Meet Cat Martinez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cat Martinez.

Cat, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
In 2010, I was in college studying nutrition when I started getting into electronic music. I began attending shows and immediately fell in love with the electronic dance music scene in Atlanta. There were always over a dozen shows happening every week and it was difficult for my broke-college-student self to afford to attend all the events I wanted to experience. In 2013 is when I decided to take a step into the industry and began working as a promoter for a local nightclub. My intentions at first were just to work for the venue so that I could gain free entry to my favorite events but then I realized I was actually doing really well with promotions and enjoying it at the same time. In late 2013, I changed my major to marketing and began Atlanta EDM. Atlanta EDM became an online community and source for all electronic dance music events happening in and around Atlanta. Seven years later, we are the biggest source for EDM news in Atlanta and have given away thousands of tickets to local and regional events, shows and music festivals. It’s been an exciting journey and I’m really looking forward to our growth in the coming years.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
For the most part, growing Atlanta EDM has been a positive learning experience. When a business begins to grow, you’ll likely need more hands-on deck. Finding the right people who are both passionate about the brand and willing to put in the work to add to the team can be challenging. I’ve been extremely lucky to find creative, hard working collaborators.

Atlanta EDM – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Atlanta EDM is an online media agency that brings music venues, promoters, artists and fans together across Atlanta and the southeastern US by creating a space to come together and share our love for electronic dance music. I manage our events calendar, news publications and merchandise. Together with my co-owner, Nicola Breslauer, we manage our social channels and business relationships with local and regional music venues, promoters and vendors. The workload gets overwhelming sometimes but I’m always excited to do it. My proudest moment was when we first got accepted to apply for press for a music festival. It felt like we received an official stamp of recognition as a media brand. I think something that really sets us apart from even the largest EDM blogs is that we’re huge supporters of our local talent and smaller or more underground events. We’ll highlight the mainstream or large events but also share that shine with what makes up our Atlanta EDM scene.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I started out as a promoter for Liquified Presents. They had created an Atlanta EDM Facebook group in 2009 and had given me the opportunity to grow the brand in 2013. Devin and his team at Liquified were and still are our biggest supporters and have helped us grow with giving us access to their resources. I began working on the brand with Traci Yoshimura who had taught me so much about business skills, insights into the EDM industry and what I should look for in the people I work with or want to work for me. After a few years Traci had left the industry but Nicola Breslauer had stepped in around the same time to partner with me. Nicola has been an incredible collaborator with growing this business. I also have to shamelessly thank my fiancé Mikhail Nadjkovic for supporting me since before day 1. He has helped me so much with not only with the workload but also pushing me outside my comfort zone to achieve new heights with our brand.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.atledmevents.com
• Email: cat@atledmevents.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlantaedm/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atlantaedmofficial/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/atledmofficial
• Other: https://soundcloud.com/atlantaedm

Image Credit:
Shots by Carl

Suggest a story: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.