Boardroom sits down with the music industry vet turned entrepreneur to learn the secret sauce between pairing top-tier talent with brands and events.
Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, and T-Pain all walk into a party.
No, it’s not the Roc Nation Brunch, nor is it the premiere of the latest Fast & the Furious flick. Rather, it’s a private event for a fan throwing the best 30th birthday bash imaginable. The charismatic crooners — all aligned at different labels — are not here to promote a new single nor to say “hi” and “bye” behind the mic.
Rather, they’re making money and memories off an unexpected opportunity to entertain. It’s an unlikely intersection of talent and time — one that could only come together or appear possible thanks to Bettie Levy.
Levy, an entertainment industry vet whose Rolodex reads like the Billboard Hot 100, has built relationships so deep that the bridge between music’s top talent of all genres, events of all scales, and partnerships of all categories are truly two texts away.
“Working with Bettie has always been a smooth process because she understands the vision from all sides,” Fat Joe told Boardroom. “It’s more than just booking gigs; it’s about finding that perfect alignment that benefits everybody involved.”
It’s why she’s able to broker league-licensed collaborations between the NHL and Darius Rucker one day and book Duke Dumont for a 50th birthday party the next.
“It’s really important that it’s authentic,” Levy told Boardroom on all her dealings. “There’s nothing worse than forcing talent to do something that they’re not into.”
Atune to artist interest and corporate campaigns, learn how Levy built her own entertainment empire that’s opening new doors for assorted artists and making big brands and private clients keep calling back for more.
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Intern to Exec
Levy began her music industry journey in the aisles of Sam Goody and Tower Records, spending her back-to-school shopping budget on Billy Joel CDs as opposed to Abercrombie attire. As a junior at Boston University, she began breaking down the liner notes of her favorite albums in search of label addresses, paper-mailing resumes with only a dream and without a plan.
“A lot of kids in college don’t know exactly what they want to do,” said Levy. “They know what they love to do.”
All the letters piled up at offices that, unbeknownst to Bettie, shared the same space, leading to an interview with Sony Music and soon a summer internship. In short order, that hustle led to her first job out of college, eventually becoming a Television and Video Promotions Booker for Columbia Records and eventually an employee at Epic and Sony Urban.
In the early ’00s, a day of work for Bettie ranged from turning Lil Bow Wow into Mr. 106 & Park to taking Coheed and Cambria to TRL. Across labels, Bettie built exposure for Destiny’s Child, Jessica Simpson, Frankie J, and more, achieving impossible feats such as landing 13 artists at the BET Awards and successfully pulling off a Fugees reunion.
As the music media landscape shifted from linear to digital, so did Bettie’s job title and journey.
“I remember very well when my department name changed,” said Levy. “We were Video Promotions, and then we started hearing about downloads. We were then the Digital Media Marketing & Promotion department.”
No longer was a Wednesday work trip just about flying down to Destin to shoot Cribs with Three 6 Mafia or securing John Mayer an interview on Last Call. Rather, it was understanding the developing and fragmented world of Web 1.0 and 2.0, where online interviews and social shares suddenly opened lanes to touch mass audiences in more digestible and niche ways.
“At the networks, it became a lot more online than just on-air because the world was changing,” Levy said. “It wasn’t just about going on TRL.”
After years in the label space, Bettie eventually followed her mentor, Don Ienner, to his start-up venture, IMO Entertainment. It was a leap of faith at a time of flux, but one that opened new doors and fostered new skills.
“I had this corporate experience, which is super important,” Levy said. “To now go to a start-up and entrepreneurial space? I kept doing my bookings for platforms, events, and partnerships, but also generating revenue for the company in any way I saw fit.”
No longer a cog in a major machine but a hunter-gatherer where income was concerned, Bettie found a lane in the industry that mattered much as album sales declined, but the cool cache and reach of artists increased.
“That was around the time that brand partnerships were becoming a thing,” Levy said.
Pairing performers with products, and bands with brands, Bettie became a go-getter in the partnership space years before the term influencer existed. Soon, it was time to call her own number.
“The real pivot was once I had both of those backgrounds? I knew it was time to go off and launch BCL Entertainment,” Levy said.
Threading the Needle
Throughout her time at IMO, Bettie brought value to her company and herself by selling in music libraries to NBC for online advertising while still sharpening her sword in the realm of bookings and brand partnerships.
“Donnie was very encouraging about trying things,” said Levy. “I loved having that corporate experience, it taught me so many things. To build relationships, be at a label, and have amazing mentors. Then to have the entrepreneurial experience at a start-up with the free reign to generate business in a different space where you’re just trying things.”
As alluded, that “trying things” energy led to the launch of her own company, BCL Entertainment, in 2010. Akin to her college internship hunt, building BCL was less about an intricate plan that was years in the making and more about pursuing passion as opportunities arose.
Despite almost a decade in the game, nothing came easy.
“The hardest thing is getting those first couple of clients and building that business,” Levy said. “I just went for it.”
Starting from the bottom, Bettie began building with smaller artists and brands by booking events and striking partnerships. Fourteen years into being her own boss, she now calls The Chainsmokers, Folgers Coffee, Usher, Fanatics, and Travis Scott friends and clients, operating in arenas both big and small, with her workload landing right around 50/50 regarding live events and brand partnerships.
It’s a free and fluid path compared to her time at major labels, though it does mean she has to consistently create opportunities like her start-up days rather than promote talent tied to payroll.
“We are not an agency that’s representing a specific roster,” said Levy. “Quite the contrary. Our clients are brands, venues, private clients, and charitable galas. We take clients’ creative budget deliverables and devise creative and talent inclusions that make sense. Whether it’s for an event or a partnership, we put together those deals and produce the end deliverable.”
So far, her highlights span artists of all sounds, events of various scales, and partners across categories. From booking Blues Traveler to perform at a fundraiser for The Toy Foundation children’s hospitals to having Ludacris write a rap for Jif Peanut Butter, the looks are less about spreadsheet data and more about finding natural fits.
“It’s not just about brokering a deal; it’s about the talent wanting to be involved,” said Levy who helped Ludacris carve out campaign creative and open unseen income and exposure streams with Jif.
“From the initial pitch through to the day of launch, BCLE’s meticulous attention to detail and commitment to our brand vision made all the difference,” Gail Hollander, CMO of The J.M. Smucker Company, told Boardroom. “It’s that kind of partnership that helps keep our brands at the forefront.”
Aligning an MC with three Grammy awards, a company with a $12.4 billion market cap, and acclaimed director Dave Meyers, the peanut butter bit penetrated pop culture and earned for all involved.
“That commercial was so interesting because there were so many tentacles off of it,” Levy continued. “There was, of course, the commercial, but in that case, Ludacris created an original song for that commercial. I knew he had the capabilities to write an original song in a short time frame, and I knew he was going to love the creative.”
Soaring at Scale
When speaking to Bettie Levy from her New York condo, it’s clear she’s built a brand that’s trusted, time-tested, and authentically fun.
Making a stop back home in the city before a flight to Jacksonville and after Darius Rucker performed at her alma mater in his own collection of Terrier attire produced by Fanatics, the girl who once gave up her school shopping money for full folders of CDs is now making music mingle with apparel in unforeseen fashion.
When watching Hootie & The Blowfish videos on MTV, the favored frontman would strum his guitar in fan gear layered by the grunge garb of the time. In 2024, with a little help from Bettie, Rucker released team-toned flannels branded by NFL, MLB, NHL, and NCAA programs distributed at mass by Michael Rubin.
“Darius is a massive sports fan,” said Levy. “This partnership started at NFL with all 32 teams. I went to a show in New York, and he was throwing out Giants and Jets flannels into the crowd. The line started at NFL, went to MLB, and we’ve now gone into NCAA.”
In modern times, it’s not uncommon for an artist to have an apparel partnership or collaborative capsule. What’s incredibly unique for Rucker is that he has access to licensing for roughly 100 teams and is in the fifth year of selling said merch.
“In the case of Darius, he’s part of every design, every thought,” said Levy. ” He is the driving force. He’s behind it, and the product is true to him. It’s sporty, it’s cool, it has a little country feel, and it’s something different that just wasn’t there before.”
Seeing such blank space is why both Billboard and Ad Week laude Bettie’s work. It’s why Wyclef Jean ends up teaching a music class at a school in Tribeca and why Super Bowl sponsors dial BCLE to book performers.
“Bettie and BCLE are always thinking about what’s best for the talent and the clients, making sure the shows and partnerships feel authentic,” Joe said. “It’s a one-stop shop where I know they have my back.”
“People know that when my company is involved in a project, we are in it,” said Levy. “We are a partner and part of the team. We’re not BCL Entertainment; we’re one of you to make the mission all it can be and more.”
From Bronx battle rappers to jelly juggernauts, the love runs deep for Bettie and her team.
“Working with Bettie and BCLE on projects across our brands, including the now-iconic Jif campaign with Ludacris, has been nothing short of seamless,” Hollander said. “Whether it was finding the perfect talent match for Meow Mix, JC Chasez, or being on the ground together in New Orleans working with Folgers and Trombone Shorty, Bettie and her team made sure every talent inclusion felt authentic.”
So, the next time you see a N*SYNC alum on TV singing about cat food or Ice Spice performing at a Fanatics event, know that it didn’t take a village. Rather, it took one woman who built a love of music into immeasurable ties to talent into a team willing to make it happen.
“Having brand ties to talent and names has become such a thing that most companies now recognize they need a celebrity tie or influencer pushing out that message,” said Levy. “It will always be about relationships, it will always be about hard work, and it will always be about being authentic – both personally and professionally.”
