It is a pleasure to welcome Gerard Longo back to The Jake’s Take with Jacob Elyachar Podcast.

Gerard is the founder of the Underground Music Collective (UMC). The journey to the UMC’s founding started in the summer of 2013. He worked in New York City as a contractor at a major corporation, and the commute between New Jersey and NYC had burnt him out, so he looked for a creative outlet. One night in August, he decided to listen to episodes of his college radio show called The Quinn Spinn. At the end of the evening, Gerard found his outlet. He decided to restart the show but decided to focus more on independent artists. Gerard turned to Twitter and asked dozens of artists if the podcast could feature their music, and surprisingly, several said: “Yes.”

The second volume of The Quinn Spinn welcomed a crazy cast of characters and featured interviews with musicians on five continents that led to over 100 pieces of programming from 2013 to 2015. In May 2015, the show took a hiatus as he moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he wanted to dig into the arts and culture. In January 2016, Gerard Longo launched the Lehigh Valley Underground (LVU), serving eastern Pennsylvania and western New Jersey music scenes. They overgrew locally, and the LVU expanded to regularly host and sponsor events while capturing awards for our work in the community.

Near the end of the Summer of 2018, several life events and his experience in the music industry made Gerard want to take the platform to another level. He decided to move to an “industry town,” as it would be the only way to connect our content and the artists it serves to the greater musical world. In November 2018, Gerard Longo re-branded LVU as the UMC to help provide content and resources applicable to music professionals worldwide. He also moved to Nashville in search of a new adventure. Since moving to Nashville, UMC has developed partnerships with major brands, including CAA (Creative Artists Agency), Universal Music Group, Red Bull, and the Tennessee Titans.

Gerard Longo talked about founding the Creative Agency at UMC and described what he looks for in creators to join the UMC-Verified team. He also shared why making his debut on iHeartRadio was a full-circle moment.