Industry Spotlight: Sujit Kundu

A lot of artists are confounded with getting on the radio. When you hear somebody like Lil’ Wayne, Akon, Nelly or Chamillionaire on the radio, you can thank Sujit Kundu.

It didn’t start with the radio though. Kundu started his career in rave parties in the Orange County area of California with no intention of landing in the music game. After kicking down some obstacles, his parties and performances were pulling in 4,000 people per show with the likes of Warren G, Cypress Hill, KRS-One and Mobb Deep.

After graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Kundu formed a business that catered to radio promotions and mix shows. Eventually, formed his own management/promotion company, deemed Skam Artist Inc., and then MCA Records in radio.

Now, Kundu serves as the Vice President of Rhythm Crossover Promotions at Universal Records. Additionally, he manages about 18 DJs with a roster that includes DJ Irie and D-Nice. Peep the resume.

Name: Sujit Kundu

Job Title: VP of Rhythm Crossover Promotions – Universal Motown, CEO/Founder Skam Artist, Inc.

Company Name: Universal Motown, SKAM ARTIST (Sujit Kundu Artist Management – is what SKAM stands for)

Industry: Music/entertainment

Location: New York, New York USA

Job description: As the VP of Crossover Promotions for Motown, I promote Motown Artists’ music to over 100 radio stations across the country. Lil’ Wayne, Akon, Nelly are just a couple of the artists I work with at Universal Motown. Radio stations that are considered crossover are stations such as Hot 97 in New York or Power 106 in Los Angeles. At any given time we could be working on 10 to 15 projects, which also includes setting up promo tours, radio shows, radio interviews, market visits.

At Skam Artist, we handle the bookings for over 18 of the countries top all format DJs. It is a very diverse group of DJs ranging from Sky Nellor, who you may see at the hottest fashion events or even DJing at 50 Cent’s album release party, to DJ Vice, who is the resident DJ of LAX in Las Vegas, who plays around 5-6 clubs/events per week.

Length of time at job: Universal – 2.5 years. Skam Artist has been around for over 5 years. However, before it was called SKAM ARTIST, I operated under Baby Ree Management for approximately 5 years as well.

How did you get into this position? – Universal Motown was a client of mine. I did retainer services for them [which means] I promoted their music on a project-to-project basis. When a position opened up, they offered it to me.

I never meant to be a DJ agent. I was a club promoter that was approached by some DJs for management. Money wasn’t really anything to speak about – but this slowly evolved into a great business.

Explain the hardest aspect of your job: There really isn’t anything hard about either of my jobs. When I think of people washing dishes 15 hours a day to put food on the table for their families, I realize that no matter what I think is hard it really isn’t.

What do you love the most? Breaking a new artist is the most rewarding. In either job, when you can see an artist or a DJ start from nothing and become established it’s a great feeling.

What is your greatest accomplishment? Being able to work in a field that I love.

Where do you plan to go in your career from here? I have no idea.

Offer a special quote or jewel to somebody that wants to be in your position. Don’t burn any bridges. Your word is all you have. Sometimes it’s worth taking a loss to keep your clients happy.

Education/Experience Level Graduated College From UC Santa Barbara

Your Years Of Experience 10 years

Any professional groups you are a member of: n/a

Final or additional statements: Thank you to all the artists who work so hard on their craft that they make promoting and or managing such a joy.