We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Fred Jay. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Fred below.
Fred, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?
Encountering obstacles is inevitable. No matter who you are or where you’re from, it’s safe to say that you’ll encounter one in some form or fashion. I’m no exception. What stands between any of us and our own destiny, is resilience. I began developing mine at the young age of 13. I had an older brother, of whom I looked up to. I thought the sun rose and set all in him lol. He was charismatic, stylish, and so incredibly intelligent. He had big dreams and all the potential needed to reach every one of them. Unfortunately, he got mixed up with the wrong crowd and ended up losing his life to whom he thought, were friends of his. He was 18 at the time, I was 13. That was the pivot for me. Him losing his opportunity to reach his destiny, ignited the fire in me to reach mine. From that point on, I was determined more than ever, to not let anyone or anything stop me. I decided that I was going to live for me, but for him as well. But understand, I had now had this fire ignited in me, but I needed an example. For that, I looked to my mother. She was a single mom of now 2 1/2 kids, she had just lost her oldest and was pregnant with my youngest brother at the time. The traumatic death of my brother hit us extremely hard, but some how, she found the energy and drive to get up every day and make life happen for us. With very little resources and no help, she made away to feed and cloth myself, my younger sister, and then my baby brother once he was born. As a teenager, I couldn’t understand it, but I SAW it. So when you ask where my resilience came from, I have to say that the death of my older brother planted the seed. It willed me to a point of ultimate determination, to LIVE…to achieve my goals and reach my destiny. My mother served as an example of HOW to dig within yourself to find the strength to keep pushing, even when the finish line looks invisible.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
First of all, let me welcome you to the Fred Jay experience. I’m an entrepreneur and business man. I own my own entertainment consultant agency, where I personally help artists of all kinds, step into stardom. From management services, to branding and marketing, to social media development, I bridge the gaps and fill in the blanks, with the ultimate goal of helping my clients reach their dreams. Be it an artist, producer, photographer, or even a fellow manager, I’m able to add value to the project. Additionally, I operate as an A&R consultant. With over a decade of experience, I’ve worked with some of your favorite’s favorites, including Kanye West, Muni Long, and Ohma Lay to name a few. Several of my clients have mentioned that what they value most about me, is the reassuring comfortability that I provide. I’m a man of integrity and operate from a place of value and transparency when it comes to my business. This awards my clients, a level of peace of mind that is difficult to find in this industry. Artists interested in working with me, can go to my website, CultureLifestyleArtist.com, and check out my offered services.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
When I think about my career journey, I’m reminded of several hard learned lessons. In conjunction with these lessons, I’m also reminded of a number qualities that in my opinion, have proven essential to reaching success. Of these, three are most outstanding, which include integrity, gratitude, and emotional responsibility. Integrity and transparency build a layer of trust between you and your clients and between you and your peers. This is the only way to do “good business”. Your name is everything in this industry, and if you’re known for being anything less than integral, believe you me, EVERYONE will know. It’s equally important to possess a level of humbleness and gratitude. Be grateful to your clients for entrusting you with their dreams, be grateful to your peers and mentors for sharing their resources and getting you into some of those “hard to reach” rooms, and be grateful to the business itself because after all, its providing you with a means to make a living surrounded by art of which we all love. Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention emotional intelligence. You’re going to get lied to, cheated, and short changed when you first get started. You’ll hear “no” ALOT, before you finally start to hear yes. You’ve got to remain in control of your emotions. If you fly off the handle like a hot head, or worse yet, lower your standards and start behaving like those your who short changed you, you’ll find yourself on the losing side of things indefinitely. So the best piece of advise I could offer young Fred Jay, or any other newcomer entering the business, would be to keep these qualities in mind. Dig deep and find your resilience, but keeps these qualities in your hand and in your head, along the way.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
Social media has done wonders for the music industry. It’s provided a spot light and an opportunity to shine, for those who otherwise may not have gotten that chance. All it takes is one song or beat to go viral, and boom! You’re a star! Unfortunately, I think that phenomenon can also serve as a double edge sword and, at times, has been an obstacle for me professionally. Labels seemingly now make “the numbers” the primary focus. Millions of streams and/or views, makes labels want to sit down and talk about potential deals. But in my humble opinion, that’s getting away from the true art of music. Searching for and recognizing the true talent of an artist…finding that ONE out of millions who possess a unique sound or look, labels have gotten away from that. To me, THAT is what this industry was born from. Michael Jackson was known as one of the greatest of all times, because of his unique sound and true talent. That’s where the focus was, as it should be! His record sales aka “his numbers” were a result of that talent. So now, to overcome this hurdle, I’ve adopted more of a hands on approach with my clients. Firstly, I utilize more independent channels to get my artists seen and heard. From there, I try and serve as buffer between them and the labels. I advocate for them and speak to more than just the numbers they do on social media. I speak to the unique sound you possess, that strong voice you have, or that special skill that Ive not seen before. Painting a more well rounded picture for the label so that they too see the beauty in your art, not just the number of streams you had last month.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://culturelifestyleartist.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betonfredjay
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BetOnFredJay
