ESP Guitars has announced that Tony Rauser has been named as the company’s new director of artist relations. Rauser has served with ESP for over five years in the role of artist relations assistant.
“We are very proud to have Tony fill this essential position at ESP,” says Matt Masciandaro, president and CEO of the ESP Guitar Company. “The artists who use our guitars and basses, who are among the world’s most respected and influential musicians, need to know that their main point of contact at ESP is someone who understands what they require for successful music creation and performance. Tony is that guy, and we’re confident that he’s going to be excellent in his expanded role.“
“ESP is the ultimate artist-driven instrument company, and I’m proud that the team has faith in my abilities for this position,” says Rauser. “For five years, I’ve seen the level of dedication needed to be a trusted resource for ESP artists. Over that time, I’ve become close to many of our artists, and they already know what it’s like to work with me. It’s an honor to be in a role to even better serve their needs.”
Tony Rauser began working at ESP during an internship in 2012, and was brought onboard the company in 2013 as artist relations assistant. Over the subsequent five years, Rauser has worked directly with many of ESP’s large roster of endorsed artists as a liaison for acquiring instruments, assisting in touring instrument needs, and creation of custom guitars, as well as working along with ESP’s marketing teams to help coordinate artist news and sales promotions. He previously studied at Musicians Institute in both Guitar and Music Business programs. Rauser is also an active musician.
ESP’s artist roster includes some of the most well-known names in several genres of music, with hundreds of active endorsees of their guitar and bass products. ESP artists include James Hetfield and Kirk Hammett (Metallica), George Lynch, Stephen Carpenter (Deftones), Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus), Bill Kelliher (Mastodon), Ron Wood (The Rolling Stones), Alex Skolnick (Testament), Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom) and many others.
