m.simp

Good friend of mine attending Berklee College of Music had a project and reached out to interview me.  Below is the Q & A from the interview.  Wanted to post this and come back to it a year from now and see where I’m at. 

1. How did you first get into music production?
2. What made you decide to start your own business and start selling your beats?
3. How important is networking? How has it affected your career?
4. What have been some proactive steps you have taken to gain more fans?
5. How do you market yourself?
6. What advice would you give to aspiring producers?
7. What are some do’s and don’t of the business?
8. How do you manage your time between a job, family, business, and being an artist and creative individual?
9. Who inspires you musically?
10. Who inspires you business-wise?
11. What has been the high point of your music career thus far?
12. What are your goals for the future, business-wise and music-wise?

Michael Simpson, producer and co-owner of Stompboxx Music Group, LLC.

1. I got into production initially through a game called MTV’s Music Generator.  It literally changed my life.  Eventually I realized that in order to produce a professional product, I needed to upgrade my gear.

2.  I decided to start my own business and sell tracks mainly because I held a catalog of tracks that far out numbered the artists I knew locally.  Also, because of the quality of artists in Abilene, TX, I knew in order to make a name for myself I would need to expand my network.

3.  Networking is good, but relationships are everything.  Talent lives on every street corner, but its who you know most times that will get you places. 

4.  I invested initially in an online presence to jump start my career.  Im not where I want to be, but I’m not where I was 1 yr ago.  Even 3 months ago.  The business is a seed that needs nourishment, watering and the right environment to grow.  I try to look at it in those terms and always make sure that I do nothing to hinder it.  All of this ultimately results in gaining more fans. 

5.  I market myself by having a unique product.  Im not trying to master everything, but just something.  When you carve out a niche in an over saturated market, people will find you. This has helped us tremendously.  Not doing what the next man does, but remaining unique is key. 

6.  Advice I would give to aspiring producers is to give it 100% and put out quality product.  Just because you make tracks and have a library full of them doesnt mean theyre all ready to be put out.  You need to take the time and learn mixing, theory and arrangement techniques.  This will keep you away from tarnishing your name early on and allow you to gain respect out of the gate.  And I know this is cliche, but this is the most important….work hard. 

7.  Do’s and dont’s….hmmmm.  Well my business is still young so each day, month, year is a learning process.  One thing I have learned is you have to grow into different things.  Meaning, you dont need 10 different websites if you cant spend the time marketing them just right.  Grow into the business you want to see.  Also, treat everyone the same.  The world suffers enough on favoritism and nepotism.  You never know who is connected to whom, so keep the business streamline and consistent always.

8.  Managing time means basically having a balance.  Too much time in the studio creates whackness at times.  Too little time away from family creates friction in the home.  Everyone’s grace and balance is different.  I try to prioritize projects and music around the most important things in my life; God, my family and then my business.  Until music is a full-time job, the 9-5 is a priority.  This keeps the food on the table so to neglect that for music is foolish.  Most dont understand this, but the industry is made up of alot of people that chase checks.  I never want to live that way.  As long as I have the freedom to create and maintain a comfortable lifestyle, to me, that’s winning.

9.  Im inspired by alot.  I grew up playing trombone so one of my favorites to listen to is James Brown and the JB’s.  Fred Wesley is a monster on the horn!  Im a huge fan of Timbaland’s body of work as well as JDilla.  But mainly, Im inspired by anything around me.  It may be a conversation, a visual image, sharing a laugh with someone, a movie, or whatever.  Somehow in my mind, Im able to put sound to all of this. 

10.  Business wise Im inspired by phenomenal stories of success: Diddy, Jay-Z, The Neptunes, local entrepreneurs I know and anyone with good business sense that I can apply to mine.  I try to pull from alot and read books just to keep me business savvy.  The industry is ever-changing and the market and trends are always changing.  I feel it’s important to stay in the loop.

11.  This year I received a personal phone call from the hip-hop legend, business extraordinaire, Master P.  Through a few connections, he heard of our music and reached out.  That let me know that what we were making was definitely catching some ears.  Not sure where it may lead, but I was grateful for the chance to reach that level. 

12. For the future, musically I hope to create a better quality of music.  I’d like to see my production alongside of some of the big names in the industry.  Not necessarily for the recognition, but for the respect of my peers.  It means a lot when your peers, who understand what you do, give props!  Also, I’d like to see Stompboxx Music grow into something I can pass to my son.  As of now, it’s a fully self sufficient legal entity that creates a nice supplemental income for us, but I’d like to see this turn into something I plan my retirement on!