David “Beno” Benveniste has been nurturing and guiding the careers of artists through Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group for the past 10 years. Our company strives for continued, long-term success – an approach that embodies the “strength in elasticity,” rather than the “quick-fix” philosophy. Our focus is premised on world-wide brand relevance rather than just radio, tour and record cycle presence.

Velvet Hammer took root back in 1998, when we began managing System Of A Down. Today, along with System, our management roster includes AFI, Alice In Chains, Battle Lines, Coheed and Cambria, Cypress Hill, Dead Times, Deftones, Hot Water Music, Pepper, Scars On Broadway and Touché Amoré.

In addition to artist management, Velvet Hammer has expanded into a record label and publishing company, signing and releasing records by bands including Taproot, Poison the Well, OneRepublic, Gratitude, and more. We work all verticals including management, marketing, publishing, recording, consulting, etc.

By managing all aspects of our artists’ careers, we are able to effectively grow their profile from the inside out. Together with our Velvet Hammer online community, which we’ve assembled to carry out promotional operations for all of our artists, we grow every avenue of the artist’s career and properly position them for success. This is the Velvet Hammer philosophy.