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[woman] It's been a rough ride lately for the music industry.
Record sales have dropped by over 50 percent in the last decade
threatened by the rise of digital downloads.
The music industry - what is happening?
[man] The record store is the victim of a changing world.
Digital technology ran competing music stores out of business.
Over the last 10 years we've seen almost complete flip-flop
where CD sales have come steadily down.
Nobody wants a physical copy of anything anymore.
[man] Nobody wants to buy a record when you can get it for free.
I mean technology has definitely been a game-changer.
After 32 years an Albuquerque record store is closing its doors for good.
[man] Off The record, is just the latest casualty.
[reporter] The Royal Garden Records is closing.
[woman] The popular area record store will soon be silent.
When they come it's great and when they slow down, it's a whole another level.
I don't know if we'll make any money tonight.
It's all about hustle at the end of the day.
It just comes down to who's hustling harder.
You gotta embrace this.
Game hustle, I ain't gonna make no money.
Like mid-to-late 2000s the industry went through
like this insane like trimming of the fat period.
All the bigger companies buying up the smaller labels, Capitol Records, they're in L.A.,
they thought that was going to be turned into like a parking lot.
Then, you know, like 20 years ago you performed a showcase,
like, even pitched your own music directly to a person, they sign you, you go on tour,
you make a little money, that way you do a record, they throw that, you make some more money.
I feel like it used to be that, you know, people would work on making a great record.
They would tour and they would promote the record
just hoping that they would sell a lot of units.
The tour money or merch money was like a bonus on top of how many units they sold.
And so that was when like CDs were like 17 bucks a pop
and you made some money back in those days.
I remember thinking how am I gonna get my band's CD at Best Buy
because that's where people buy CDs.
It used to be in the '90s that you couldn't know when an artist was releasing an album,
you couldn't know when an artist was coming to your city unless they were on MTV or TRL,
unless they were on BET Rap City "Tha Basement."
The only way to know what your favorite artist was doing
was either to listen to the radio or to watch TV.
Anybody in this building [inaudible].
[audience cheering]
Back in the MTV days it was so special.
I think that that kind of engagement, getting into the living room of people's homes
and people actually seeing these songs come to life in such a big way was really incredible.
During the TRL days it was a different time in-- in music,
you know, music videos were three days long, they were like mini movies
and millions and millions of dollars spent.
And now you have people just shooting videos on their phone and knocking things out
in two hours and, you know, it's just-- it's just a different time.
But it is forcing people to be a lot more, you know, hands-on now.
I was on a show called "American Idol" and I made it to the top ten of that show
and I just remember, "Man, somebody is making money right now and it ain't me."
So before the internet there were certain gatekeepers
that dictated who broke and who didn't.
And with the introduction of Napster, it completely changed everything.
[phone dialing, internet connecting]
[reporter] College students are making good use of the internet.
The latest software makes it a bit too easy for students to access their favorite tunes.
And when Napster was really hitting, I'm sure music executives were sitting
in their high-rise luxury executive suite scratching their heads
trying to figure out where all the revenue went.
The labels, they were caught with their pants down.
They were caught operating a business model that was obsolete.
What happened was the Steve Jobs of the world really saw what consumers wanted,
they really wanted to be able to pick and choose which song they wanted to listen to
and they bypassed these labels and they created a business model,
but it is exposing artists to people
that they never would have been exposed to in the '90s.
It's allowed for them to be discovered and them to capitalize on that discovery.
I think the big businesses are probably trying their best to adapt to what's going on
and probably a lot of the labels are cutting some of the fat,
but I feel like they're all kind of scurrying around because it's different than it used to be.
I think we're in a confusing era for sure.
I don't really think anybody knows what they are doing.
You can have conversations with label executives and they're still just like,
"Oh, we're just trying to find the next big thing."
Nobody knows what that is.
[reporter] Streaming has reshaped the music industry.
It's also been a major catalyst for growth.
[male reporter] Streaming is the only part of the music industry seeing revenue growth.
It used to be hard to make sure your CD is in distribution and all that and now
you could put a song out and it could be streamed 60 million times.
We all know what that is. It's Spotify, it's Apple Music,
it's iTunes, it's-- it's Pandora. It's all these things.
Spotify and streaming is the new label in a sense.
They have power to put it in people's ears.
I think Spotify is a gateway to find music.
I use Spotify to listen to my music.
Primarily how I consume music, it would definitely be through Spotify.
-Spotify. Yeah. -Spotify. Yeah.
Definitely my favorite one, Spotify.
Spotify streams is how we measure fan success kind of now,
just how many likes and how many streams.
For better or for worse, that's the world we live in now.
I think Spotify plays label roles.
I mean playlisting, streaming, all of that, that's where your royalties are coming from
but they're minuscule at this point.
So, a label is a bank, and is Spotify a bank, yet? No.
But do they help dictate if an artist is successful in streaming? Absolutely.
I am just as guilty of-- of streaming as anybody else.
I use all of them, you know, it is a huge convenience.
It takes a lot less to get somebody to stream something
than it does to get them to buy it.
[reporter] The problem, streaming services don't pay musicians very much.
When I first started transferring over my numbers or transferring from people
buying the music to streaming it, I was pretty nervous.
How do we make this work? I don't-- like, what happens if iTunes
decides to stop selling music? Like, what do we do?
[reporter] Time to say bye-bye to iTunes.
Apple has announced plans to kill off the iTunes app.
[man] The streaming services have taken over.
Today's industry, too, it's like you-- you release music with the expectations
that's not what's gonna pay the bills.
You release it knowing that that's not gonna be your main revenue stream as a band.
Releasing music right now is solely for the purpose of getting in front of people.
Yo, thanks for being here for us.
I mean this is your first Phangs show, right?
-[audience] Woo! -Okay.
I barely make money on music anymore, which is crazy.
I've never print, like, made physical music ever as Phangs.
I don't have a CD, a cassette, a vinyl, like, never ever have I had it.
What's wild is that nobody even asks for it. I got a merch table.
Nobody even says like, "Hey, do you have CDs?"
because it doesn't matter anymore, unfortunately.
You know, you need to stream thousands and thousands of times in order to make a dime
in this business anymore because everybody grabs their music for free.
You can go on Spotify and pay, what is it, 9.95 a month
and get any music any time anywhere.
Where does that leave the artist? The artist gets $0.0084 per stream.
You're not making a dime in this business anymore.
That's why you see all these big acts going out there and touring constantly.
They can't make money selling their music.
Thank God we have day jobs.
Right now, I'm selling cars for a living.
Before that I was an operations manager for plumbing, heating, air-conditioning company.
I am an electronics engineer, work on cell phones.
I'm a kayaking tour guide.
-We all have day jobs. -Yeah, I'm currently on lunch and have to go back after this.
I mean I'd love to quit my day job because that's-- that was the whole goal
since I was 17 years old doing this, you know.
So right now, I bartend Friday and Saturday night.
The goal of 2019 is for me to not have to have a day job.
Yeah, so, fingers crossed.
What up, what up world? This is your homeboy WordPlay T. Jay
and I'm back with another video for you.
This time around I'm gonna talk about six reasons
you should release your music for free.
Why your music should be free.
Should all music be free?
I think music is the best and purest human invention
and I think it should be for all, open for all.
-[reporter] Okay. -And free.
Easily, music should definitely be free.
I think music could-- could one day be free.
I mean if it's free-- if it's free somewhere, it'll be paid somewhere else, you know--
-I think-- -Like if streaming was totally free,
people would still pay for shows, you know, or some--
somehow the money will shift somewhere, like.
I think we need to be okay with that being the reality
because it's gonna be free.
In-- in 10 years we won't be selling music, we will be giving this shit away.
So the interesting thing with radio and streaming
is that the perception is music is free,
so people start to believe that it should be free.
We've kind of devalued music.
It's phenomenal from the listener's point of view
to have access to all the music in the world.
But the music just doesn't mean as much.
Music is so powerful and, unfortunately, I think it's undervalued.
And, you know, the amount of work and time, effort, heart, you know, passion
that we're putting into the music and then the little we're getting in return,
it's unfortunate that I don't think songwriters, creatives,
artists are getting what they deserve.
It's like damn diddum...
I'm putting in a lot of work for a little money but-
but what else would I be doing, you know?
[man] Musicians only get 12 percent of the 43 billion dollars the music generated.
Where does the money go?
I think something needs to happen where that money is being shifted into the artists' hands
and the people that are creating the music because without us there is no music.
I feel like streaming is kind of confusing because I have so many different conversations
with people, I think a lot of people are upset that we don't make money off streaming.
I feel like there's so much mystery about streaming, about how it makes money.
And what are the royalties even called.
I keep hearing like there's a publishing royalty, there's a master royalty.
And then I hear there's some other third royalty
that I don't even know how to get to or how to reach it.
It's just so strange how-- it's-- it really is the Wild West because
it's just a new thing that none of us really understand how it works.
I really do feel like we're at the beginning of the-- of the shift in the music-
of what will become the new music industry.
Anything goes, like, however you get your music out there,
whoever you get it to, there is no defined path.
[reporter] President Donald Trump today moved the music industry into the 21st century.
He signed the Music Modernization Act, legalizing the landmark
copyright reform for songwriters.
The goal is to ensure songwriters receive pay for the products that they produce
when you're listening to them on streaming services.
The Hatch-Goodlatte Music Modernization Act is a landmark bill.
They've been looking for it for many, many years to protect the intellectual property
and creative genius of America's incredible musicians.
Our royalty laws haven't been updated for 110 years prior to the Music Modernization Act.
So the fact that technology came about,
streaming came about, and still there had been no royalty law increases to any of that.
Music Modernization Act took a huge problem in the industry and solved it,
at least is at the very beginning stages of solving those problems.
And there's been so much talk about regulation
as far as like the actual monetization of streaming.
Like, with a stroke of a pen tomorrow, you know, what--
even the advances that we've made,
and streaming monetization could go away.
You really can't only rely on your live check.
In order to make money in anything, I think you have to have a strong enough reason
as to why you even want to pursue it.
That-- I think that should be the basis of it because
regardless of what you're going through, if you have a strong enough reason to compel you
to move forward, you're gonna find and make money.
Now specifically, as far as strategies and music, it's so many opportunities.
♪ I'm compelled by a purpose
♪ I truly understand What it means ♪
♪ When your spirit and your morals are aligned with your dream ♪
♪ The little that you have Become more than you need ♪
♪ And the times that you laugh Are worth more than the cream ♪
I think, ultimately, as a artist, man, it all-- to me, what I've experienced,
it comes down to your product, what is-- what's the value of your product,
why am I investing in your product.
That all comes down to the connection with people.
Like, somebody believes in your message and they believe in what you're doing,
they're gonna pay you.
If they believe that you're gonna have something that's going to touch the world
or it touches them, then they'll pay you, they'll give you their funds for you to be sustainable.
You know, I feel like you-- you have to adapt.
I mean it's always waves of this and that, you know.
I have learned to budget my money over the years, you know, because some years
with any kind of entertainment you don't know what you-- you're getting into, you know.
Some years you're gonna make a whole lot of money.
We've got Paul McDonald in the building.
He's got a brand-new album called Modern Hearts.
[McDonald] In some years you're not gonna make hardly anything.
Yeah, we're not making much off streaming,
but at the same time while that changed, social media kind of came into play.
You know there's so many ways you can market things.
I'm in DC celebrating the release of my new single
"Separate Us" with my new friends. What's up, guys?
[audience] Woo!
[Thompson] If you're putting out good music
and you have good content and you're creating a following,
there's so many ways to monetize that in a way where you can, you know, create a career out of it.
♪ So try to tell me Something I don't know ♪
♪ See I need to go Pop the GoPro ♪
♪ See any more likes On my photos ♪
♪ But tell me how to rap That's a no-no, I'm so... ♪
The monetizing piece comes more from, you know, the merchandise and the touring, the live shows,
licensing and getting songs in commercials and TV shows and movies
and just being creative with ways of finding those different avenues.
I just released a new single, it's called "Golden Nights."
It's on all music platforms.
Go get that [Expletive Deleted] right now. I love you guys so much.
Check it at first.
You have to be a businessman as an artist today.
You can't just be a great musician anymore.
It's tough because I don't have a business degree.
I feel like every musician has like a side hustle.
Our money is made through physical sales of CDs and merch and then live shows.
The tours were to promote the album, but now the music is put out to promote your tours.
So all our money right now is made in live music, which is good for us
because we love playing live and we take pride in being a live band.
We've been on the road for about two months now and this is an amazing live performance.
So thank you guys so much for riding with us tonight.
Touring is kind of where all the money is.
Everybody's always gonna pay for tickets.
That's never gonna be something that's free because the artists are just gonna not-
not...not do it.
There's artists like Bob Dylan that are still touring to this day.
Tom Petty, literally, toured to the day he died.
The show and the performance, to me,
that's where you want to put your heart and soul into
because that's what's gonna sell tickets.
That's what's going to put people in the seats and make them actually buy merchandise
at your show that you're going to be able to put more money in your pocket.
[man] So what is it we're doing right now?
Right now just checking on stuff.
We released like a
funny shirt that I made on my phone
-of Tom, my drummer that plays with me live. -[drum playing]
They sold out like pretty quickly.
And so, I ordered more just to come on to the tour now finally.
-All of this is 20 and this is 40. -Okay.
I barely make money on music anymore and that's crazy because I-
I have to figure out other lanes for it, I have to make money elsewhere.
-Can I get one of these shirts, please? -Yeah, what size?
Uh, large.
My biggest moneymaker is merchandise.
Twenty, awesome. Thank you so much.
There you go. And it's 40.
It's this every time, it's like a chaos, like the best chaos.
This is the last of these.
-Okay. -Here's the large.
They just come up and they buy like a few shirts and a poster.
I really like the new merch a lot.
I have a lot of his merch though.
-[man] Do you? -I have a lot of merch.
Merch is a lot but it's good to like meet everybody, it's cool.
-Alright, I appreciate it. -Yeah, thank you, man.
-Have a good Christmas. -See you, dude.
Hope you are doing well! I wanted to shoot you a quick update to let you know
that it looks like "Run with the Giants" is gonna make it
in tonight's episode of "The Grind."
"Run with the Giants", which is all my new stuff, which is exciting,
and, yeah, I'll have to figure out how to watch that tonight.
Sync is just licensing.
When people license music to put in their TV shows
or their commercials or the promos or the trailers,
they have to get a license from you and pay you before they use it, which is amazing.
It's one of the new songs from the new record.
I'm like-- I feel like it's gonna be really cool.
[Emily] It's gonna be really great exposure too.
It's the biggest portion of my income. Licensing is-
is definitely at least 80 percent, if not more.
-Awesome. -[Emily] I'm excited.
Yeah, alright. Well, we'll wait for the next one. I'll call you then.
-[Emily] Okay, sounds good. Congrats, Sam. -Thanks, Emily.
-[Emily] Bye. -Bye.
Pretty cool.
I would say that one of the coolest that's happened lately
is we landed a Samsung commercial and they used my song "Wolves."
And, usually, they have, you know, a lot of voiceover, people talking,
and you can kind of hear a little bit of the music behind it,
but they, literally, had no talking,
just my song being the voice of this Samsung Galaxy J6+ commercial.
We landed a song in an international Spider-Man trailer
for Spider-Man Homecoming.
I've had my songs used in shows like Riverdale, Quantico,
The Rookie, Ninja Warriors.
That's been such a game-changer for me as an independent artist
to continually land these things that are on TV shows.
I don't really do a ton of touring right now.
It's not because I don't want to but it's because when I started weighing out touring
versus making more music and allowing it to land on shows,
the amount of fans that are coming from those interactions are a lot.
If my music is in the next Marvel movie,
I don't have to pay for a bunch of streaming dollars.
Everybody watches the Marvel movies, so they'll know from there.
I can kind of help to build this thing that's not only going to build my band
but it's also gonna kind of fuel the dream.
Tiger Drive is a band that's all about connecting with the people around us
through the music that we make.
I think the hard part about that is though you can easily get kind of stuck in writing music
that doesn't mean anything, you know? I mean you can-- you can get stuck writing music
about whatever the pitch is or whatever the movie is about.
So I think that's where you kind of have to find the-- the, like, happy medium.
It's like always being yourself and refusing to write music that is not you.
[McDonald] I make records for myself and then
most of the shows will pick up these songs just if it fits.
I guess probably the biggest one that folks would know is like the Twilightseries.
Breaking Dawn Part 2 was a big movie.
I had a song in the credits of that film, and they shot a big music video,
they'd intertwined with the footage and stuff. So that was a big-- a big thing.
One of the first placements that I had gotten that was like super, like, huge
blessing was in show placement
with a song called "Meet Me on the Battlefield"
and it was just like a simple piano vocal in a show called Containment.
And they played nearly the whole song.
So it was not only like
a blessing, financially, on the back end but
it was also like a great exposure opportunity to-
for people to hear my music and then kind of search like, "Oh, who is that?"
It was an opportunity that opened our eyes.
There was a lot of potential to kind of take it and run with it and so we were like,
"Okay, we've got to move and continue to release stuff
and continue to give people content so we don't lose the momentum that we just received."
It's a great platform to be able to both have your music heard and financially sustained.
[man] This is the sixth annual gala.
We have a fabulous program for you tonight.
We have a performance from Tribal Hop.
Route that I'm fine that is more lucrative is doing corporate and private gigs.
They're more personal, you can get really involved in certain grassroot movements
that are going on and build a solid relationship and foundation with these companies.
-I can't-- what do you think when you play? -[giggling]
So today I'm out here gearing up for a wonderful show with Three and a Half Acres, my client.
They deal with healing arts and, yeah, they're just gonna make things happen.
Featuring Harlem's own, the one and only Ms. Farrah Boulé!
[singing]
So these type of shows are the most lucrative where you can be an artist,
do your own original music, no covers,
simply by aligning with a brand or company that matches your style.
How is everybody feeling tonight?
[all] Whoo!
♪ And then wish me all That so I can breathe ♪
♪ I gravitate across To the heat ♪
♪ When that flame boulle Is at its peak ♪
It aligns with my music because I am deeply rooted in the healing arts.
My music is pretty much mantras.
♪ When life is done
♪ Then life will leave
I just want to be able to express myself and be free within my own art.
So I just found people who are in alignment with me and my message and magic happens.
♪ I like to navigate The high sea ♪
♪ So I ride the waves Before it rides me ♪
♪ I gravitate towards affinity
♪ Sitting watching time While time watches me ♪
It's all about aligning and being true to yourself.
Thank you. I am Farrah Boulé.
Yeah, I mean I think it's amazing that anybody can release anything at any time.
If I just feel like putting a song out, I could have a song out in two weeks
and do it all by myself having nobody's hands in it and if it's online.
I mean like I've written songs on a plane.
My iPad, I have this program called iMaschine and I can throw my headphones in
and make a beat there and then I can freestyle in the little mic on my headphones
and I have a little demo like, you know, five-hour flight to L.A.
But now it's to the point where we can work in my house or his basement
and three of us can put a single together and have it released in six weeks.
We can just do everything from from-- from the phone, you know,
and just straight up upload it right there.
You have to not only be a songwriter and good on stage
but, you also have to be somewhat of a producer to make it today.
You need to be able to bring something of quality from your laptop.
[S. Luna] Nowadays, you know, with people on their computers
and on their phones making music,
that's amazing because they don't have to spend that money and they can be really creative.
At the same time, I do believe that, you know, there is a different type of artistry
and I think it is fun that if you can create a beat on your phone,
well, it is fun to actually get into a studio
and actually create that beat live and not just on an app
that probably 500 other people are creating the same thing.
People have so many different opinions about the way music is made now.
Some of the most amazing music of the world came from live sessions
of just a guitar and a vocal.
And, but at the same time there's beauty in record-- recording like your voice
on a voice memo and then putting effects onto that and making that
the drum sound for a song, I think that's crazy.
It's easier to make music, you know, everyone can do it,
a whole lot of more people can do it.
It allows kids who not only couldn't afford to go into a big studio
with a big board and the whole deal to make music and be creative.
And I do think that's really cool.
Back in the day when you'd go into a record shop,
it was already kind of like "These are the best the best."
There wasn't a bunch of kids in the garage creating stuff
and getting it dropped on in the same stores.
Like and now you have so much music out there and you don't need that many tools
to make records anymore.
Artists and songwriters 20 years ago didn't have voice memos on their phone.
Not even 20--10, 15 years ago.
And when they were recording, they were recording to tape and if they messed up,
they had someone there just specialized to splice tape.
So, you couldn't even afford to record back then unless you were really killing it.
So like it just blows my mind like when people, you know, they choose to complain
about where we're at today because really we are so lucky
and there's so much at our disposal.
♪ Why'd it never cross my mind
♪ It's been right here All this time ♪
♪ So I'm gonna stay here In this moment ♪
[man] Twenty-five- to thirty-minute set.
[A.J.] Okay.
-[man] That's easy. -[A.J.] That's cake.
-That's cake. That's cake. -[man] Oh, there's an adapter right here.
So we have that song that we played at the last show, "Gasoline".
The vocals on there were just kind of scratch, so I was thinking we should try to get
a couple more to play with if that's cool.
Yeah.
♪ I made it on the gasoline
♪ Lit this fire black As kerosene ♪
♪ Got to jump Like a trampoline ♪
♪ Too reality to make believe
-Hey. -It's pretty good.
-Alright my brother. Yes, Sir. -That's for sure. That was good.
I know a ton of people that I have to pay for studio time.
Nilo's opened up his home, create this project.
And we're super excited about it.
You're really seeing, you know, talent emerge from everywhere,
you're not relying on major labels anymore to find talent.
People are making music in their bedroom.
They're making music all over and becoming, you know,
international sensations and superstars.
So, to me, it is-- it's an exciting shift and I think that's just what happens
in life, in general, nothing stays the same in the music industry, it's no different.
So now, like, it's-- it's possible to pump out
good-quality, major label quality music out of a home studio with the right equipment.
Just never know what can happen these days with just a computer and yourself.
I mean it's pretty incredible what can happen now in the box.
You don't need a full-on studio anymore.
So this is my home studio.
It's the cool place to come and create new songs or come up with ideas.
Welcome to my home studio where I fit everything I need to do into one room.
I have a whole home studio that's kind of my personal factory.
I have a vocal booth where I record my own vocals.
I also have a video set up for me to do my cover videos.
And I also work on fashion here as well.
This is an outfit that I did for my Alien music video.
[singing]
I even have a rehearsal space where I have floor-to-ceiling mirrors,
I have a microphone, DJ lights, a mixing board, my in-ear system,
and I practice like it's a real show.
It's awesome because you really never know what your schedule is gonna be
or when inspiration is gonna strike.
So I love having this room where I can do whatever I need to do whenever I need to do it.
♪ I am just an alien
One cool thing about this band is we have a studio in our basement,
and we record all of this stuff ourselves now.
This is the first song that's come out of that process.
[singing]
As far as our sound goes, we are a DIY rock band through and through.
[singing]
This is our home studio, and this is where we rehearse,
this is where we record, where we write, where we hang out.
It all really happens in here and it takes all of us.
[singing]
Personally, I always romanticize these bands that would make these crazy albums
just spending a lot of time in the studio where time wasn't as big a factor.
Building this space was sort of about building that environment for ourselves
where we could kind of get lost in what we were doing
and not worry about taking too much time like really go on the full journey.
[singing]
Having the free space and free time to really be able to do that
is really part of the magic for us.
[singing]
So there're so many people that are-- that are releasing music all the time
but still then like we're seeing 40, 50, 60 people daily,
it's barely even skimming the surface, there's a lot of saturation out there.
For bands that would never get out there in the past now have a chance to,
but at the same time there's a lot more competition.
I tell my oldest son like don't even worry about this shit that I've been trying to do
for 20 years to get right like don't even get involved in it.
There's too many people doing it right now, it's oversaturated.
I think for me even as just a listener trying to figure out
what to listen to is exhausting.
I think with the-- with the higher saturation you have to constantly
out of one side of your mind when you're writing
and when you're in the studio producing you have to think,
do I love this? Does this represent who I am as an artist?
And the other side you have to think, are the masses going to love this?
I mean there's millions of people trying to do the music.
They have this same technology that you have because of the way it's built as well.
They kind of have the same chance that you do.
It's gonna make the best kind of filter to the top.
People can like or dislike a track and they never hear it again
or they hear it more regularly.
So what the world really wants to hear is gonna end up rising
while what they don't really like goes back to the bottom a little bit.
I would say this is the old school hustle because this is the original hustle.
This is the OG hustle.
And you do this back in the day before social media so people can know where to find you.
It's time for the lazy man right here.
Lazy man, you expect someone to come save you. You gotta save yourself.
[man] Do you have a SoundCloud?
Oh, I don't really have a SoundCloud.
I got the street cloud.
The hustle, you gotta embrace it.
You got to learn the process at a hustle because you learn so many different things
pertaining to like developing your skill level.
Man.
What I'm doing out here basically is chasing the dream, man.
This bucket, this amp, this microphone is how I project my perspective onto the world.
♪ Passing a thought through My mind as I write them down ♪
♪ About where I wanna be Probably a year from now ♪
♪ Accomplish something That's overwhelming That's so profound ♪
♪ Bring tears to my momma's face And that'll make her smile ♪
My particular hustle is that I busk. That's how I started.
For those who don't know what busking is, that just means you come perform live
in front of like different-- anybody.
♪ Comments like I'm going to the stores Never stop ♪
♪ And I'm gonna do it Every single day Look out forever rock ♪
♪ And I see the people going on They say that I'm off my rocker But I'm not to chase my dream ♪
♪ Get there by any means
Freestyling provides freedom.
♪ Opportunity dawg, 'cause all These people be confusing me ♪
♪ I got to do it dawg 'cause I'm sick of all these eulogies ♪
♪ People just don't know What they're doing ♪
♪ That's why I make the Music for the queens ♪
♪ Got to get it in Thank you for the dollar I must thank you sister ♪
♪ Look I'm thinking About tomorrow ♪
First of all, you have to have an amazing amount of confidence in yourself,
you have to develop a skill level to where people can interact with you
that don't know you and be willing to even stop and paying the attention to you.
Man, I got started doing this probably about two years ago.
The first time I came out, I had a bucket and it said "poetry" on it
and I just set it down and I performed on the trolley station.
I got like $30 that day. It was dope.
You know what I mean? Way to have faith to keep coming back out here.
My wife pushed me out here and was like, "You know, you give it 50 percent you get 50 back.
You give a 100, you get a 100 back." So I was like, man,
if she's supportive and she want me to be out here, I think I'm gonna do it.
♪ It's hard to maintain At the top I'm going to aim Regardless of the fame ♪
♪ Well, I got to make change
♪ While I make a change I just do it for my daughter ♪
And I started on Rose Street, one of the busiest places probably in America,
well, 'cause this is one of the biggest tourist cities.
Now, this is when I need y'all guys to participate. Don't hurt them now.
I've appointed you and I need a word from you guys, okay?
And I'm gonna incorporate that word when I rap, okay? Is that cool?
The only thing is I don't use any profanity.
I hope that it doesn't offend anybody.
I like to keep it clean.
Obviously, it's then I decided to make a full-time commitment to it.
But it really happened for me just trying to find an outlet for my music
and using the resources that was around.
♪ Man, Harlem, every single day Now I go in smilin' ♪
[singing]
Y'all are probably gonna see me very, very soon.
I got faith we will be probably seeing you very, very soon.
♪ --and I tell them hello
[woman] Whoo!
♪ -Put your bat -Just like that ♪
♪ -Just like that -Just like that ♪
♪ Just like that Just like that ♪
Hold on.
We put more out music for a small donation, anywhere between a penny
to a million dollars. You know what I'm saying?
So we independent artists are just trying to do the right thing for our families.
You know what I'm saying? You got people out here with ten kids
taking care of their family.
I'm right now making like almost $110,000 a year selling my music alone.
So we're just out here networking, trying to do our thing,
get this money, you heard?
And you'll see all the guys here putting the CDs in their hands.
They're just giving-- some of them are blank CDs, some of them are legitimate CDs
and then they're just ripping everybody's money out,
nobody's gonna listen to like crap anyway.
Show me love, bro. Anything. Anything, bro.
-I just-- I just-- -A small donation from your heart. Anything.
Let me sign it for him. Let me sign it for him.
-Let me sign it for him. -Don't be like that, bro.
Do a dollar. Do a dollar. Do a dollar. Do a dollar. Do a dollar.
-Flat out. -Turn out.
You know, again it's all hustling out here.
Even now I've been out here 20 years and I have a country album, I have a rock album.
Every single person I take a picture with, I give them my card, I sign it,
says my music's on iTunes so you can download the music.
Even with that going on, we probably get five hundred to a thousand downloads a month
which isn't a lot.
But also, people just don't associate me so much with music,
they see me out here on the street and assume it's not that.
To me, it's more about a persona.
♪ I'm The Naked Cowboy Here with InstaBAND ♪
♪ Surviving the streaming Revolution if we can ♪
If you don't understand how this stuff works.
If you've not signed up for Instagram and Snapchat,
this is not a waste of your time.
We live in a mobile-only world, you just don't realize it yet.
[man] Mobile phones are literally taking over the world.
The smartphone is a beautiful thing.
Phone is life.
Being able to create content on the spot is incredible.
[man] Let's say next week you don't have your smartphone.
Oh man, it could be crazy.
I'm probably on my phone five hours a day whether I want to or not.
There! I can't believe my phone's not even on me now,
I feel like so dis-attached from it.
My phone is probably the most important tool I use
in music right now, which is kind of crazy.
Maybe even above a guitar.
You know it's like I pull out my phone when I'm wanting to write lyrics.
So I'm pulling out my phone when I'm wanting to post a video showing me in the studio.
I'm pulling out my phone when I am posting about a new licensing thing that happened.
It's kind of the new computer.
It's kind of the new everything.
I use my phone a lot and I don't know
how I would do as much as I am doing without things like a cell phone.
[Germany] I do everything on my phone.
I book on my phone. I do like all of my graphics on my phone.
I make t-shirts on my phone.
I also use my phone for setlist on stage.
Like, literally, everything is on my cell phone, which is crazy because that's the future
but at the same time, like, the music future is so tough
that you have to be able to do those things.
It's a-- it's a little crippling.
I mean I, literally, while I am doing this, I have my phone behind me
and it's just like going off because I leave all my notifications on-
on Twitter and Instagram and Facebook.
Yeah, so just like sat down and grabbed my phone and, I mean right now it's already like
this is all Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat.
All of that just happened like while we were just sitting at the arcade machine for a minute.
I have to be engaged in order for people to care about it.
That's the only way that they want to care about it is if the if they-
if they feel like it's a firsthand avenue to me. And so, I live on my phone.
That's more than half of my job, yeah, as a musician.
[man] What's the longest period of time you-- you are like totally without your phone?
Uh, when I go to sleep.
I'll sit on my phone all day.
It's like my job because I am just a DIY like independent artist.
So I run everything by myself. So when I'm on stage,
it's the moment that like I don't think for a second.
There's a bunch of ways that like I promote the music that
people probably didn't do even five years ago.
I mean, the internet is where people live now.
Social media is like everything.
It's crazy like
the stock of a song compared to a retweet is huge.
Getting a song that-- that can have a lasting value versus something that can
have lasting and repostable value on the internet,
it's crazy, and trying to balance that.
So we spend like, I'd say, half of our time on social media, half time practicing.
Social media is honestly half of what you do-- half of the band now.
He just did like a solo set the other night at a cafe and just 'cause he put it on Instagram,
a lot of people showed up to see him.
So it's-- it's a changing world but it's amazing for bands.
It's a lot more opportunity now.
I think man having a smartphone for me to my career is-
I hate to say a necessity- but it's becoming so-- it just makes it easier.
In the music world, things move really fast.
So you can have an opportunity that you have to capitalize on immediately.
You know everybody got a smartphone.
♪ I say it once again Look my name is Ray Wimley ♪
♪ I'm having fun when I be chillin' plus I'm Fooling with my friends ♪
I cipher through so much material online on the internet
that I haven't posted and I know this is clips of me everywhere.
So just because I'm not directly filming something
doesn't mean that it doesn't get distributed to people all over the line.
So the game nowadays and the aspect I like of it is the internet because
you have this amazing ability to touch people all over the world.
What that creates is even less excuses for you not to be the way you want to be.
What I think lacks now is the personal interaction between audience and the performer
because you still need that organic connection beyond the computer screen.
Use every advantage you have. Like if I could make a connection and meet somebody,
that's something I can use to be in a position of where my music blows up.
♪ Common sense, man
♪ I gotta feeling I know This on the block ♪
♪ The HS on his bag as They rock him in the car ♪
♪ The cell phone Canon On the camera ♪
♪ We gonna take it far The 25th right ♪
♪ That's his best I'm loving this festival ♪
Man, I know this only take one song,
nowadays one moment, one video that could change your life.
♪ My man Ray said The mic is on y'all I did it 'cause know ♪
♪ I'm Common Sense I lost it Going I came back home sort Of liked New Orleans ♪
♪ The way to freestyle yo And keep homeboy ♪
A viral video could be somebody's grainy footage, that shot of a phone
and it just strikes the chord and millions of people will share it.
Watch out and check out the video.
♪ --reality as we go into A whole another level That's why I got to say ♪
♪ Man it's on my heart For people that's around I thank you for vibing in ♪
♪ Welcome to the town for real
Leave comments what you think about what Common did right here.
[Common] What a ride, man. Thank you all, man. This is a blessing.
[S. Luna] Everything is like now these social pages of like, you know, making these artists.
These artists try and open up the world and-
and that's really, I think where the biggest promotion comes from is like Instagram.
[man] Instagram was a startup idea whose beauty was in its simplicity.
Take a single photograph of where you are or what you are doing,
share it in real time with the people in your life
and give them an easy button to push to show they like it.
I love Instagram.
I do love a good Instagram because I love pictures.
I love having the visual and just kind of getting a window into somebody's life
and to also share a window into your own.
I love having the visual piece with music and just feeling like you're
a part of somebody's life in a small way. So, I'm a fan of the Instagram.
[Aquaducks member] Everybody's experienced negativity online.
It seeps in every aspect, but I found at least that Instagram
is a place where people want to feel good and post the good things that are happening.
I think it's really true that a picture speaks a thousand words
and you really do get that through Instagram.
I've actually been starting this new thing where every day I am posting
a really positive inspirational quote.
I think I can really represent my brand visually on Instagram
and also just interact with people which is awesome.
I'm not one of the guys that's-- that's constantly on my Instagram feed
going like "Check it out, man, I'm here hanging out."
You know, it's just not my personality to be all up in my own business
showing the world that kind of stuff.
But when I'm in the studio or creating and stuff or playing shows,
it's a nice tool to get in front of your people and say, "Hey, what's up? I'm doing this,
this and this," like I don't need to show you what I'm cooking today
or when I'm washing my clothes.
You know it's not a reality show here that I'm trying to do.
I rather would be working on the art and let the art speak for itself.
But a lot of times people say that's not enough, you know, with-- with what you're doing.
But I do think that it can be enough, you know.
So, yeah, I'm focused on making the records and the music.
And I think if you make great music, you really don't have to worry about that stuff.
The music can speak for itself.
♪ I can be all you need
Alright.
And we are live.
-What's up? -Yo, what's up guys?
It's time for another edition of "Give Monday Some Riespect."
Thank you so much as always for joining us tonight.
So we do Facebook Live every single Monday.
"We call it Give Monday Some Riespect."
It's our way of checking in with the fans and letting them know what's coming up.
If you guys have any questions for us, any song requests,
write them down below and we'll-- we'll play them for you.
We love this experience we have with you guys, checking in every week.
That's why we do this. We love to hear what you guys have to say.
They'll be the first to hear new music.
We give them sneak peeks on that.
We like to say in the comments like those who are watching from--
and like last week there was someone from Alaska watching, there's someone like overseas.
Yo, hello from Denver.
Hello from California.
Alabama in the house.
-We got Alaska watching us tonight. -Hell, yeah.
[Kevin Ries] So cool that everyone is coming--
-Yeah. -You know, connecting on this social media platform.
[singing]
Interacting with the fans I think is so important because they're the ones who are buying
the tickets to your show, it's they are the ones who are listening to your music.
So, they can help us plan a better show.
[Kevin] We have a tour coming up.
What song do you want to hear the most? So we'll put that in the setlist, you know,
so it's cool to, you know, reach out and get that give and take
with the fans to get feedback, I like that a lot.
It's a brand-new song right there.
Thank you so much for joining us. That's it for tonight's episode.
We're the Ries Brothers. We love checking in with you guys.
We'll see you guys again next week.
-So, remember, much love and Riespect. -Riespect.
I think social media is awesome. I also think it's very flawed.
You should use it as a powerful tool to connect with people
and remember that there are people on the other side.
It's not just this digital abyss.
And I think the more that you can create a dialog
as an artist, I think that's really important.
And I think that you have an opportunity to use a platform to connect authentically.
Otherwise, you know, here you are as an artist who you really are
and who you are presenting to others.
[woman] Social media is a constant in most of our lives, but experts now suggest
that excessive use of social media may pose a risk to our mental health.
[man] Does spending too much time on social media
actually increase loneliness and depression?
Because I kind of grew up in the era of Instagram and all those things coming out,
I think it really hurt me as an artist at the beginning
because you're constantly just comparing yourselves
and you used to only be able to compare yourself to people's sounds really.
Once we got Instagram and everything like that, you are comparing yourself to them
physically, you're comparing yourselves to their personality
and like every single tiny thing about them.
You're like, "Oh, people, obviously, like that."
They have a lot of followers, they are famous
or they're on tour, they're all these big things.
That kind of took a toll on me in a bad way because that started affecting my music
when I started comparing myself to being like,
"Oh, maybe I should be more like that." So I started making music that was more like that.
It's the same thing with Instagram followers, you know,
like people have a lot more followers, it looks a lot better.
But it doesn't really mean it's a skill thing or they are better at a craft.
It's a mix of a ton of different things, I feel.
♪ Just gotta focus On my own breathing ♪
♪ I'm not perfect But I'm getting well ♪
♪ See, I love you, But I love myself ♪
♪ So much stress on my brain
♪ I just want to find a place Where I maintain ♪
♪ And everybody's Really having fun ♪
♪ That's my main aim All the time watching I'm holding hands with my son ♪
I look at it-- it's like since the world's attention span is kind of short,
it provides just enough.
And they have all different type of tools to engage your audience with a long time, short time.
So right now, I am just getting in my zone freestyling, coming up with bars off the top.
Then I record it and post it on the Gram.
I mean it's like:
♪ Man, life is so amazing
♪ Every single day when I rap is so contagious ♪
♪ Looking at the man in the Mirror going through phases ♪
♪ Looking at the fake man These are the ages ♪
On the street I used to ask for words, like, people to give me words, anything on their mind
and I used to incorporate that into my-in my rapping.
What's your favorite food?
-[woman] Chicken. -Chicken.
Chicken.
♪ Chicken. Chicken.
It just made sense.
Okay, well, people can text those words and I could show them how I freestyle.
♪ Man, peace, you know, We need it in the world Like the two fingers ♪
♪ Every single day I come And spit, you know, What my mind lingers ♪
♪ On what it means To be a better man ♪
♪ InstaBAND moving In the building They record the man ♪
It very well translated what I was doing on the street to online.
♪ Look I really gotta believe
♪ That's fire Underneath the leaks ♪
♪ Every single time I speak Dawg, never obsolete ♪
We better take it outside, Joe.
What's your name, Sir?
[man] Well, obviously I was just having a good time.
Oh, yeah, my bad. I was rapping.
He was over here dancing.
We was just feeling the vibes, man. What's your name, Sir?
-Wayne, man. -This is Wayne.
My name is Ray, I'm a freestyle artist, man.
I just want to say keep dancing.
You gotta have a connection with your people.
And from that point on, like an artist or any type of craft you're validated in
whatever you're doing because you know that you have a fan base
that's supportive of what you're doing.
So, someone asked me the other day what my greatest accomplishment
in music has been thus far.
And, honestly, it's every time I get a letter from someone saying that
the music has saved them.
So I just had another fan message me
that's going through something really tough in their life
and that my music could be there for them through that time.
So I'm just sending him back a message of support and positive vibes.
Connecting and being there for your fans is huge and it's incredible
that social media allows us to do that on a more personal level.
And my fans are the fuel that keep me going
and pushing forward in this really tough industry.
I feel like interacting with your fans on Instagram or-
or Twitter, it just kind of takes down that veil between "I am this crazy
way up person here and they're down there and they can't reach us".
It's like it's-- it kind of becomes equal and you can talk with people.
And it's kind of cool because you talk about your music but then they also feel, you know,
a closeness because we're almost like-- we're almost buddies, we're just talking.
What's up, Jeff? How you doing, homie?
We're nothing without fans.
So, I mean it's a-- for me that's a no-brainer, right?
Like, I have been offered by certain companies to run our social media
but to me that my whole brand is being transparent and it's me
and it's my story and it's what I've been through and my struggles.
And so when people reach out and DMs, I'm the one talking to them, I respond to everyone.
Oh, Sammy, what's up homie?
It's so important to me like we are nothing without our fans.
We live in the studio.
Yeah, it's my home studio. Welcome, everyone. No big deal.
Once you pass that 4000-marker Instagram followers, the money just comes rolling in.
I'll spend hours every day speaking with people in DMs
and there's people who reach out to me,
you know, come out to a show and they say like, "Yo, I've been struggling with depression,
anxiety or suicidal thoughts and your music's helped me."
I give my number out 'cause it take away everything else on this world,
we are human beings and we have to support and love each other
and that's the most important thing for me at the end of the day.
So that's just a no-brainer, like, of course, I'm answering every single person on there
and saying thank you and showing my gratitude for them because
once again, we are nothing without them.
I love you guys so much. I hope you have a beautiful day.
Hit me up if you need anything.
I'm grateful for all of you, you incredible people.
Peace.
Like you're so lucky. Like, if people are taking the time to be like,
"Hey," like, "I'm interested in this" or like,
"Hey, I just wanted to let you know that, like, I can't wait for you to release music."
That's like all we're doing this for really.
That's all you want out of anything you do is for one person to feel that way.
So I feel like for the rest of my career and life I would never, like,
not respond or not want to, like, have that conversation with that person.
Like, I don't know, that's why we do this crazy thing and put ourselves through the ringers.
So I just got a message from somebody that said "I'm crying in my room.
Then "Life of the party" came on and I started smiling
and singing along and now I feel better.
You're just amazing".
It's really sweet.
Today we're gonna talk about how to brand yourself without selling out.
Actual things that you can do today so that you can get your branding handled.
Branding is everything.
[man] Find yourself, know your audience.
Figure out what your brand is.
Thinking of ways that fall into your personality,
that fit well, that are authentic,
that are good memorable things about your brand.
Fashion.
Technology.
Music.
Welcome to Lounge.
I know that people judge you in the first second of seeing you
and there's no way I could tell you anything about myself in that amount of time
through-- through words or even music.
But the aesthetics of an artist can tell you so much
about who they are in the world they're creating.
It's so backwards to what it used to be.
You had to build a platform out of your brand.
I view it as like a mountain.
You have to build this mountain and on the top of it you can put like your flag at the top,
and your flag is your music.
But no one's gonna see that flag if you don't build the brand first.
But I think that that's the most important thing is building this mountain and this brand
that people want to even climb on to in order to get to the top and see
that flag or hear that flag.
I've been very lucky with the internet with just,
you know, aesthetics and building-- building a world.
♪ Well I guess It's always been you ♪
How are we doing?
You just set her down dude when you get there, when you slide her.
Yeah, we did.
I'm turning, I'm turning.
One, two, three.
Beautiful.
Branding is I believe it's just as important as the music
because if you have really good music
but your brand is something that people don't want
to be a part of or something they can't grab, then they're just not gonna stick around.
Getting them to feel that they are a part of Kid Politics,
they have to buy into our brand as a band.
And social media, particularly Instagram for us, is like the way that we show who we are,
what we're doing, what we stand for and really get people involved, you know, in us.
My favorite thing about the next day of the show after the show is like looking at the posts
that we're tagged and the next day just like waking up like,
"Hey, we did something cool last night."
That is better than all.
Right.
It's cool to see what people saw like, you know, 'cause it's different from our view, so.
I mean I think there's like a competition, it's like a new competition of like
can you be really good at music and can you be what's good at branding.
Okay, so normally on show day kind of like make some post story-wise
letting people know what we're doing, like, leading up to us playing like little promo stuff.
And then show days, like this is us loading in so people can kind of see like
what happens before the show.
Probably make another post doing whatever happens next and then maybe kiddo get like
a cool, like, side stage post of us actually playing.
It's all about the brand. I mean,
if you're just gonna try to sell music,
without a brand I don't think you have a prayer.
That's all there is to it.
I have music and we can sell music.
We also have oysters and we also have Naked Cowboy Wine.
♪ Go to Naked Cowboy that wine
♪ That's the place to go
I mean branding is important. You have to define what your brand is.
For me it's "Stay youthful, be grateful, always love."
It's important to stay on brand but at the same time it's important to just be yourself.
And I don't let the brand, you know, control who I am or how I act.
We're not being anything else but ourselves,
so it's not like we ever really have to think about being on brand.
My name is Stealing Oceans. These are some of my best friends behind me.
We are grateful to be here. We are gonna give it our all tonight,
so we want you to give your all to us. Can we do that?
[crowd cheering]
I was actually offered a sponsorship from an alcohol company.
Makes no sense 'cause I haven't had a drink of alcohol in over three years.
You know, for me mental health is a-- is a really important subject.
♪ This anxiety is killing me
How can I include mental health in, you know, creating content?
My hope is that we start to create awareness, we create a big wave
and maybe we can spread, you know, we-- we can start a community around self-care and--
We play a lot of, you know, suicide prevention shows,
you know, stuff to do with mental health or giving back to the community.
For us, that's-- that's our brand.
If we take care of ourselves, we put ourselves in position to take care of lot of people.
It's just who we are. It's what we believe in. It's what our values are.
So it's pretty simple for us to-- to stay on brand.
People say they can't control their inner thoughts, but you can live with gratitude
every day and I promise you it's gonna make your life so much better.
There are so many different things that you can do now as an artist
to establish your strategies.
We have to be a businessman and an artist at the same time and a social media guru and--
Oh, yeah.
It's just a constant hustle.
It all depends on how hot and cool your product is
at the time whatever you're making.
All the stars have to align anyways when-- when something turns and blows up
this extravagant thing.
[man] Paul McDonald was great on American Idol.
-He was. Paul McDonald to everyone. -Cheers, y'all.
Trends go like this, but on occasion if you're staying straight and doing your thing,
you know, you'll hit every few years and-- and be cool again.
And then-- and that cool moment will allow you to float for the next few, then you got a career.
♪ Yeah, I want to get high
♪ And I want to get stoned
What's up y'all? My name is Paul McDonald.
Check out my new album Modern Hearts.
You're watching B-Sides.
[Adara] In this world that is oversaturated with music at this point,
the first 10 seconds are absolutely vital
to make sure someone doesn't swipe to the next song and skip it.
And it's so accessible now that I mean you can listen to three seconds a song,
you don't feel it, you can get something else like immediately.
You had to, like, put a record in and listen the whole thing
and figure out if you liked it, you know.
Give the band more of a chance.
They can actually thumbs-down it like, they will just never play your band or that person again.
You're rejected, yeah.
You're writing a song to get on new music Friday, then it's the battle of, like,
can I last the first five seconds without it getting swiped.
So like can I be interesting out the gate.
And I think for a lot of artists it can become disheartening
to look at your art as a product that has to be pushed and exploited.
It's really important for artists to be able to draw a line and separate that,
so that they can focus on making art for art,
so that it's true and authentic, but then pushing it in a very business way.
Hey, guys.
I am so excited because it's almost here.
October 2nd the Alien music video comes out.
I can't wait to share this work of love with you all.
Love you guys.
Keep going and stay positive.
[man] How can you keep reaching a bigger audience? One word: playlists.
So what are the best ways to get into Spotify playlist?
Get added to that first Spotify official playlist.
It really is all about the play listing.
Who gets put into the playlist?
What is the algorithm looking for?
How do I get on a playlist? I don't know. Like,
I just hope that the music reaches enough people and causes enough,
like, ruckus to get people added on some playlist.
Playlisting is the new game for independent artists right now.
The more playlists you get on, the more your streaming numbers go up
and the more companies and brands start to pay attention to you.
It really can open up a lot of doors for an artist.
And if you can get someone to put you on a bigger playlist, you now skipped a huge step,
you know, so some of those parameters are like a really big deal.
I mean, even the streaming platforms are-- are looking at are people listening to you
or not and then that's helping them decide
whether or not they're gonna put you on the bigger playlist.
Those can grab huge followings, too.
There's lots of people now who build up a huge following for a playlist
and actually they're able to sell it.
There's even companies and labels that will buy a playlist off of you.
For us as a DIY band, getting into those playlists, breaking into them,
reaching the people who run them is how we get our music out there.
We have got our songs on playlists and trying to get people to just
put on the playlist in the middle of the night.
Gotta beg people, "Hey, buddy, you know, put me on-- put me on your playlist
and play it tonight.
Thirty streams of "Get in Line" just two nights ago
because I've got all these people streaming the music
while they're sleeping, put the volume down and just let it go.
Just so we can get the traction so we can get curated by-- by those-
those companies like Spotify so they put us further up in the queue.
So with social media, it's showing different aspects of your life, your personality.
I'm really dorky into wrestling.
[Stoneman] And then your fans are latching on to different elements of that.
At that point, you become relatable, so you could then in turn like expand on that.
The one thing that we understand and, you know, we've-- we've learned from studying and,
obviously, Gary Vee, he's been a huge inspiration for us
with his whole idea of "Document, Don't Create."
Letting go of trying to create these perfect pieces of content
for social media rather than just documenting what you're doing.
And not being afraid to just be in front of the camera all the time
and the more you do it, the more comfortable you get with it.
Yo, stay tuned to InstaBAND, the movie.
I will talk about why I broke up with Khloé Kardashian.
And just creating content that gives people, you know, bird's-eye view into what
we're doing on a daily basis is really important.
This time night one blueprint video shoot.
This is going to be an amazing video.
It's not like back in the day where there was big, you know, the Michael Jacksons
and the Princes of the world where they were kind of untouchable, you know.
They just kind of appeared when they wanted to appear and people saw
what they wanted them to see of their career,
but now it's an expectation of artists,
especially, if you're trying to be mainstream, to be known very, very well.
You have to document like every part of your day is, you know, it's the demand.
People want to see it.
-I took one-- -Hey!
-What are we doing? -I don't know but we're cooking.
-We're cooking. -We're just baking now.
On top of that, you know, millennials are running socials
and Gen Z babies are all running socials
and our BS meter's high, so you have to come in authentically or it's-
we're gonna spot it from a mile away.
Yeah, this just sounds like everything out-- that's out right now.
He writes the same way on every track. You can almost predict it sometimes.
It's also important as an artist to be authentic in yourself so that
people watching you can realize that they can be their authentic self and be loved for it.
So I think it sends a really good message if you're unique and true.
Being authentic is really the unicorn in the game,
you know, authenticity.
So if you're authentic and you're putting forth the work
and you're handling the business side of it,
I think everything's just gonna fall into place.
Ray Wim-- Wimley is next, alright.
He's that good.
Being authentic and transparent is probably the most important thing
in my brand because, you know, you can't hide anything anymore.
I think that's what a lot of people don't understand.
It's not so much about getting on.
It's more about being true to self and being transparent especially in hip-hop,
everybody is just not a gangster.
I'm sick of seeing some of my favorite artists have mental breakdown and collapse
because they feel like they got to keep up with the image.
When I first started in the music industry I thought,
you know, I had to put on this persona.
You know, I was working in hip-hop,
so I had to have a certain swag or act a certain way.
But it wasn't until I kind of stripped out all the way and I just started being myself.
♪ Walk out on the stage Like what up I'm not Macklemore ♪
♪ But you're like I've seen a white guy Rap like that before ♪
♪ Screw the comparisons I ain't embarrassing myself ♪
♪ And I know you like My rhymes like all-- ♪
And I just kind of let people in on my daily routines and so, you know, that
translates to when we're in the studio, you know, recording Last Christmas.
We're back in Bellville.
[music sounds]
-Merry Christmas. -Merry Christmas guys.
Oh what's up dude?
Cold, cold coffee.
-Back at it again? -Yes, Sir.
♪♪♪
How you doing homie?
Just relaxing on Patty's shoulder.
-[chuckling] -Christmas spirit.
Christmas spirit, everybody. Love you guys. Peace.
So it was a little 15-second Instagram, I was just staying in touch with everyone.
It's nice.
I'm on Instagram the whole time, on Instagram live letting our fans kind of have
a bird's-eye view of us working on the song.
Not only do they love seeing that process, 'cause most of them have never been in a studio
like this or understand how that process works,
but it also gets them excited about the content we're working on.
Brian, you want to sing out this one?
[Brian] I mean, if you want me to.
[guy] I want to hear your beautiful voice.
[Brian] Oh my goodness.
I just wrote this like four hours ago. I didn't sleep last night.
-Oh, hey, Brian. -[giggling]
♪♪♪
We don't look at it as like a marketing scheme, we look at
as like, yeah, this is-- this is what we're doing.
We want to share a piece of us with you because we're proud of it
and we're excited and we're really hyped on what we're making.
♪ I was excited
♪ I bought this diamond
♪ And I was gonna give to you
♪ 'Cause if it were up to me
♪ It'd be you and me
♪ Lovely sweaters Together forever ♪
♪ Never thought it Could get me better Then you left me crying ♪
♪ Nowhere to begin When it begins to snow ♪
♪ I think about us Underneath the mistletoe ♪
♪ Well, that night you called me Over in the blistering cold ♪
♪ Because you got sick from Eating too much cookie dough ♪
♪ Next day you left me waiting
♪ Like you were Snowflaking on me ♪
♪ Now one thing You'll never see ♪
♪ Is a gift from me Under the Christmas tree ♪
Be yourself as an artist and--
and let the light shine through on that and,
you know, people are gonna love the authenticity at the end of the day.
Yeah, that's it. Yeah.
Yeah. It feels good.
[phone ringing]
So October 26th, I have a show for "Sell your Souls."
It's gonna be with k-os, Logan Garrett and kill-
Kid Politics, and swipe up for the ticket link and I can't wait to see you there.
Social media is so important. Instagram is so important.
It is really cool to be able to talk to people from across the world and be able
to constantly just be involved with people who for some reason are interested in my craft.
And I think that's like a beautiful thing.
[phone notification]
[man] So how important is your phone in your life and in your career?
Um, it is too important.
Unfortunately, it takes up a lot of time and a lot of attention.
I try to separate time of the day to do that so that it's not constantly
just a part of my life and I like to separate,
like, either like an hour in the morning
that I get back to everybody or I post something or I'm involved and then I just put it away,
or I just don't let myself open up those apps unless there's something important
because it is so consuming.
And you never want to be the person who's posting things and having to write
a interesting thing about yourself while you're at dinner with your friends.
I try to be on there as much as I can to interact with my fans
without losing side of what I'm supposed to be doing, you know, because that-- that's a drug.
When that phone-- you can be on your Instagram, on Facebook
and just kind of feed off the comments because a lot of people are negative.
So try to stay away from all that kind of stuff.
So a lot of artists have options now.
There is a whole label route
and then there's an entirely different blueprint for an indie route.
One of the positives was too just having to the public that knighting
of like "You're signed" you know, and--
and having that perception of like you're doing well.
And you know, here I am signed to a record label but I'm-- I'm working valet on weekends.
But the good things were too, I mean, we'd make a music video
and spend 50 grand and it didn't come out of my pocket, you know.
We made a record and we could spend a hundred and fifty thousand dollars on a record.
Now artists to me, should be independent
because the freedom of expression you have, the grassroot promotion,
the connecting with your fans, that-- to that first time
you want-- you got a microphone in your hand and everybody is there
from the tone that you did,
that you didn't have to, like, make industry-standard.
You know, I'm a big fan of Nipsey Hussle, he rightly said,
"Turning up my hustle is how I give myself a raise."
Like all of these people that was independent.
Like look at Jay Z, for example.
That has to be the greatest example.
Yes, be independent. Be your boss.
If you have resources and connections and you figure out how to move,
you can make things happen.
You can partner with a label, but I think you should take matters into your own hands.
-We have an idea. -Yes.
-Music video wise. -Hit me with it.
I mean having Starstruck there, you know, they're first and foremost my management team
and then I-- I do have an artist development deal with them.
They help me with, you know, booking any sort of contracts and then also with,
you know, we have an in-house videographer that we do music videos with.
So this is for the Christmas cover that you'll are doing?
We figured, like, since we're doing it, just knock out a music video too.
Real loose.
-Love it. -Real loose, real funny.
Just kind of getting a bunch of good shots.
They give me the reins to-- to run everything and they trust my plan as an artist.
Well, dub green-screen Christmas video.
-It's easy. -We could do this soon.
It's been incredible because, you know, obviously this facility here
is one of the nicest in the country.
So, yeah. It's great for shooting here.
We just recorded the song.
Now let's come over here and make the green screen music video.
And to be able to use it, you know, at our disposal is-- is incredible.
Dustin came to our show by accident here in Nashville.
And-- and he filmed us performing our new single "On My Wave"
that's coming out in November and so we're working on a mix of the live footage
and behind the scenes BTS stuff.
-The candid stuff. Like on the road-- -Candid stuff.
To make a music video for it.
It's easier these days to become, you know, successful and not have to lean
on any sort of label and-- and give away so much of what you're making.
-You were-- you were kind of like, you were on that wave. -Yeah.
-That's the wave we were on. -Float away.
-Throwing deuces to the drama, baby. -Every day.
[woman] Now when you think of country music, New York City probably doesn't come to mind,
but the Big Apple has always had a great country music scene
and HER & Kings County are living proof.
From my band, we were in New York City.
We took one trip to Nashville and, literally, we played one show, we got-
started touring with Kid Rock.
We ended up signing with Warner Brothers.
[man] We got the entire band HER & Kings County, brand new act,
just got signed to Warner Brothers. Congratulations!
-[all] Yeah! -Nice.
[S. Luna] Which we thought was great. Now we can just sit back, but we were completely wrong.
So they gave us $100,000-oh, no, they gave-- I'm sorry, that was our advance.
That's right, $100,000 in my pocket, don't ask.
They gave us $250,000 to make a record.
Now, we said,
"Well, we've been making records our whole life as a band,
we can make this record for like five grand.
Can you give us the rest of that money because we were a band of six members?"
And Warner Brothers said, "Absolutely, not.
You have to spend $250,000.
It won't go into a separate account if you don't.
We will make sure that that money gets spent."
We had stuff on iTunes and they actually pulled it off.
So all of a sudden now, you are on a major label
and what you put out independently, they want off.
They didn't want anybody to know some of those songs exist
because now you're this new branded being.
They take you off the road so you can write a record.
Well, then they're not gonna put you back on the road until,
you know, your record is done, and they find a single.
So now you're off the road for two and a half years writing this massive greatest hit
of your life and the record that Warner Brothers put out on us,
they own all of it until they make their million dollars back.
So, I'll never see a penny from that because of all those lobster dinners they bought us
and, finally, you know, we decided
we have to do what we want to do and we're not doing that.
And we wanted to just, you know, keep our souls. [chuckles]
So, we parted ways with our label with Warner Brothers and couldn't be happier.
♪ Chain reaction
♪ Satisfaction
♪ Chain reaction
What up everybody? Welcome back to Nashville Unsigned.
This is the band Her.
You were on a major at one point, you got off of a major
and now you're doing bigger things than you ever have.
We're now making money.
Exactly.
[Tinnesz] You know, you grow up dreaming of signing to a record deal.
You know, it's-- it's like in all the movies, it's everything that you hope for.
When it happened, I didn't realize it was just the beginning.
It was like, "Okay, now we can start."
And it was like two years from when we signed our record deal
to actually even putting out any music because the record label had to have
a single do well enough to feel comfortable releasing a full project.
They take a lot of control of what you're doing.
They tell you what kind of songs you can put on a record,
whether you can put your face on the album,
or whether you should not put your face on the album.
I think the more we learn about the music business,
the more we realized that we were never going to recoup.
The system wasn't made for us to recoup.
The system was made to keep us in this financial slavery-type thing.
I mean, it was developed before we ever showed up on the scene,
so there wasn't anything we could say about it.
We had something to sign.
It's how people have always done it and we knew what we were getting into when we did it
that we would probably never recoup, but I had no idea of what the master made.
It's just not something that people really talk about
because they don't normally own their own.
So when I started owning my own masters, it changed the game.
I can put on music whenever I want, however I want to.
So I got something in the mail that I am super stoked about.
We hit a hundred thousand subscribers on YouTube. I can't believe it.
When you do a lot of sync music or you're an independent artist,
you know, you're not getting like the number one radio chart plaques
or getting the whatever plaques, the selling gold plaques, or platinum plaques.
This is the kind of stuff you get.
You get the hundred thousand subscribers on-- on YouTube.
Having been part of a label system and seeing the amount of money that they are taking
and when I transferred over to being independent, I was like,
"This check has my name on it and it is a full amount."
It's just a good feeling. Maybe it's less but it's all mine and that's better.
I have two EP's and they're gonna come out soon
and are called "White Doves" and "Warplanes."
-And I hope they come out soon and make plans for it. -[man] Whoo!
This is the era where the mid-tier band has more power than ever.
They are able to reach their audience and compete with national acts,
but really do it on their own terms.
There is an in-between like where you're not starving
and you're not making a million bucks,
but you are sustaining a living, you know, you're able to pay your bills
and I think that's kind of what I've managed to do over the past decade.
I've kind of been in that spot.
I think the-- the middle-tier bands and artists
are definitely coming out and they're really creative.
No handcuffs; you could do what you want to do.
The ones that on the top are stifled.
Like they can't do certain things that I feel like the middle-tier can.
So it's a weird place. You kind of want to be in the middle tier
and make a lot of money because once you get to that top tier
and make a lot of money, you can't do a lot of things.
You can be an artist without a record deal and be successful.
There's organizations around, around that-
that help out artists that don't have a label.
What up everybody? Welcome back to the Nashville Unsigned podcast.
We are back covering all things digital and music news
and resources for the independent community.
Nashville Unsigned is a digital magazine label services
and lab events company for independent artists.
So we practically take the label services, build out an artist from start to finish,
promote them on the digital magazine through articles, video--
You just dropped a new album "Let the Kids Play. "
--a podcast--
Today, we're kinda talking about our Instagram secrets and how to utilize those.
--and then also promote them through our live events.
We're kind of a new-age anti-label label.
We like to think we have a super hyper focus of the best of the best
of the indie scene from all genres.
Our goal is to help get them visible and make their brand
look as though they know what they're doing.
-You guys are awesome. -Aw, we love you. Love you so much.
-We are Nashville Unsigned. -We're out of here.
♪ I'll be chilling every time By the building ♪
♪ On Canal Street by the wild Green across from me ♪
[reporter] On Canal Street is where New Orleans rapper Ray Wimley got his big break.
During Essence Fest, rapper Common came out and free-styled with him.
[woman] And that video went viral getting even more support from Common
and mayor LaToya Cantrell.
This last year when you came out and filmed me, things have been incredible
with going viral and being able to rap with, you know, one of my favorite people.
It's one of those things that if you were about to hustle and you were about the grind,
and you were about really affecting people and you see it coming
to fruition like that-- it's undescribable.
It not only does it validates you it validates anybody that had any doubt.
So I have a lot of opportunities based off of recent exposure.
Common brought me out to a couple of his shows.
♪ Common says gotta let Love please breathe ♪
♪ I know that this kinda hard So many are so deceived Can we come together dawg ♪
♪ Nice, on this--
I've gotten to go to LA. I've gotten to see different cultures. New York.
Chillin'. The fam, right here. And we're in New York City.
I got opportunity to perform on Jimmy Fallon.
Please welcome, Ray Wimley, everybody!
[woman] Check this, Ray! I know!
And then that went viral. Did your life just change?
Yeah, I thought it was gonna be a lot of people outside my house after it was over with,
but that ain't happened yet, so.
I also had opportunity to go back to my old school
and they was like, "Man, we love what you did. We want to put you on.
We want to give you some proper exposure for your old school, since you're an alumni of UNO."
♪ Man I just want To float right now ♪
♪ Been a long day When the world get ugly ♪
♪ When life give You lemons, right ♪
♪ You're supposed To make lemonade ♪
Being at this school, like how much it meant to me that was a big blessing.
I was like, "Wow!" My recent success, man, is making me feel validated.
That's the biggest thing I can think about because when you set out and you have a goal,
and you have a dream, and you have an intention, you got ups and downs,
you got peaks and valleys, and you have doubts.
And you have that flame that's so bright that people can't douse that.
A lot of people have been reaching out to me and this has been great.
I've been able to, like, kick back and let some of the-- the blessings flow in.
Like they say, "When it rains, it pours. "And I feel like it's definitely pouring right now.
Yeah, it's crazy. I think "Play with Fire" just as of yesterday hit 28 million streams.
I remember like not even a few, you know, six months ago
I was at like 600,000 plus listeners and things have just kept growing.
It's really cool, I mean, to have all those streams with no label
and no touring is kind of wild.
I was like, "Man, I'm gonna have to start doing some shows."
[singing]
♪ Coming in like fire
♪ Look out we're striking
♪ What you say? Let's go
I had a show last night at the Mercy Lounge.
It was kind of my first real show, like, putting on a show.
I have been out of the live game for a while, like, I told you.
So it was weird kind of getting back on the bike and putting together a real show.
And I almost feel bad that I'm not performing for people who are fans of the music
because I know they want to see it live and they want to experience it.
And I guess if I'm honest with myself I want to do that, too.
That's why I got into this. I want to connect with people.
♪ We will overcome
Playing the show, I'm just realizing like
"I don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. "
Like maybe there's something in the middle here where I can tour with purpose.
I can use some of these tools that I have now to just be more intentional.
Maybe instead of just saying I'm never gonna play live, maybe it's more like,
I'll just be more intentional with how I play live.
♪ We will overcome
Thanks, y'all.
Everything that's been happening independently has kind of drawn a lot of people coming to us.
Like me and my manager Dave, we went to New York to meet with ADA Warner.
They are some of the same people that launched the Macklemore -Thrift Shop thing.
And we walk in to this meeting and it ends up being a boardroom filled with people.
I realize I am no longer selling myself to them, they're selling themselves to me.
It's kind of just the tables are turned.
And I told them what I wanted to do. What I wanted first single to be
and here's my pictures, here's my album artwork.
So they kind of came to us with a single song with a full record attached.
And so, they basically released the first single to radio and released a full album behind it.
And that's it. There's no options, there's no additional anything.
They don't own you forever.
It's just kind of this one record deal.
If you were to ask me before like you did, I would say, "I don't-- I don't love labels.
I don't love the idea of that, you know, I want to be fully independent."
But there are some global things that a label can get your music out to
and as long as you own the Masters and you can control the release schedule,
and you can do it in a way that you know what is great for you as an artist then it's okay.
I'm really excited about that. I feel like I'm just-- I'm focused on making music
and making the best music possible.
Although streaming is upon us, records are still being sold,
which a lot of people fail to realize right now,
but vinyl is at an all-time high than it's ever been.
[woman] While most music nowadays is digital,
an old style of listening to tunes is celebrated one day a year.
[Amber] Real music lovers are gonna love this.
[woman] Stacks of rare records are just waiting for them in shops all over the country.
[reporter] Vinyl record enthusiasts are gathering once again.
[man] Many shops packed with lines wrapped around the stores.
We got here around 12:30 a.m.
[woman] This Saturday is "Record Store Day."
[man] So is this the calm before the storm?
That's right, they're out there waiting.
They'll come for it in a little bit an orderly fashion.
You'll see.
[screaming]
Today is International Record Store Day.
It's the biggest single day of the year.
Record Store Day is basically our Super Bowl.
The independent record store Super Bowl.
It's just about music.
It's just about records.
It's just about exclusives.
People make a pilgrimage almost.
Got to go to all the record stores.
[man] Vinyl isn't the most popular way to get your music,
but it still has its fans who say nothing compares to its sound and feel.
The reason why I would buy a vinyl it would be the physical feeling of it.
I think it's a different feeling when you listen to a vinyl.
So discovering the warm sound and non-compressed of vinyl, it's amazing to me.
I like the crate digging experience, finding things, or something finds you.
To have that physical thing in their hand is extremely important to a lot of people.
You have this piece of art that's put together by an artist, you know,
the whole package, liner notes and artwork on a vinyl record,
and just having that personal thing, your collection, that you can share with other people.
On top of that, you know, the-- the sound quality is much better.
You know and the listening of it is more active as opposed to like a passive listening
of listening to something on streaming.
So, you have to pick up the needle and put it down and then go to the next track
or flip the record.
Remember when everyone thought "Books are going away. We're gonna have a Kindle.
And we're never gonna read a book ever again."
I think it's the same thing.
There's always going to be an independent small store.
Vinyl I think is now being twisted and sold as merch, like a collector's edition.
So being able to sell vinyl records now, I think is
a throwback modernized way of selling albums.
You know, I have a new record coming out and streaming it
is the last thing on my mind
as much as actually printing it to vinyl
and then being able to sell it on vinyl.
[McCormick] It's amazing to me how much vinyl we are selling these days
and it's mainly to the younger folks.
And it's because their fathers or grandfathers told them to be sure.
And you visit the Ernest Tubb Record Shop because they did in the earlier years, you know,
and they come in and see our racks and racks of vinyl.
You know, a lot of these bands now, it's smart.
They realize the importance of this collectible thing.
Here on Record Store Day, I see young kids going in there and buying vinyl
and they don't even have a record player.
They just want to have it because they like the band.
I got some, um, some cool records.
He's the one who told me that we needed to come because he's now into vinyls
and maybe he'll start a collection.
[Stoneman] People are still wanting to collect these things.
So there's a huge following for vinyl collection
and I don't think that's going anywhere anytime soon.
If anything, it's going up.
The future is unpredictable still.
I think there's gonna be a significant amount of people
that still want the physical media,
but there's also a huge amount of people that want the convenience of streaming
and I'm in the party of wanting both.
This business changes so much on a monthly-- on a weekly basis that, you know,
five 10 years from now I have no idea where we'll be.
I mean, there's so many apps and new startup companies and different ways to get music.
The future is independent, you know.
The future is an independent, like, you have to go to do this on yourself,
your team gets built around you as opposed to you joining a team that tells you what to do.
I think it's really an opinion.
I mean, I think the future of the music industry hopefully is
the artists taking back kind of more what's theirs.
Now we have the power and we're able to put our music out
and have people hear it around the world.
So, hopefully, that will lead to some more fair practices in the future for artists and,
hopefully, in the end it will benefit record labels because happy artists make better music.
I see music in the future becoming artists' calling card.
Here's my music, book me.
Well, here's my music, follow me.
Check me out, follow me, I have a show coming up.
I'll keep you-- just send me a message so that I know it's you.
So, what I really, really, would love for the future is that we can have more of the live
experience of seeing artists on stage, playing live,
singing live, putting their heart out there.
I mean the future of music I think that it's just gonna be about experiences.
The festival world is such a huge thing right now because girls can put on a flower crown
and go to Coachella and experience music in a place.
The songs are almost the soundtrack to that.
The live experience is I think still what sells a lot of people
and as we've seen throughout history
entertainment is still always the expense
that people are willing to spend their money on.
I mean we're seeing a huge rise in music festivals.
They're popping up left and right.
There are more music festivals now than there ever has been in a calendar year.
When you're going into festivals and live shows that full experience
from the decorations, to the light shows, to the vendor booths,
you're getting to dress up and be a completely different human.
You're getting to meet people that share a common love.
You get to actually like not be yourself for a night and get lost in the music
and share moments with people that you'll never meet again.
It's just a full-on experience and takes you into another world
outside of the world we currently live in.
This is honestly a dream come true for all of us.
This is our first ever, major festival and we are so grateful to be here.
Our biggest asset is our live show.
Being in front of people, you know, I talk about my message, my story
so much in the live show and people connect with that.
And I truly believe that having a platform as an artist is so important
to just spread love and positivity 'cause we need that more than ever today.
And we made it to the first show on the road.
Vancouver tonight, y'all.
Oh, man. On stage, it feels-- it's cozy up there, you know.
It's like-- it's my favorite place to be.
It's an immediate connection with an audience, you know.
That's-- that's my favorite thing about performing.
The highlight of what we want to do as a band is-- is found on the stage.
Just seeing people sing our lyrics with us, there's nothing like it.
There's nothing like that adrenaline and just connecting with people.
Thank you so much. People should be nice.
Experience is key because things fluctuate like CDs, vinyls, you know,
Spotify is king right now.
Spotify could be gone in 10 years.
What won't be gone in 10 years is people's love of the experience.
People's need for that human connection on the stage.
I think that is what's moving the music business right now,
is the live show, the club show, the theater show, or the festival.
It's something that you can't reproduce at home.
There's this incredible feeling you get when you look out and people from all walks of life
are at this show together.
You just can feel it.
Everyone's having a great time and you are, too.
It's just this beautiful energy that that you've all created together.
These people that are so different, but in this moment we're all the same.
And that's so beautiful about a live show because it is people from all walks of life,
but in that moment we're all the same.
Guys, we got a couple more left again. We're a Forest Fire Gospel Choir.
Whatever part of your journey you're on as an artist,
I think most of us get here because we love music.
That's why we get into this and the more that you can hold on to that love
that's just gonna be your center for everything.
Man, the most important thing is the love of the music.
And my first initial thought was not, "Hmm, music.
I can make some money off of this." I was like, "Hmm. Damn, this stuff sounds incredible.
How do you make this stuff?"
From there, everything else is secondary.
So, if you have a love for what you do and you protect what you do,
then naturally that'll illuminate and that'll inspire, like,
to help grow the next person.
I want to make the world better and I got an opportunity to do that.
I want to make sure that y'all understand it.
That y'all, like, say y'all viewers are so valuable to me.
Just thank you, guys. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I appreciate everybody who've been helping me out. Thank you.
I feel like I write my music and create new music for performance
and for the fact that I want to be there and be like be performing this to people
and, like, I love that energy.
As in that we officially sold out my first headlining show ever.
As long as I have that energy and I can feel that love and be in that environment, I'm good.
It comes down to making the music and being happy making music and finding happiness
in all of those moments even when they're stressful.
And, for me, I'm gonna do it either way.
You know, I'm gonna create music and I'm gonna create art whether I'm making money or not
because I'm not making money doing it right now and I still love it.
It's about the music, it's about the journey, it's about connecting with people,
it's about the branded people who message you and they say, "Heard your song."
Come on. What else is there? That's all that matters to me.
My hope for the future, what I see in the future is just continuing to grow the community
that we've started to build, which is, you know, it's based on love and positivity.
And, you know, we've created a community of people.
It's like a family.
The energy and the positivity that we have together, it's infectious and people see that.
Thank you, Stealing Oceans. We love you.
You know, for me, the future-- like I just hope that I continue on this path of using
the platform that I'm continuing to grow, in a positive way
that it creates positive change in the world.
And, yeah, and stay youthful, be grateful, always love.
Ey!
Music is the sole driver in humanity.
We party with music, we play sports with music,
we cry with music, we make food with music, make love with music.
Music is always involved in everything and I think that if us as artists,
if we can remember that and not get so caught up in all of the other crazy BS,
if we can stay focused on trying to make the best music,
have the best message possible for the youth
and give people a way to feel, I think we're gonna be just fine.
Hey, guys, just a quick update. I'm currently in L.A., right now on a reggae trip.
I officially signed my publishing deal in October, so I am no longer bartending.
Um, but we're here doing sessions
and I have some of these labels that I'm really excited about.
So thank you for being part of this journey. I love you.
I appreciate you and I look forward to the future.
We just signed a deal with ADA Warner and they're putting out, "Play with Fire"
on the radio and even before anything happened at radio,
it went RIAA certified gold.
So, I just could not be more excited about what's going on.
And it's truly been such an incredible year of creativity and exploration
and our whole team were so excited to be getting ready
to release our first full-length album.
And we're so excited to share it and so thrilled for all that's to come.
We're currently on tour with Iration and we got signed with Paradigm Talent Agency.
We got a new record coming out this summer and we'll be on tour all Summer and Fall.
-Check our dates at riesbrothers.com. Much love. -Whoo!
I am releasing a two-part album this year as well as some new music videos
and probably the coolest thing of all, Martin guitars made me this new custom piece.
I'm in L.A. I moved here a couple months back.
I'm so grateful to be here.
It's a very, very, very creative environment, very inspiring.
It feels good to be surrounded with family out here, people I love
and, most importantly, I am making the best music of my life,
so I can't wait to share with you guys.
For now, stay youthful, be grateful, always love.
Hey, it's the infamous Her.
We're currently in the studio making a new album and we just plan on keep on keeping on
rockin' and rollin', baby.
Yo! This is Phangs and I'm in Columbus, Ohio, and I'm about to play a sold-out show
and it's been a crazy year with a bunch of music
and I'm excited to keep doing it even more.
Oh, we're still hustling. Yeah.
Still trying to make it happen. Still working really hard. Still writing songs.
And you know, hey, we still got our day jobs.
We still have our day jobs.
People that are supporting me, to everybody that's in my corner.
I'm just so appreciative, man.
I'm just overwhelmed with all of the joy and the positivity that I'm receiving.
And it just helps me keep going and it helps me keep thriving as a person.
♪♪♪
[music ends]