For a lot of artists these days, they want to put out great music and build a great career, but they also want to build their brand and go beyond the music. Eli Young Band is no exception, and one guy they look to as a great example of how to do that is Toby Keith. “I’ve always said I’ve had a huge amount of respect for Toby Keith in a lotta ways, especially his business sense,” says Mike Eli.

“I went to school, I got a degree in business administration and I think that one of the reasons why I did that was because you have to understand how to run a business to be able to be a musician, which is kind of crazy. And so I think it’s really awesome Toby is, we can really look up to him for what he’s built, as far as his brand. So I hope one day, as time goes on, as this Eli Young Band thing gets bigger and bigger [hopefully], we can continue to be smart and savvy business people like he is.”

While they’re looking for outside ways to build their brand they’re still continuing to build their music career with their latest single, “Dust” climbing the charts. You can find “Dust” and their latest #1 song, “Drunk Last Night,” on their current album, 10,000 Towns.

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Eli Young Band – interest in expanding brand :37
Mike Eli – “Yah, I’ve always said I’ve had a huge amount of respect for Toby Keith in a lotta ways, especially his business sense. I went to school, I got a degree in business administration and I think that one of the reasons why I did that was because you have to understand how to run a business to be able to be a musician, which is kind of crazy. And so I think it’s really awesome Toby is, we can really look up to him for what he’s built, as far as his brand. So I hope one day, as time goes on, as this Eli Young Band thing gets bigger and bigger [hopefully], we can continue to be smart and savvy business people like he is.”