The Insider // entertainment

Global Re ach Farmington Hills firm reps everyone from Australian pop stars to NHL hockey players // By Jim McFarlin

tuart Arkin got his first taste of busi- Alternately known as “The Studios,” AAMZ is the they’re coming to us when they’re going off-label.” ness running his father’s retail toy in-house agency that develops marketing, branding, “[Record labels] are so archaic, they can’t keep up, operation. He couldn’t stand it. product design, websites, and social-media cam- constantly looking for approvals,” Arkin adds. “Man- “We did the toy sections in all paigns. The Arkin Agency provides management agement wants to move now. An idea can come the drugstores,” he explains. “We and representation. had over 100 employees, and I just “The money is not made on music anymore,” couldn’t take them. I had to rely on Arkin says. “It’s merchandising. What we do here is, “We’re able to come everyone else, and it was driving we do everything correctly. We just do the work. me nuts. I said, ‘Dad, I can’t do this.’” Relying on other people to execute … it never hap- up with a concept, In 1992, ArkinS launched a ticket brokerage ser- pens. With everything under one roof, we’re able to vice, Prime Tickets, which became an unqualified come up with a concept, strategize, market, and im- strategize, market, success. “I had a tremendous corporate base of cus- plement. We want to blow them away.” tomers who used to buy up my seats,” he recalls. “It Arkin’s streamlined crew of 14 blew away the and implement. We was a great gig.” braintrust for Cody Simpson, the 16-year-old Aussie Then along came StubHub. “I was fighting a pop idol with 3.3 million YouTube-generated fans. want to blow them giant with the Internet, and I couldn’t win,” he says. Simpson’s management team includes Scooter Braun, — stuart arkin “I figured it was time to get with the train instead of the mastermind behind Justin Bieber’s career. away.” trying to catch it.” One day not long ago, Arkin wound up playing Experience, of course, is the best teacher. All a round of golf with Simpson’s manager, Matt Gra- from our conference room and be implemented so those years rubbing shoulders with ham. Prior to hitting the links — fast, you can’t believe it.” musicians and athletes through his and hoping he might bump into The Studios also trained their sights on local ticket business … understanding the Graham — Arkin had his team ex- singer-songwriter Robin Horlock, rebranding his im- allure of gadgets with his toy back- ecute some fully developed Simp- age and jump-starting his career. They’re actively ground … witnessing firsthand the son concepts. “You only get one seeking other clients — and not just entertainers. power of the Internet … the desire kick at the can,” he says. Recently, a New Jersey inventor approached Ar- for a leaner organization and great- By the time the round was over, kin with a tablet computer case containing a hidden er control of the process. All of Ar- Graham was sold. cord that serves as a handle or shoulder strap. Arkin kin’s history has coalesced inside a Beyond creating Simpson’s tour acquired and patented the product, dubbed it well-appointed suite of offices in posters, AAMZ invented Smitten “Zipline,” and unveiled it at the massive Consumer Farmington Hills, where the enter- With Cody Simpson, the singer’s Electronics Show last January. “We’re developing a tainment business — or, more ac- official phone app, which includes line of computer accessories called Custom Quest,” curately, the business of entertain- Top: Stuart Arkin, Cody Simpson, and a GPS function letting fans know he says. “Everyone’s got an idea, but if you can’t ex- Matt Graham; singer-songwriter Robin h ment — is being turned on its head. Horlock; retired Detroit Red Wing Kris just how far they are from him at ecute, great ideas go nowhere.” Arkin, 43, a passionate amateur Draper, Arkin, and current Red Wing, any given moment. hockey player, is CEO of three dis- Dan Cleary. Above: Arkin with his father. “I’ve never worked this closely tinct company lines working to- with a license holder,” Graham ward a single goal. His Power Play says. “The Studios crew is so fo- Group holds the official licenses for the musical art- cused on ensuring that everything they make for ists, athletes, and sports leagues for whom Arkin Cody is something his fans want and love. What creates exclusive packaging and merchandise. (That they do is beyond licensed merchandise. They’re roster includes the Grateful Dead, the NHL, its play- creating products and experiences for Cody’s fans.” ers association, and Michigan State University, among Arkin is one of the few licensees who work di- others.) rectly with artist management. “What we’re seeing is Then there’s AAMZ (named for Arkin; his fa- the labels haven’t changed their business model since ther, CFO Irwin Arkin; and chief marketing and the 1970s,” MacIntosh says. “They’re still collecting creative officers Amy MacIntosh and Tom Zahner, the lion’s share of the income for not doing a lot. who disbanded their own business to join Arkin’s). Artists today are modernized; the labels [are] not. So

28 HOURDETROIT.COM // March 2013 Photograph (left) by Florent Dechard, Photograph (center) courtesy of AAMZ “The Studios”, Photograph (right) by James Schmelzer, Elite Photographic Studio