For two decades, Michael Solomon and Rishon Blumberg have been revolutionizing the field of talent management, first guiding the careers of rock stars, then bringing their unique managerial acumen to tech talent and entrepreneurs.
Native New Yorkers and close childhood friends who got their entrepreneurial start in the ’80s throwing parties and selling T-shirts, Michael and Rishon founded Brick Wall Management in 1995, representing musicians like John Mayer, Citizen Cope, Vanessa Carlton, and others. Brick Wall artists have been nominated for and won multiple Grammy Awards with collectively more than twelve million albums sold. Brick Wall has also grown into a successful consulting business that advises clients in many aspects of the arts—from Emmy Award-winning songwriters to producers, directors, and entertainment-related companies.
As the decline of the record industry in the first decade of the twenty-first century became apparent, Rishon and Michael set their sights on expanding into the tech world. With the creation of 10x Management in 2012, they changed the way top-level programmers could find work in the fast-moving tech landscape. By bringing the business model of sports and entertainment representation to the tech world, 10x has become an invaluable resource for companies seeking coveted tech experts: Yelp, BirchBox, Verizon, HSBC, Google, Facebook, MIT, BMW, and Vice, to name a few. In 2019 with the addition of 10x Ascend, they expanded their offerings to include helping senior tech talent negotiate full time, W2 compensation packages. Their companies have been featured in dozens of news outlets where both founders regularly share opinions (The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNN, Bloomberg, BusinessWeek, Fast Company, MSNBC, ABC, Nightline, The Today Show, Wired, TechCrunch, Mashable, HuffPost, The Guardian, The Economist, and Inc., to name a few) including a seven-page feature in The New Yorker.
Rodeph Sholom 1978 featuring Rishon Blumberg (left) and Michael Solomon (right)
Rishon Blumberg (left) and Michael Solomon (right) circa 1987
Michael and Brick Wall also serve as the pro-bono administrator for The Kristen Ann Carr Fund (KACF), a nonprofit dedicated to finding treatments and a cure for sarcoma as well as improving the lives of all cancer patients. It was founded in 1993 after Michael’s girlfriend of four years, Kristen Carr, lost her battle with sarcoma. He was honored at The Kristen Ann Carr Fund’s Twentieth Anniversary Night to Remember in 2013. The KACF inspired Michael to co-found Musicians On Call (MOC), a national nonprofit that brings live music to hospital patients at their bedsides. Playing for more than 700,000 patients to date, MOC currently runs in twenty-six cities nationally and is growing at an unprecedented rate. Michael received the 2014 President’s Volunteer Service Award from President Obama and was named NY1 New Yorker of the Week for his work with MOC. In 2019, Michael was honored at Musicians On Call’s twentieth anniversary celebration with the Lifetime Achievement Award where MOC also renamed its volunteer musician award after him. He was also in the bestselling philanthropy book The Art of Giving. Michael’s diverse management and marketing expertise makes him a sought-after voice. He has spoken at SXSW and CMJ, and has been a guest lecturer on music and philanthropy at New York University. He’s also been a mentor and speaker at the Founder Institute, and appeared at numerous events and conferences.
A born and bred Manhattanite, Michael moved to Montclair, New Jersey, in 2014 with his awesome wife, Jenny, and two fantastic kids, Lucy and Rainen.
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A graduate of the Wharton School with a degree in entrepreneurial management, Rishon is a trusted voice in discussions about the future of work and the Talent Economy. He began his career in concert promotion—first at Nederlander Concerts and then Delsener/Slater Enterprises, which later became Live Nation.
Rishon has a keen business sense that drives him to find the best talent and make a lasting impact. Additionally, he thrives on doing good and improving people’s lives. He also acts as administrator for The Kristen Ann Carr Fund for sarcoma research and sits on the advisory board of Musicians On Call. Rishon has presented about the Talent Economy at TEDx, has appeared numerous times on television (Bloomberg Television, BBC) and has been published in the Harvard Business Review. In 2017, he was featured on the cover of the Wharton Alumni Club of New York’s Quarterly Magazine. In addition, Rishon has presented at SXSW, NYU, and for the Wharton Alumni Association.
He has spent many years coaching his sons’(Alec and Luke) sports teams to victory (or otherwise)—arguably his greatest achievement to date.
Game Changer is Michael and Rishon’s first book.
Daniel Weizmann’s writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Billboard, Buzz, Jewish Journal AP Newswire, and several anthologies including Turn Up the Radio and Drinking with Bukowski. He has an International MBA from Bar Ilan University.