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Media Mastermind Justin Hunte- Create Your Own Path

Justin Hunte is the Head of Video Production & Development for Ambrosia For Heads, and Director of Content and Strategic Marketing at Empire Distribution. Formerly Editor-in-Chief of HipHopDX, Hunte is the architect behind DX’s video platform and creator of popular series, #DXBreakdown. Hunte’s also a weekly contributor to Shade45’s All Out Show on SiriusXM.

In 2017, he participated in a debate at the prestigious Oxford Union on whether Kanye West is more relevant than William Shakespeare. A graduate of Wofford College, Hunte spent 5 years working at Bank Of America/Merrill Lynch.  He sacrificed a profitable investment banking career in order to follow his passion, with the goal of becoming the greatest Hip-Hop writer on the planet.  Hunte has since covered music, politics, and culture for numerous publications, and is a great example for anyone who has a dream and a vision, but is hesitant to take the necessary leap of faith.  Hopefully this episode inspires you to take the next step.

Follow @TheCompanyMan on all socials.

Show Notes:

3:16 Justin was inspired to give up a profitable career in investment banking

8:54 The goal of being the greatest Hip-Hop writer of all time

11:21 Justin talks about the start of his on air experience

16:05 How Justin manifested his career as a writer

28:18 Living at the edge of your capabilities and growing

29:58 Why Master P is the most successful person Justin knows

33:49 The importance of failure

39:11 The impact of Martin Shkreli’s interview with Justin Hunte

47:51 Creating deeper long form content

54:27 People gravitate towards extremes

58:21 Justin took a job with Empire to learn more about the Industry inner workings

1:07:28 Do artists need to live in a metropolitan music hub?

1:12:09 How Justin responded to being fired from his volunteer job at Brooklyn Bodega

1:20:15 The importance of maintaining your faith during the hard times

1:22:48 Everything is achievable

1:36:54 How Justin would spend a $10,000 album release budget

1:45:43 Justin doesn’t allow money to dictate his decisions

1:46:36 The perfection of Kendrick Lamar’s Damn album

Check out this episode!

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Film Producer Gary Ousdahl- The Making of Warren G’s “G-Funk” Documentary

Gary Ousdahl is the Owner and Manager of Advanced Management. He recently produced the upcoming Warren G documentary “G-Funk”, which premiered at SXSW this past March and will be released in early 2018.  Gary is a master networker and dot connector, and he shares some of the methods that have helped him succeed as a film producer, manager, and business owner. He also walks us through the process of meeting Warren G and making the “G-Funk” documentary in just a matter of months.

About Gary:

Gary Ousdahl has spent the past 17 years working as an agent, manager, executive and producer. With over nine years experience working at some of the most prestigious talent agencies in Hollywood (William Morris Agency, CAA), Gary has an extensive list of close relationships with many top agents, managers and executives. He also spent three years working in physical production and development with actor/writer/director/producer, Tyler Perry. Gary is currently owner and manager at Advanced Management, repping actors, writers and directors. He has also produced the indie features Austin Found, Street Level and G-Funk and as well as serving as an Executive Producer on The Ninth Passenger, Pimp, Fury of the Fist, Bachelor Lions, Prey No More and his latest feature which recently wrapped in Australia, In Like Flynn.  Gary is also a Executive Producer on In The Company Of Lies, which is currently set up at Rat Pac Entertainment/Voltage Films as well as serving as an Executive Producer on the Lionsgate/TNT series 40 Elephants.  He is repped by CAA and attorney Eric Feig.

Show Notes:

7:50 How Warren G brought Snoop Dogg to Dr. Dre
11:07 Finding the right investors for the “G-Funk” documentary
21:46 How to involve the right people who will be excited about your project
27:24 How to become a person of value and connect good people with each other
28:34 How to raise money from investors
30:20 A few lessons Gary learned while working with Tyler Perry
32:45 Why Craig Robinson is Gary’s favorite person to work with
35:45 The importance of surrounding yourself with friends who inspire you
39:00 Always be in the outgoing call business
40:10 Struggling makes you stronger
42:53 Setting and accomplishing goals
46:38 Life is pointless if you’re not following your passion

 

Check out this episode!

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Music Entrepreneur Dame Ritter- Always Focus on Your Fans

Dame Ritter is best known as the co-founder of the successful Indie Hip-Hop label Funk Volume (Hopsin, Dizzy Wright, Jerren Benton).  After the dissolution of the label, Dame founded the Music Entrepreneur Club, a music business educational platform. Dame also continues to work with a select group of artists, including Dizzy Wright and their Still Movin’ Movement.

After all of his accomplishments, Dame continues to keep striving for more success, and both his persistence and business acumen are on display throughout the interview. This is a great episode for anyone interested in building their own label, brand, or business.  Take notes.

Show Notes:
5:07 Funk Volume focused on the fans
5:51 You don’t have to take huge risks
7:15 Put out content and tell your story before you waste money putting out an album
8:50 Focus on visuals
10:01 You might have to become your own team until you can attract a team
17:52 The transition from Funk Volume to the Music Entrepreneur Club
22:00 How Dame got into music education
23:45 Dame’s side hustles while building Funk Volume included substitute teaching
26:27 How to be a true leader
28:14 Dame finds out about the dopest artists from the fans, not directly from the artist
30:32 Early conversations with Russ
33:05 Sometimes artists overlook the uniqueness of their own talent when they give advice to others
34:22 Your branding has to be consistent
35:06 Giving back to your community
40:52 Starting the day with small wins
43:32 Building the Music Entrepreneur Club
48:56  At some point you’ve got to jump!
53:49 Figure out what your passion is before you can follow it
58:35 Donald Passman’s book All You Need to Know About the Music Business is only relevant for artists who have achieved at least limited success

 

Check out this episode!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a short snippet.

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Journalist Soren Baker- A Love for Hip-Hop Created a Lifetime of Opportunities

Soren Baker is an incredibly respected journalist in the world of Hip-Hop. After years of writing and interviewing numerous rap legends, he went on to become the editor at The Source magazine, which was the bible for all of us Hip-Hop heads growing up. More recently, his online channel Unique Access Entertainment has surpassed one million views on YouTube. As you’ll see, Soren is also a true Hip-Hop scholar, historian, and fan. Find out how Soren’s love for Hip-Hop culture and rap music has led to amazing opportunities to pen books and write for television and films.

13:59 Why Soren stood out as a young writer
16:56 Soren always tried to make the story compelling about each artist, no matter what his personal opinion was
19:58 Soren explains why he should have tried to be more visible earlier in his career
23:43 Why genuine relationship lead to great opportunities
27:23 YouTube as a revenue stream
34:51 Why Outkast is the best group of all time
36:57 Why A Tribe Called Quest went downhill
40:43 Soren sets himself apart by studying an artist’s entire catalog instead of just the single
47:04 Being a good listener is fundamental to being a good writer
48:06 Writers need to make the articles about the artist, not about themselves
52:11 The importance of being diverse in creating revenue streams
1:08:25 The importance of follow through
1:14:48 How Soren sets and accomplishes goals
1:18:19 Soren’s advice for an artist who had a $5000 album budget
1:20:31 The value or lack thereof of a publicist
1:27:40 Soren’s dad told him not to take a job he didn’t want, which led to a gig with Rap Pages

Check out this episode!

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Artists- Win a Chance to open for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Raekwon, Rakim, E-40, or DJ Quik & Scarface

Perform with one of the Greats!

Have you always wanted to perform with one of the greatest Hip-Hop artists of all time? The Adler Music Group and The Indie Playbook Podcast are giving you a chance to win an opening performance slot on a show in your hometown with one of the greats.

In order to be fully eligible for this contest, participants must do EACH of the following by September 24th at Noon PST:

1. Subscribe to The Indie Playbook on iTunes at: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-indie-playbook-presented-by-focused-noise/id1281792473

2. Like The Indie Playbook Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/theindieplaybook

3. Post a link to ONE of your original songs on The Indie Playbook Facebook page, along with your preferred date and city of performance (See below for options).

Please note, only post ONE song. Additional submissions will not be listened to. We will notify one winner by September 25th at Noon PST.

For more info and to listen to The Indie Playbook, check out www.focusednoise.com.

Potential Performance Cities:
September 26 – Carrboro, NC (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
September 26 – San Antonio, TX (Opening for Raekwon)
September 27 – Ventura, CA (Opening for Rakim)
September 27 – Charlotte, NC (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
September 28 – Sacramento, CA (Opening for Rakim)
September 28 – Baltimore, MD (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
September 29 – Oakland, CA (Opening for Rakim)
September 29 – Richmond, VA (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
September 30 – Eugene, OR (Opening for Rakim)
September 30 – Reno, NV (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
October 1 – Portland, OR (Opening for Rakim)
October 3 – Las Vegas, NV (Opening for Rakim)
October 4 – Tempe, AZ (Opening for Rakim)
October 5 – Joliet, IL (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
October 5 – Louisville, KY (Opening for DJ Quik/ Scarface)
October 6 – Oklahoma City, OK (Opening for Rakim)
October 6 – St. Paul, MN (Opening for Raekwon)
October 13 – Seattle, WA (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
October 22 – Berkeley, CA (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
October 28 – Fresno, CA (Opening for E-40)
November 16 – Columbia, SC (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
November 24 – Norfolk, VA (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
November 25 – Silver Spring, MD (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
December 2 – Park City, UT (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
December 7 – Petaluma, CA (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
December 8 – Santa Cruz, CA (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
December 14 – Lincoln, NE (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
December 16 – Albuquerque, NM (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
December 17 – Tucson, AZ (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)
December 22 – Cincinnati, OH (Opening for Bone Thugs-n-Harmony)

*The contest winner will be allowed a 20-minute performance in their hometown (or nearest city). Cities listed above. There will be no guest list, cash prize, or travel stipend. Winning performers will be given passes to the show, plus two extra tickets for friends or family. The winner is expected to communicate tech needs with the production coordinator, arrive at the venue on time, and begin and finish their performance on time.  Must be 21 years of age or older to enter.