We really like music.
Founded by lifelong friends and music industry veterans Gia DeSantis and Dave Downey, Sticky Artist Management is a full-service artist management company based in the Atwater Village neighborhood of Los Angeles. Boasting a combined 60-plus years of experience—and the massive rolodex to prove it—the team forges the kind of meaningful connections and lasting partnerships crucial to their clients’ success. With a roster that currently includes Jaime Wyatt, Mara Connor, and Greek Fire, Sticky offers a user-friendly and unparalleled commitment to each of its artists, advocating for them every step of the way.
Gia DeSantis
Growing up in an entertainment biz family, Gia DeSantis spent her teen years hanging out at Warner Bros. Records’ Burbank offices, flipping through vinyl, and swiping copies of Rolling Stone, Creem, and any other treasures she could find. She began her career in television production at KDOC in Los Angeles, which culminated in producing, writing, directing, and hosting the station’s cult-favorite music show “Request Video,” a live daily interview broadcast with guests including the likes of Joey Ramone, Lou Reed, Trent Reznor, Henry Rollins, Queen Latifah, N.W.A. and Nirvana.
Later, she did stints at both Capitol and Reprise Records, where she worked with Green Day, Supergrass, Alanis Morrissette, Pavement, Liz Phair, Bonnie Raitt, Wilco, Barenaked Ladies and more, and ran her own indie promo company, Pretty Mouthy Marketing. Additionally, DeSantis spent a considerable amount of time on the radio, beginning at the world-famous KROQ. More recently, she created and hosted “Cocktails in the Kiddie Pool” for Indie1031.com and The Independent FM, and as an on-air personality as well as APD/MD for Nevada Public Radio’S NPR Music station, NV89.
Throughout her career, she has interviewed and worked with hundreds of artists spanning every genre, from Rob Zombie to Robbie Robertson, and Johnny Marr to Mazzy Star. In addition to her work with Sticky, she is currently in pre-production on a documentary about “Request Video” and the show’s impact on the SoCal music scene.
Dave Downey
A product of Hollywood’s punk rock heyday, Dave Downey went to work for esteemed San Francisco college radio station KUSF in 1982. Over the next four years, he served as APD and was one of the first to play an up and coming band named Metallica, future college radio darlings and global superstars REM, and got his first taste of rock ‘n’ roll relationships with artists like The Clash and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
Dave subsequently furthered the careers of acts like Mother Love Bone and Wonder Stuff as a college rep for Polydor before moving to Capitol Records, where he established the label’s College Radio department. Instrumental in promoting artists including Beastie Boys, Mazzy Star, Radiohead, Crowded House, Sparklehorse, Megadeth, Iron Maiden, and even Paul McCartney, he was eventually promoted to VP Rock. He later moved to Universal Republic, where he headed up Rock Radio promotion and played an integral part in consulting A&R on signing new acts, as well as marketing and developing artists such as Florence + The Machine, Prince, Taylor Swift, The Who, Godsmack, 3 Doors Down, and Amy Winehouse.
Transitioning from label exec to manager, Downey worked with the likes of Alter Bridge, Hoobastank, and Steel Panther at Azoff Music Management (AGPS), followed by Supergroup Kings of Chaos, Creed, Jason Bonham, Glenn Hughes, Joe Perry, and Godsmack at Paul Geary Management. In the years since he has managed Billy Ray Cyrus in a partnership with the pop culture queen Tish Cyrus and is now stoked to be offering his expert guidance to the exceptional talent in the Sticky stable.