In the early 2010s, Atlanta-area radio stations developed a peculiar problem: It seemed like every day, the same middle schooler, Sean Lewow, was somehow winning all of their ticket giveaways. “I had a system for doing it. It was quite literally something I’d do every single day,” Lewow, 27, says now with a grin. “Finally one day I got a call where they were like, ‘Sean, we know it’s you. Stop calling. We’ll give you the tickets, just please, for the love of God, stop pretending to be your grandmother on the phone.’”
Lewow’s determination to get closer to music has driven practically his entire life. At college, he worked his way up the ranks at the student radio station and concert committee, and he became known on campus as the kid building a creative studio and management company, Ourros, from the bunk bed in his bedroom.
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But it wasn’t until he met Max Motley, 28, that he figured out exactly what music company he wanted to build long-term — and who he wanted to do it with. Motley was born and raised in the Bay Area, and was similarly obsessed with all things music. A former general manager of his college radio station and intern at Paradigm (which is now part of THE·TEAM), Motley had the misfortune of graduating from college at the height of the pandemic in 2020 and looking for a job in live music. “I had to move back in with my parents, we were completely sheltered in place, and I’m applying to all these jobs post-grad,” he says. “I applied to like 50 to 100 different jobs, just trying to get a first-round interview anywhere. Nothing worked.”
