be a company that grows into a career for me. At the end of the day, I get to be a part of creating something that is going to impact people across the nation and the world.”
Hadley started his company Wander Creative Productions in 2012 with the desire to work with musicians, businesses and nonprofits.
“I wanted to be able to create different videos, photos and graphic elements for their online presence, whether that be through social media or web campaigns,” Hadley said. “The company allowed me to be a little more hands on and more creative by making videos and taking photos.”
Hadley said his tasks are based on the initial conversations he has with potential clients in pinpointing their needs. His clients include Sidewalk Prophets, Toby Mac and Francesca Battistelli.
“For instance, if an artist is about to go on tour and they want to announce that tour and promote that tour then I will see what elements they already have in place, whether it’s a tour poster, a TV advertisement or radio advertisement,” Hadley said. “If they don’t have any elements then I will work with them to create them. It looks different with every client and every artist depending on what their needs are.”
Hadley said after the tour is booked, the dates are set and the artist knows where they will be playing, then the process of promoting begins with the inclusion of tour posters, television ads and print newspaper ads.
“From there, the artist will work on what songs they are going to play, the order of those songs and what they want the evening to feel like, days or weeks in advance to even after the show,” Hadley said. “The experience and the feeling will be consistent.”
Hadley is married to Carmen Hadley, a member of the girl group 1GN. He said through helping her group with promotions he has become even more intrigued by the process.
“It is really cool because I get to see how a process that I am really intrigued by is founded,” Hadley said. “And now, I get to personally be invested in that as well as getting to see my wife be on stage and watch her succeed.”
Hadley said the best advice he could give someone trying to break into the music industry would be to persist in figuring out what they want to pursue, but keep an open mind when learning about the industry.
“The music industry is very competitive,” Hadley said. “There are a lot of people who find it appealing, and they have a desire to pursue it. Therefore, there are a lot of people trying to do all sorts of facets in the music industry, whether it is on the artist, marketing, label or management side of the business.”
Hadley said the most rewarding part of his job is helping artists get their message out to the audience and see how that message impacts people, as well as the artist.
“Music has made a lot of big decisions in my life as far as choosing to go to Belmont in Nashville,” Hadley said. “They have a great music program, and it is in the heart of the city of Nashville. Early on I realized the power of music in my life, and I wanted to be a part of creating music and fostering it for others.”
Hello! My name is Codi Bradstreet, and I am the Editor-in-Chief of The Eagle’s Tale. I am a senior, so this is my last year on staff. I am on the basketball team, I am the senior class publicist, and I am involved in two leadership programs outside...
