Landrum Arts (Nashville)
A Nashville talent agency representing actors in Tennessee's rapidly expanding production market
Overview
Landrum Arts was founded in 2005 by husband-and-wife team Dawn and George Landrum, who have built the agency into a respected presence in the Nashville and broader Tennessee talent market with a focus on film, television, commercial, and entertainment representation. The agency was established with agents drawn from both California and the Southeast, bringing a blend of major-market experience and regional market knowledge to a Nashville entertainment landscape that was beginning to expand beyond its music industry roots into film and television production. The Landrums' personal commitment to the entertainment industry — the couple has been together since age 16 and brought their shared passion for performance and talent development into a professional agency framework — gives the company a family-oriented culture that distinguishes it from more corporate talent operations. The agency's two-decade track record spans a period of extraordinary growth in Tennessee production, with Nashville and the surrounding region attracting increasingly ambitious film and television projects driven by the state's competitive 25% tax incentive on qualified in-state expenditures.
Today, Landrum Arts operates with a nationwide scope while maintaining strong roots in the Nashville and Tennessee markets, representing actors for film, television, commercial, music video, and international entertainment work. The agency operates a dedicated New Talent Division (NTD) directed by the Landrums' daughter AmberDawn, reflecting the family business's investment in developing emerging performers alongside their roster of experienced working professionals. What distinguishes Landrum Arts from many Nashville agencies is their national reach and willingness to submit talent for opportunities beyond the regional market, providing clients with exposure to casting opportunities they would not access through a purely local agency. The in-house management approach includes weekly talent education and updates that keep represented actors informed about industry developments, casting trends, and professional development opportunities, reflecting the agency's belief that informed, proactive talent is more bookable talent.
How It Works
Getting started with Landrum Arts involves submitting materials through the agency's website at landrumarts.com, including professional headshots, a detailed resume highlighting training and performance credits, and any available demo reels or performance clips. The agency considers actors at various experience levels, with the New Talent Division specifically designed to develop emerging performers who show professional potential but may not yet have extensive credits. Experienced actors seeking representation should highlight specific training, notable credits, and special skills that make them competitive in the Nashville market, particularly any experience in music-related content, period pieces, or the Southern-set productions that frequently shoot in Tennessee. The agency values professionalism, reliability, and a genuine commitment to career development in their evaluation of potential clients, and their interview process includes discussion of career goals and how the agency's resources can support the actor's specific trajectory.
Once represented, Landrum Arts clients benefit from the agency's established relationships with casting directors and production companies working in Tennessee and across the broader national market. The weekly talent education sessions provide ongoing professional development that many agencies do not offer, covering topics from audition technique and self-tape best practices to industry business knowledge and career planning strategies. The agency supports both SAG-AFTRA members and non-union actors, with SAG-AFTRA compliant contracts available for union work and the flexibility to handle non-union projects that make up a significant portion of the Tennessee market's available work. Nashville's unique position at the intersection of music and screen entertainment creates distinctive opportunities — music video work, music-adjacent television content, concert films, and documentary projects related to Nashville's cultural legacy — that the agency is well-positioned to pursue for their clients.
Who Uses It
Landrum Arts' roster reflects the full spectrum of Tennessee's evolving entertainment market, from experienced SAG-AFTRA members who book consistently on major productions to New Talent Division members who are building their professional foundations through supervised career development. The agency attracts performers who appreciate the family business culture and the personalized attention that comes with representation from principals who are genuinely invested in their clients' growth and success. Nashville's growing reputation as a production hub has attracted actors from across the country, and the agency's roster includes both lifelong Tennessee residents and transplants who relocated specifically to pursue entertainment careers in the Southeast. The New Talent Division provides a structured pathway for development that bridges the gap between training and professional representation, with AmberDawn Landrum providing hands-on guidance to emerging performers navigating their first professional experiences.
Pricing & Plans
Landrum Arts operates on a commission-based model with flexible contracts adjusted to individual situations, reflecting the agency's personalized approach to talent representation. Commission rates follow industry standards with specific terms negotiated based on the individual talent's experience level, market, and booking categories, with SAG-AFTRA compliant contracts available for union work. There are no upfront fees for representation, and the agency's compensation is tied directly to their talent's booking success. The weekly talent education and updates are provided as part of the representation relationship at no additional cost, representing genuine added value that few agencies offer. Tennessee's competitive production incentives help attract projects with budgets sufficient to pay professional rates, and the growing production volume means more booking opportunities at fair compensation for represented talent in the market.
Pros & Cons
What's Great
Landrum Arts' family-run culture creates a personalized, supportive representation environment where talent genuinely feel known and valued rather than being anonymous names on an oversized roster, which translates to more thoughtful and strategic career guidance. The dedicated New Talent Division provides structured career development that bridges the gap between training programs and professional booking — a pathway that many newer actors desperately need but few agencies formally offer. The weekly talent education sessions demonstrate an investment in client development that goes beyond simple submission services, keeping represented actors informed and equipped to compete effectively. The agency's two-decade track record spanning the period of Nashville's transformation from a music-only market to a legitimate multi-genre production hub means they have the deepest understanding of how the Tennessee market has evolved and where it is heading. SAG-AFTRA compliance and flexible contract structures accommodate actors at different career stages and union status levels, providing professional representation regardless of where you are in your career journey.
What Could Be Better
The family business model, while creating a supportive culture, can also mean smaller infrastructure and fewer agents compared to larger corporate agencies, which may limit the volume of simultaneous submissions and casting director relationships the agency can maintain. The agency's central operations and national scope may mean that Nashville-specific market coverage is one of several priorities rather than the exclusive focus, and actors who want the most intensively local Nashville representation possible may find dedicated Nashville-only agencies provide more concentrated attention. The New Talent Division, while providing valuable development opportunities, is designed for less experienced performers and may not deliver immediate high-profile audition access that established actors expect from professional representation. Nashville's production market, while growing, still does not match the volume of Atlanta, Los Angeles, or New York, meaning career ceilings may be lower for actors who limit themselves to Tennessee-based work. The music-adjacent casting opportunities that make Nashville distinctive are not relevant for all actors, and performers with no interest in music-related content may find a smaller portion of the market's available work appealing.
Our Recommendation
Landrum Arts is an excellent choice for actors seeking personalized, family-run representation with genuine investment in career development, particularly performers who appreciate the supportive culture and ongoing education that the agency provides alongside traditional submission services. The New Talent Division makes the agency especially well-suited for emerging performers who need structured guidance as they transition from training to professional work, while the experienced roster demonstrates that the agency can also serve established working actors effectively. If you are exclusively focused on the Nashville local market and want the most intensively local representation possible, compare Landrum Arts' broader reach with agencies that focus solely on Tennessee. Actors who are comfortable with and interested in the music-adjacent content that defines much of Nashville's production landscape will find particularly strong synergies with the agency's market expertise. For performers who value being genuinely known by their agents and who want representation that invests in their growth rather than simply processing auditions, Landrum Arts delivers on the promise of boutique, personal management.
Pro Tips
Take full advantage of the weekly talent education and updates that Landrum Arts provides — this is genuine professional development that many agencies charge separately for or do not offer at all, and actors who engage actively with these resources develop faster and book more consistently. Develop versatility that serves the Nashville market's distinctive opportunities, including comfort with Southern dialects, music-adjacent content, period pieces, and the faith-based productions that are a significant part of the Tennessee production landscape. If you are in the New Talent Division, set specific benchmarks for your development — headshot quality, demo reel completion, self-tape proficiency, audition consistency — and work with your division director to create a realistic timeline for progression to the main roster. Build relationships within the Nashville production community by attending industry events, joining local SAG-AFTRA chapter activities if eligible, and networking with the casting directors who regularly work in Tennessee. Stay informed about incoming productions through Tennessee Film, Entertainment, and Music Commission announcements, as early awareness of projects casting in the state allows you to prepare and position yourself for relevant opportunities.