Lee Willard & Mike Flanders Launch Enteract Entertainment
Pictured (L–R): Blake Propst, Lee Willard, Mike Flanders and Tyler Woods.
Lee Willard and Mike Flanders have launched Enteract Entertainment, a management, publishing and label services company.
Willard and Flanders will lead Enteract as Co-Presidents, while Blake Propst joins the company as Director of A&R for Enteract’s music and publishing division and Tyler Woods joins Enteract as Director of Digital Marketing & Creative Services. The company’s first client is Craig Wayne Boyd, who recently released “One Line Away,” on Feb. 14.
“I’ve had the idea to build Enteract for several years, and now is the time to launch this new company,” shares Willard. “I’m incredibly proud to partner with Mike Flanders, who’s had a long history of success as a producer and publisher. My vision was to create a company that can operate on multiple levels with a diverse roster of songwriters and artists. When there’s an artist with a project that we like, we’re in a position to move quickly, develop, cultivate and bring it to market. I’ve seen too many companies that move at a snail’s pace, and projects can become irrelevant while waiting for mountains to move. We’ve created a model that is lean, nimble and can react in real time and move quickly, all while maintaining quality and delivering results for our talent.”
Willard has more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment business, and is the longtime manager of country legend Bill Anderson and former Blue Collar comedian Reno Collier. Willard has worked as a tour manager, song plugger, publisher, music video producer, television and film producer and an artist manager. He began his career as a DJ and moved to Nashville in 2001 to work for Anderson as his tour manager, eventually becoming his manager. He worked alongside a young Taylor Swift early in her career, making introductions for her in Nashville and in L.A., and has toured with and worked alongside artists such as Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Kid Rock, Drake White and more.
Flanders, an Australian producer, songwriter, and co-founder of Pacific International Music Publishing, will be running day-to-day for Enteract Publishing. In the 1980s and 1990s, Flanders achieved acclaim in Australia as a staff songwriter with Warner Chappell Music, then as a producer for alternative and pop acts. He received ARIA (Australian Record Industry Association) recognition for his work with Australian pop artist Chaise, producing a string of albums that spawned a No. 1 hit for her, “Only Be Me.” During that time, he also held a position at Arctic BMG Australia. Flanders moved to America in 2007 to head Pacific International Music. His production credits include Josh Arnold, Nik Phillips, Jill King, Garrison Starr, American Idol semi-finalist Siobhan Magnus and multi-Platinum artist Nikki Webster, among others.
Propst is a Nashville native who was raised around the music business. His grandfather, John Propst, was a legendary piano player who played with Boots Randolph, Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer, and cut records with Tammy Wynette and David Allen Coe. Blake will serve as A&R for both Enteract Entertainment’s music and publishing companies.
Woods, Director of Digital Marketing & Creative Services for Enteract, is from Birmingham, Alabama and moved to Nashville in 2018. He’s worked in digital marketing within the music industry as well as in photography and videography for 17 years. Woods has worked with Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, Lee Brice, Pitbull and Kings of Leon and more. His portfolio has been published in People magazine and The Wall Street Journal and Red Bull advertising.
