NF’s go-to producer and fast-rising industry sensation Tommee Profitt stops by Inside Music to discuss his unique journey in entertainment.
You might not know the name Tommee Profitt, but you know his work. Profitt is responsible for dozens of recent hits, including the biggest songs from breakout rapper NF, and his career is still very much just getting started.
But Tommee is more than a man behind the scenes of music’s biggest names. He’s also an artist, writing and recording material the he keeps for his personal catalog, and he’s currently preparing to release his debut album in late 2020.
In this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, host James Shotwell calls Tommee to discuss his adventures in the entertainment industry. Tommee recounts his childhood in West Michigan and how he resisted the urge to move to Nashville until it made sense for his family. The pair also discuss The Birth Of A King, Tommee’s highly-anticipated album, and what it’s like to work on solo material after years spent creating hits for others to release.
Inside Music is available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Going to college is an option for aspiring professionals, but learning about the music business is not.
It takes more than being a fan of your favorite artists to build a career in entertainment, and in today’s Music Biz 101 video, we’ll give you tips on how to get ahead.
But let’s back up. Why study music business? The answer is simple. Not a single person working full-time in the music business today got their job by accident. The idea of big fans becoming hardworking industry movers and shakers is a myth perpetuated by movies and other works of fiction to entertain dreamers. If all you want is to dream, that’s fine, but if you’re going to excel, you’re going to have to work for every step you take.
Learning about the business of music goes beyond understanding how your favorite artists built careers, though that is an excellent place to start. Today’s music professionals need to have a strong understanding of how the business works in every way possible. You need to know how streaming companies operate and what ASCAP does. You need to know how songs get on the radio and how to find a good publicist.
More importantly, you should WANT to know these things. The most successful professionals know this business better than anyone else. You should aspire to know as much as possible. That is what will help you excel.
Aspiring to work in music is like dreaming of starting a fight that never ends. You have to fight for everything you get in this business, and the weapons at your disposal are the pieces of knowledge you gain along the way. Education is the best way to make a place for yourself, and that can happen with or without student loans. There are a million ways to get ahead without spending more than a few hundred dollars, and we share a few of the best methods in this Music Biz 101 update.
Featuring career-best work from Kataklysm and Alpha Wolf, not to mention Four Stroke Baron’s cover of Post Malone, this New Music Friday is filled with records you need to hear.
Life will probably never be the same as it was before the COVID pandemic took the world by storm. Mourning the loss of the world we knew is normal, but it’s important to recognize all the good that continues to exist. Each new week brings us music that has the potential to change countless lives, and this week’s batch of new releases is no exception. There are too many good records for us to mention, but here are four we believe everyone should experience.
Alpha Wolf – A Quiet Place To Die (Sharptone Records)
A Quiet Place To Die will live rent-free in the heads and hearts of metal fans for years to come.
Alpha Wolf is part of a new breed of artists in hard rock and metal pushing forward by revisiting the heaviest parts of the past. A Quiet Place To Die combines the unabashed honesty of Slipknot’s Iowa with a sonic landscape that is only possible with modern technology. That isn’t to say the members themselves are not incredibly talented. On the contrary, their use of synth and other electronic instrumentation only helps to deepen the listening experience they present through this relentless, devastatingly brutal record. It’s perfectly orchestrated chaos that feels off the cuff, as though the band birthed each note in a singular moment of unbridled rage, and the members are now giving it to us undeserving peasants as means to keep us company as the revolution begins.
Four Stroke Baron – Monoqueen (Prosthetic Records)
2020 has given the world a bounty of rarities and covers from bands whose career was otherwise sidelined by COVID-19. Many of those releases were ultimately letdowns, offering more misses than hits, but Four Stroke Baron’s Monoqueen is an exception that every rock fan should experience. The progressive metal act uses this release to revisit critical songs from their ferocious debut, each uniquely updated for the modern era. The real highlights, however, lie in the half-dozen songs they’ve chosen to cover, from CHVRCHES hypnotic “Lungs” to Post Malone’s unruly “Broken Whiskey Glass,” Four Stroke Baron display a range with this release that everyone can appreciate. The band makes these songs their own without making them all the same. It’s a testament to their talent and boundless potential, which hopefully, we will see more of in the new year.
Kataklysm – Unconquered (Nuclear Blast)
Nearly three decades into their career, the men of Kataklysm leave it all on the record with Unconquered. The band may never reach the heights of genre adoration that some of their peers have experienced, but this release proves the group remains more creative and inventive that most artists in their field. We imagine no one can hear the thunderous sounds of “Underneath The Scars” or the pummeling intensity of “The Killshot” without feeling moved to create something special themselves. Unconquered is an album about never giving in or giving up, taking chances, and betting on yourself, even when others write you off. It is the album Kataklysm was made to create.
Nasty – Menace (Century Media)
No one understands the music Nasty as well as the members themselves. The Belgium band’s biography claims the group makes “fucked up music for a fucked up world,” that’s precisely what Menace delivers. Thirteen of the album’s fourteen tracks come in well under three minutes in length, yet each one provides a fury of fists and spit that will incite pits around the world. Forget the fact live music doesn’t currently exist because Menace will have people spin-kicking their furniture and two-stepping in public. It’s the battle cry hardcore fans need right now, combining vicious lyricism with pummeling drums and chugging guitars, and it’s delivered with pristine production from Andy Posdziech (Any Given Day).
Discover even more new music from Haulix clients by streaming our essential fall playlist on Spotify.
Getting the attention of blogs and writers is hard, but we can teach you how to get press for your music in fifteen minutes or less.
It is hard to grasp how much competition exists in music today. There are thousands of artists in every genre working hard each day to get the attention of labels, listeners, and the media. The vast majority never accomplish their goals and those that do rarely share their secrets to success. We don’t have all the answers, but we know what works best, and today, we’ll tell you everything you need to get ahead.
PLEASE NOTE: The strategies outlined in this article are aimed at new and emerging talent. The information below is not a replacement for actual PR, nor do we claim to know how publicists are able to move mountains for their clients. These tips will help you take your first steps towards getting recognized by smaller blogs and influencers until you are in a position to afford a real publicity professional.
Let’s start with the behaviors you should avoid. There are people in the music business who prey on the desperation of dreamers with false promises of instant access to high-level influences in exchange for money. We are not referring to publicists. Good PR professionals can open doors you don’t even know how to find, and they can elevate your career in ways that the information in this article cannot.
The individuals you should avoid often promote their alleged secrets under the guise of promotional service that claims to have ‘major success,’ but no facts or information to back it up. Others make a quick buck offering downloadable contact lists that cover everyone you could hope to reach in positions of power through services such as Fiverr. We’ve said it before and we will say it again: These individuals are scammers, and they cannot be trusted.
Onto the good stuff. The foundation of any great beginner promotional campaign is making sure anyone can easily access information about your career. That means creating a media kit that includes links to your music and social pages, as well as photos and videos. It would help if you also had a bio. You can include your merchandise links if you have any, but having things to sell is not a prerequisite to getting attention.
Take all the items gathered above and place create a space online where people who wish to cover your music or learn more about you can easily do so with very little effort. We recommend Haulix for your media, but you can build something yourself as well.
Once those materials are in place, the next phase of this promotional strategy involves research. You need to identify the blogs, channels, and content creators who cover the kind of music you create. There are many methods of accomplishing this, but one of the easiest is to identify 2-3 prominent artists or groups that you feel are comparable to your creative output. Be specific. Don’t choose mainstream talent, but focus on your niche and the people who reign over it.
Next, you will want to create a spreadsheet for your data. Go to Google and search “[Band 1] News.” Make a list of every publication and author writing news about that artist, as well as their contact information (social media, email, etc.). After that, search “[Band 1] Reviews,” and complete the process again. Continue this method of research by looking for podcasts, video interviews, video reviews, Twitch channels, and any other form of music promotion or coverage you can imagine. When you’re done, move on to the next band on your list and repeat this process.
Now that you have a good idea of who might be interested in your music, take the time to follow them online, and begin engaging with their efforts. Writers and publications are like musicians in that they love attention and praise. Engage with the content these people are making, and make an effort to strike up a conversation about your mutual interests. Don’t worry about promoting yourself. Instead, focus on them.
As you begin to build relationships, use your spreadsheet to track your engagement. The big list of publications and creators you started with should shrink as you refine your focus to those who are actively engaging with you on a regular basis. That will create a funnel, otherwise known as a sales funnel, which will reveal the people and places most likely to take an interest in covering your music.
When you have something new to promote, be it a song or video, review your data and begin contacting those publications and creators that you engage with most often. Don’t ask for coverage right away. Instead, ask for their input on the content. Let them know that their opinion matters to you, which will reinforce their connection to your music.
As people respond, who you should work with will become clear. Some will offer to premiere or feature your work. Some may even get ahead of you by reaching out first.
The key to getting attention from blogs and lower-level outlets is to first build strong relationships, and strong relationships stem from engagement. You need to care about others before you can expect them to care about you. When someone does choose to help you out, promote their work, and thank them. Their following will notice your interactions, and over time, many of their followers will follow you as well.
Remember: Getting attention is a process. You cannot accomplish everything outlined above in a day or week. You will likely be working on your relationships throughout your career. It’s chaos. Be kind.
With a new EP to promote and a lifetime of stories to share, American Authors’ Matt Sanchez stops by Inside Music to talk all things entertainment.
Growing up in music is hard. The sound that makes you somebody people know may not reflect the sound you want to define your career. Every artist and band face this hurdle at one point or another, but it’s hardest on those who hit it big early in their careers. Those first singles and records can mean everything to everyone who cares about your music, but with a little luck and a lot of talent, it is possible to mature. Fortunately for American Authors, they have skills and luck to spare.
When American Authors hit it big with “The Best Day Of My Life,” no one could predict what would happen next. That song became the ‘gold standard’ in music licensing, producing placements in dozens of commercials, films, and television shows. It’s the kind of song that everyone knows even if they don’t know the musicians behind it, and that kind of success can be a double-edged sword. American Authors can do what they love full-time, but they know a very specific form of industry pressure that other musicians don’t understand.
With their third album, Seasons, American Authors took a chance on themselves by giving fans something different. The big hooks the group made their name on remain, but the structure and feel of the music as a whole shifted toward something more significant and more meaningful. The band made the record they wanted to make, and, fortunately for them, fans welcomed their evolution with open arms.
The band’s new EP, Counting Down, is the conclusion to this era of American Authors. It’s everything want to hear, as well as an exploration of where the group may go in the future. American Authors do not have a plan, per se, but they recognize that change is the only constant, and they make it clear with this release that they find excitement in not knowing what the future holds.
On this episode of INSIDE MUSIC, American Authors’ drummer Matt Sanchez stops by to discuss various topics, including his band’s new EP. Matt tells James about the evolution of the group and the friction that occurs when musicians try to change their sound. The pair also discuss maintaining your creativity amid a global pandemic, becoming the ‘gold standard’ in music licensing, and the allure of Nashville. It’s a big conversation stuffed into a small amount of time, and we believe you’re going to love how it sounds.
The full video from our latest music PR panel with the Big Picture Media team is now available online, for free.
Everyone understands the role of a publicist, but only a select few know who to make a career in publicity. Big Picture Media is the music PR equivalent to the NBA’s dream team. It’s a collective of uniquely skilled publicity professionals working together and independently to promote the music they believe has the potential to change the world. BPM is doing everything right in a time when it’s harder than ever to do so, and recently, they taught us how the magic happens.
On September 17, Big Picture Media founder Dayna Ghiraldi-Travers was joined by publicists Natalie Schaffer and Kirsten Horner for a very special Haulix LIVE! event. The one-hour music PR panel touched on the history of their company, the impact of COVID, the essentials of a successful publicity campaign, and much more. It was a one-of-a-kind event that we are making available online today through our YouTube channel. Check it out:
Some highlights:
Dayna describing her journey from a publicist to a business owner.
A discussion of COVID’s impact on the music business, as well as the many ways it has brought to BPM team closer together.
What publicists think about streaming events, and whether or not they’ll be commonplace in the years ahead.
How to get started in a music PR career.
How to network with music publicists.
A lot of love for Pure Noise Records band Bearings and their new single, “Sway.”
We’ve got two Haulix LIVE! events happening in October. Join our mailing list to be among the first to learn about them!
Just days after the US Department Of Commerce announced plans to ban TikTok, the social media app lives on thanks to a potential sale.
TikTok is fully operational in the United States as of today, September 22. The social media app, which was set to be banned last Sunday, was spared its untimely fate thanks to a last-ditch effort from Oracle and Wal-Mart to purchase the company over the weekend. President Trump has approved the sale in principle, but conflicting reports from the companies involved leave many questions unanswered.
According to Variety, virtually every person and every company involved in the acquisition of TikTok disagrees on the terms of this deal. The deal approved by Trump allegedly makes Oracle the cloud provider and host of TikTok. That means the company will move its data stateside, and that U.S. citizens will control the data.
Bytedance, the parent company of TikTok, whose Beijing headquarters are at the center of the platform’s controversy, disagrees.
What isn’t disputed: Oracle plans to take a 12.5% stake, and Walmart will get 7.5% in pre-IPO equity in TikTok Global. The new company will be based in the U.S. and run on the Oracle Cloud platform. ByteDance will continue to maintain control over the A.I. algorithms that power the TikTok app’s video recommendations (and which ByteDance uses for the similar Douyin app, available in China). The deal values TikTok at as much as $60 billion, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News.
Trump previously claimed the only adequate deal would be one where a US-controlled TikTok. ByteDance claims it will retain majority control, as it believes the remaining 80% of pre-IPO equity belongs to them, but that might not be true.
To make sense of this, Music Biz News host James Shotwell put together a video explaining how we got here and what may happen next.
Hot on the heels of her debut single “Hurt Me,” singer-songwriter Taylor Colson stops by Inside Music for a short conversation about creativity and the future.
Commit the name Taylor Colson to memory. The singer-songwriter has a limited amount of music online, but her talent is easy to find. She has a voice that crawls under your skin and lives rent-free in your head. Maybe that’s because of her gift for poetic wordplay and how she balances the best and worst parts of life through songs, or perhaps its something else too intangible to describe. When people are talking about having the ‘it’ factor, they refer to whatever it is that drives Taylor Colson to create.
In this very special Inside Music Mini-sode, host James Shotwell calls Los Angeles transplant Taylor Colson to discuss creativity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Taylor drew James’ attention when she shot and edited the video for her debut single, “Hurt Me,” using an app found on all MacBook computers. Her poetic vision is matched by her angelic voice, which is poised to make a significant impact on fans of pop music in the years ahead.
President Trump's executive order against Bytedance-owned TikTok goes into effect this Sunday, September 20.
President Trump’s executive order against Bytedance-owned TikTok goes into effect this Sunday, September 20.
The US Department of Commerce announced on Friday, September 18, that the maintenance and distribution of TikTok in US app stores would be prohibited starting Sunday, September 20.
Friday’s news follows a series of threats from the Trump administration toward TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, and other Chinese-owned tech companies. The president began that such bans would happen in early August alongside allegations that the Chinese government could use the data collected by tech companies against the United States.
Starting Sunday, September 20, TikTok will disappear from both the Apple and Google app stores. Consumers who already have the app will still be able to access its content and create new videos until November 12. No further updates will be accessible, which may cause a degradation of service over time.
“The only real change as of Sunday night will be [TikTok users] won’t have access to improved apps, updated apps, upgraded apps or maintenance,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Friday morning on Fox Business.
“Today’s actions prove once again that President Trump will do everything in his power to guarantee our national security and protect Americans from the threats of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Ross. “At the President’s direction, we have taken significant action to combat China’s malicious collection of American citizens’ personal data, while promoting our national values, democratic rules-based norms, and aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws and regulations.”
ByteDance may save TikTok’s presence in the states by making a deal with an American-owned corporation to house data stateside. Several corporations have expressed an interest in such partnerships, and some have floated the idea of purchasing the platform altogether. As of this posting, no deals have been made.
The complete loss of TikTok would be a major blow to music discovery at a time when the entertainment business is already in dire straights. The platform has launched dozens of careers in recent years, including breakout talent such as Lil Nas X and ppcocaine.
Additional updates on TikTok are likely to surface in the coming weeks. Follow Haulix on Facebook and YouTube for news.
From the hard-hitting honesty of Fit For A King to the existential exploration of Movements, there is a lot of great new music out this week.
From the hard-hitting truthfulness of Fit For A King to the existential exploration of Movements, there is a lot of new music worth spinning this week.
The third week of September is known for kickstarting the fall music avalanche that will stretch through the end of October. If concerts were still a thing, many tours would be kicking off as well. We miss live music as much as the next person, but these new releases will keep us going while times are tough.
Fit For A King – The Path (Solid State)
Six albums into a career built from nothing, metalcore greats Fit For A King break new ground on The Path.
The metal world doesn’t deserve Fit For A King. In an age where seemingly every band is a variation of another band playing repetitive songs touching on the same topics everyone else discusses, FFAK strives to subvert expectations. The Texas-born band has fought through the genre ranks to establish themselves as the exception to every rule. The members write songs that speak to their journeys, and their transparency has birthed a devoted global following that sees themselves as the FFAK’s success as the group’s fifth member. The Path, the band’s sixth album in less than a decade, continues to build and tighten the bonds of their community with new sounds and unabashed honesty.
Knuckle Puck – 20/20 (Rise Records)
For the last decade, Knuckle Puck has built their career on anthems for self-aware young people who long to make their lives resemble works of fiction even though they know such a lifestyle is impossible to achieve. Their songs touch on the hallmarks of youth, such as falling in love and the nagging feeling you’ll never be good enough but always through an intelligent lens that separated them from their peers. That tried and true blueprint for genre success is one that they could easily ride into the grave, but 20/20 finds the Chicago quintet choosing another, more unpredictable path.
A timely title that largely ignores the infernos raging all around us, 20/20 is a collection of songs fiercely focused on keeping listeners in the present. To borrow from Ram Dass, Knuckle Puck wants their fans to ‘be here now’ and accept themselves as wonderfully unique beings. The record doesn’t shy away from the themes of past releases, but it does offer a different perspective, one that speaks to the fact that change is both inevitable and, ultimately, beneficial.
Movements – No Good Left To Give (Fearless Records)
Movements is the perfect band to soundtrack your fall. No Good Left To Give is the musical equivalent to the changing of the seasons, guiding listeners on a not-so-subtle transition between who they are and who they are becoming. It’s a lush, sprawling series of stories covering the limitless nature of human emotion, from the highs of new love and unbridled joy to the isolation of loneliness and self-doubt. No Good Left To Give is as much about our relationships with one another as it is our relationship with our inner self. Movements’ ability to make these tough topics enjoyable is the skill that sets them apart, and their latest release offers evidence that they won’t be going anywhere other than up for a long time.
American Authors – Counting Down EP
If their 2019 album Seasons proved anything at all, the world is still getting to know the band American Authors. The pop-rock superstars can write a song that sticks in your brain like gum to a shoe, but they’re now doing so while searching for an inner truth. The songs on Counting Down serve as a culmination of everything the band has done to date, and it teases where they still hope to explore. It’s a fun, insightful release that dares us to spend less time caring about how others see us and more time working towards the things we want. The band that wrote “The Best Day Of My Life” over half a decade ago needs us to know that day has yet to come, and they’re urging us to do more with the limited time we have by learning to appreciate this crazy thing called life.
Discover even more new music from Haulix clients by streaming our essential fall playlist on Spotify.
