Steve Dalmer
Artist Manager Steve Dalmer got his start in the music industry back in 1995. One day realizing he had little talent for the Gibson guitar collecting dust in the corner of his room, he decided to merge his love for music with the business degree he was completing at the University of New Hampshire. Once the decision was made he hasn’t looked back. Through his schooling he began composing formal business plans for various music business entities (Management Company, Booking Agency, Promoter, Record Label), with plans to implement them one by one. He began performing publicity and promotion functions for regional bands such as Percy Hill and an independent label Playhard Records but quickly gravitated towards working more closely with the artist in booking and management. As with all industry players Dalmer was learning the ins and outs of the music business with hands on experience. It was invaluable.
“Coming from a business background and getting a start on a grass roots level, D.I.Y. was the only way to go. If I were going to have any success with these artists I had to become the manager, the agent, the publicist, the distributor, the radio promotion guy, all the while painting houses and every other odd job to scratch together a living.”
After launching locally and trying to break nationally several New England buzz bands from his New Hampshire base, Dalmer decided it was time to go play in the major league. With a giant leap of faith and ambition he moved to New York City. To survive he joined the internet boom by becoming a web producer for off-line publisher Penguin Putnam, where he would help launch the newly merged company’s first website (www.penguinputnam.com). By late ’98, although a successful web developer, he felt it was time to launch his music business venture. He set-up a home office to become artist manager for international touring/recording group Groove Collective, leaving corporate life far behind. In the fall of ’99 he expanded his business into a national booking agency called “In the Pocket”, and began booking national tours for such prestigious artists as Jai Uttal, Topaz, Sara Lee and Fat Mama.
“I was a one man agency but prided myself on being able to operate the same as the big guys, part of this was creating a very intricate booking system which I have since modified for the Invasion Group to track all artist touring activities. But the objective in building a network with talent buyers and routing tours was always ‘How can I be a better manager’.”
With a wide range of experience in the business and a keen grasp on technology from his days in the web world, Dalmer decided to look for a larger more established entertainment company with whom he could join forces and speed up career opportunities. Invasion Group was searching for a young experienced artist manager to run the company’s touring activities. A former Invasion employee that had done work with Dalmer at a New York label, telling co-owner Peter Casperson that “this is the brightest young manager that has come through our door” introduced Casperson to Dalmer. Initially consulting Invasion on touring and internet activities, by spring 2000 Dalmer moved his operations into Invasion Group headquarters where he took over responsibility of all touring activities. Within a year he was promoted to Director of Operations and had become personal manager to several key clients.
As Invasion moved to become a more vertically integrated organization, Dalmer helped lead the charge with the formation of the United For Opportunity record label, which was launched in 2005 after two years of planning and fundraising. He now serves as General Manager of the quickly expanding operation.
At present, Dalmer has become an intricate member of the Invasion Executive Team, and is involved in all aspects of Invasion’s business, and is a key player in the planning of all future ventures. Anyone want to buy a used Gibson?