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An Interview With Joe Testa, Vice President of Artist Relations at Zildjian/Vic Firth

We speak to Joe Testa about the dynamic partnerships between musicians and brands, the reality of endorsements, the artistry behind product innovation, and more.

By Magesh MageshContributing Author

If you ever wondered how musicians work together with companies to endorse their products you will love this article! I got to talk to the Vice president of Artist Relations for Zildjian/Vic Firth Joe Testa, to ask him about the relationships between musicians and corporations.

Magesh, Musicngear: Can you explain what an Artist relations representative does at a drum/cymbal/stick company?

My Title is Vice President of Artist Relations. My Fundamental Job Description is to oversee the AR programs for all the brands under the Zildjian Umbrella such as Zildjian, Vic Firth, and Balter Mallets. This includes all the percussion genres such as Drum Set, Marching, Band & Orchestral.

AR Manager Basic Description: Cultivate, build, and maintain partnerships and relationships with thousands of musicians who endorse the company’s instruments while also branding and marketing the names, images, and likenesses of these individuals. The goal is to develop long-term relationships to maximize company exposure and logo positioning in global markets.

I remember years ago applying for an endorsement for a stick company. The form I had to fill out asked how many gold albums I had played drums on. What are the prerequisites for getting an endorsement today?

Have a look at these 2 links to answer this question:

https://forms.monday.com/forms/3d14725e8edbd82e60e3c73e34c30ca0?r=use1

https://forms.monday.com/forms/3a6339823dda0b0ba02560c24a223d91?r=use1

Are there different levels of endorsements for drummers who play in popular cover bands, with established artists and social media influencers?

First, let’s define ‘Endorsement’… By its basic definition, an ‘endorsement’ means a performing musician fully commits to and swears by a specific brand. In other words, that brand's instruments are the best and only product that musicians want to play or use.

The musician endorses the brand, not the other way around. This means a musician can endorse a brand, but not have an 'official' relationship with that brand.

The relationship becomes an official endorsement when the company that owns that brand acknowledges that endorsement both officially and publicly. In such a relationship each party benefits from something:

The Musician receives:

• Professional equipment that they believe is the best in supporting or representing their musical voice.
• Support needed in all relative circumstances.
• The ability to work with and order from one of the most experienced and reliable AR teams in the business.
• Participation in Product testing from time to time.

The Brand receives:

An increase in sales due to that musician's sphere of influence (fans/students/friends) being big enough to impact additional purchases of the instruments/products it sells.

Consistent contact with highly esteemed musicians who can offer input and advice from the real world that is advantageous to the brand's understanding of the market's real-life needs.

Now with all that in mind, we shy away from saying ‘Levels’ because we consider our roster a family and try to treat everyone as such. Most of our artists understand that when we can do something for them, we do, but when we cannot it is justified. We’re all in this together and I think our artists believe and know that.

We do recognize the different levels of exposure and adjust what we can do accordingly. Budgets do not grow from year to year, but our roster does, and we just so happen to have the #1 rosters for both Zildjian and Vic Firth. This means we are constantly juggling and balancing between growing rosters, new platforms (i.e. SM), and a finite budget.

By its basic definition, an ‘endorsement’ means a performing musician fully commits to and swears by a specific brand

Do famous drummers ever suggest ideas about improving products or is it all done through the research and development part of the company?

Both. Being a 400-year-old company that actually created the cymbal – we know a bit about R&D lol. The key to our success has always been and will remain our connection with our artists who always have new ideas. At the very least they have sounds they are always looking for and it is our job to help them find it.

Musicians always have new product ideas and that can sometimes get tricky because in most cases the ‘new’ idea isn’t really new. In other words, it is very hard to produce an authentically new idea that has never been heard and/or tried before in the last 400 years. I say that because in most cases we can either modify or create something based on an existing product, to fill their need. However, new ideas do come about and when it does, and it is something the market needs, we will work with the artist to see it come to fruition.

The bigger step of complexity is commercializing a new idea. That is much more difficult because it must be an idea that is worth the investment into R&D, Marketing, creating inventory, etc. We must be very confident the product will sell to the consumer. Very often artists are ahead of the market needs. Meaning timing is everything. Some great ideas have failed because they were too far ahead of the curve. Some have failed because they hit the market too late. It is all about knowing the market and where a certain product will penetrate the zeitgeist.

The key to our success has always been and will remain our connection with our artists who always have new ideas

How does the signature series process work with drummers for Vic Firth?

A Sig stick is a tough one right now 2024/25. In fact, all trends are showing a major decrease in all sig sticks. I think the younger generation is not interested in Sig Sticks like we were. The interest in playing a stick with someone else’s name on it seems to be diminishing. This is making it even more difficult to get a new sig stick rolling. It is just a reality of a new generational outlook combined with an oversaturated and over-marketed business model.

Adding to that - most dealers today do NOT want any more sig sticks unless they are getting massive customer requests for a specific artist-designed stick. They (the dealers) are actually complaining about too many sig sticks at the moment – not just from us, but from all the stick companies combined. All this excess in personality-driven/designed sticks has greatly decreased their ability to showcase all the various models on their store floors resulting in confusion and lack of focus on their core models that make them their biggest profits. With this reality, our ability to introduce new signature sticks (without a consumer demand backing its idea) is becoming very difficult.

All of this is to say that any new sigs we have coming out now (or scheduled to come out) are, for the most part, driven by major consumer and/or dealer requests. These requests are very few nowadays, but they do sometimes exist and in some cases are surprising in light of what I have mentioned above. So in a long-winded answer – signature sticks come about basically due to popular demand.

The music creators dictate the musical instruments needed

Zildjian is such a legendary company. What do you attribute its constant innovation in cymbals to?

Well as referenced above, the Avedis Zildjian Company created the cymbal over 400 years ago. And then in the early 1900’s Avedis Zildjian literally named several cymbals such as Ride, Crash, etc. The point being, Zildjian not only created the instrument they have done nothing but innovate since. Innovation is in our DNA.

However, in addition, I would argue that the key factor has always been the relationships we have with our artists. Their needs and the trends they set, inspire us to always be creative. It is also how you stay relevant within the times you live. The music creators dictate the musical instruments needed. Ultimately, we are always just trying to inspire people to make music. To do that you need to listen to what they want. We follow the music. Music is our north star, and we trust the artists that create that music.

Connect with Zildjian
Website / Instagram

Connect with Vic Firth
Website / Instagram

About Magesh Magesh

Magesh is a musician and producer who has worked with Rihanna, Lionel Richie, Ricky Martin, Chris Brown, The Pussy Cat Dolls, Nelly Furtado, and Vernon Reid of Living Colour. He released an instructional drumming DVD called "Unique Beats" where he mixed the drum kit with electronics and Indian hand percussion. He recently moved from Australia to the UK to explore new musical opportunities.
Website: mageshdrumteacher.co.uk

Contact Magesh Magesh at magesh.magesh7@gmail.com

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