Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jett Prescott. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jett, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
This is honestly a pretty wild story because it took me so long to understand my purpose – and once I thought I understood it, the meaning shifted multiple times.
Ever since I was little I loved music. There are baby pictures with me and a mic in my hand, a keyboard next to me… I would even assemble makeshift drum kits using random toys and plastic bins. To this day I can remember jamming along to my parent’s VHS of 90125 by Yes… As I got a bit older, my parents did offer for me to get piano lessons and my dad offered to teach me guitar, but they ultimately were very hesitant to encourage anything too serious when it came to the music industry. My father had been in a signed band and actively toured, but long story short he saw enough of the industry to know how difficult of a life it was.
I ended up becoming a huge tech nerd and had virtually no interest in music until I was at the end of middle school – I received a first-generation iPod as a gift which I wasn’t very excited about, mostly because I didn’t even understand what it was at first. I eventually figured I might as well get some use out of it by finding some music and loading it up. This process quite literally re-introduced me to the magic of music – I was enthralled by the different genres, my mom gave me U2 albums and “Dizzy up the Girl” by The Goo Goo Dolls, I asked friends what they were listening to, and the list goes on. Music quickly became a big part of my life from then on.
About halfway through high school, I found an interest in learning bass guitar because that was my dad’s primary instrument and he had always been willing to teach me. From Tool and Queen to Rush and Rage Against the Machine, I had a blast jamming around in my free time but never took anything super seriously. Not long after, I took up piano thanks to inspiration from Andrew McMahon (lead singer and pianist from “Something Corporate” at the time, now “Jack’s Mannequin”). I went through a heartbreak situation and for some reason his 9 and a half minute ballad “Konstantine” struck such a deep chord that I felt compelled to borrow my grandma’s Casio keyboard so I could use random computer programs to figure out how to play it. After several weeks of playing non-stop for hours a day, I finally could perform it the whole way through. The motivation I felt from this, knowing I had no prior experience on piano but could play and sing a whole song, was one of the most powerful feelings I could even imagine. From then on I was addicted. I promised myself I would practice every day without fail, and for around 5 years I truly did, learning one song after another thanks to YouTube.
As much as I discovered I did in fact have a passion for music and even dabbled with performing via open mics, I never really believed there was a career-driven future for me in music until I graduated college and saw real traction with the original music I put out. Having completed my degree in Cyber Security, I felt it was worth chasing the dream for a bit considering I always had my education if I needed it. With Music Connection naming me #2 among the top 25 new artists back then, I quickly made the decision to move out to Los Angeles.
Within a couple years I was offered label deals, but this was at the time Prince, 30 Seconds to Mars, and many others were warning artists against these contracts. The hard realization that the entire industry was backwards and nobody seemed to have artists’ best interests in mind really messed with me. It felt like my career as an artist would be indefinitely limited without the team, resources, and connections of a label – but it was obvious these deals were not at all in my favor and would turn music into a job where I’m really just making someone else most of the money and giving up all of my rights, ownership, control, etc…
As someone who was genuinely fascinated by the business end of things, I started down the path of creating my own artist collective and networking with label service providers which ultimately turned into a by-artists-for-artists record label. I never realized how massive of an undertaking it would be, but what PennyFly has become is something I’ll always be incredibly proud of. My tech expertise even came full circle as it has allowed me to understand the value and importance of the blockchain industry which has evolved into its own division within PennyFly, further expanding our offers to artists through cutting-edge AI solutions.
It definitely blows my mind when I think about it – I clearly had a spark of musicality as a young child, then despite losing all interest in music for over a decade and having parents who were jaded with the industry, it all found me again in exponential ways as I grew older. For so long I assumed tech was my purpose, which shifted to being a singer/songwriter, and culminated with founding a label that seeks to solve the very problems I experienced as an artist first hand.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Having run PennyFly for nearly 8 years now, it’s incredible to be able to say we’ve worked with over 130 different artists. We’re working with some amazing talent right now and can’t wait for all of the releases we’ve been prepping for 2024. We’re at an exciting stage as a company where we’ve been working hard to scale everything up so we can cater to even more artists. It’s personally been a blessing to work with so many amazing people in the studio as well, as an executive producer I’ve been involved in dozens of tracks just this year alone.
On a related note, after putting my own music career to the side for quite a few years (especially since the pandemic), I’ve finally been able to make time to get back into the creative flow myself. Lately I’ve really enjoyed creating unique music video content utilizing AI which I feel is going to turn into a huge trend soon enough. Now that I’ve experienced the ins & outs of every aspect of the industry, I honestly can’t wait to start releasing music again which is quickly becoming more of a priority for me.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I would have to say patience, passion, and the ability to communicate effectively.
Having any sort of entrepreneurial lifestyle where there’s no financial consistency to anything requires heavy amounts of both patience and passion. Understanding that truly good things tend to take a lot more time than you want them to is paramount, and if you don’t genuinely love what you’re doing despite the inevitability of constant challenges, you’re not going to have the patience to let things play out as they’re supposed to.
My grandma was an English teacher and taught me solid grammar skills very early on which absolutely had an impact on my ability to write and speak effectively. I am a huge proponent of well-written emails going a long way when doing business. These skills carried over heavily into article writing, negotiating, marketing copy, ad ideation, you name it.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
This isn’t exactly the most unique advice, but simply taking a long walk in the sun works wonders for me. I’ll usually throw headphones on and clear my mind with whatever music fits my mood – it’s a great way for me to reset my thoughts. By the end of the walk my mind will have wandered to random places that end up revealing solutions for things I was otherwise struggling to work out.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.pennyflyentertainment.com
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/jettprescott/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jett-prescott/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jettprescott
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNrPuqR_576XBJrVqWGWC-w
