Tom Baggott is passionate about his work. The seeds of his music business philosophy and DIY approach were planted in middle and high school when he was regularly exposed to-- and participated in-- the music, art and pageantry of The Bread & Puppet Theater, an international political theater troupe based in Glover, VT. When he came to the University of Vermont (for the political activism climate) in 1987, he was immediately immersed in a strong and vibrant music community, one in which punks, metal heads, rastas and hippies seemingly shared everything-- even audiences-- and created a viable music scene. Like other 17 year olds, he was trying to figure out whether he was a student, performer or writer, and shortly after penning the first article to appear in emerging local band Phish's press kit (The Gadlfy, 1987), he was arrested for civil disobedience. Baggott and the rest of The Waterman 19 were protesting US foreign policy-- specifically, Central America policy-- and they had used musical events to raise awareness of the issues. Now they needed to raise money, so they decided to put on some shows. This was the start of a period during which Baggott promoted numerous musical events as tools for social change and fundraising. He produced or co-presented benefit concerts for a variety of causes-- anti-CIA recruitment, diversity issues, environmental issues and fundraising for progressive Senator Bernie Sanders first successful US House race in 1996, to name a few-- featuring an array of local talent and national artists ranging from Public Enemy to Blues Traveler to The Wailers.

By this time, still back at UVM in 1987, Baggott the accidental promoter had become friendly with the Phish guys and worked as a volunteer and fan spreading the word in the most grass roots of fashions. In 1989 he put together a couple of "ticket to ride" busses to Phish's first Paradise date in Boston, helping them sell out the show that they later referred to as a critical event in their development. For Baggott, watching the Phish phenomenon from a ringside seat was exhilarating, but at the time he was sure he was going to teach college. Meanwhile, he booked and managed the small bands he played in-- for fun and because it was natural for him-- but by 1995 grad school and academia had lost its luster. By now he was representing regional artists and contemplating his choices: teaching history at a university or going full-time with his unintentional music business career.

Baggott would later understand that, in a strange way, his academic background in the study of religion and intellectual and cultural history and his personal background negotiating wholesale orders and driving trucks for his family's farm business had prepared him well for the music business. In an existential moment of reckoning, he dove in and started his first agency in 1995, registering it with the State of Vermont in March of 1996 as Major Tom Productions. This was soon shortened to MTProductions (MTP), then-- when he moved the company to Atlanta in 1999 at the onset of the "dot com" era-- the name was changed to thebookingagency.com (TBA). TBA was the talent buyer and in-house promoter for Atlanta's storied Center Stage (now Earthlink Live) and had an in-house advertising agency and college division. Baggott and his partner Chris Cate had turned The Disco Biscuits into a national act, they had Sound Tribe Sector 9 hot on their heels, and a half dozen other notable emerging artists rounded out the top half of the roster. Baggott was trying his hand at management with Sound Tribe Sector 9, as well. The management gig was was short-lived, and at the same time that that relationship was ending, the owners of Center Stage filed for bankruptcy and Cate split off to start his own agency. Looking for a change of scenery, Baggott moved to Boulder for a brief stint before returning home to Vermont to work from home as an agent at Skyline Artists. Having already become enamored with finding fresh young talent and the challenging puzzle of artist development, Baggott decided that the Skyline gig was not for him, and in 2003 he quit and went back on his own as TBArtists. Over the next 6 years, his perspective and approach evolved from that of an agent to that of a manager. He no longer simply booked bands-- he provided a holistic, sustainable, career-oriented vision and strategy for his clients. Certainly, the implementation of the strategy required booking, and Baggott's background as an agent served his management clients exceptionally well until he could place them with larger agencies, and approach demonstrated by his development of Ryan Montbleau Band. When the time came for him to provide more support and services for his management clients, Baggott began looking around and soon found a perfect synergy and philosophical match with Peter Casperson. In 2009, Baggott merged his management business with Invasion Group, and in 2011 he brought his agency business under the UFO umbrella.

In hindsight, everything and everybody needs to be road tested, and the wild ride of those three years around the turn of the century was a blessing. It had exposed Baggott to many of the trials and pitfalls of the music industry and business in general, and it prepared him well for the next chapter in his musical odyssey. Baggott's musician, writer and truck driver background provided him with some insight to the artist's perspective, and his experience with Phish and his background in activism and the study of religion and culture sharpened his instincts, giving him what he needed to play his part in creating the hybrid "jam electronica" or "jamtronica" scene pioneered by The Disco Biscuits and Sound Tribe Sector 9. These accomplishments themselves helped him to anticipate, understand and ride the edge of other cultural trends and social change. All of this combined certainly contributed to Baggott's optimistic and fun-loving approach to life and work... and through all of it he has learned that an honest, no-nonsense, straightforward approach is the best one.

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