Nada Taha Talks Filling A Gap In The Artist’s Circle As A Creative Director [Interview]

Industry innovator Nada Taha‘s resume includes a wide swath of unique experience.

She spent 10 years of her career in radio, five of which as an on-air personality and Digital and Branding Director for country radio giant The Bobby Bones Show. In 2017, she launched the creative services company, Blind Copy Creative, to which she applied her influencer and brand specialist expertise.

In 2020, she began working as a radio presenter at Apple Music, where she interviews talent, hosts events, and is featured in pieces of content for the brand.

In recent years, Taha has taken her valuable experience and created a unique space for herself within the traditional artist circle in Nashville.

With her company GoodCopBadCop, she serves as a creative director for clients such as Breland. Though creative directors are prevalent in other genres, including pop and hip-hop, the country music industry hasn’t quite caught on to the trend.

“When I started my first company [Blind Copy Creative] in 2017, it was a creative services firm. That was always the goal, to shift the way creative and branding was done for artists,” Taha shares with MusicRow. “I met Robby Towns shortly thereafter, who is my business partner now. He left Spotify around the same time [I left radio] and we were connected. We just started working in tandem, and then in 2019, we decided to start GoodCopBadCop.”

After forming her new company, Taha met Breland coincidentally via their mutual connection with Apple Music Radio. Their meeting was fateful, as Breland was on the hunt for someone who could help oversee his creative vision.

“He is creatively brilliant,” Taha says. “At the time, I had seen a few things he had done and knew he was doing something different. I have always been different and always tried to do things differently. I was drawn to that energy from him, not even having known him.”

Now, as his creative partner, Taha helps Breland keep his brand consistent across all points of his career, from releases, to music videos, photo shoots, social media content and more.

“The biggest thing is that we’re a creative filter. We help creatively strategize an entire plan. A lot of times things are very fragmented, so you have one person doing this and one person doing that, and there’s not a funnel where it can all become cohesive and understood.

“With Breland, I’m involved in every capacity,” she says. “I make sure that when he’s on set, everything is aligned, so when you see him, you always see Breland in the capacity that we want him to be seen. I understand his vision to its core, so then everything that comes off of that points back to the original vision.”

Breland agrees. “Nada has almost as clear a vision for who Breland is as I do, and her fingerprints are on every aspect of my brand from how I dress to what we want the album to feel like, and beyond,” adds the rising artist. “Nada and I are constantly coming up with ideas throughout the day, but she understands that a lot of my best ideas come while I’m watching sports. A typical creative session with her might involve something as casual as watching a basketball game, and before halftime we might have a whole music video treatment on our hands. Being able to create without boundaries, with someone who can meet me where I am, makes Nada a dynamic partner and a valuable member of my team.”

Taha believes that a creative director should work alongside an artist’s manager, not in place of.

“Breland’s manager, [WHY&HOW’s] Bruce Kalmick, gives me autonomy and understands the importance of creative. That’s really important to make the whole team function really well.”

With Taha by his side, Breland has become one of the most talked about new artists in the Nashville music business. He’s been recognized as an artist to watch on multiple industry lists, watched his collaboration with Dierks Bentley—”Beers On Me”—become a No. 1 song, and earned a Gold (“Throw It Back” feat. Keith Urban) and Platinum (“My Truck”) record. His highly anticipated debut album, Cross Country, arrives Sept. 6 via Bad Realm Records/Atlantic Records/Warner Music Nashville.

“We want to shift the way that creative is viewed in the music industry, and especially in the Nashville music industry. It’s not really known—it doesn’t come with your artist pack,” Taha explains. “You have your publisher, attorney, agent and manager—creative director is not in that starter pack. Breland coming out of the gate with a creative director has helped get us to this point.”

Breland concurs. “I’m different than a lot of artists in that I am consistently creating outside of just the songwriting process. Whether it’s a partnership with a brand like Chevrolet, a music video concept, a branding idea, or a business venture, having a creative director to bounce ideas off of and flush ideas out has proven to be one of the most productive partnerships I’ve ever had.”

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