How Sierra Lever is shaping the entertainment industry

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Sierra Lever

By Hoku Tiwanak, CLA Student Writer - May 11, 2026

College of Liberal Arts alumna Sierra Lever, ‘12, recently launched Category 1 Entertainment, a company that helps artists shape the marketing rollouts for their albums and tours while thinking beyond traditional promotion. Her goal is to get artists to expand their influence not just as musicians, but as cultural voices. “What other gifts can they share with the world?” Lever said.

In today’s music industry, where thousands of songs are released every day, breaking through the noise takes more than a radio feature or tour dates. Lever believes artists need a strategy that spans social media, livestreams, in-real-life experiential moments, partnerships, and storytelling across platforms.

Her entrepreneurial move came after nearly five years at Amazon Music, where she was the Head of Hip-Hop and R&B. She worked directly with artists and their teams to develop partnerships, livestream events, and promotional campaigns designed to attract and retain listeners on the platform.

Lever’s career in bringing artists and audiences together started years earlier. At just 17, Lever described herself as a “party promoter.” She wasn’t a musician herself, but many of her friends were. Instead of performing, she found a different role in the music ecosystem, bringing people together and creating spaces where artists could shine.

“Commonality over music tastes is what built my community of friends,” said Lever. “Even though I didn’t sing or play an instrument, I loved showing off their talents and supporting them.”

She started booking nightclubs in Portland with local and regional musicians, often pooling money with friends to secure venues. Lever quickly learned that credibility mattered. She would arrive prepared with a DJ set and a detailed plan for the night, negotiating with venue managers about ticket prices and profit splits.

“The biggest challenge was figuring out pricing,” she recalled. Booking venues was expensive, so she often scheduled events on weekdays when costs were lower.

Portland’s creative culture helped shape her vision. While the arts scene in the city was diverse and thriving, Lever saw an opportunity within hip-hop since its presence was much lower at the time. “There were so many talented musicians,” she said. “I wanted to help bring them to the rest of the world.”

One of her early mentors was OG One, a Portland DJ closely connected to the city’s music community. Lever also credits Self Enhancement Inc. with helping her see broader possibilities for her future. The Portland-based program supports youth from underserved communities through young adulthood, including organizing college visits. 

Through the program, Lever visited Oregon State University for the first time. The campus in Corvallis felt like the right distance from home; close enough to stay connected to Portland but far enough to push herself into new opportunities.

At OSU, Lever majored in new media communications (NMC), now called digital communication arts, because she was drawn to varied aspects of storytelling, media production, and television. The NMC program provided all the foundational knowledge she was looking for to enter into the entertainment and events industry. Skills from hands-on courses on proper lighting placement and sound design could be applied to create better events, while classes on technical writing and media law gave her a leg up on the business side.

She continued to put on local events while being an active member of the Black Student Union and working at the Lonnie B. Harris Black Cultural Center on campus, as well as the ticketing office for OSU Athletics. 

During her senior year, Lever served as festival coordinator for the Memorial Union Program Council, where she helped organize large campus events. One of the biggest challenges she faced was advocating for hip-hop artists to perform on campus. “It wasn’t always easy to get hip-hop on the lineup,” she said. “But I kept fighting for it because I knew what students like myself would want to hear.”

After months of planning, Lever successfully booked Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to perform for OSU’s Flat Tail Festival (Dam Jam) in 2012 on the Memorial Union Quad, drawing a crowd of more than 10,000 people. The lineup she booked was also inclusive to the wide variety of music tastes students held, including artists from folk rock, R&B, pop, and rap. 

She also partnered with another OSU student, Matt Dagger, on campus to organize a concert featuring Bay Area hip-hop legend Too $hort at the Benton County Fairgrounds. The event was hosted to honor a friend and OSU student-athlete, Fred Thompson of Richmond, California, who passed away earlier that year. Lever was the event’s co-organizer and lead for talent relations, which also included driving Too $hort and Thompson’s parents to and from the airport, as well as organizing hotel accommodations and much more. 

While at OSU, another critical mentor entered Lever’s life, concert promoter Ibeth Hernandez. Hernandez booked artists at major Portland venues like the Roseland Theater and McMenamins Crystal Ballroom. Hernandez allowed Lever to attend events, interview artists, and troubleshoot problems during concerts. “Shadowing her work showed me what was possible; I got the backstage experience and opportunity to talk to artists and others within the industry,” Lever said.

After graduating from OSU, Lever stayed in Portland and took a job at an events agency before transitioning to Nike as a contractor working in event coordination. The job market of the early-2010s continued to be tough to navigate and Lever wasn’t breaking into the industry as quickly she felt she could. 

“I was looking more in TV production jobs at the time and they just weren’t appearing,” shared Lever. “At the same time, I felt that there was so much more to learn about the entertainment and sports industries.” 

She ended up pursuing a master’s degree in sport venue and event management at Syracuse University in upstate New York. The program allowed her to explore both sports and entertainment production in detail. From managing event budgets to camera positioning, Lever learned more about operational strategies that are extremely important in her role today.

While in graduate school, Lever applied for an internship at the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. (Recording Academy), the organization behind the Grammy Awards. An avid music listener growing up, she always watched and wanted to work for the Grammys. She had applied to the internship before as an undergraduate without success, but decided to try again, this time with a master’s degree under her belt.

After submitting her application, Lever started searching for any possible way to connect with someone at the Recording Academy. One day, while digging through the internet for contacts, she came across an employee’s email address on an old Tumblr post, not really expecting a reply. She decided to send a message anyway and eventually landed an interview a week before the Grammy Awards.

Her story really impressed one of the Recording Academy’s representatives. She secured an internship with the Los Angeles chapter, which was an experience Lever describes as “unforgettable,” the internship required her to rotate through the Recording Academy’s many departments. During awards season specifically, she handled submissions from record companies representing artists like Adele and Sam Smith, then organized listening sessions with voting members of the academy. 

“I really enjoyed my time there and amongst serious music lovers like myself,” Lever said. “But it was a grueling internship. I think I rotated through a handful of departments over the course of a year. I got exposed to teams handling aspects of the music business that I was attracted to and others that I wasn’t interested in.”

“This is a tough industry to break into and I began to really think, ‘how am I going to survive here and make a living?’ I was only there for a year, but there were other interns and temps who had been rotating for years. That year, I think I discovered more about myself than ever before.”

Securing that first full-time gig in the entertainment industry proved challenging, but Lever would go on to work with major players in the music industry, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Capitol Records, Motown Records, and Columbia Records. Eventually, she joined Amazon Music, where she served as a key liaison between hip-hop artists and the music side of the tech giant.

She moved up to working with artists and teams of Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, and Erykah Badu’s of the world. Lever built partnerships with artists and their teams while developing strategies to grow Amazon Music’s audience. The goal was to attract new listeners and retain existing subscribers through exclusive performances, livestreams, and promotional campaigns.

One of her projects included negotiating a livestream deal with Lil Wayne and his group, the Hot Boys, who had not performed together in over 15 years. She also worked on partnerships tied to major cultural moments, including a livestream connected to Kendrick Lamar’s “Pop Out” concert.

After nearly five years with the company, she wanted to create something she could truly call her own. Her new venture, Category 1 Entertainment, focuses on helping artists plan and execute marketing strategies for album releases and tours. Lever says the music landscape today is more competitive than ever, especially how social media has also transformed the industry.

“Ten years ago, it was more about radio and TV appearances,” she said. “Now it’s about a full 360-degree strategy across platforms.” Through Category 1 Entertainment, Lever hopes to help artists think beyond traditional promotion.

“I’m so grateful for all of the experiences I’ve had, including in NMC. I’m constantly inspired by other people who hustle and go after it. It was the right time for me to expand and execute on all of the ideas I’ve been holding onto.”

Lever continues to be a mover and shaker in Los Angeles in the wider-music industry, landing her recently on Billboard’s 40 Under 40 list and on Rolling Stone’s Voices of Influence.

For students hoping to break into the entertainment industry, her advice is to take the leap and be resourceful. “Create things on campus or in your community and always put your best foot forward,” she said. “Seek opportunities in entertainment hubs like Los Angeles and New York, even if it means leaving your comfort zone.”

“Home is always there,” Lever said. “But you have to push yourself to go find people in new places.” Above all, she tells young creatives to hold onto their ambitions. “Protect your dreams.”