Joey Cutless is a critically acclaimed music producer who runs a revolutionary music licensing website that is also a learning hub for indie artists and a social media marketing authority. In this interview he talks about his projects and the online music industry.
Music has been your passion for a long time. How did it start?
I started as a rapper in Warner Robins, Georgia and wanted to make it as an entertainer and hip-hop recording artist. I worked as an opening act for greats like Cee-lo green, Ludacris, Outkast, and Pastor Troy among many others while I was still in high school with a rap group called “Millenium”. I moved to the UK later and 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 couple of years of producing offline and landing credits on MTV Cribs, The Oprah Winfrey Show, True Life and hundreds of other projects, I wanted to come up with a new business model and explore online music licensing and production a little more.
How would you define your music and who influenced you the most?
I would describe it as very dramatic. I look at each track as a feat of audio engineering and composition. I would say my biggest influences would be Timbaland, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Dr. Dre, EA Ski, Three Six Mafia, and Organized Noise. Sonically I draw from all those from an engineering perspective. I think even an average beat can become stellar with the right engineering and “sigil” added, lol.
Give us more details about the beats you license in your website. How does the licensing work?
The beats on my site are the same calibre of production as my mainstream production credits in TV shows and movies but for independent and unsigned artists. Every license is a commercial right to use my beats in their music for iTunes, Amazon, or however they wish to release it online or offline. The best part about the license is that it has distribution limits where sales within that limit is completely royalty-free. It’s really ground-breaking and puts the artist in a position of power to accomplish their production goals on a fraction of the budget it would normally cost. Right now you can license 6 beats for just $19.99, that’s half of an album or an EP, no one else is offering a platform like this.
Who can benefit from these beats?
I’m glad you asked, professional recording artists of all genres can find production on my site. We have custom beats and instrumentals available in every single style and category, over 350 total.
Everyone understands that without a good online marketing campaign, indie musicians can’t really get noticed. How can you help?
This is another thing that separates us from the standard online production site. We also have literally hundreds of social media promotion productions and services. Email blasts, tweet campaigns, trending strategies, followers, organic YouTube views and more. All the services on our social media marketing page directly connect an artist with their fans in an unprecedented fashion.
What three tips would you give to an indie musician who’s just starting out?
First, build a strong social media profile portfolio. Image is everything sometimes and it’s a crucial step in your online marketing efforts.
Secondly, I would recommend all artists in this day and age monetize their musical content and streams to maximize it’s revenue. We have tips on all these things on our free blog on the site. It’s just another way we give back to the independent artist community.
Third, I would recommend being original and creating a carefully crafted public personality. A lot of musicians are shy or want to avoid marketing and PR, but its crucial.
What are your plans for the near future? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In the near future I’m going to have my music licensed in even more feature films, TV shows etc. In 5 years I expect to reach a mogul status and help rebuild this arena called the music industry. I can’t say too much or it would give away my secret plans lol, #stealthmode!
Find out how to get your beats:
