For most artists, financial anxiety isn’t something discussed on stage, in interviews, or across social media feeds.
The conversation usually stays behind closed doors. It’s overshadowed by discussions around burnout, touring schedules, creative pressure, and algorithm changes. Yet beneath the surface, many artists are quietly asking themselves the same thing:
What happens when the music stops?
That question became the foundation for Atlas Point, a wealth management firm built specifically for electronic music artists and industry professionals. But for founder Webster Burrier, the idea didn’t come out of a market report or a business plan but arose after years spent operating inside both the electronic dance music industry and the financial sector.
“So, I’ve been in wealth management for about a decade and had always cast a wide net when it came to finding new clients to work with,” Webster explained in an interview with The Daily Frequency. “I have also been involved in the electronic music community for several years now and started to notice that artists had a real need and were being grossly underserved by others in the finance industry, and it all sort of just clicked. My goal is to provide artists and industry professionals with the same level of meaningful financial planning advice that is given to doctors and lawyers.”
While wealth management has been his profession, electronic music has never simply been an outside interest.
Long before launching Atlas Point, Webster had already spent years working inside the EDM space.
From his time as a promoter for Breakaway Music Festival to co-founding the Wilmington, NC–based live event company, Electric Enclave, which recently booked their biggest show yet with ALLEYCVT, his experience has gifted him a perspective few financial advisors can claim. And, of course, at the center of it all is deep love for EDM, not just on the industry side of things but for the music and culture itself.
“The fact that I not only have a love for the music, but a deep understanding of the industry as a whole, definitely helps me relate to artists. As the CFO of Electric Enclave, I am responsible for negotiating artist contracts, creating show budgets and ticket scaling, and, ultimately, sending artists their performance fees. Who better is there to understand how artists make their money than the very person who is responsible for paying them?”
For Webster, understanding artist finances isn’t just about retirement accounts and investment strategies. It’s about connecting with the artists, understanding how careers are built, how shows are budgeted, and how artists actually get paid.
“Having these deep roots in the industry also allows me to be more hands-on with clients. Rather than sitting in an office and checking in with clients at an annual Zoom meeting, I am out at their shows supporting them from the side stage. Being able to so easily step into their world and genuinely appreciate their art really allows me to develop strong relationships with my clients, and they all seem to really appreciate that.”
That connection would ultimately lead to the conversation that changed everything. Not at a networking event. Not in a boardroom. But in a car ride with the quickly rising producer, AVELLO, whom he picked up from the airport ahead of an Electric Enclave show.
“Yeah, that conversation was definitely my lightbulb moment. To provide some backstory, we had booked him for an Electric Enclave show back in August of last year. I picked him up from the airport, and we started making small talk and getting to know one another. I mentioned that I worked in wealth management, and he half-jokingly said, ‘Well, I may need to talk with you soon. My music career is really starting to take off, and I’m terrified that, when my run is over, I’ll be left with nothing because I made stupid decisions with my money.’”
It was a casual remark, but one that immediately stood out. What Webster heard wasn’t just a concern from one artist. He heard a problem that nobody seemed to be addressing.
“In that moment, it was like everything just clicked. As a young wealth manager just starting out, it was drilled into my head that, to be successful in this industry, you need to find a group of people with a specific financial problem and solve it for them. I realized that he was vocalizing something that had been right in front of my face all along. I immediately began to notice that this was a genuine fear many artists have. I also realized that I had never heard another wealth manager talking about working with electronic music artists in my entire 10-year career.”
The more he thought about it, the clearer the path became. What started as an observation quickly turned into a mission.
“In that moment, it all became clear that this is what I am supposed to be doing and, three months later, Atlas Point was born. To this day, I still text AVELLO regularly to share my success stories in the business and thank him for helping to inspire me to do this.”
That realization eventually led Webster to take a leap of faith, leaving the firm where he had spent the previous five years to build something of his own.
From that moment, Atlas Point was no longer just a startup idea or another business venture. It was a calling toward Webster’s purpose, a spark of renewed motivation, and the unlocking of a door that’s been closed to EDM artists for far too long.
“I definitely think that it is more than just another business venture. Getting to help the artists that I have been listening to for years is so surreal. I feel like I was super burnt out at my last firm, and now I’m excited to wake up and get to work every day. Beyond that, the entire culture behind electronic dance music is something that has always been super special to me, and I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to play my role in it.”
The deeper he dug into the industry, the more he realized the problem wasn’t simply a lack of financial planning. It was a lack of understanding.
“I think a lot of it has to do with generational differences. The wealth management industry is largely run by baby boomers who never really had the chance to experience electronic music culture. The average age of a wealth manager is in their mid-50s. Simply put, they just aren’t a part of the modern electronic music generation.”
That disconnect goes beyond age demographics. In Webster’s view, the cultural history of dance music has also contributed to misconceptions that still linger today.
“I also think there are cultural factors that play into it. Raves started back in the 1980s in Chicago and Detroit as a safe haven for marginalized groups like POC and queer communities. They were often thrown in secret, and oftentimes illegal, venues. Because of this, they were often inaccurately portrayed as something scary, wrong, or even demonic. I actually just saw a clip online from an ABC 20/20 episode from the early ’90s where they were warning parents of the dangers of raves.”
Even decades later, many artists still find themselves explaining those same misconceptions to people outside the community, including, at times, professionals they rely on.
“Go up to anyone at a festival and ask them what it’s like to explain it to their parents. It’s a lot of eye rolls and myths needing to be dispelled. When it comes down to it, most wealth managers are of that same generation. They simply just don’t understand.”
The challenge isn’t unique to wealth management. Financial conversations remain uncomfortable for many people, regardless of profession.
“I think it’s a problem that goes far beyond just dance music. Humans, in general, view financial talk as being taboo. One of the things we’re taught as children is that it’s rude to ask someone how much money they make. Even in a professional setting, many clients become sheepish when I ask them what their income was last year.”
But it’s not just the societal rules that’s been engraved in our psyche for generations.
The rise of social media has both complicated and amplified those feelings, creating a false reality where success is constantly being displayed, but rarely explained.
“I also think that social media plays a large role in why people, especially in the music industry, are afraid to speak candidly about their finances. It’s almost to the point where you can’t log in to Instagram without seeing content creators in Miami flexing stacks of prop money and rented cars. It feeds into the anxiety and subconsciously makes people feel like if they can’t do that, then they aren’t successful.”
For Webster, helping clients understand their relationship with money has become just as important as helping them manage it.
“This is a mindset that I work extremely hard to break with my clients. Diving into how my clients think and feel about money is one of the coolest and most interesting parts of my job. In fact, this concept fascinated me so much that I decided to get a master’s degree in financial psychology so I can better understand and help my clients.”
Those conversations become even more important in an industry where careers rarely follow a traditional path. Artists often earn their biggest paychecks long before most people begin seriously thinking about retirement.
“Agents and managers are critical parts of an artist’s team, but they are focused on what happens during an artist’s career, whereas wealth management is focused on making the right moves during an artist’s peak earning years in order to set them up for what is to come after their career.”
Touring itself comes with a cost, not just financially, but physically, mentally, and spiritually.
“Being a touring artist is no joke! Your diet goes by the wayside, your sleep schedule gets messed up, you aren’t able to go to the gym on a daily basis. It can really take a toll on your body. Because of this, artists often have relatively short touring careers and retire at a much younger age than their friends who work in corporate America.”
That’s why Webster believes financial planning should be viewed as part of an artist’s long-term career strategy, not something reserved for later in life.
“By working with a wealth manager, artists can ensure they are making the right financial moves to set themselves up for the rest of their lives. Essentially, our job is to make sure that when artists are done touring, they don’t need to start taking wedding and bar mitzvah gigs to pay their rent.”
Success arrives faster than preparation. Like we’ve witnessed with the rise of AVELLO, and his massive remix of Disco Lines‘ No Broke Boys, an artist is just one viral song, one capitalized opportunity away from being an opening local act to playing festival main stages and headlining their own events.
When momentum begins building around an artist’s career, Webster says the biggest mistake is often surprisingly simple.
“The biggest financial mistake I see artists make is overspending and failing to plan for the future. They see the money start to come in and adjust their lifestyle to match the income, not realizing that it likely won’t be this way forever.”
It’s for this one reason he prefers building relationships early, even before there is substantial wealth to manage.
“This is why I often try to start working with emerging artists while they’re still small, often before there’s even any wealth to manage. Like I said, this is more than a business to me. At the end of the day, these artists are my friends, and I want to see them succeed in the long term, even if it means I’m losing money up front.”
Today’s modern music landscape and social media’s fast-paced climate have only made those conversations more important. Artists aren’t just artists making music. They’re entrepreneurs building a business that could take off at any moment.
“I think the biggest conversation is helping them understand the tradeoffs. Independence allows for more freedom and flexibility, as well as the potential for greater earnings. However, it also comes with a lot more risk and a lot more work.”
Like with anything, success comes paired with additional responsibilities. Artists aren’t just artists making music. They’re entrepreneurs building a business that could take off at any moment.
“Artists today are expected to be producers, performers, mentors, marketing experts, and content creators all at once. And until they reach a stage in their career where they can start paying to outsource a lot of those tasks, they will have to work their asses off and make a lot of sacrifices. I think that’s really the side of entrepreneurship as a whole that isn’t talked about enough.”
It’s that reality that ultimately shapes Atlas Point’s approach.
Rather than applying a traditional financial planning model, Webster believes artists need guidance that reflects the realities of their careers.
“To put it broadly, we help artists with every aspect of their financial picture. This includes things like investing their money for retirement or other future goals (wedding, house purchase, etc.), creating and monitoring a budget, coordinating with their CPA or business manager to save on taxes, and more.”
Many of those considerations are unique to artists and industry professionals, particularly those operating as independent contractors.
“More specifically, we can help artists and industry professionals with certain financial strategies that are unique to their situation. Most artists are independent contractors, so they have very specific laws pertaining to how they can invest in retirement accounts. Also, because of their generally young retirement age, they may not be old enough (59½ years old) to access retirement accounts and will need to supplement their strategy with brokerage accounts. Finally, a lot of artists dive into their music career after spending years working a 9-to-5 and will often have old 401(k) accounts that we can help consolidate and manage.”
Yet Webster believes the true differentiator isn’t found in the services Atlas Point provides but within his understanding of the EDM space and culture as a whole.
“What really sets us apart is my deep understanding of the electronic music industry and culture as a whole. Electronic music is more than just an industry. It is its own culture that cannot be truly understood without experiencing it firsthand. Most people in my role won’t even listen to a dubstep song, let alone have a deep, fundamental understanding of how the industry operates and just how significant the culture as a whole is to those who operate within it.”
That philosophy is the driving force behind Atlas Point.
Not the business opportunity. Not the revenue potential. But the community and a strong desire to serve those driving it forward.
“One of my favorite things about electronic music culture is the overwhelming sense of community. It is one of the few places where I feel like every person there is playing a role in making the experience truly incredible.”
For Webster, festivals represent something larger than entertainment.
They’re collective experiences built by thousands of people contributing in different ways.
“The artist keeps you dancing, the lighting techs ensure you can have a laser show, and the VJ creates mesmerizing graphics for the LED wall. The attendees fan their neighbors to keep them cool, offer kandi and trinkets to strangers to brighten their day, and carry giant totems throughout the festival grounds so people have a landmark in the crowd to find their friends. It’s almost as if festivals are their own little utopian society.”
Atlas Point, in many ways, is his contribution to that ecosystem and a way of giving back using the skills he already possesses.
“It’s really a beautiful thing that has been a source of so much love and happiness in my life. I guess my why is using my education and skill set to make sure the people who help create this beautiful environment can focus on their craft without having financial anxiety looming over them. That’s my contribution to the community.”
And perhaps just as importantly, he hopes to expand the conversation around what a career in music can look like.
“I also hope to demonstrate to the community at large that there are more ways to work in the music industry than just being an artist or an agent.”
And while Atlas Point is still in the early stages, Webster is determined to make a lasting impact that extends far beyond a client roster and ultimately reshapes how financial wellness is perceived across electronic music as a whole.
“We are in a super unique position and are really the only wealth management company operating in this niche that has any meaningful level of industry involvement. My hope is that we establish ourselves as a staple in the electronic music scene alongside artist managers and talent agencies and can show artists the real importance of taking care of their financial wellness.”
Contact Atlas Point
Atlas Point tries to meet clients where they are, which is why it uses Instagram in lieu of a traditional website. Rather than posting only the typical infographics seen across much of the financial industry, Atlas Point shares financial tips for ravers alongside behind-the-scenes content that offers a look at what it’s like working in the music industry.
Follow Atlas Point on Instagram!
For business inquiries or to schedule a meeting to learn more, Atlas Point can be reached by phone at (910) 512-4150 or by email at webster@atlaspointwealth.com.