Why Metadata Matters For Indie Creatives Feat Keith Kirk

In this episode Durell is joined by singer, songwriter, arranger, and metadata specialist Keith Kirk. Keith and Durell begin the episode talking about him being originally from London as well as spending some of his early years in Trinidad & Tobago but then coming back to London after the age of 9. Keith talks about his earliest introduction to music being mostly heritage music and singing in choirs. He knew that music was all he ever wanted to do early on because of the impact he had from being around such exceptionally talented people and his classmates in school. Keith speaks about his experiences in college singing with the London Chorale and the BBC. Keith also has penned several compositions that are published by GIA Publications which is America’s largest sacred music publisher.

Keith is also passionate about the business side of music. Durell and Keith talk about why most creatives don’t like the business side of music. Keith shares that he’s the type of guy that likes to have his T’s cross and his I’s dotted. He likes to make sure when he fills out information no matter what it is he makes sure everything is filled and locked in. He shares that because of his affinity and love for attention to detail is probably what got him really interested in metadata. Keith shares that in London no one really cares about your degree they really only care that you are able to deliver on what you say you know how to do.

Keith has worked for some of the world’s largest music and media companies in the world such as Sony Music Entertainment UK, Universal Music Group, BMG, 21st Century Fox, and the International Copyright Enterprise In Berlin Germany as a metadata specialist. Durell asks Keith what was it specifically that drew him to working specifically with metadata. He shares that he always wanted to work for a company called PPL which is like the equivalent of SoundExchange in the US. While working at PPL he got a message on Linkedin from Universal Music Group requesting to meet with him. He went to meet with them and got hired to work with them in their metadata dept. Durell asks Keith what the official definition of metadata is and he shares simply that metadata is defined as information about information. Keith shares that when you're working in music there are two strands of information to be concerned about. One set of information tells dry information such as song title, duration etc. The other strain of information contextualizes everything together.

Durell and Keith talk about why indie creatives should care about metadata. Keith shares that they should care because metadata is the mechanism that compensates them for their work. Keith shares that the only way to receive the revenue that a song earns is through having the correct metadata. Durell asks Keith what are some of the biggest mistakes in which he sees many indie creatives make, and his answer is that they don’t care enough about it. He shares there’s no way for the music industry to pay properly. Durell says that he encounters many creatives that don’t even know what the basics are when it comes to metadata. Keith shares another reason that creatives need to care about metadata is the music business is now a digital algorithmic data driven landscape and everything works automatically . Keith shares that another reason metadata is important is because Kobalt did a study and found that there are over 900,000 possible revenue streams for music that enters the marketplace.

Durell and Keith end the episode talking about the digital distributor assigning and owning ISRC codes for indie artists. Keith shares that the digital distributor can assign the ISRC but they actually do own the code and so does the creative. The main difference in ownership is that the digital distributor can prove their ownership via what is called a GS1 license. GS1 is the global

Finding Your Artist Pathway Feat Brianna Ruelas

In this episode Durell is joined by singer, and performing artist consultant Brianna Ruelas. Brianna and Durell begin the episode talking about how they got connected at the Springboard Music Festival and that from the moment they connected it's been so much fun to support each other. Brianna talks about her first introduction to music at the age of 9 where she performed in a talent show singing Debbie Gibson’s song “Out Of The Blue”. She remembers singing over the vocals because back then at that age she didn’t know how to remove the lead vocals and just sing over the backing track. She knew after that experience she wanted to continue to sing and perform and the path in which she took was musical theater, and ultimately decided to attend Pepperdine University to study musical theater. After graduation she started working at a restaurant in Malibu where she ultimately got connected with a voiceover artist and coach named Lauren Adams who helped her secure representation with an agency called Sutton, Barth, & Vernari Inc.

Brianna knew that her ultimate goal was to be a performing artist and make music. She made the choice to audition for Season 4 of American Idol. Brianna shared that she actually auditioned 3 times but ultimately didn’t make the final cut. She remembers that it was a very tough experience and even though she didn’t make it on the show she was thankful for her experience. Brianna thought that after her experience on American Idol her music dreams were over but she learned the importance of how to manage expectations. What she ultimately learned was that it wasn’t the end but really it was the beginning of a brand new journey. Durell asked her if the goal was to make a record after that but Brianna said that wasn’t even the case; she just wanted to sing.

Brianna and Durell talk about her meeting her husband Victor in Los Angeles and they knew they wanted to start a family. Brianna shares that she ultimately didn’t want to raise a family in Los Angeles for a variety of different reasons. She and her husband decided to make the move back to her hometown in Dallas, Texas. Moving back to Dallas was also big for her husband because his ultimate goal was to open a restaurant and the opportunity for that was much greater living in Dallas.

Brianna talks about the fact that she almost bought into the lie that just because she was a mom that she could no longer pursue her love for music. She shared that she didn’t do anything related to music for several years which led to her going through depression. After some encouragement from her husband she decided to start performing with a band and make connections around the music community in Dallas. She made the decision to pivot into consulting and coaching artists/creatives because she was now a mom of three and didn’t want to gig every weekend with her band. Brianna talks about being given the opportunity to work at a music school doing vocal and performance coaching after quitting her full-time job working in advertising sales. She talks about her husband receiving the keys to open the doors to a restaurant and them both suddenly becoming business owners and how scary that was while still having to provide for their young girls. She talked about all the business skills she had to learn to help support the opening of the restaurant being the foundation of what she does today as a strategist in helping indie artists with their careers in showing them how to take a small business approach to achieve success in their music career.

Durell asks Brianna how she feels about artists who only view success from the viewpoint of being one of the biggest acts in the world. Brianna says that she always likes to dig a bit deeper to find out why they view success that way and that she isn’t the right person to coach them because she doesn’t promise that’s what she can help them ac

Episode 18 Title: Still Driven: Being A Black Canadian 365 Feat. D.O. Gibson

Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by his guest hip-hop creative and entrepreneur D.O. Gibson. Durell and D.O. begin the episode talking about the power of collaboration in music and how a collaboration can just elevate a song and take it to the next level. D.O. shares that this year marks 20 years of him being a pro in the music ecosystem. He started with his first release called “Stay Driven” and now he’s excited for his upcoming release entitled “Still Driven”. Durell shares that most people think that music is something that someone does for fun but the reality is that being a professional creative is a real career and should be treated as such. D.O. shares that his longevity and career success has a lot to do with consistency. He shares that when he talks to kids he tells them to get better each day by 1%. D.O. says that if you apply that mindset that means that in 30 days you will have gotten better by 30%, in 100 days better by 100% and a year 365% better then when they started. D.O. shares that it’s okay to have a big goal but then you need to break that down into achievable steps. He knew that he wanted to build his career and generate income that wasn’t solely dependent on him having a hit song. Durell shares that so many creatives only view success in one prism and that if they aren’t doing things at the highest level they feel they haven’t achieved success. Durell feels that’s the wrong mentality to have because only 1% of professional creatives ever achieve that kind of success and notoriety consistently. D.O. shares that creatives like Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors have never won a Grammy. He says that if you think your career is going to be defined by winning an award then you simply have the wrong mentality.

D.O. and Durell talk about the impact Candians have made and the epicenter of some of the top creatives in the industry such as Drake, The Weeknd, Shawn Mendes, and Justin Beiber. D.O shares that he and Justin Beiber are both from Stratford, Ontario. Durell shares how much of a talent Justin Beiber is and that he was worth over $150 Million dollars before the age of 21. D.O. shares that he’s the son of a preacher and that even though he’s from a small town that didn’t mean everything was always good. He says that many people from there and the surrounding areas come from a broken family who’ve had struggles with addiction, drugs, etc. Justin Beiber himself comes from that type of environment as well according to D.O. When you come from that environment and then come into that type of fame and money you will oftentimes make your fair share of mistakes, and Justin to his credit has completely owned up to all of his mistakes.

D.O talks about the fact that he is from a small town called Watrus, Saskatchewan . He shares that people travel to Watrus because there”s a pool there and that the pool has healing properties. D.O. shares that Watrus represents hard work and blue collar people for him. He often says that he’s reminded never to forget where he is from.

D.O. and Durell talk about his earliest memories and falling in love with music. He shares that it was the summer of 1994. D.O. shares that he bought a tape from the legendary Nas on the way to see his grandparents in Nova Scotia. He shares that after a few days there his cousin came to visit him and they were walking and he asked D.O. if he had ever heard of The Wu-Tang-Clan. He said after that is truly when he fell in love with hip-hop. He talks about reading a magazine called Rap Pages and that it was the first time he saw a profile on The Notorious B.I.G. He brought the album “Ready To Die” and played it from beginning to end; it was just so powerful for him. D.O. shares that he was raised on Detroit radio WKLB and that’s how he heard that Notorious B.I.G. was gunned down. Durell talks about how there’s some s

Episode Title: Why Having Leadership Skills Matters To The Indie Creative Featuring Coach MJ Tolan

In this episode Durell is joined by entrepreneur and leadership coach MJ Tolan. Durell and MJ start off the episode talking about MJ leaving the USA in 1983 in London and deciding to stay in Europe and build several businesses. He talks about consumers overseas never having been exposed to several different products and services which he found to be quite interesting especially coming from a capitalistic society in America. MJ talks about how the new business model within the music ecosystem has changed to adding value first as a creative and then fans will follow. Durell shares that the record labels today don’t really know what they’re doing in terms of a one size fits all approach that will put a creative “on”. MJ shares the analogy of a young person being in high school and having a summer job so that they could buy a car. There’s often only two ways you could get the car either by taking out a loan or having a generous relative purchase the car. In order to go to the bank and get approved for a loan the bank is going to ask to see a history of how many loans were paid off in your name that would give them the assurance that you as the person applying for the loan can actually pay off the loan. MJ says the music industry often is going to ask for a similar history before they are willing to make that large investment into a creative talent no matter how great. MJ shares that oftentimes if the indie creative hasn’t been coached and groomed to possess the proper skills that not only develops their artistry but even more their leadership and soft skills they have a very difficult time achieving success.

Durell and MJ both share that one commonality that they’ve both experienced while working with creatives is that they’re horrible sales people in today’s marketplace. MJ shares that it’s often not because they can’t sell something but rather it’s because they are often sensitive with their art. Durell shares that it’s great for creatives who can do a bit of both (business and creative) because the indie creatives who understand brand and how to deliver their messaging which is often called brand voice are really able to set themselves in motion for success.

Durell asks MJ what an indie creative who is just starting out thinks about in preparation to set themselves on a path for success in building a successful music career. He shares a story about Aretha Franklin about who at the time was not well known and struggling to find a successful sound and vibe even though she had great talent. Aretha at the time was signed to a well known label in the North and even with all the great resources they attempted to use in getting her the right song, she made a decision to go to a small town in Alabama called Muscle Shoals and record a song called “Respect”. The moral of the story MJ shares is that there's no magic formula for success. There are creatives who haven’t been successful because of the lack of quality mentorship.

MJ talks about knowing what your “why” is and that if you have an ego to be able to know why, you allow an ego to get in the way of your success as a creative. He shares that creativity doesn’t come in a box and for every creative the process of how they display their creativity. Durell and MJ talk about his book “Executive Powers” which MJ wrote that talks about the lessons he learned as an entrepreneur. Durell shares there are a lot of skills that executives in the corporate space must learn that can also be applicable to building a successful music business such as leadership traits and skills, the ability to build and put together successful teams.

He shares a quote from his book that says “respect works exactly like a debit card”. He shares that with all the success that he achieved especially when he was in his early to mid 30’s he wishes he had mentorsh

Episode 16 Title: The Truth Shall Set You Free Featuring Patrice K. Cokley

Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by talent manager, entrepreneur, and former college professor Patrice K. Cokley. Durell and Patrice begin the episode talking about her earliest memories of being introduced to music with her father holding her head up to the speaker listening to Color Me Badd as an early introduction to ear training. Patrice shared that she dibbled and dabbled in rapping in middle school and early high school as well as organizing talent shows. She talks about auditioning for The Detroit School Of Fine Performing Arts and making it into the school but not going because she was afraid of being a little fish in a big pond. When she got to college she started out as a music major but there was no business program and after a year of music theory and ear training she knew she couldn’t continue as a music major. She decided to attend college and major in business and marketing with the goal of applying her business skills to the music industry.

Durell talks to Patrice about being widely known for her work with Matthew Knowles. She shares how much she respects him because of the way he approached and navigated his way through the music business and achieving massive success. Durell talks about how Matthew designed the success of the members of Destiny’s Child after they each went solo. Patrice shares how she got connected to Matthew by reaching out to him for advice as she began to get frustrated with the music industry. She shares that she sent a long email to him about her frustrations and he responded to her within 15 minutes and a meeting was set up to meet and speak about his girl group Blush. They had the meeting one week later and after the call Matthew was officially her client. She began doing work with his girl group by setting up their online brand across social media and the internet. He was so impressed with her work that he asked her to build his brand online and manage his social media accounts. She shares the story of how she was the one who posted about Beyonce’s twins on his social media accounts that went out to millions of people around the world.

Durell and Patrice speak about processes of how he goes about getting new clients and wanted to gauge her opinion to see if she uses a similar approach when prospecting. She shares that she used to have that approach but has since changed her process because she gave so much strategy during her meetings. She knew a much better approach was to build her case studies so that they can see her value. She now charges for her initial consultation but for those who don’t want to pay they can take advantage of the free content that she puts out on her social media platforms daily. Patrice talks about the fact that she’s not a salesperson and that she doesn’t believe in putting out content to ultimately sell a course or something similar. She shares that there are so many “gurus” on Instagram that promise all kinds of results and most of the time never deliver. Durell and Patrice share that they both enjoy the face-to face one on one coaching sessions with their clients.

Durell and Patrice talk about coaches who build online courses and how difficult that can be. Patrice shares that she rather create a program that might be only for a few people in which she can get her hands dirty in helping them achieve their goals. She shares that when she got hired to teach a multimedia and web development course at SAE in Chicago without any prior teaching experience, and that she was tasked with creating the whole course from scratch. She created the syllabus and even added an element for branding and marketing because she says you can’t build a website and not have those elements intertwined all together.

Patrice talks about even though she enjoys the building process of working with a new artist like her artist Ken The Messeng

Episode Title: The Power Of Iconic Songs Feat. Kipper Jones

Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by iconic singer and songwriter Kipper Jones. Kipper and Durell start off the episode talking about his early upbringing in Flint Michigan and Los Angeles California. Kipper and Durell talk about the fact that making great as well as iconic songs is truly about being collaborative. Kipper stresses the importance of building and having a great team and being able to always know what’s going on in your music business and “signing your own check. Kipper talks about going to high school with Wilton Felder & Wayne Henderson from “The Crusaders”, and eventually getting the opportunity to audition for Tammy Ellison's mother Marilyn McLeod who was a part of a very successful songwriting team with Pam Sawyer. Kipper then landed his first professional gig as a demo singer working for Motown Records.


Kipper and Durell talk about the life and passing Of DMX and the fact that he was truly an iconic artist who impacted so many even though he definitely had his demons. They speak about creating art and how that translates into emotion and how that impacts so many people. Kipper and Durell discuss how each generation has “its own thing” and that it doesn’t do anybody any good to be a hater. Kipper says there will be a time when what the young people are doing today will become old. Durell shares with Kipper that he deserves to have his flowers because of the power of the iconic songs that he has written during his career. Kipper is passionate about having a powerful product because nothing else matters if the song isn’t impactful because other than that you are wasting your time.

Kipper and Durell then discuss the vast and eclectic type of artists that he’s worked with over his career like Darius Rucker formerly of Hootie & The Blowfish and the fact that he absolutely loves Country music. He shares that there’s something special about the stories that are told in country music and that he’s ready to offer something to the genre. Kipper and Durell speak about how blacks are trendsetters in mostly every major music genre, and that people love black culture except when the police officers come.

Kipper shared how he got signed as the first male black artist to Virgin Music and he released his one and only major label release in 1990 entitled “Ordinary Story”. His album got many great reviews from publications like USA Today and L.A. Times. Kipper talks about even though he had all these departments within the label, if they aren’t all working together it’s easy to get caught up in major label end fighting. Kipper felt his album ultimately didn’t receive the marketing and promotion it deserved.

Kipper talked about how he got the opportunity to write and produce for Vanessa Williams . He wrote a couple songs called “Comfort Zone” which became the title track and “Freedom Dance” which became a huge anthem for the LGBT Community. Vanessa’s album “The Comfort Zone” went double platinum. He then began working with Keith Crouch for what he thought would be for Vanessa’s third album and ultimately came up with this great groove that became “I Wanna Be Down” which the A&R at East West Records wanted to demo the song on a 14 year old teen named Brandy. He also wrote 2 of her other hit singles “Baby” & “Brokenhearted”. He also talks about why her mother Sonja Norwood was so protective of Brandy in making sure she kept her innocence for as long as possible.

Durell and Kipper end the episode talking about the educational element that he brings through a series of seminars & workshops he put together called ``ThePower Of A Great Song”, “ A Songwriter's Life” ``Soul In The Sanctuary” & “The Arbiters”. Kipper also shares why after such a long and successful career, why he decided to attend Berklee College to get his degree so he can continue to give back to the next generation

Episode Title: Having The Right Perspective For Building Your Music Career & Brand Feat. Dr. Syleecia Thompson

Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by educator, brand strategist and entrepreneur Dr. Syleecia Thompson. Durell and Syleecia start off the episode by talking about the fact that most indie creatives who enter the music industry and ecosystem only want to achieve success that includes winning a Grammy and going on a world tour. Syleecia shares how difficult it is to even secure world tours because most of the top promoters only want to deal with the top acts, and depending on your genre it’s truly an uphill climb. Syleecia and Durell talk about the fact that Cardi B is a great case study for what building an audience is really about when it comes to success. Syleecia shares what the next challenge is for when you have the type of success that she’s had.

Syleecia talks about artists not being afraid to put their music out and take risks. Syleecia and Durell talk about her sister Syleena Johnson Unsung episode and her early career being signed to a label that really didn’t know what they were doing because of the lack of ideas and innovation to help Syleena build an even bigger brand and career. Syleecia talks about how Syleena was able to go through the ups and downs of being on a major label and then showed her ability to dabble in different industries that has allowed her to sustain and build a solid brand outside of music as a talk show host, actress, and health and wellness as a fitness competitor.

Syleecia shares the fact that she’s been able to wear so many different hats as she’s gone along in her career from working in the corporate space as well as being an educator in the college academia space as well as the education she provides to many people as an entrepreneur. She educates on several different topics such as management, leadership, global business and entrepreneurship and the fact not many people of color teach on these topics from the black perspective and point of view.


Syleecia also shares the importance for artists especially in R&B having more than one income stream because the money at times can be up and down. She said artists pretty much need 8-10 ways to make money for the sake of survival in the industry.

Syleecia and Durell end the episode about her work as a brand strategist for her clients. She shares that she has a formula, belief system and strategy when she works with her clients and she applies them specifically depending on the person. She is big on her clients sharing their story as a key in building a strong personal brand. She also talks about her most recent book The Resilience Factor as well as the awesome projects that she’s working on as she started her own production company Dr. Syleecia Productions.


For more info on Dr. Syleecia, please visit her website at:
https://www.drsyleecia.com/

Episode Title: The Rockstar Advocate Feat. Suz Paulinski

Episode Info: In this episode Durell is joined by Entrepreneur, Coach & Consultant Suz Paulinski. Durell talks to Suz about her early introduction to music, going to college for music business, graduating early and getting her first job in the music industry as the Midwest Sales Manager For EMI Records. Suz talks about being a young executive at the label and the fact that the record stores were closing as she was trying to get them to purchase their inventory. She talks about the fact that nobody was buying CDs and she was trying to navigate the early days of Facebook and social media. She talks about how she quit her job at the label 5 times but kept coming back but then decided to leave and venture out to start her own label with her old college roommate.

After a couple years of running the label, she decided to shut the label down and start a consulting firm for artists. What Suz really began to realize is that she knew a lot about music but nothing really about entrepreneurship and what that all entailed. She went back to school and earned her Master’s Degree in Psychology but unfortunately her dad had fallen sick and she needed to come home to help the family. She took a part time job managing at Crate & Barrel where she would ultimately learn marketing, branding, and other skills that make a business successful. She still knew she needed to fastrack her learning curve so she hired a business coach. Suz hired her for three months and then within 6 months she was able to launch her company The Rockstar Advocate.

Suz knew that wanted to be a counselor for those who suffered with substance abuse and mental health in the music industry. She ultimately saw there was a need for artists who were suffering from burnout after they got back from touring as an independent artist. Artists would talk with her about the things that ultimately led to the lack of productivity and time management. She saw an approach where she could help her clients continue to be them without fitting into the societal norm in terms of what time management and success looks like by leveraging their own unique strengths.

Durell and Suz end the episode talking about how she launched the first version of the “Rock Star Life Planner” in 2016. She talks about the fact that musicians really want to be successful in their business but didn’t have the tools to be successful. She now is in the 5th edition of her book and it contains even more tools to help them be successful. Suz also is the creator of “The Music Pre-neur Podcast”. She focuses on musicians and their stories and struggles of learning how to become entrepreneurs. She has been able to also create a solid brand voice by creating brand equity by writing for other media platforms focusing on time management and productivity for musicians.

For more information on Suz you can visit her website:
https://therockstaradvocate.com/

Episode Title: The Journey That Played Out Just Right Feat Steve Pageot

In this episode Durell is joined by Grammy award winning audio engineer and music producer Steve Pageot. Durell starts off the episode asking Steve about his experience being born in New York but growing up and spending many years in Montreal Quebec. Steve talks about how he developed a love for music by watching the TV show FAME as well as watching the Jackson 5. He shares that his dad also is a musician and has a love for music and wanted to have kids that were in a singing group but the only problem with that was that Steve was the only “Jackson”.

Steve shares a great story about winning the Canadian Music Competition at the age of 16 as a concert flutist. He had a dream to go to Juliard School. He shared how difficult it is having hatian parents and trying to convince them to attend. He then decided to initially pursue a career in computer programming instead of pursuing music. He got a job after graduation as a PCB designer where he then started to buy equipment to start producing music.

He talked about his meeting with Puff Daddy in 1993 and being told that his music wasn’t good enough and so he went back to Canada and then he moved back to New York years later in 1997 to pursue his dreams and goals of making it in the music industry and eventually meeting Ron Lawrence who was a part of the production group the “Hit Men”.

Steve’s hard work and perseverance ultimately led to him being a part of the Platinum album Thug Mentality in 1999.

Steve has also had the opportunity to work with some of America’s most recognizable brands as a jingle producer.

Steve shares how fortunate he was to have the opportunity and experience of working with the “Queen Of Soul” Aretha Franklin.

Steve has also been a veteran in the Sync Licensing and has had music placed in several reality shows because he inked a deal with MTV. He also talked about his experience being a judge on BET’s 106 & Park’s “Freestyle Friday”.

Steve was also slated to work with Michael Jackson on his final studio album for Michael Jackson. Although it didn’t happen due to his passing he still looked at the opportunity as a blessing to even be considered and felt real validation as a producer.

Steve and Durell end the episode by discussing some of his mentorship programs and guest lectures at SAE and his passion for artist and music production development.

For more info on Steve Pageot please visit his website:

https://www.stevepageot.com/

Episode Title: Veteran Eye The Chief DIY

In this episode Durell is joined by indie hip-hop creative and entrepreneur Veteran Eye. Durell and Veteran Eye start off the episode talking about his early introduction to music and being heavily influenced by New York hip hop culture even though his origin is from the south in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Veteran Eye talks about although being true to the culture, it’s still hard to not get caught into the trap of trying to keep up with the mainstream to achieve success. He also talks about the journey ,the grind and early days of paying the dues along the way. The journey is where the real success lies. He also talks about the early days in his journey chasing a record deal in the early 2000’s. Veteran is always conscious about how to stay true to his self expression, while still having a career that’s viable that can bring in income and develop a solid brand as an indie creative.

Veteran Eye talks about how he found out about the Midem conference in Cannes France and how that played a major role in him being able to stay independent by being able to do business deals on an international level without the need of a major record label. He also talks about his ability to wear multiple hats between being the creative and executive in being able to provide opportunities to other creatives and music business entrepreneurs.

Durell and Veteran Eye end the episode by talking about the importance for indie creatives to have an understanding of copyrights work, the ability to use merch and VIP experiences to generate income that allow creatives to have a career doing things their way without having to sacrifice personal and professional integrity.

For more information on Veteran Eye please visit his website:

https://chiefdiy.com/