By Brian Grimmett
Starting in 2015, Mirror House has ceaselessly worked at building a community which vehemently supports artists and musicians in reaching their potential. From radio shows to live events, magazine articles to sync licensing, co-founders Cameron Hagy and Jon Chananie have amassed a diverse portfolio of experiences molded into the shape that is Mirror House. With a central ethos revolving around the continually growth of the community, there is always something fresh brewing just around the corner.
Cameron and Jon, New Years Eve 2016
“When Cameron and I met, we hit it off quickly because of our love for music,” says Chananie. “It started with managing him as an artist; but one day he called me and asked if I wanted to work with him in supporting other artists rather than being an artist himself, to which I immediately jumped at.”
“I knew from a young age that I wanted to work in the background in order to help others succeed. I wanted to be an agent….then a manager…and finally that translated into running operations – because this was still viewed as myself managing Cameron and his brand, just moving it in a different direction.”
While Jon took a focused path towards helping artists grow, Cameron was on his own winding journey. “As a starting artist I realized that in order for me to be successful, I needed to learn about the industry and build my own network (such as marketing, content, collaborations, agents, etc) on my own,” states Hagy. “Then, the thought came to me, “If I need to build this for myself, why not build a network for others?” I realized that though I had a passion for music, I had a greater passion for supporting others – musicians/artists specifically – and I wanted to merge both passions together.”
“When we started, we had little to no knowledge about how the industry ran,” he explains. “We just wanted to work with artists and do what we could to help. For years, we bounced around from idea to idea – but through it all we gained more experience plus a better understanding of what artists go through, the expectations we needed to set for ourselves, and how the entertainment industry functioned.”
Flyer from Mirror House’s first event
Facing the adversity that comes with building a community, each challenge has impacted every decision as their process is continually refined. “Through ups, downs, and direction changes over the years, we have always stuck to our core values in how we wanted to help artists,” notes Chananie. “We learned about the industry and built up our network of affiliates, so that we could support artists in gaining more opportunities.”
This led to the current state of Mirror House, firmly established with what they currently provide to artists:
Through the services we offer, as well as our network of affiliates, we consider ourselves a one-stop-shop for artists who are looking for opportunities to increase their value. For example, we provide playlist curation as well as in depth articles featured on our blog, Mirror House Magazine. We are also currently expanding our non-exclusive, sync licensing catalog.
Cam and Jon with Viiq, NYC 2021
Sync licensing itself is a fast growing aspect of the industry, becoming an important avenue for many independent artists. However, like much of the industry, it’s not always an easy idea to wrap your head around. “Sync licensing is placing music into tv shows, movies, commercials, and video games,” explains Hagy. “A sync agent is a person who houses artists’ music (whether it’s exclusive to them or not) and represents that to music supervisors – these are the ones who are in charge of the music on projects like on TV or movies. If successful, the music is sold for a commission and the artists get royalties on the back end based on how many times the project is run.”
It doesn’t stop there with even newer services getting launched. “Last year, we started a side project of managing certain artists,” discloses Hagy. “At the end of 2022, I took on the role of Brianna Tam’s (composer/live looping cellist) personal manager. In this way we actively seek to give personal attention as well as empowering our clients and team members; in addition, we always hold to our company values and pillars with every interaction initiated.”
Brianna Tam
Both founders are buzzing with excitement for what the future holds. “2023’s all encompassing goal is to continue expanding our professional network and discover new collaboration opportunities, while also strengthening the current relationships we have,” observes Chananie. “We’ve been getting to know so many musicians and finding so much talent over the past few months, it’s been amazing to hear their stories and be included on their journey.”
“A more specific goal of ours is to launch our own publishing catalog so that we can develop and nurture those collaborations within our roster and beyond,” he continues. “This year is a big year for us because the hard work we’ve put in and relationships we have fostered will allow us to flourish through the projects we have coming and keep us moving forward to do the thing we love, increasing an artist’s value”
All of this pools together to enable Mirror House to constantly explore new avenues in assisting artists. “I’m excited for a few new projects I’m working on,” reveals Hagy, “where I’ll be showcasing the stories of artists and affiliate professionals in our network, and hopefully positively affect others. For me, Mirror House isn’t just about the music. It’s about the personal impact being made on our culture, society, and individuals.”
