dig dis!cover with Neil DeGuzman, Manager of Joyhauser

Can you briefly explain what your role is, and what you're doing at Memoro?
My primary role with Joyhauser is as their manager, within a few months working together we started talking about creating a label. It was actually something they had already thought about previously, but they didn’t have the resources to put it all together.
To keep the lines short, I offered to take on the responsibility of label manager as well. I had actually never managed a label before. But I felt that with my experience dealing with label managers throughout my career and with the help of the boys and the crew at dig dis!, it was something we could take on. That’s basically how it all started and it has been a learning-by-doing experience
The responsibilities of running a label, from an artist manager’s perspective, are pretty basic — I still do my usual tasks as a manager but now I’m even more involved in Joyhauser’s career with this additional role. What I mean by this is that music is at the core of all musicians/DJs/producers from the level of content creation to the creative process itself I feel we’ve been able to achieve a closer connection this way and it has been leading to immediate signs of progression in the form of stage hostings at festivals like Extrema and also a label showcase tour that we started this summer at select markets in Europe & the USA.

How did you first get involved in the music scene — or specifically the electronic scene?
For the music scene, it's a bit of a long story, but I'll try and make it a little bit short. So, I'm Canadian. I grew up in Canada. I got into the business in Vancouver, which is a city on the west coast of Canada.
And basically, it's kind of weird. I was working as a personal trainer at a private gym in university. I was going into kinesiology. Some of the clients there were in the music industry, so I got to know some of the managers on a personal level. Then one of the managers in particular asked me, like, “Hey, you want to come check us out?” I thought that was a very weird question at the time — like, why would I want to go to someone's office? I knew music as a consumer: buying music, going to concerts, music videos, etc. And then I went into this office and I saw all the different departments — A&R, artwork, management, publishing, even the mailroom. I was like, wow, what's going on in here?
Within a couple of months , I was working in the mailroom, covering temporarily for someone that was away for the summer with no guarantee of a job when he returned. I ended up getting the job in the mailroom at the end of summer and then within one year from that, I was assisting the head manager, who was also the owner of the company . So I just literally jumped into the deep end and learned as much as I could.
The job eventually brought me to Los Angeles, to Amsterdam, Berlin, and back to Canada. So it's been over 20 years of being an Artist Manager. .

When did you first meet the guys from Joyhauser?
Okay, this is an interesting situation as well — let’s fast forward a little bit to post-COVID. Basically, I had to come back to Canada for personal reasons, because of my family. So I dropped everything in Berlin and came back to Canada.
Then I got in touch with a couple of colleagues of mine from Europe who had become partners. They weren’t partners before, but they had formed an agency with an office in Antwerp and also in Berlin. They were looking to start a management company. And when they found out where I was, they were like, “Wait a minute, let’s talk.”
So we formed a deal, and I met the Joyhauser boys virtually — through a Google Meet — in January 2024. That’s how it first started.
Basically, we were put together, which is not normal for a manager and an artist. Usually, there’s a lot of courting involved. Lot’s of calls, emails, messages & you at leaet meet in person. . However, due to the circumstances of where I was based, all of our meetings had to be digital.
I eventually met them for the first time later that year at ADE — 10 months after we first connected. So it was pretty crazy, but technically, that’s how we met.
And I think both sides were pretty lucky that we connected right away. Good chemistry, good timing — and they’re super chill and amazing guys to work with. We've been going strong ever since.

Maybe this is more of a personal question from my side — but Joyhauser is very popular in the European electronic scene and they play at almost every festival here. How is it for you being in Canada or in the US?
Yeah, that’s actually a really good question. And I’ve had the benefit of working intensively in both territories, North America and Europe, having been based in both regions for many years.. The thing with North America is that it’s very regional, due to the sheer size. You can drive two hours on the 10 freeway in L.A., and you’re still on the 10 freeway in L.A. You’re not even in Santa Monica yet if you’re coming from downtown. You drive two hours in Holland, and you’re in Belgium — maybe even Germany or France. You know what I mean? You’re in a different culture already within that time.
So my point is: it’s very big here, and it takes time to really develop and get traction. The boys had already been working on that before I came into the picture, but then you throw in COVID — we lost a couple of years — so it’s still developing.
Just recently, I met them at a show in Edmonton, which is a city in Canada just north of where I am. They played Vegas the night before and this was their debut in a small city in Canada. he crowd loved it!!
I would’ve imagined that Vegas, being the bigger market, would totally outshine a small Canadian city — but it was the opposite. So you never really know. It’s all these little shows that add up. It’s these little battles, which sometimes invovle  small shows that build toward something. It just takes time.

You already mentioned that you're not only taking care of the label but also acting as the manager. For example, when the guys want to include other artists or do remixes — do you have any influence on which artists are brought into the label, or is that their decision?
Basically, from a creative standpoint, it’s purely Stijn & Joris. Signing artists to the label is a creative thing and I defer most of this to the Joyhauser boys - but still provide my input & feedback of course. Generally speaking, I handle the business stuff so it leaves them more headspace for the creative responsibilities like producing music, A&R for the label (signing artists), touring/peforming etc….
We work off each other, and we each specialize in certain things. As a good manager, you put good people around you — and it’s the same with artists. I trust them implicitly when it comes to music & performing.
It’s kind of like: I know that when they’re booked at a show, they’re going to play their best set. And they know that if they trust me to handle certain things, I’m going to do my best to represent the Joyhauser & MEMORO brands. So from the music side, it’s all them. From the business side, that’s me. And it’s a really good fit!

So you're not involved in listening to demos at all?
When it comes to listening for sure, I give my opinion. I’m not the kind of music expert who knows every track out there or every producer, but I know what I like. And I think it’s helpful to give an objective point of view. As you know, with music and especially with art creators are often very close to what they’ve made. Sometimes you’re only hearing what you want to hear. But I’m not shy about sharing my opinion with them. When they send over music, I tell them what I think.
When it comes to choosing artists or making the first contact that’s them, for sure. Still, it’s always good to have another pair of eyes looking through things or just offering another opinion. We chose a very specific and slightly more complex release strategy — a hybrid waterfall. Thankfully, with the support of dig dis!, especially Luca (our A&R manager), it all went smoothly. Even when I had to ask the same questions repeatedly, he was always helpful and quick to respond. Every issue was resolved in a timely manner.

So, how was the first contact with dig dis!?
We talked to a lot of people during the early stages of setting up the label I had a list of distributors I had experience working with on previous releases but technically, dig dis! wasn’t one of them. I still wanted to speak with them to see what types of services they offered that stood out from the competition and to get to know the main people there ..
If we were going through a list of potential partners for this new label, and I was going to be the label manager, then I wanted to find out as much as I could about all the companies we talked to e. That’s part of my responsibility as a manager & label manager - to find the best option and execute.
That’s basically how it started. And we also heard some good feedback from other labels that were already on the dig dis! roster which helped the decision-making process.

Can you tell us a bit about your day-to-day work? And also what your weekends look like — are you often on the road with the guys?
Sure. As an artist manager, I’ve been doing this for quite a while now, so a lot of the daily work has become instinctive. One thing that’s changed recently is dealing with the time zone difference. Since I’m based in North America and the team is in Europe, my days now start early — I’m usually catching up while everyone’s already in full swing. It took some adjustment, but I’m used to it now.
In terms of traveling, I’m not with the guys all the time. I was with them a couple of weeks ago, but due to the distance, it’s not always easy to match their schedule. On the label side, since we’re doing monthly releases, I was able to develop a clear system after the first few releases. My system covers everything: checking in on the status of the masters and artwork, coordinating with artists, handling agreements, and uploading all the data to the dig dis! platform.
That part has actually become quite straightforward thanks to the resources & tools at our disposal. . I can say that now, although in the beginning, it felt overwhelming. I remember thinking, “Oh my God, what is this?”
Fortunately, the platform has built-in filters — if something’s missing, you can’t submit the release — which helps us stay organized.
Over time, I created a workflow that also ties into our promo planning. There’s the strategic part and the execution part, and we’ve found a good balance between the two. I think we’ll keep refining it, but for now, we’ve got a solid system in place.

In your opinion, what’s been the biggest achievement with the label Memoro so far?
Oh, that’s easy. Let’s talk about Spotify in particular. The guys had always gotten onto the TECHNO BUNKER playlist with their previous label managers and teams who are very experienced and have the right connections. 
So I thought, “Okay, if I’m now the label manager for our own label, I have to hit that same standard.”
The first few releases were about figuring things out, finding our rhythm. Then, with Joyhauser’s second EP, I think it was Memoro 07 or 08, we finally made it. We got the TECHNO BUNKER placement. The boys actually got the notification from Spotify first and shared it in our group chat. We all celebrated. I had been talking to other label managers, reading stuff online, and seeing all these ads on Instagram, “We’ll help you land this and that.” There’s a lot of noise and honestly, I didn’t know what was real since most are scams. But through consistency, detail, and our own effort, we did it ourselves. That was a really gratifying feeling. Yes, it’s nice to get help sometimes but doing it yourself shows you what it really takes to get there. I’m not saying there’s a magic formula, because playlist inclusision is discretionary, but that was definitely the biggest achievement so far.

What kind of music do you listen to in your free time?
I'm into everything — hip-hop, R&B, alternative, singer-songwriter, classical and even pop music. I honestly think 10 minutes of Bach in the morning can help anyone stay focused for the rest of the day.
It’s funny, because even though we work in the electronic music business, I can’t listen to techno at 9 in the morning with a coffee. It’s a bit much. So I usually wait until the mood hits, like in the evening or on weekends. But yeah, I’m kind of like a shuffle playlist when it comes to music. I like a little bit of everything depending on my mood.

It was really great talking to you. Thank you for the open insights into the development of Memoro, your way of working and the passion behind it all. We’re truly glad that Joyhauser is in such dedicated hands and look forward to continuing our collaboration with you in the future.