Music Industry Insight With Joey Cutless

You come from a music background, how did you get into the industry?

I started as a rapper and wanted to be the next big thing. I worked as an opening act for greats like Cee-lo green, Ludacris, Outkast, and Pastor Troy among many others. I self-produced and released my first solo album and got tons of inquiries for production and licensing opportunities basically handed to me. I landed a few billboard charting tracks like “Get em got em” and kept it pretty consistent. After a few years of producing offline, I wanted to come up with a new business model and explore online music licensing and production.

How did your website JoeyCutless begin and how have you generated traffic & sales?

I started the site in 2002 officially as an amateur with minimal html skills. It was a process to get things to where it is now. Originally, I just wanted to make 15k-20k per year and hoped people would like my music around the world. After years of hard work and relentless self-promotion, the site is pretty much an authority within the urban music licensing and production world. I would credit referrals and social media as the main catalyst for the massive amount of traffic.

Where do you think the music industry is going in 2015?

Steaming is a huge factor that cannot be ignored any longer. Monetizing steams and digital content is the future of the music business. I also think motion picture soundtracks are going to be more integrated with movie budgets.  This will give labels and artists access to resources that have become scarce in the streaming age of low record sales and small budgets.

What are some of the obstacles you’ve faces thus far?

Working off my own energy when the outside world didn’t believe. To me that’s one of the most discouraging things that can break any entrepreneur. Another obstacle is the personal sacrifices I have had to make in order to keep driving this dream. It’s difficult to accept loss and stay focused but it’s non-negotiable for a successful CEO.

If you could leave our readers with one last piece of business advice, what would it be?

Never give less than 100% and never fail at following through. I think the harder you work and your execution of your plans and goals piece by piece are what lead to other opportunities being presented to us in an almost magical or “lucky” fashion. In closing I would also state that awareness that someone is willing to work harder than you and surpass you should always be a thought in the mind of any CEO or entrepreneur!