Blending The Two Worlds Of Being A Corporate America Executive & The Music Business Feat. Kim Manuel-Dickens

In this episode Durell is joined by Kim- Manuel Dickens who is a corporate executive as well as a music business consultant. Kim and Durell begin the episode discussing how they met and got connected on the Clubhouse App. Durell speaks about how he really appreciates Kim because of the similar mindset and thought processes they both have when working with indie creatives. Kim shares about her first introduction to music at the age of 5. She shares that it was inevitable for her to get involved in music. She began to play instruments and she became a classically trained pianist. During her later years her involvement in music evolved her to play in school bands, spend some time as a music director, playing in various music ensembles which she thought would’ve led to a career as a music producer. Kim shares that her parents wanted her to get a real job and not be a struggling artist so it wasn’t even up for question if she would go to college. She didn’t object to going to college and pursuing a degree because she also knew she had a strong interest in business and entrepreneurship. Kim shares that she earned an undergraduate degree from the University Of Maryland and a Master’s Degree from the Wharton School Of Business. She talks about the fact that she only went to the Wharton School of Business because she was told that black people couldn’t go. Kim shares that her father instilled in her a strong work ethic, and not to let someone tell her that she couldn’t do something that she knew was achievable and attainable.

Durell shares with Kim about how his path in school he initially thought was going to lead him in a different direction being that he thought a career in the hospitality industry was the goal but that he ultimately found his passion which led him to the entertainment industry and a degree from Full Sail University. Durell shares that he has been a freelancer doing his own thing pretty much since he graduated from Full Sail University. He feels that in today’s music ecosystem there’s really not a huge need for people who work with indie creatives to have a major record label background. Having the ability to help indie creatives get to where they want to go while giving them access to knowledge and how to execute is much more valuable than having what they think is the fastest and easier way to achieve success. Kim shares that she’s a big advocate for everyone being very comfortable with what value they add and when she works with her creatives that she doesn’t mind not exploring all desired options but will often ask the question what can an entity whether it be a consultant or label do for them that they can’t do for themselves. She also shares that indie creatives who are savvy and know how to plug and play rather than waiting for one thing are often going to put themselves into a much better situation to succeed.

Durell and Kim talk about the importance of indie creatives having their framework for success. Oftentimes so many artists don’t have their ducks in a row when it comes to setting up their business structure properly. Kim shares that since the music ecosystem which used to be about getting a label deal and the barriers to entry being really high to now it being extremely low, the importance for indie creatives to have a strong team is so important. Kim talks about some of the inquiries she receives when being approached by indie creatives and the reason why she charges her fee because she says that so many of them are simply taught that someone should work with them for free and eventually they will pay. Kim has to often tell them that’s just not how it works. Kim talks about how she has in the past helped to pay for certain things for her creatives that she works with because she has a very lucrative career in corporate America but that it’s definitely not