Eite Multimedia started in Memphis, and has experienced such growth it’s had to relocate four times to keep up with demand. “As things started to really grow we moved to this Nashville address in 2012,” David Venus says. Venus, director of marketing for Elite, spent years out on the road as an audio engineer when he decided to put his degree in marketing and music business to work. “Jeremy Byrd took a chance on me when I was young with little experience outside of my degree,” he says of Elite’s owner. Less of a risk was Byrd’s decision to be in Nashville. “Nashville is not just country music any more,” Venus declares. “Christian, rock, pop tours — they are all coming out of here.”
Elite started in 2003 as an AV integration company, as Byrd found a demand for those wanting to add production for bigger events. “He had a really good relationship with Student Life Ministries,” explains Venus. (Byrd, a musician who at 15 started his own youth praise band, worked for Student Life for three years.) The all-student run organization has turned to Elite for its production needs for six years. Byrd saw that he could provide the production needs for houses of worship, and in 2009 turned Elite into a full fledge production house. Key to that successful transition was vice president Tom Wilson, who has been in the production business for 25 years working as an audio engineer, production manager, and tour manager. Beyond the worship market, Elite provided services for Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker, Thompson Square, Nick Jonas and Ice Cube, among other tours.
Classic and Newer Acts
While pleased to be part of Alan Jackson’s recent 25th Anniversary tour, they are equally excited about young up-and-comers like Cole Swindell and Eric Paslay. “No matter what the size of your act, you will be taken care of,” Venus says. Elite has handled the KLOVE Fan and Dove awards, and supported festivals like Boots and Hearts, Ultra Music Fest, Rock the South and Live on the Green. They have done special events with Skrillex and CMA Fest, and corporate work with the likes of Allstate, Boeing, Google, Converse, Ford and many others.
Luke Bryan is a good example of Elite growing with a client. “We started with him when he just had a trailer behind a single bus, and now he’s doing stadiums with nine trucks filled with just our gear. Jeremy wanted to make sure we weren’t just another production company, and there’s where our offerings make us different.”
It’s not only who they are, but who they aren’t. “We don’t want to be that corporate company — we want to keep it personal,” Venus says. “If you’re halfway across the country and something happens, you’re going to be taken care of.” Helping them do that means hiring the right people. “We only employ people who can completely buy in to the company, and that contributes to our success. Sometimes that’s an uphill battle for some companies, and there are many that settle for the person who is just collecting a paycheck, but that’s not how it is here. We don’t have a lot of turnover.”
Part of the equation is the gear in their warehouse. Venus says they work to having the best, most up-to-date equipment they can. This, and their people, is playing a part in their increasingly long reach beyond Nashville City limits. “We’ve been doing events all across the country, from California to Florida,” Venus says. “We’re getting opportunities because of products others don’t have.” Part of that product mix is PixelFLEX, Clay Paky, Robe, Martin and Vari*Lite products and various consoles. They do all their own servicing and have a full repair department on site.
“I love the business side of what we’re doing,” Venus says. “I’m working with people who think so far outside the box, it’s really fun. We all come to work feeling good about our work and what we’re doing. Really, if you’re in this industry and hate your job, you’re doing it wrong!”
For more information, please visit www.elitemultimedia.com.
