We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Bradley Berkman. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Bradley below.

Bradley, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

The agency’s name, “brain in a vat,” comes from a thought experiment I first encountered in a college philosophy course on metaphysics and epistemology. It explores the nature of perception, reality, and knowledge — questions that have always fascinated me.

Neuroscience tells us that our perception — whether touching a cold glass or feeling anger — results from electrical signals processed by the brain. In other words, our experience of reality is always an interpretation rather than a direct encounter. The brain in a vat thought experiment invites us to imagine a human brain, detached from its body, floating in a vat of life-sustaining fluid and connected to a supercomputer with wires. This supercomputer is capable of firing the exact electronic impulses to the brain’s synapses to simulate an external world that feels entirely real. From the perspective of the brain in the vat, they walk, talk, touch, and perceive just as they would in a normal human body — yet in reality, they are a disembodied brain manipulated by a machine.

In many ways, the music industry is also an ecosystem of perception. How a release is received isn’t just shaped by the music itself, but by the context in which people discover it — who’s talking about it, where it appears, and the signals of credibility surrounding it. Just as the brain in a vat thought experiment suggests that external inputs shape reality, audiences experience music through a framework of influence that’s shaped by context, curation, and tastemaker validation. My agency connects our clients with the right cultural gatekeepers to ensure their music recognized, remembered, and revered.

Bradley, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m Bradley Berkman, founder of brain in a vat, a boutique music promotions agency that helps electronic artists and labels get their music in front of the right people. Basically, I connect my clients with the tastemakers who can make a real impact in getting their music heard — whether that’s playlist curators on streaming services, journalists, radio programmers, DJs, or other influential voices in the space. My past and present clients include artists Chloé Caillet, Adriatique, WhoMadeWho, Maz, LE YORA, and Malóne, and labels such as Diplo’s Higher Ground, Lee Burridge’s All Day I Dream, Claude VonStroke’s Dirtybird, and Sony’s Ultra and The Orchard.

When I was 18, I moved to Los Angeles to study Philosophy, Politics, and Law with a minor in Music Industry at USC. I got my start in the music business interning in two completely different worlds at the same time: Live Nation’s Booking Division and Justin Jay’s independent house and techno record label Fantastic Voyage. One was a massive corporate machine, and the other was a scrappy DIY operation. That contrast shaped how I’ve approached my career from then on — I prioritize creativity and adaptability over rigid frameworks and corporate interests. My next internship was at the digital publication, party series, and lifestyle brand The Kollection, where I dove deep into electronic music media, pop culture, and digital branding, and then went on to help its CEO launch his creative agency.

After graduating college, I joined INFAMOUS PR, where I really carved out my niche. I was first tasked with developing a playlist pitching service to supplement PR campaigns for existing clients. This eventually became a stand-alone offering, and as I developed additional services to amplify new music outside of traditional press, the operation grew into a full-fledged Music Promotions Department, which I was later promoted to lead.

In late 2024, I recognized an opportunity to create a more intimate and agile music promotions solution that prioritizes deeper collaboration with clients and maximizes time spent crafting creative strategies tailored to each release’s unique goals. This vision led to the birth of brain in a vat. We offer press, DSP promo, radio promo, and club/tastemaker DJ promo, but the goal isn’t just to check boxes. It’s about making sure the right people are paying attention and setting up each release for long-term success. At the end of the day, we’re not just here to get placements for the sake of it — we’re here to make sure the music lands in the right spaces, with the right context, at the right time.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

We don’t have a separate revenue stream unrelated to music promotion, but brain in a vat is built to be agile. Our core business spans four distinct areas of music promotion — PR, DSP promo, radio promo, and club/tastemaker DJ promo — and each campaign is tailored to the client’s unique goals.

This flexibility has allowed us to take on projects beyond traditional promo to help clients address their unique needs, such as shaping long-term brand positioning, structuring the launch of an independent label, or developing a YouTube channel for a radio show. These aren’t standard off-the-shelf services we market on their own, but we’re always excited to sit down with a client and discuss how we may be able to help tackle a complex problem.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Pretty much all of our new business comes from word-of-mouth and returning clients. I’ve always believed that the best way to grow is to focus on doing a great job on the work in front of you — if you continue to deliver the best service possible, the next opportunity tends to follow. Artists talk to other artists, labels share recommendations, and managers are always looking for someone they can trust to properly handle their other clients’ releases. I’m very grateful that brain in a vat has been able to grow through great results and strong relationships, not just pushing for new business.

A big part of that is keeping our roster small and intentional, ensuring each campaign gets the time and strategic attention it deserves. But beyond delivering results, we’re in the business of service. Clients count on us to be responsive, proactive, hands-on, and invested in their long-term success. That’s what keeps them coming back and sending others our way — it creates a natural cycle where strong work builds strong relationships, and those relationships lead to new opportunities.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://braininavat.dance
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/braininavat.dance/ | https://www.instagram.com/bradley_berkman/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/braininavat/ | https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradleyberkman/