Industry Weekly

[Visionary]

Industry titan Sujit Kundu builds SKAM into a dominant force

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The chief SKAM artist himself, Sujit Kundu, in the Library at Marquee Nightclub.
Photo: Jon Estrada

Sujit Kundu never thought his career would be built on music. “My dad was an engineer and my mom worked at a bank, and their goal was for me to be a doctor or a lawyer,” he says. “I didn’t play an instrument. I didn’t come from a musical family. I was going to be an accountant or something.”

That didn’t happen. Kundu took a different path, one that began when he threw a high school warehouse party—as part of a bet—in Fullerton, California. He enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara to follow the plan, and found it was “so wide open” that he had to go back to throwing parties.

From those origins, SKAM Artists evolved. Booking DJs, artists and celebrities at nightclubs across the country and around the world, SKAM is a dominant force—especially in Las Vegas, where it seems you can pick any night or any club and find one of Kundu’s DJs controlling the music and the party. SKAM is everywhere.

For the past two years, Kundu has also worked under the legendary L.A. Reid at Epic Records; he now serves as senior vice president of promotions. “I already have three No. 1 records in my tenure, Jidenna’s ‘Classic Man,’ Travis Scott’s ‘Antidote’ and Fifth Harmony’s ‘Work From Home’ and I think my next one is Kent Jones’ ‘Don’t Mind’,” he says.

He might have never imagined working with iconic artists like Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Puff Daddy, but his access to this musical universe drives the steady growth and evolution of SKAM. “The more information you have, the better decisions you can make,” Kundu says. “I can hear from one of the greatest in the game, L.A. Reid, on the label side, and I’m dealing with the biggest guys in radio. SKAM is a very diverse agency; we don’t specialize in one kind of music. I see music through a lot of different angles.”

SKAM is a tight-knit group, a family that includes superstars such as Lil Jon, Nick Cannon and Swizz Beatz, legends like Bad Boy Bill, Richard Vission and Fatman Scoop, and celeb names like Amber Rose and Blac Chyna. Kundu often refers to his artists as blue-collar DJs and his company as a mom-and-pop, which makes sense considering the founder’s work ethic and DIY principles. SKAM’s overwhelming success has been built upon giving everyone what they want and need.

“It’s because we treat the clubs and talent buyers the same way we do all our clients and DJs,” Kundu says. “We put the right DJs in the right rooms, pair up the right clubs with the right guys, and we put a great deal of resources and social media effort into promoting our DJs. We want to make sure the clubs have the highest percentage chance of making the greatest night possible.”

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Brock Radke

Brock Radke is an award-winning writer and columnist who currently occupies the role of managing editor at Las Vegas Weekly ...

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