In this episode I welcome my long time best friend and music industry expert, Alán Hensley, aka Soul7. We go way back to our college days at Pacific and talk about how he came to study music business, learned to DJ, took a leap of faith going across the world to Berkeley College of Music, building EMPIRE Latino, and how DJs can market themselves professionally. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too!
0:00 - Intro
2:10 - The early days, finding a love for music
5:00 - Finding Pacific for studying music business
7:30 - Being music bro and getting the first DJ controller
9:50 - The Getdown days
15:10 - Marketing The Getdowns
20:10 - Utilizing a street team
22:10 - Getting stuck post grad and finding new opportunities
26:00 - Finding Berkeley College of Music and taking a leap of faith
30:10 - Arriving in Spain
32:10 - If you want to work in music business, do this...
33:55 - Find a DJ group chat
34:30 - Favorite guest speaker
35:45 - Getting DJ gigs in Spain
43:05 - Finding a job post Berkeley
47:00 - Transition to EMPIRE
50:40 - Preparing for the interview
53:00 - Leveling up from the position you're hired for
56:00 - What is the role of a Product Manager at a label?
58:40 - How to pitch music to a label?
1:02:34 - What can DJs learn from artists to promote themselves?
1:06:05 - Pro tips DJs can take away from the music industry
1:12:20 - Selecta Style, DJ taste and library organization
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