Very Rare Creative company seeks to combine creative images with business.
A few years back, Zachary Crandall’s friends wouldn’t stop asking him where he had gotten a T-shirt he kept wearing around campus and while deejaying.
“I would walk in the day that I work and 10 people would ask me about it because it was just so different,” Crandall, who designed the shirt himself, said. “That made me realize (that) I gotta do this.”
After that, he realized he had a creative kick worth pursuing.
Crandall, an Ohio University junior studying music production and recording industry, went on to develop Very Rare Creative, a creative agency that offers marketing and design expertise, talent management, curation and other artistic services.
“It’s the perfect crossover between … the creative side and the business side,” Crandall said.
Crandall makes it his business to be sure the money for his managed artists is in line, checking to see if they’re being paid for shows and merchandise. He said he also manages an artist’s “creative direction.”
“That is anything from concepts to music videos (and) cover artwork,” Crandall said. “The overall look and feel of the artist.”
Aside from managing artists, Crandall said the creative agency also focuses on producing fashion products, which he advertises on social media.
Crandall works with eight to 12 other OU students, but collaborates with artists from across the state.
“(I deal) with anything from getting them on blogs, getting them onto magazine covers, getting them interviews, deciding which songs they’re going to release before their album comes out,” Crandall said.
The company’s most recent project was called “Finally Happy,” a clothing campaign where 25 percent of proceeds went to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Crandall and his team raised about $500 to $600 during that campaign. The tee shirts he produced sold for $25 each.
“The coolest thing is I see people on campus wearing them sometimes … That’s awesome,” Crandall said.
He added that he still sees people wearing the limited run of the other tee shirts Very Rare Creative released in August, which sold out in two days.
Crandall credits social media to the company’s success.
“Since freshman year, I would post things on Instagram, playing around with the logo, (and the) text that said Very Rare,” Crandall said. “I would always just be putting that out.”
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Crandall added that he always tries to connect any class assignment with Very Rare Creative in some way.
“If I have an audio production assignment, I’ll relate it to Very Rare and I’ll end up releasing a song,” Crandall said.
He added that his passion for the business side of music has helped the company. He often weaves the lessons he has learned about the music recording industry from his major, and the fashion side of Very Rare Creative from his minor, which is retail merchandising and product development.
Crandall plans to spend this summer brainstorming on a strategic plan for where to take Very Rare Creative next, adding that the next move could “make or break” the company.
“(It) all comes down to how bad you want it, if your ideas are right you can do it,” Crandall said.
@Fair3Julia
