T.J.’s D.J.’s is one of hip hop’s leading record pools. Their influence is heard everyday through radio, internet and seen every quarter through The Tastemakers Music Conference. You can not count the amount of records they’ve broke or the amount of artist they’ve help introduce to the masses, but just to name a few, they’ve worked with B.O.B., Rick Ross, Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane, Blood Raw, T-Pain, Mike Jones etc. We caught up with T.J.’s D.J.’s Vice President, Keith Kennedy to talk music, marketing, branding and he gave us a powerful insight into the current music industry.
Keith Kennedy’s resume is a testament to his diverse skill set as a music industry executive, consultant and writer. Some of his current positions include Music Director of Tastemakers Music Conference, Vice President of T.J.’s D.J.’s, where he runs day to day operations, Author of The Money Manual as well as consulting a host of music clients. Starting as an intern at T.J.’s D.J.’s, Keith has risen through the ranks through his consistent grind. Today he uses that experience to guide many young artists and he holds back nothing when describing mistakes that artists are making and the opportunities that lie ahead.
“I think the microwave mentality that artists use to have is gone. Fan’s recognize bullshit artist and they are thirsty for music full of hunger that is from the soul.” More than just the mentality of artists, the whole industry has seen a drastic change. Unfortunately many artists have been slow to adapt to these changes and those who aren’t savvy have been left behind. Though we consistently hear about how record sales are down, Kennedy disagrees with the view that the music industry itself is struggling. “Yeah, record sales are down but today’s artist have so many opportunities to create streams of income that record sales aren’t affecting there earning potential. When record sales were up, those artists didn’t have the opportunity to get ringtones, licensing and placements in film and television. Now you have rap stars touring with rock stars. This is really just the evolution of hip hop; the change has been for the better. Artists are really just now learning how to make money.” One artist that exemplifies his viewpoint is B.O.B a.k.a Bobby Ray, an artist that Kennedy has worked closely with. Though B.O.B. is yet to put out an album, he has appeared on billboards in Times Square and Atlanta, is currently doing a tour with Reebok and will be performing at The ESPY Awards. B.O.B. is an example of the new age artist, one who doesn’t just sell music but sells a brand and ultimately becomes an ambassador for the things he represents. This power yielded then becomes leverage for companies that want to reach the followers of that brand. Not much different than the model used for major athletes such as Lebron James or Derrick Jeter. What does differ is the speed and visibility required to create that brand. Whereas these opportunities are reserved for only the elite most visible athletes, artists have the opportunity to utilize many of these opportunities on there way to the top. Imagine a minor league baseball player, who plays for The Rhode Island Panthers, doing a major marketing campaign with Gatorade. That is similar to the opportunities available right now for artists. In the name of full disclosure, I must state that B.O.B. is an extreme example. He has a stellar management team who work extremely hard to create opportunities for him, and I’d be willing to bet that he did not personally seek, solicit or negotiate the opportunities listed above. However, many independents artist are using those same techniques on a grassroots level and Kennedy stresses that artist take advantage of this. “Approach a local store and talk to them about doing a sponsored mixtape that they can distribute to their customers. You have to embrace the fact that your music is a commodity, a product that is made and you really have to find creative ways to market that product if you want to be successful today.”
We will be continuing our conversation with Keith Kennedy in our upcoming entries. He can be contacted at 850-877-6090 or keith@tjsdjs.com
Keith Kennedy’s resume is a testament to his diverse skill set as a music industry executive, consultant and writer. Some of his current positions include Music Director of Tastemakers Music Conference, Vice President of T.J.’s D.J.’s, where he runs day to day operations, Author of The Money Manual as well as consulting a host of music clients. Starting as an intern at T.J.’s D.J.’s, Keith has risen through the ranks through his consistent grind. Today he uses that experience to guide many young artists and he holds back nothing when describing mistakes that artists are making and the opportunities that lie ahead.
“I think the microwave mentality that artists use to have is gone. Fan’s recognize bullshit artist and they are thirsty for music full of hunger that is from the soul.” More than just the mentality of artists, the whole industry has seen a drastic change. Unfortunately many artists have been slow to adapt to these changes and those who aren’t savvy have been left behind. Though we consistently hear about how record sales are down, Kennedy disagrees with the view that the music industry itself is struggling. “Yeah, record sales are down but today’s artist have so many opportunities to create streams of income that record sales aren’t affecting there earning potential. When record sales were up, those artists didn’t have the opportunity to get ringtones, licensing and placements in film and television. Now you have rap stars touring with rock stars. This is really just the evolution of hip hop; the change has been for the better. Artists are really just now learning how to make money.” One artist that exemplifies his viewpoint is B.O.B a.k.a Bobby Ray, an artist that Kennedy has worked closely with. Though B.O.B. is yet to put out an album, he has appeared on billboards in Times Square and Atlanta, is currently doing a tour with Reebok and will be performing at The ESPY Awards. B.O.B. is an example of the new age artist, one who doesn’t just sell music but sells a brand and ultimately becomes an ambassador for the things he represents. This power yielded then becomes leverage for companies that want to reach the followers of that brand. Not much different than the model used for major athletes such as Lebron James or Derrick Jeter. What does differ is the speed and visibility required to create that brand. Whereas these opportunities are reserved for only the elite most visible athletes, artists have the opportunity to utilize many of these opportunities on there way to the top. Imagine a minor league baseball player, who plays for The Rhode Island Panthers, doing a major marketing campaign with Gatorade. That is similar to the opportunities available right now for artists. In the name of full disclosure, I must state that B.O.B. is an extreme example. He has a stellar management team who work extremely hard to create opportunities for him, and I’d be willing to bet that he did not personally seek, solicit or negotiate the opportunities listed above. However, many independents artist are using those same techniques on a grassroots level and Kennedy stresses that artist take advantage of this. “Approach a local store and talk to them about doing a sponsored mixtape that they can distribute to their customers. You have to embrace the fact that your music is a commodity, a product that is made and you really have to find creative ways to market that product if you want to be successful today.”
We will be continuing our conversation with Keith Kennedy in our upcoming entries. He can be contacted at 850-877-6090 or keith@tjsdjs.com
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