Change Makers: Matt Orlove [Interview]

Matt believes in preserving art and the people that make it

 

No stranger to live music events and entertainment, Matt Orlove is responsible for creating, crafting, and partnering on some of the most sought after-parties throughout the U.S. and in 40 markets spanning over 250+ parties per year.

 

Orlove’s 15+ year background in entertainment and lifestyle events has helped catapult ORLOVE into a multi-million dollar, premium go-to brand synonymous with world-renowned music, artists, and venues, and continues to expand nationally and internationally, making ORLOVE one of the fastest growing event brands globally.

 

And all of this in just a few short years since forming his own company in 2014 after moving from New York City to Los Angeles.  Sparked by insanely awesome talent and legendary venues, ORLOVE continues to set the bar high with its expansion into custom events, specifically for brands looking to activate their own parties and instantly connect with an already eagerly waiting audience.

 

When he’s not working, he spends the rest of his time with wife, Lynn and three beautiful girls, Kennedy, Rowan, & Finley. 

 

We caught up with him for a quick chat regarding his company ‘ORLOVE’ and how he has been striving to help artists in a tricky music industry.

 

Introduce yourself and tell us where you are from..

My name is Matt Orlove, CEO & Founder of ORLOVE, an event production, media, and lifestyle company based in Los Angeles, CA. I’ve been obsessed with music my entire life and was fortunate enough to create a brand that embodies my passion.

How did you first get into the music industry and tell me a little bit about what is that you currently do?

My background is in sales, marketing, and production. Before I founded ORLOVE I worked in NYC for an events company, and realized how much I loved the industry and throwing large scale events.

When I started ORLOVE in 2014 I had no contacts in the industry, but I had a passion for music and an intense drive to start my business. I saw a gap in the events industry and I wanted to create a brand that could fill that. One that could produce events for venues and key destinations, and also produce events that could help other brands enhance their guest experiences. Over time ORLOVE has grown to offer headline acts like Giorgio Moroder, Nina Kraviz, & Roy Ayers, as well as discovering cutting edge and emerging artists.

Before the pandemic, we were throwing roughly 250+ events per year throughout North America. Going into 2020, our plan was to build a digital media entertainment company. The goal was to launch an extension brand and digital platform that highlighted musicians from around the world. That platform is what has become known as Under The Covers.

 

Tell us about Under The Covers and your ideas behind the project?

At ORLOVE, our brand mission has always been about bridging the gap between artists, music and fans globally. We did this with our events and we continue to do that through Under The Covers.

We wanted to create a platform that curated artists from around the world in order to showcase their musical talents, while driving hyper traffic to them through our vast digital distribution channels. We recognized a need for fans to discover new music through online media and for artists to consistently create content for new audiences. In addition to a brand new “Behind the Covers” series featuring interviews with music influencers, we’re also launching in-studio sessions in different countries to expand our community and music culture at large.

We’re using today’s technology to bring together different cultures worldwide. We want artists to maintain artistic and creative control while building upon more collaborative projects that serve the “whole” and not just some in the process.

To date, we’ve showcased musicians in 6 continents and over 25 countries, amassing over 5 million views since we launched in April.

 

How do you source and pick the acts?

Each week, we spend hours scouring the Internet and social media for musicians that fit our vibe. For us, it’s about finding people who are genuinely immersed within their music and art, and often multifaceted and multi-instrumental. They take the art further than just a voice, they’re combining musical talent, content creation and video production all into one.

And since we like so many genres of music, we’re not confined to any one subset. This allows us the flexibility to get creative with our curation. For example, we recently featured a talented jazz band from North Carolina, Dreamroot, who covered Madlib and Freddie Gibbs – Crime Pays

Our process is simple because we stay close to the ground of who’s creating and where they’re creating from. Once we’ve found our next artist to collaborate with, we go through 5 or 6 different song options that we feel fit their overall vibe. More often than not, the artist(s) chooses one they’ve never heard of, which allows them to express themselves beyond their current comforts and create something they’ve never done before.

We’ve grown quite a bit in just a short time period, so now we have artists, managers, independent labels and more reaching out to us through our website weareorlove.com or directly on Instagram (@weareorlove) and email. It’s exciting to say the least.

 

Which new acts would you say we can look out for?

By design, we try not to reveal too much about the upcoming episodes until they premiere. As part of the experience, the intention is to keep our audience naturally curious about the featured artist(s), their country, and of course, the song selection. We’re already booked well into 2021 and our team is excited about all of the amazing collaborations we have coming up!

Over the next few months, we’re proud to be featuring music by Khruangbin, Flume, BENEE, Billie Eilish, & HAIM, to name a few.

 

What is the ‘big change’ you are currently focused on making to the music industry?

We’re living in a very unique, technology driven, customer-first centric time with the Internet. The web has helped redefine music distribution, artistic direction, content creation, artist development, merchandising and more. Musicians have never been more in control of their destiny than they are now, so we see a lot of opportunity to help them manage this new era. We believe in preserving art and the people who make it, as well as creating new ways of doing business that benefits ALL parties.

 

What’s next for you personally and what would you like our readers to know about you?

At the heart of me is family. I’m a father of three beautiful girls, ages 2-6. My wife and I are both focused on raising them to be amazing women, independent in their thinking and approach. I strive to create something that they will have every opportunity to participate in, or at least, inspire them to see what “creating in your own lane” looks like. We’re all here to build something of value… that we canchoose passions as a point of reference and not feel succumbed to follow what everyone else is doing. For me personally, I want to help people rethink music, art, culture and connection. I want the world to create more, consume less, and make an impact through its contributions.

 

You can find ORLOVE on Instagram – @weareorlove

or check out their website here – https://www.weareorlove.com

Check out all Under The Covers videos, here.