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Music industry veterans Lee Willard and Mike Flanders have launched Enteract Entertainment, a management, publishing and label services company. Willard and Flanders will lead Enteract as co-presidents, while Blake Propst joins the company as Director of A&R for Enteract’s music and publishing division; and Tyler Woods joins Enteract as Director of Digital Marketing and Creative Services. Enteract Entertainment’s first client is Craig Wayne Boyd, who just released “One Line Away,” on February 14.
With more than five decades of combined experience in all facets of the music industry, Enteract aims to build a boutique management, publishing and label services company that focuses on great songwriters, stellar songs and emerging talent.
“I’ve had the idea to build Enteract for several years, and now is the time to launch this new management, publishing and label services company. I’m incredibly proud to partner with Mike Flanders, who’s had a long history of success as a producer and publisher. My vision was to create a company that can operate on multiple levels with a diverse roster of songwriters and artists. When there’s an artist with a project that we like, we’re in a position to move quickly, develop, cultivate and bring it to market. I’ve seen too many companies that move at a snail’s pace, and projects can become irrelevant while waiting for mountains to move. We’ve created a model that is lean, nimble and can react in real time and move quickly, all while maintaining quality and delivering results for our talent.”
Willard has more than 22 years of experience in the entertainment business, and is the longtime manager of 2023 GRAMMY® nominated country music legend Bill Anderson. Willard is also manager for former Blue Collar comedian Reno Collier. Willard’s career in Nashville has spanned more than two decades, including roles as tour manager, song plugger, publisher, music video producer, film producer, television producer, and aforementioned artist management. Willard began his career as a radio DJ and moved to Nashville in 2001 to work for Anderson as his tour manager, and eventually became his manager. Lee worked alongside a young Taylor Swift early in her career making introductions for her in Nashville and in L.A. that eventually led to her recording the soundtrack to the Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games”. Willard has a been a vital part of many careers and has toured with and worked alongside artists such as, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, Drake White and many more.
Enteract co-president Mike Flanders, an Australian Award-winning producer, songwriter, and co-founder of Pacific International music publishing, will be running day-to-day for Enteract Publishing. In the 1980s and 1990s, Flanders achieved acclaim in his native Australian market; first as a staff songwriter with Warner/Chappell Music, then as a producer for alternative and pop acts in Australia. He received ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) recognition for his work with the Australian pop artist Chaise, producing a string of albums that spawned a number one hit song for her, “Only Be Me.” During this period, he also held a position at Arctic BMG Australia. He moved to the USA in February 2007 to head up Pacific International Music. While there, Flanders built a healthy publishing catalog of more than 1,100 songs while also having administration on 12 other existing catalogs with high profile names attached. Flanders’ production credits include: Josh Arnold, Nik Phillips, Jill King, Garrison Starr, American Idol semi-finalist Siobhan Magnus and multi-platinum selling artist Nikki Webster, among others.
Propst is a Nashville native with an affinity for recognizing fresh new talent who was raised around the music business. His grandfather, John Propst, was a legendary piano player who played with Boots Randolph, Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer and cut records with Tammy Whynette and David Allen Coe. Blake will serve as A&R for both Enteract Entertainment’s music and publishing companies.
Tyler Woods, Director of Digital Marketing and Creative Services for Enteract, is a Birmingham, Alabama native and moved to Nashville in 2018. He’s worked in the music industry for 17 years in digital marketing, as well as a photographer and videographer. Woods has worked with Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Lee Brice, Pit Bull and Kings of Leon, among others. Woods’ portfolio has been published in People Magazine and The Wall Steet Journal, and has been featured in Red Bull advertising.
