Up from the Underground: A Conversation with Griffen Lee
Hailing from Westlake Village just outside of Los Angeles, Griffen Lee was a soccer-fixated suburbanite whose life took a major turn after an informative weekend attending Coachella and becoming immersed in the electronic dance music underground. Once bitten by the bug, Griffen became an insatiable participant. Not content with just being a fan and consumer, Griffen threw himself into the scene, and started actively hosting his own events, booking shows, starting his own company, and eventually diving headlong into artists management, largely on the strength of his own hustle and enthusiasm.
At the beginning of 2025, Griffen joined Range Music, a prestigious and forward-thinking talent agency that recognized his zeal, putting him in charge of expanding their electronic music division, a mission he’s been diligently executing ever since.
BMI caught up with Griffen Lee to hear more about his remarkable journey and where he thinks the genre is headed. Here’s what he had to say.
Hey Griffen - Thank you for sitting down with us (metaphorically of course). I know you joined Range Music, a division of Media Partners, as a manager at the beginning of the year. I feel like Range has really expanded quickly over a relatively short period of time. Could you share a bit with us about your role there, your roster, and what drew you to the company initially?
Thank you for having me, guys. Happy to share here. I joined Range at the beginning of the year with the mindset that I’d like to have an ecosystem that allows me to accomplish, learn, and move in any way I’d like. As you mentioned, Range is growing rapidly and it’s so awesome to be part of a company that has so many verticals. Every Monday and Wednesday the company has companywide team calls where each division (i.e. film/television, sports, awareness creation, digital & music) get to share their wins. Truly the coolest thing I have ever been part of and feel very blessed to be surrounded by so many hungry and ambitious individuals.
I was brought into Range to help build out the electronic music division alongside my good friend and business partner Jonathan Lauer. Special shoutout to Jack Minihan and Matt Graham for entrusting us to do this as it’s truly a dream of mine. I first was drawn to this company when I met Jonathan Lauer who had been working in the digital division at Range for the last few years. When I met Jonathan we had a brain blast. He comes from more of the digital/marketing world and I came up in underground dance music…our thought was together we would make one big brain and that’s exactly what we are lol. Without Jon I don’t get into Range and for that I am always grateful.
Currently I manage skuzland, Le Yora w/ Jonathan, FLETCH, Kamino, TOBEHONEST, EREZ, DELACOUR and most recently Narasimha. I have curated my roster from a labor of love. All the artists I work with I consider family and it’s just a bonus that I get to do business with them as well. They all come from different walks of life, parts of the world and all sonically live in different worlds. Keep an eye out for all these guys!
Before Range, what was your path into the music industry? Did you always know you wanted to get into the music business in some capacity, or did it happen by accident?
Before music, soccer was my life. I trained almost 24/7 from grammar school all the way through the beginning of university. One day I had the harsh realization that I was not going to go pro and that hurt.
I quickly needed to replace the emptiness I felt from leaving sport and music found me at the perfect time. Growing up my mom mostly just played Bruce Springsteen, and I would listen to Mac Miller, Atmosphere, Avicii, etc. Anyway, I was never obsessed with music and then I went to my first festival, Coachella. I know it’s cliché but after that weekend I knew that music was going to be a huge part of my life, and I couldn’t get enough.
From there I discovered dance music through Dirtybird and would go to the festivals during university. Once I graduated from school, I saw a job opening at Dirtybird and with the help of one of my dear friends Valerie Lee who worked at MixMag LA at the time I was able to land an interview and soon after got the job. From there I quickly realized in the underground you need to just be scrappy, so I started throwing events with my neighbors in Westlake Village (my hometown) called Build the Momentum. We booked acts like Eris Drew, Audiojack, Justin Jay & The Fantastic Voyage, etc. Then I briefly worked at Prisma with renowned agent Inbal Lankry. Then started booking shows in Miami, New York, San Diego, and Los Angeles with my business partner at the time Matt Egbert. The company was known as Front Left Productions.
Then one day I decided that I wanted to do a little of everything I’ve learned up to that point in my career which is why I landed on artist management. I started my own company called Pulse Artists with almost no understanding how to properly manage but I figured it out along the way … I truly think to be a good manager it’s all about risk and reward, trial, and error.
Have you ever had any mentors in the industry who help guide you along the way, or did you have to forge your own path and figure it out on your own?
I have loads of people to help me along my journey but for the most part I forged my own path. Special shout out to Perry Gilman who has been there when I need advice, my family, and friends that had to listen to me complain a lot along the way.
In your experience, what would you say is the biggest challenge facing the dance music world today, and how have you seen the industry change in the time you’ve been involved?
The biggest challenge facing dance music today is authenticity. Everyone wants to cut corners, find the quickest way to find success at any cost. Not to say this is wrong but it’s stripping the culture of the origins of dance music. Social media is both the best thing that has ever happened for music and the worst (interpreted that however you’d like but this is how I feel).
If you were to sign a new client to Range, what would you look for? Are there any metrics or characteristics that make someone stand out? Any characteristics that would be a no-go?
When I sign acts there is a recipe I am looking for. I want the act to have a strong understanding of what they want; the music needs to be incredible, they need to feel like they could be part of my family (not just transactional), and they need to understand branding.
Ego is a big no-no for me. Music is supposed to be light, fun and build community. Ego kills all of this.
I know this industry is constantly evolving. In today’s world, what advice would you give to an upcoming producer/DJ who’s looking to take their career to the next level?
Ask questions, take risks, fail repeatedly and be okay with it. Do not compare yourselves to others. Keep at it. These rules apply to all things in life and may seem very generic, but this is truly what I believe it takes to get to the top.
As a parting gift, is there anything your artists are working on that you can tease? Releases or performances?
Big things coming ;)
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