WIN Supporters Spotlight: Marauder’s Rev. Moose on Building Collective Power and Why Independents Matter

Marauder creates impactful marketing and development programs that directly benefit music communities. By tailoring solutions to each client’s needs, the award-winning firm combines brand marketing, special events, and relationship building to drive B2B awareness, community engagement, and consumer adoption. With a strong focus on the independent music sector, Marauder has worked with artists, organizations, industry bodies and government entities to develop programs that foster growth and create lasting opportunities for music communities and were the first company to join the WIN Supporters program when it was launched in 2024.

WIN Supporters is a program available to those who want to support WIN’s work, champion the global independent music sector, and engage with its entrepreneurs in a sustainable and mutually beneficial way. The program offers unique benefits that complement the Friends, Partners, Affiliate and Associate membership schemes run by WIN members, which businesses are also encouraged to explore and join for additional ways to engage with the independent community.

We spoke with Rev. Moose, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Marauder, about the power of collective action, his experience helping build the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA), why information-sharing can strengthen independent businesses, and what continues to inspire his commitment to a more equitable music industry:

How have you and your company helped level the playing field for independents and granting them access to new opportunities or markets?

I really want to take the easy way out here and just say, “Watch the TEDx Talk.” (please do watch the video, by the way.) The early days of everyone coming together to create NIVA was a whirlwind in itself. The thing is, we weren’t trying to create new opportunities; We were trying to hold onto any possibility of there being opportunities in the future. Because we were successful in that fight, NIVA can continue to do the work that benefits everyone in the ecosystem of independent music. From additional legislative power both nationally and locally, to peer supporters championing the sector, there’s been and continue to be numerous benefits to what originally came together to fight for the very existence of independent venues. Now, we can rally around the many other ways independent artists, record labels, venues, festivals, and partners warrant recognition, either in terms of audience awareness or the many economic benefits that often seem restricted to those that need them the least.

Why is it important for you to support WIN and its mission?

I’ve been in a fortuitous position to work with so many global leaders in this industry, from helping grow the early American export programs for the New Zealand Music Commission and what would become Sounds Australia, to managing artists from around the world. This has given me not just a unique perspective of how the pieces all work together globally, but also built strong friendships and allyship with people that are, in one way or another, inadvertently challenged in reaching a larger audience. For some, especially those in relatively small markets, this is as much a geographic restraint as it is economic. WIN’s focus on building a level playing field for the independent sector across the world very much echoes my own quest to further equitability and opportunity in the music industry. It’s tough enough to run an independent music company of any kind. We shouldn’t have to each take on every individual challenge ourselves when we are much, much more powerful together.

What changes in the industry are you most excited about, and how do independents play a role?

There’s an ongoing generational and technological shift toward sharing more information that benefits independents more than anyone. Sure, it’s often uncomfortable to talk about the ugly stuff (money, personnel changes, getting stressed the fuck out doing something you love) but knowing you’re not alone can be its own support system. I’ve tried to embrace vulnerability as a superpower and I see that being done across the board. Independents have more to gain if an artist is out there telling everyone how much they went out of their way to set up a fair contract, or were there when the singer got sick, or stepped up when everyone else left the band hanging. The opposite is just as true though. This serves as a somewhat terrifying public checks and balances system that we all know exists. Books are written of the most memorable hashtags but relationships are built on the stories we tell each other. The more we share information, the safer we all are, and I mean that in so many ways. 

What inspired you personally to get involved with supporting independents?

Part of me couldn’t care less about where the song comes from; if it’s good, it’s good. I suppose the same could be said about my sneakers, or my lunch. But the reality is, it’s up to us to be tuned in enough to understand where our money goes and who benefits from it. What I hope I made clear in my TEDx Talk is that options abound for music. We could, theoretically, listen to just about anything. Sort of. And it’s the “sort of” part that freaks me out. We’re sold one thing by a very small number of companies, and the reality is quite different. Championing independents, to me, is about championing fair competition. And championing competition is where innovation, creativity, and boundaries get pushed. This is where change comes from. This is where advancing conversations come from. It’s easy to feel helpless in this world of ours, where so much of everything is out of our control. If I can be intentional in supporting businesses and people doing good things, and that can somehow get someone else’s attention to do the same, then that means something to me. And if the big companies that run the world already operated in this manner, we wouldn’t be having the discussion about supporting independents, because they’d be winning due to having the best product or service not as a result of manipulating the market in their favor.

To hear more about his experience, his work with NIVA and the importance of supporting independent music, watch Rev. Moose’s TEDx Talk, All Music Is Local here.

We’re grateful to Marauder for their continued support as a WIN Supporter, and we look forward to building on our partnership to further connect, empower and champion the global independent music community.