Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Razar, a regional executive for a software company, or as he’s known in the indie music world – “JRtheBand“.
Hi Jeremy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was a business major and a creative, ultimately graduating from the WP Carey School of Business at ASU. In the corporate world, I’ve been able to leverage my business background into a successful career as a Sales VP in the Enterprise Software space. Up until the Summer of 2018, I hadn’t really explored a specific outlet for my favorite creative pursuit – songwriting. I’d been a guitar player ever since the age of 12 and developed a really good ear for melodies. I would hum melodies and turn them into chords on the guitar. Throughout my life, I had written hundreds of these chord progressions but never fully developed them into songs. But in the Summer of 2018, I found myself between jobs. I resolved to finally get into a professional recording studio to try to find my sound and develop a few of these chord progressions into a song or two with full lyrics, vocals, bass lines, drums, everything, Could I make a full song beginning to end, one that would be worthy of being heard on the radio? Fast forward three months and I had recorded ten fully structured songs with verse-chorus-bridge, and lyrics fully mixed and mastered. With the songs copyrighted and “in the can”, I then studied the art of social media marketing. Industry consensus is the only way for a songwriter or artist to get their music or art discovered by the masses is through social media. Problem was, I had no prior experience or profile on IG, TW, TikTok, FB. You name the platform, and before October of 2018, I wasn’t on it. But now I wanted to see if random people would connect with my music. Without any other way to make people aware of my music. I created profiles on all platforms but mainly focus ongoing effort on Instagram and TikTok – IMHO they are the best socials for content creators. Fast forward 3 years and I’ve self-released 13 songs under the moniker ‘JRtheBand’ (all one word). My songs and videos have been streamed and viewed over a million times just between Spotify and YouTube alone. @jrtheband has gained 3,500+ followers on Instagram in 2 years and more than 10K followers on TikTok in under three months. So, I now have a steady (small but growing) stream of royalty income and a growing fan base to market new songs to, in addition, I am pitching my songs to music libraries and sync agencies for placement in film/tv/video games. I believe there is significant licensing opportunity for quality music with an unprecedented number of income paths for indie musicians and the democratization of the distribution function to where anyone can release their own music right from the comfort of their own living room. My goal is to create a reliable stream of passive income to supplement my W2 earnings. If the passive income outpaces the active income, then I can look to making it a full-time career but until then I feel lucky to be able to pursue both passions!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It is never a straight line from Point A to Point B in the music industry. I learn something new every day. But the fact that the music industry has become so reachable for anyone willing to invest the time and money on a DIY basis means there are a lot of entrants into that market! So, it has become extremely competitive, to where there are numerous artists who want you to see or hear their art. But how do you cut through the noise? I’ve learned you must first have well-produced, good songs/a first and foremost. Simply having a quality product is not enough here. You’ve got to be able to market it. And therein lied the rub for me – self-promotion. This was difficult and continues to be out of my comfort zone. I’d have no problem representing a company’s product as a salesperson, but when it comes to selling my own art and opening myself up to potential negativity and ridicule? Let’s just say it does not come naturally. But I’ve also learned that like anything, the more you practice the better you become. My message to any artist looking to monetize their art or music is this: do NOT be afraid to put yourself out there and don’t be afraid to fail. Try lots of different strategies and content to get your music out there. Experiment and have fun with it but devote the time and money into making a quality piece of art or music, and then take good notes both when something works and when it doesn’t on the marketing front. Become an eager student/learner of social marketing!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in songwriting and music production. I play all the strings as well as sing and play the harmonica. I am the right brain left brain combo – in that, I am super creative but in an analytical way. My songs become stories and rather than being literal, the concepts are metaphorical, relating to everyday human experiences ranging from loss and sadness to joy and longing. Being influenced by rock music of the ’70s, ’80s, and 90’s, my aim is to give fans of classic rock something new to listen to in the genre they love the most.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Make today count. Make slow but steady progress every day toward your goal. Become a student of social media marketing.
Contact Info:
- Email: jrtheband1@gmail.com
- Website: https://jrtheband.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jrtheband/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jrtheband/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/jrtheband1?lang=en
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLn54qp_C9eIQxDKOpC3PkeZJv97Edo1Fr
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-320259488
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@jrtheband?
Suggest a Story: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
