Executive Editor,
NewRelease
Today.com
I started as a volunteer for what was once called NewReleaseTuesday.com. Then I became a part-time employee amidst my other full-time gigs, and ultimately, I was the company’s first full-time hire. I served as the right hand of the founder and accelerated the brand’s growth through relationships, strategic partnerships, and cutting-edge content.
I led coverage of the CCM industry, and interviewed the industry’s top artists.
What started as just an album-review page evolved into a full-fledged music journalism site. Our coverage revolved around what was new in Christian music, and I found ever-creative ways to get out the word. From industry-leading interviews to creative videos and even April Fool’s content, I was able to foster a creative culture of innovation at NRT. Here are some of the examples of that content.
In 2017, I secured and conducted the only authorized interview during the much-hyped reunion of one of the industry’s top-selling and most-popular bands of all time, dcTalk. This was the pinnacle of nearly a decade of interviews.
I utilized livestreaming software to host a daily variety morning show where we discussed pop culture and interviewed artists.
More of my noteworthy interviews and columns.
I led the all-remote NRT team to hit 1M PVs / month.
I was the only staff writer when I was originally hired. Then, over time, I recruited and developed volunteer writers. Although some came and went, the vast majority stayed for a long time. Eventually, some of the leaders I trained became paid editors and contributors in their own right.
Hot Start: 40,000 people join NRTeam community.
Our online community celebrated its 40,000th registered member in 2011, less than a year after my hiring. The NRTeam was a source of interactivity and UGC within the Christian music fandom. As of that time, we had become the largest site online solely dedicated to faith-based music and entertainment.
All Time High: Traffic hits 1M.
In 2014, my team and I celebrated 1 million pageviews in a single month, and built an awareness campaign with some of the industry’s top artists to celebrate and congratulate us on the milestone.
Note: In 2024, NRT averages 200,000 views per month. Site traffic has dropped significantly since my exit in 2018, averaging around 220,000 monthly PVs.
New Name, New Logo.
When the music industry shifted release dates from Tuesdays to Fridays, we knew we could no longer be NewReleaseTuesday. I led strategic discussions about a brand/name change, and in 2015, we changed our name to NewReleaseToday.
Out of numerous logo redesign ideas,
mine was the one that was ultimately chosen.
Top: Old NewReleaseTuesday logo.
Bottom: The NewReleaseToday logo I designed, which is still in use today.
I co-founded & produced an acclaimed awards show.
I brainstormed the creation of The WE LOVE Christian Music Awards, a new awards show for the faith-based music industry. In addition to serving our reader base, the fan-voted awards served as an important source of new subscribers to our email list. I was instrumental in the launch, growth, and success of these awards as the architect of the event’s name, rotating categories, nomination process, trophies, internal and external marketing. I also adapted the awards show to each year’s opportunities and limitations as its executive producer and script writer for the first six years.
2017-18
My final WE LOVE Awards was a massive livestream event that took place at top producer Seth Mosley’s studio in Nashville. I scripted, organized live talent, and conceptualized this ambitious online broadcast event, which was also a fundraiser for hurricane relief.
40,000 votes
60,000+ viewers
2016-17
For the first time, the WE LOVE Awards had an actual awards show, taking place in the Nashville area with an audience and live team-up performances. I produced, scripted, and executed this event, which aired live and via replay on network television.
92,000 votes
2015-16
When our Roadshow Tour partnership ended, we pivoted the awards for one year into a special documentary project — for which I wrote the script, secured talent, coordinated videographers, and edited. I became proficient in Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition for the creation of this hour-long series.
2014-15
Presented 24 awards nightly during The Roadshow Tour for the third year in a row, this time partnering with speciality music streamer The Overflow. As with the other WE LOVE press releases, I penned this one.
44,000 votes
2013-14
After voting concluded late in 2013, the NRTeam once again was embedded in the Rock & Worship Roadshow tour to announce a new award each night during the 22-city tour. Some artists came to the concert to accept awards live.
18,000 votes
2012-13
The inaugural year of the awards started with a kickoff at our sponsor, Grand Canyon University, followed by announcements that took place durng various nights on the Rock & Worship Roadshow Tour across America.
6,500 votes
I designed and executed awareness campaigns for various clients.
I was in charge of the independent artist sales at NRT, and would pitch countless bands and solo singers awareness campaigns that included interviews, videos, social takeovers, and more. After working with them for years, I helped write the curriculum for a paid online course, an offshoot of NRT called ChristianArtistPro.com.
The various cover art designs for NRT’s curated Spotify playlists I created.
Graphic design incorporating artist TobyMac into a social post for a National Coffee Day giveaway.
Scripted and edited this spoken word video advertising NewReleaseToday. This played in stadiums during national tours for several years.
Graphic advertising Citizen Way’s performance on our livestream show.
Minimalist promo advertising Kat & Jared’s appearance on NRT LIVE.
Four different original graphical depictions of artists’ lyrics for their awareness campaigns, displayed on FB/IG.
Curriculum for ChristianArtist.Pro
Example of a minimalist hero image I created for an indie artist campaign feature.