Paradigm acquires Third Coast

Paradigm has just snapped up Christian music booking agency Third Coast Artists Agency and will incorporate it into the firm's Nashville office.

Third Coast president Mike Snider will bring his entire team and roster into the Paradigm Nashville fold, including such artists as Audio Adrenaline, Mercy Me, Jeremy Camp, Natalie Grant, Hawk Nelson, Red, David Crowder Band and Chris Sligh.

The move comes as the Hollywood agency biz is being rattled by the pending merger between William Morris and the Endeavor tenpercentery. Paradigm is among those key agencies that stand to gain clients and agents turned out in the wake of the amalgamation.

Like WMA, Paradigm is strong on the music side and this latest acquisition suggests the company is bent on continued growth in that sector. No financial details of the acquisition were made available.

"Paradigm Nashville has been quietly putting together an aggressive strategy to expand our presence in this market," Paradigm Nashville co-head Greg Janese told Billboard.biz. "One of the first steps in that direction is to acquire an agency that fits the profile of Paradigm's culture and mission, which is identifying those entrepreneurial-driven boutique agencies that are successful but have very strong, experienced and capable people."

Under chairman Sam Gores, Paradigm acquired another such boutique, Monterey Peninsula under founders Dan Weiner and Fred Bohlander, just four years ago.

Snider co-founded TCAA with his wife, Lisa, in 1999 and the agency has rapidly grown to be a force in the Christian music market.

"Being at a boutique, although we have grown tremendously, we have an opportunity now to do the things CAA and William Morris have always been able to do, to compete on a different level," Snider said.

Despite a down economy, there is still "a lot of business that can be generated by this town, in several different artists and formats," Janese added. "The Christian music industry is a very important part of Nashville, and bringing Mike and his team on is bringing in the best guys in that market."

Under Janese and co-head Curt Motley, the Paradigm Nashville office books such acts as Toby Keith, the Del McCoury Band, the Eli Young Band, Mike Farris, Patty Loveless, Shooter Jennings and Junior Brown.

Paradigm has offices in Beverly Hills, New York and Monterey, Calif., as well as Nashville. Its roster of music artists includes Coldplay, the Dave Matthews Band, the Black Eyed Peas, Aerosmith and Smashing Pumpkins. Film and TV clients include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Adrien Brody, Chris Cooper, Katherine Heigl, Michael Cera, Laurence Fishburne and Teri Hatcher.