Cory is a student at Belmont University in Nashville, TN, concentrating on fields in both Communication and Entertainment Industry Studies. He enjoys staying up to date with current tech news, developing new and creative ideas, and identifying trends within popular culture. Cory has a driven passion for music, technology, and art and strives to express these interests in all areas of his work.

Since joining the Strategic Blend team, Cory has directly worked with website development, creating new marketing strategies, and organizing events for various artists and companies – including Terri Clark, Tanya Tucker, Big Kenny, and Suzanne Vega. Cory is a ‘big picture’ person who enjoys brainstorming new ideas, ultimately creating a final product that appeals on both an aesthetic and practical level. Cory has been a team member of Strategic Blend since the Spring of 2009.

Michael Sloane – is co-founder of Strategic Blend, a creative solutions company based in Nashville, TN and Denver, CO.

In an age where software solutions are moving more and more to the cloud, brands are even more hard-pressed to keep a finger on the pulse of IT solutions. As Strategic Blend began, we saw a growing need; not only for a web presence for every brand, and a means to market that brand to the world, but also to show both emerging and established companies a more effective and productive “world wide web”.

This isn’t your father’s internet. Everything from word processing to social interaction has made its way “online”. Now, more than ever, a company can take advantage of emerging technologies to increase efficiency and bolster the bottom line.

The key is finding a partner to monitor the beast that is technology solutions. To find someone to try it all out, understand it, put it through the unique filter of each brand and make suggestions on what suite of tools works best for your brand. Enter Strategic Blend…. “I couldn’t be more proud of our work, but more importantly, I’m proud of the confidence our clients have shown in us.”

Sloane began his journey as a banker and later a bank consultant, prior to a masters degree in business with the focus on entertainment. Through publishing, management, road management, and label gigs, he learned that the future of the music industry was online. Post MBA, Sloane worked with echomusic prior to and post Ticketmaster acquisition as a Client Manager for roughly 40% of the company’s roster. Moving on from echo, Sloane took a Senior Client Management with Ultrastar Entertainment | MusicToday both wholly owned by Live Nation. It was at that time he got to see, first hand, the famed 360 deals, and further his skills in marketing and client management, before leaving Live Nation to become a founding partner of Strategic Blend.

Taylor Trask is co-founder of Strategic Blend, a creative solutions company based in Nashville, TN and Denver, CO.

Taylor has been developing online properties and businesses for over 12 years. He created his first website in 1996 (an early country music blog) and soon after began consulting and producing for new and established brands around the country. After arriving in Nashville, he held gigs at Compasss Records, Lofton Creek Records and publisher Brave New Music, advising on new media and web-based strategy.

On the heels of Napster, iTunes and the explosion of internet tools, Taylor saw a tremendous shift in how brands use the internet. The web as we knew it was about to change, and the world was becoming flat. Acting on that vision, Taylor joined Pinky Gonzales and Nashville-based Artist Media Group, a front-runner in creating direct-to-consumer business models and technology. While there Taylor worked closely with Rascal Flatts, Terri Clark, Universal Nashville and Kelly Clarkson, developing their online subscription clubs, strategies and promotions. Later, AMG merged with echomusic and then again with Ticketmaster Entertainment. There, he was integral in the development and marketing of Dierks Bentley, Sugarland, Brooks & Dunn and the Professional Bull Riders.

After 4 years with echo, Taylor recognized a need to take the opportunities for brands even further. The tools were becoming more ubiquitous and open, creating greater need for creativity, strategy and experience. He partnered with former-echo colleague Michael Sloane to start Strategic Blend. With offices in Nashville and Denver, Strategic Blend is on track to become a totally new kind of company – utilizing emerging trends and technology to benefit itself as well as it’s clients.