Bandier Program: Executive Q&A: Will Tenney, SunPop

This week’s speaker is a true rising star in the music business, named to Forbes’ recent 30 Under 30 list. Will Tenney rose to prominence running streaming strategy and promotion at Crush Music, managing campaigns for Lorde, Miley Cyrus, Sia, Panic! At the Disco, Lennon Stella, Green Day and more. But today he runs his own company, SunPop, where he has found success with artists including Sara Bareilles, Jake Miller, Lizzy McAlpine and others. We will discuss his rapid ascent in the business, talk streaming strategies and tactics, dive into entrepreneurship, and dissect recent artist deals he’s signed with both Warner (Quarters of Change) and Epitaph (poptropicaslutz!), getting a look into the different motivations and deal points that exist between majors and indie labels. All this and much more in this week’s Rezak.

Will Tenney, a recent Forbes 30 Under 30 2022 honoree, is a music industry executive, entrepreneur, record producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the founder of SunPop, an NYC-based record label and management consulting company. At SunPop, he’s independently sold more than 200,000 records with artists like Sara Bareilles, Jake Miller, Lizzy McAlpine, Landon Cube, Shwayze and more. In 2015, he received a gold record for co-writing Amelie’s “That’s My Song” for Warner Music Spain. Most recently, he was the head of streaming strategy and promotion at Crush Music where he oversaw campaigns for Lorde, Miley Cyrus, Sia, Panic! At the Disco, Lennon Stella and Green Day among other artists. In this role, Tenney managed relationships with DSPs, studied algorithms and created streaming opportunities for his roster. Prior to this, he worked as an analyst at Goldman Sachs. Other highlights of his career include receiving an RIAA platinum record for MAX’s No. 1 hot AC hit “Lights Down Low” (Sony/Red); a gold record for Weezer’s cover of “Africa” by ToTo (Warner/Atlantic); a gold record for Lykke Li’s “sex money feelings die” (Sony/RCA); and a multi-platinum record for Panic! At the Disco’s “High Hopes” (Warner/Fueled By Ramen). As an artist himself, Tenney’s toured North America with artists like Lauv, Cash Cash and Parachute and currently plays in the band Exit, recently named a Rock Sound Magazine Breakout Artist. He’s an active member of the Society of Leaders In Development (SOLID) and was named a 2021 HITS Magazine “Noisemaker.” Tenney holds a degree in music industry and business administration from Northeastern University.