One of the biggest independent labels on Earth, FiXT Music, joins Haulix for a once in a lifetime event on Thursday, February 25, and everyone is invited.
If there is anything to learn from the age of COVID-19, aside from the need for personal hygiene, it is the importance of connection. Human beings are not meant to live in isolation. We need relationships as much as we need air in our lungs and water in our cups. Friendships are the key to everything, including happiness and success, which explains why these long periods without human interaction are so tricky. Haulix LIVE! is not a perfect solution, but it has the potential to keep us connected until life as we knew it resumes.
On Thursday, February 25, at 2 PM EST, join us for a unique one-on-one conversation about the business of music! FiXT Music‘s James Rhodes will be chatting with host James Shotwell about the label’s past, present, and future. He will also offer advice for artists and those hoping to launch record labels.
FiXT Music and FiXT Neon are unique entities in the world of entertainment. Featuring diverse rosters spanning the globe, FiXT is a forward-thinking brand that understands the relationship between artists and fans and that of consumers and music better than most. Their efforts to create original offerings in a cluttered marketplace has led to award-winning soundtracks, worldwide followings, and numerous chart-topping singles.
About our guests:
James Rhodes is the Vice President of independent record label FiXT, an artist-owned label which he co-founded in 2006 alongside respected artist, producer, and composer Klayton, best known for his solo projects Celldweller, Scandroid, Circle of Dust, and FreqGen. Building the company around the strength of Klayton’s projects, James and Klayton have turned FiXT into a global brand with dozens of artists and fans in over 130 countries.
Born in Toledo, Ohio and raised in Burlington, Iowa, James’ path to managing day-to-day operations at FIXT began as a fan of Klayton’s ’90s industrial project Circle of Dust. When Klayton started Celldweller in 1999 James joined his Street Team and met him for the first time in 2000 at a fan meet-and-greet opportunity in Detroit. James became an active member in the Celldweller fanbase and Street Team while pursuing a venture into music production by attending The Recording Workshop of Ohio in Fall 2003.
James explored interest in live show promotion with various shows in SouthEast Iowa in the early 2000s and booked one of Celldweller’s first-ever live shows in 2003 at the legendary Iowa City venue Gabe’s Oasis. Later in Fall 2003, James became Klayton’s first employee, taking over Celldweller’s online e-commerce operations.
By late 2004, James’ hard work caught the attention of Tyler Bacon, the President and owner of Los Angeles management, publishing and licensing company Position Music, who managed Klayton at the time and continues to represent him across publishing and licensing. James joined Position Music in 2005 as one of the company’s early full-time employees.
In 2006 James and his wife Rebecca moved back to Iowa to be closer to family as they began a family of their own. During the transition back to the Midwest, James and Klayton launched FiXT as the label vehicle for not only Celldweller, but to support other artists and provide a fair label deal in an industry known for lopsided agreements. Klayton’s prior experiences with record labels had left him wanting for a better experience and together James and Klayton set out to offer a label focused on treating artists like family.
Now, as FiXT celebrates its 15-year anniversary in 2021, the company has 2 label divisions, FiXT and FiXT Neon, focusing on electronic-rock and retro-inspired synth and indie-pop music, respectively. The label boasts over 2.5 billion lifetime streams with an active artist roster of 25 artists and over 1,000 Film/TV/Video Game synch placements. The label’s team consists of offices in Los Angeles, Denver, and Iowa, with over 20 employees, designers, writers, and publicists contributing from different corners of the world, including Chile, Ukraine, New Zealand, and more.
In 2020, James joined the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM) Mentor program and has begun a new journey of finding ways to use his experience to give back to the independent music community.
James Shotwell has spent his career in music finding new ways to connect people with the next song or artist to change their lives. He’s the Director of Customer Engagement and Head of Marketing for Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. He’s also a freelance writer covering film and music with bylines at Rolling Stone, Alternative Press, Substream Magazine, and dozens of additional outlets. His podcast, High Notes, tackles addiction and recovery in the entertainment business.
In addition to his current work, James has over a decade of music business experience. He’s worked at music startups and publicity companies, booked and promoted concerts throughout the midwest, and managed multiple artists and tours. He also spent four years running a successful independent record label.
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