Meet Nathan Jackson

We recently connected with Nathan Jackson and have shared our conversation below.

Nathan, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I think I owe a lot of my work ethic to my parents. I was raised with the mentality that you have to earn things by working hard, rather than have things handed to you. I had a paper route and shovelled driveways when I was a young boy, and I saved all my money to buy my first acoustic guitar. This same mentality drives my current work ethic today.

Being a freelancer in the audio/music industry is not an easy feat. Some months feel very successful, and others make me want to move to Alaska and start a new life (I don’t think there’s a big audio industry there…)! In addition to my freelance work, teaching others has impacted my work ethic.  No two weeks of teaching are ever the same, and sometimes I feel like I have a million things to do in such a short period of time. This has further shaped my abilities to prioritize tasks efficiently. I’m grateful for these opportunities that have taught me the value of working hard and achieving success, whatever success may mean to you.

We 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?

Ever since I was young, I have always been passionate about music and audio. I picked up the guitar at the age of seven, and began singing at nine. In my teen years, I was lucky enough to have had some amazing opportunities as a young artist. From being on national television to working with some of the top producers and songwriters in LA, music was the heart and soul of my life. However, as a young adult, my interests began to expand. At the time, I had just moved to Toronto from a smaller town, and I was in a music performance program, but it just didn’t feel right. I ended up dropping out of the program, and had this urge to learn more beyond music performance. Being in and around some incredibly influential people in the music industry, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to be in some amazing studios. I was always so curious as to how my voice and instrumentation was recorded and manipulated to sound the way it ended up. All these buttons and knobs and lights, they seemed so interesting! I ended up studying Audio Engineering at MetalWorks Institute in Mississauga ON, Canada. This is where my newfound love and obsession for gear and all things audio related began.

After graduating from MetalWorks, I jumped head first into the industry. From working in major studios to managing a professional audio sales store, I put myself into every opportunity I could find. The largest jump I made was leaving my full-time sales job to pursue audio engineering and mixing as a full-time freelance business. I am now four years into my business and cannot believe the opportunities that have come into my life.

Today, I am a college instructor at MetalWorks Institute, where I teach post-production, audio mixing techniques, digital technologies, and more. I also work professionally in the audio industry in both music and post-production for film and television.

Within the music industry, I was Assistant Engineer on the chart topping album ‘The Reckless One’ by Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, which was featured in ‘Rolling Stone’ magazine, and nominated for ‘Blues Album of the Year’ in the 2021 JUNO Awards. In addition, I was Assistant Engineer on Spencer Mackenzie’s album “Preach To My Soul”, which was nominated for “Blues Album of the Year” in the 2023 JUNO Awards.

Within the post-production world, I work as a foley editor & recordist with JRS Productions in Toronto. I am responsible for editing, synchronizing, and recording foley. My work has been used in TV and film productions that can be seen broadcasting on CBC, CTV, YTV, and streaming on Netflix, PrimeVideo, Hulu and DisneyPlus. Some of the projects I have worked on include: Netflix’s “Wednesday”, Hulu’s “The Hardy Boys”, CBC’s “Diggstown” and many more. Feel free to check out my IMDB for a full list of my credits!

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Take every opportunity you can get: Even the smaller ones can lead to something bigger than you imagined. Think of every opportunity as a stepping stone to your final goal.

You never know who is watching: Put the same amount of effort and work into every task that is handed to you. Your work may end up in the hands of someone that can give you an opportunity to change your life.

Most importantly, have a good work-to-life balance: Make sure you have hobbies outside of your career. Spend time with friends, family and the outdoors.

Who has been most helpful in helping you overcome challenges or build and develop the essential skills, qualities or knowledge you needed to be successful?
I think the largest battle that any entrepreneur / freelancer faces is the work-to-life balance. I have a tendency to work, work, work and then burn out badly.

My fiancée Julia is definitely the person that has helped me overcome some of my largest personal and career related challenges. She is the most supportive and caring person I know and is my biggest motivator.

Going through burnout has taught me that life is not all about work. While your career is important, those who you love should always come first, especially when they support and motivate you in your career choices.

Oh and side note, get a dog! Having a fluffy Pomeranian helps your mental health A LOT!

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about my work and story. I hope to inspire the next generation of music and audio nerds! If you want to reach out to me, please check out my contact info, I would love to hear from you.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
All images I have full rights to.

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