Sammy Kaufman is bridging the gap between music and tech

Linktree's LA-based Music Lead is revolutionizing music accessibility online, promoting a product that “truly helps musicians.”

Meet the LA-based music lover who is helping Linktree revolutionize music accessibility online.

Linktree’s Music Lead, Sammy Kaufman, said her father believed that “music was genuinely going to change the world.” The music aficionado, who was raised on 60s and 70s music icons such as Crosby, Stills & Nash and The Carpenters, moved from New York to Los Angeles in 2019 to pursue a career in the industry.

Now she has a crucial role growing Linktree’s musician user base, a position that involves speaking directly to artists, record labels, and producers to understand what their priorities are while determining where the industry is heading as a whole. Sammy has recently been involved in the launch of Music Links, and is leading the charge on educating our music community on the feature, such as by teaching them best practices to ensure it is being used effectively.

With artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Luke Combs, BENEE, Ashnikko, and Luke Hemmings of 5 Seconds of Summer already using Music Links to promote their music, we were eager to find out more.

Where did you work before Linktree?

I started my career in live music working at a large talent agency where I booked tours for everyone from Glass Animals to Cardi B. Most recently, I led Industry Relations at a music-tech focused venture capital fund where I connected and educated the music industry on various technologies that could help artists increase revenue and connect with their fans more effectively.

What made you want to work at Linktree?

I absolutely love the intersection between music and tech. So many corners of the music industry are hesitant to adopt technology that will not only help artists but will ultimately accelerate the growth of the music industry as a whole. Although the educational component can sometimes be challenging, I knew it would be so rewarding to help artists and their teams connect with and grow their audience through Linktree.

What does a music representative do?

No day is the same [but] almost every one revolves around having conversations with artists and the teams that represent them. My goal is to understand not only what’s important to the music community, but to teach them how and why they should use Linktree to enhance their digital marketing strategy and grow their business.

Our developers are fantastic, but they’re not mind readers. Without having a representative on the ground, it’s impossible for them to have a clear understanding of what they should be building and why. That’s essentially where I come in.

How do you get artists to connect with you?

Honestly, I just try to be authentic. There are so many individuals and companies trying to profit off the work of artists that I think it’s so important to approach any relationship with the music community through a genuine interest and understanding of what matters to them.

At the end of the day I want to help artists and I deeply believe Linktree is an incredible tool—I think that shows in the way we talk about our platform.

We hear Linktree has a new music feature. How do Music Links work?

You heard right! Music Links makes it easy for artists to connect their fans with their music on all major streaming services with just one link. All you need to do is copy and paste any song or album URL on your admin page and Linktree will automatically find and link to that music across every major streaming service.

Now music users can get their music to their fans faster than ever before, regardless of what their audience’s preferred streaming service is.

What are some of your favorite Linktrees?

I love this question. There are so many but I love the way that Shakira customized hers to match the branding of her latest release, or how JVCKJ found a creative way to collect fans’ emails and phone numbers to make communicating with them easier.And since I can’t stop there here are a few more:

What’s the most adventurous thing you’ve done lately?

Two days ago I delusionally thought I’d be able to break the record for an Escape Room near me. Turns out I not only failed to break the record, I in fact did not even escape :)