Based in Nashville, TN, Elite Multimedia is a privately owned supplier of the most up-to-date audio, video and lighting technologies. Starting as an AV Systems Integrator in Memphis, today they have a team of dedicated professionals working in the concert touring, live event production and AV Systems installation markets. While they may be best known for their relationship with country music superstar Luke Bryan, Elite Multimedia prides itself on being able to pair the right technology with their clients’ vision through an unconditional desire to make each production or project a complete success.
Musical Roots
“Growing up, I was always a musician, setting up and taking down my own equipment, and in our church, I would take care of the AV needs as well,” began Jeremy Byrd, owner and CEO. “Once I graduated high school I went on tour with a Christian organization called Student Life, doing camps and conferences as a technician. Within that organization, I moved up as the years went on to become the video director and then the technical director, where I was really in charge of all the technical elements, including lighting and video. After three years with Student Life, I moved back to Memphis and started working for an AV integration company. After a few years with them, I decided to branch out on my own, and I started Elite Multimedia.”
During the earliest days of Elite Multimedia, Byrd often worked long hours out of his home, tirelessly trying to get each project exactly as the client desired. As his client’s desires changed, Byrd listened once again, and in doing so, set in motion the change that would make Elite Multimedia the company it is today.
“In the early days, we primarily focused on designing and installing AV systems for the house of worship market, but we were only selling equipment to end users,” Byrd continues. “When one of my clients told me they didn’t want to own equipment anymore, we started to look at the possibility of renting. Since we weren’t in the rental market, I went back to the office and ran some numbers and that’s how we started the touring and live event production divisions of Elite Multimedia.”
With the company now expanding into a new market, Byrd knew he needed to expand his workforce as well. He wanted to bring on a partner who could truly make the rental market a success. He found that partner in Tom Wilson.
“Prior to my meeting Jeremy, I had been freelancing as a touring audio engineer and also as a tour manager,” says Wilson, vice president of event productions. “When a mutual friend introduced us, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to get back into a company environment, but when I spoke with Jeremy, it really became an interesting opportunity. He had a great plan in place and together we saw a tremendous opportunity for growth.”
As the two got started building their rental client base, they began to call upon their colleagues from both Byrd’s installation days and Wilson’s time on the road. Through a contact list filled with talented technicians and tour personnel, Elite Multimedia soon began to fill their live event and touring production schedule.
“Our live event production division started off mainly in with Christian music genre, but then because of Tom’s relationships we got the opportunity to break into country music as well,” Byrd says. “As this started to happen, we were still located in Memphis and would have to send trucks to Nashville to get shows out on the road. It was then that we decided it would be better to relocate the company to Nashville from the logistics and client standpoint, but also for the employee base that would open up to us with quality engineers and technicians who could go on the road to support the tours.”
Music City Expansion
In 2012, Elite Multimedia officially moved to their 50,000 square foot facility located next door to Soundcheck Nashville, a rehearsal studio complex used by many touring and recording artists.
“In the first year, we were working with only about five or six primary clients, but today the company has grown to the size that we are out with several large touring clients with dozens of one-off events per month,” notes Wilson. “Both the touring support and live event production divisions of Elite Multimedia have grown to a size that we originally didn’t envision, and while it caught us all by surprise, we are very excited and humbled by our success.”
In their new location, continued growth was once again on the horizon for Elite Multimedia, and it became a necessity to once again expand the team, this time focusing on the operations side of the business. Monty Rains, who joined Elite Multimedia in 2013, is now responsible for the strategic and operational aspects of the company.
“When I first joined Elite Multimedia, we needed to build the infrastructure and foundation in order to continue to scale the business,” says Rains, president and COO. “We had some key clients who were working very well for us, but we needed to add more structure and process to the business so we could consistently deliver the quality that they deserved. My main focus was to formalize how we did business evolving from the AV design and install market to the concert touring market so we began with adding people, processes and systems that would effectively manage our inventory and workflow.”
As the day-to-day operations of a rental vendor are unique to themselves, Rains knew that there would be a strong need to acquire the right lighting, audio and video equipment by predicting the right trends for their new inventory purchases.
“It’s really an interesting business to manage,” adds Rains. “In making our purchase decisions, we look at what the clients and tours are desiring, but then we also have to keep ourselves educated on all the latest technologies available. We have to be able to offer innovation and value to our clients, so we choose to differentiate ourselves by being excellent at how we can deliver and deploy the best gear while providing quality support technicians. We try to wrap all this together into what we call the ‘Elite Difference.’”
Building the Right Team
Today, in the entertainment industry, there are a number of equipment suppliers and tour vendors who compete for business with much of the same equipment. Understanding that there must be differentiators to make a company successful, Elite Multimedia also tries to invest heavily on the best employees as well.
“The three qualifications that I look for in any potential team member are the intelligence to make the right decisions, a true drive to be the best in the industry and then the integrity to do the right thing when someone isn’t looking,” Rains explains. “These are three things that we simply can’t teach someone, and if our team members have all three qualities, we will be unstoppable.”
“Our team of people at Elite Multimedia is one of our biggest advantages in the marketplace,” agrees Byrd. “Everyone involved has a ton of buy-in to the company and believes in what we are doing and how we do it. If we have to incur the extra expenditures to quickly expedite a piece of gear, that’s no problem. If we have to put together a production on a tight schedule, we still work just as passionately to make the clients’ artistic and financial needs a priority. In doing business the right way, we feel we are able to build client loyalty and provide the best client value.”
“We are driven by the people that make up Elite Multimedia, and we really invest in quality staff members,” adds David Venus, director of marketing. “Without quality employees, we simply can’t offer the level of service that we pride ourselves on. We feel that it’s our customer support that differentiates us from others in the market, and we have put together a team that has over 100 years of combined industry experience. We understand that this industry is about so much more than just gear, and investing in our employees allows us to really offer our clients the best service possible.”
Three Core Strengths
With the right management team, company infrastructure and employee base solidified, Elite Multimedia has emerged as one of the faster-growing tour and live event providers in the industry, expanding in the realms of touring support, live event productions and AV systems integration.
“We have grown into a one-stop shop for touring and live event productions,” Venus says. “With one point of contact, production companies can now get all their lighting, audio, and LED video equipment. We are excited to continue this growth through our relationship-based approach of helping clients achieve their vision while providing quality gear, dedicated technicians and a mutual understanding of respect.”
“We also have a lot of potential west coast clients who have begun to express an interest in working with us as well,” adds Byrd. “Going forward, we are looking at the possibility of opening an office in either Los Angeles or Las Vegas to offer the type of service and support we pride ourselves on.”
Wilson agreed. “While the Country music market has really opened up to us and become one of our primary focuses, we are now starting to see opportunities in the Pop and Rock markets as well, so we are realigning some focus in that direction. Also, when you have a large stable of touring clients who typically take time off during the late fourth quarter and early first quarter, it provides you with a great opportunity to really super-serve clients who have live events during that time. This, in turn, allows us to diversify our client base even more and continue with steady production schedules.”
Putting the Clients First
Over the history of Elite Multimedia, there have been a significant number of events that have brought them to where they are today, and inside each of those there is always an underlying concept of just how they wish to do business — to put the client first.
“Elite Multimedia is a company that listens to our clients’ vision and interprets that into an executable show-ready production,” says Rains. “Our process begins with truly understanding what the client wants to accomplish and then how we can make that vision come to life. We pride ourselves on making sure the client gets what they need instead of being focused on what we can sell to them. We want their signature as an artist to be on their production and it’s our job to supply them with the gear and support needed to make that happen.”
“We have worked very hard to make Elite Multimedia a client-friendly environment,” adds Wilson. “We promote an atmosphere of listening to what the client wants and working within their budgets to realize their vision. It’s a fun and creative process where we either work with the tour designer for our larger clients, or we become the tour designer or those clients who may just be starting out. In both cases, our primary objective is always to develop creative solutions that meet the visual and financial needs of the client with a dedication to see them succeed.”
As one looks into what makes a successful company, experts will often tell you that business is about relationships. No matter the product you make or the service you offer, it is the relationships behind it all that defines true success. Without these relationships, a company cannot succeed, and that is why Elite Multimedia prides themselves on building relationships that will last a lifetime.
“We strive to be an approachable company that has built its reputation by respecting the relationships cultivated over the years,” says Venus. “We want clients to know that regardless of their budget, we approach every production or installation with the same dedication and passion. To be able to do what we are doing in the relatively short amount of time we have been in business is a substantial accomplishment, and it’s not an accomplishment we take for granted.”
“One of the things I enjoy most about country music as a whole is that the people tend to be pretty loyal,” adds Wilson. “We’ve had the opportunity to work with a number of great artists, supporting them as they grow, which has given us the opportunity to grow as well. In a lot of situations, as we are gearing up for new tours, we are buying new inventory so that our clients can go out with the best gear available and the gear they really want to use.”
“Elite Multimedia is a creative and innovative company, and we are very excited to continue growing our client base with those who want to be a part,” concludes Byrd. “We have experienced a very fast growth rate in our short history, and we are doing things that no other production vendors are doing. Our team is dedicated to staying on top of the technology that is available and we are keeping our inventory stocked with these products so that our clients can have the best productions possible.”
