KUALA LUMPUR - An international music artist and tour manager says running his operations from Malaysia was one of the best decisions he has ever made as Asia is gradually rising to become the world's leading entertainment hub.
Over the last decade, Skesh entertainment founder, Nadeem A. Salam, has been running the outfit which has seen him selling out local music venues, managing bands on the Vans Warped Tour, to working alongside big entertainment names such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Megadeth, Whitesnake and Boys Like Girls, among others.
With an office in Kuala Lumpur, Nadeem coordinates international tours for such bands to play shows and concerts in the United States, Europe, and Asia.
"Not only do I believe in Malaysia as a nation but I also have our biggest operation out here," Nadeem told The Vibes when met recently.
Skesh Entertainment has five offices worldwide and employs 19 staff, half of which are based in Malaysia, Nadeem said.
The 28-year-old Nadeem, a multidisciplinary entrepreneur who is on the board of seven different companies, said a majority of his operations are headquartered here in Malaysia.
"It was a no-brainer, I have an apartment here. It's one of the few places that I own property, and coming here was the best decision," the British citizen said.
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be throughout these uncertain times. I feel like my investments have paid off, in a bigger way than I could have imagined because the rest of the world is shutting down on the music scene especially," he said.
If it were not for the Covid-19 pandemic, Nadeem said the touring scene was seeing "crazy" growth in Asia.
"You can tell it's eventually going to be the biggest entertainment scene in the world with countries like South Korea, once the rest of Asia wakes up and connects. It will be a totally different game altogether.”
Artist Roster
A quick search on the company's website revealed a solid roster of artists to have worked with Skesh.
Some of the bigger names included California ska band Sublime With Rome, Atlanta metalcore group Attila, hip-hop duo Insane Clown Posse, Tampa death metal outfit Obituary, and Welsh pop punk heroes Neck Deep.
Locally, Skesh manages some underground bands in the same vein such as Trophy Knives, Sekumpulan Orang Gila, Transitions, and Massacre Conspiracy.
Last year, Skesh was pivotal in paving the way for Sekumpulan Orang Gila to have an opening slot at the 19th Pulp Summer Slam music festival in the Philippines, where the band shared the same stage with thrash metal legends Slayer.
Nadeem, a British citizen who has lived in numerous countries throughout his life said his foray into managing tours for bands began in Florida when he worked with rock band The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus when he had just turned 17 in 2011.
He said the band had only found out his age on his 18th birthday, which came as a shock to them.
"And when they did find out my age they saw how hard I have worked until then. And Ronnie, the lead singer of the band took me as his little brother," Nadeem said, adding he got the job by persistently sending cold emails to the band.
Living in Florida over a decade ago, Nadeem can say he is friends with emo rock band Yellow Card, and has taken similar bands like We The Kings and I See Stars on the highly popular Vans Warped tour in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018.
"I have lots of cool memories where I've really been able to take the brand in heights and places because of my versatility," Nadeem said.
"That I'm able to do so much and offer entertainment services in so many different ways has helped us (Skesh) in becoming a certain kind of provider."
Diversifying in the entertainment business
As the old saying goes, there is no business like show business. When he is not managing bands, Nadeem has also delved into related businesses associated with rock subcultures.
Recently, Nadeem along with a partner had bought majority stakes in the clothing brand Atticus, from pop punk megastars Blink 182.
Additionally, Nadeem also runs Malaysian clothing label Rockiss and online band merchandise platform Merch Cow.
Nadeem indicated that the dynamic nature of the entertainment business requires one not to place all eggs in a sole basket. Although Skesh is headquartered in Malaysia, our local acts generate little to no income for Skesh, and the bulk of his revenue comes from overseas bands.
"We have never invoiced any one of our local artistes because our international acts bring in a good five to six figure income stream to the company, so Skesh Entertainment always survives from our international acts," Nadeem explained
Asked why many local acts do not become as successful globally, Nadeem noted a few factors including the weak currency and the time invested into growing their prominence.
"Unfortunately, your currency is weak, and no matter how much money you make here, you take it out and it's worth little elsewhere," he said
"It boils down to the business at the end of the day. We have that phrase in the music business: "the business is bigger than the music" - and if you can't understand the business, you won't be able to go anywhere with your music, unfortunately."
On his future plans, Nadeem, who has directed over 20 music videos, says he will be looking to expand his online live music streaming show The Platform, which aired its first season in the middle of the year. – The Vibes, October 17, 2020
