August 4, 2025 • 18 mins
Bubba Startz kicks off the episode with an introduction to Amani Roberts, exploring his journey from various career paths to the music industry and teaching. The conversation delves into how Amani built a community around his music and found ways to monetize his passion. Attention shifts to Amani's book, highlighting its themes and contributions to music education. They discuss the role of AI in the music industry and Amani's podcast, offering insights into the future of music creation and consumption. The episode wraps up with closing remarks and details on how to connect with Amani, providing listeners with avenues to engage further.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Welcome in to another exciting episode of TheScene.
I'm your host, Bubba Sartz.
And with me today is DJ, author, and publicspeaker, Amani Roberts.
So welcome to the show.
Thank you very much for having me.
Excited to chat with you.
Yeah.
Well, we're we're already getting to it offcamera.
I said, hey.
We gotta hit record and get get this recorded.
So, go ahead and introduce yourself to ourlisteners a little bit, little backstory, and
(00:24):
then we're gonna jump into, some exciting stuffyou got going on.
Okay.
My name is Amani.
Grew up in the DC area, the DMV.
I grew up in hotels, working in hotels acrossThe United States, then became a full time DJ,
and also now released my second book called thequiet storm, which came out in February.
(00:45):
We reached The USA TODAY bestseller list onlaunch week, which was amazing.
And then I speak about the music business andcreativity, and I coach people who are working
in the music industry but wanna make moremoney.
That's a little bit about me.
Good.
Well, we're just gonna jump into, you helpingme make money in the music industry then.
Alright.
Let's go.
(01:07):
Let's go.
Amazing.
That's a what what a turn.
So hospitality hospitality was was kind of yourbase.
Obviously, easy to dip into starting to DJparties and things like that.
From that world, was it kind of a naturalprogression through these things during your
life to, okay.
Now I know how to do this.
Now it's time to teach others?
(01:28):
Well, what happened is that kinda in themiddle, once I became a full time DJ, I also
became a college professor, and I would teachmusic business at the local college and also be
DJing out and about.
And that's where I really grew my love for themusic business.
Then I went to grad school, Berkeley College ofMusic in Boston for my master's in music
business, and that kinda confirmed it.
My thesis was my book, and that's kind of theevolution of how I got there.
(01:52):
And now I just help, you know, both people whoare working full time but have music that they
wanna monetize, then people who are kind ofworking in the industry as a musician and wanna
get a bigger audience, more money, etcetera.
So those are two people I work with.
Right.
Well and there's just so many avenues thesedays in the entertainment industry, to to make
a living.
And I think every single one of us kinda has adifferent path.
(02:16):
There's not a one size fits all.
You know?
It's not the eighties.
Get a band of your buddies together, grow yourhair long, and play some power chords and hunt
a record deal.
Right?
Like, those days are so long gone, and both ofus kinda lived through it.
I I'm just kind of, I guess interjecting.
I'm 39.
So as I'm graduating high school, the Internetis really starting to push.
(02:38):
By the time I'm five years into a music career,the whole game changed.
Right?
And I've been stumbling through for the lastdecade and a half trying to, like, okay.
Well, what what is the music industry now?
And, well, I was very fortunate to findpodcasting within the last, you know, eighteen
months to find that I really have a knack forthis, and this is how I serve my community of
(03:00):
musicians.
Doing a lot of the same things.
I I my book isn't out yet.
I'm still working on, finishing the manuscriptand, getting that out, but it it's really to
train people how, like, this is what I did.
It's not necessarily like you have to do this,but this is how I did it.
I had success.
Here's maybe some other, you know, casestudies, right, friends of mine that have made
(03:21):
it in another way and to deliver that.
Love that, you know, a a music educator who'swell educated, not just from the school, but
you you've lived the career as well.
And I feel like that's not always the case.
Yeah.
I would agree.
You know, over eighteen years being a DJ, doingremixes, performing.
So it could be as even as basic as just makingsure you're getting all your royalties both
(03:45):
domestically and internationally.
A lot of artists don't know about that, whetherit be through Songtrust, Soundexchange, the
MLC.
Then the whole concept of synchronization,getting your music into movies, films, video
games, is pretty new to some artists.
They they know about it, but they don't reallyunderstand it.
And then we get into the merch game,communicating with your fans.
Like, there's so much to it.
(04:06):
And now, as you said, like, I grew up I'm alittle older than you.
I grew up in the area of, like, buyingcassettes and CDs.
But now music has been devalued so much, it'salmost for free.
You can listen to everything for free onYouTube, so it's really marketing.
Really, you're streaming and your songs aremarketing.
You want people to come into your community,whether it be through a podcast, you know, or,
like, a Patreon, things like that, buy yourmerch, sign up for your subscription, and to
(04:30):
just continue to come see you when you're outon tour.
Those are kind of the keys in the short term.
The long term would be like you're publishing,getting that money to pay you, you know,
mailbox money as we call it.
Right.
And I don't know how much of that is.
I mean, obviously, there's still some outthere, but it it's far and few between.
There's no radio hits really anymore thatyou're I I worked with a gentleman who did Tom
(04:53):
Petty's first two records for Shelter Records,and he didn't get his name on the record,
because the guy you know, the record exec kindatook the producer name, but he gave him the
royalties.
And for decades, this man is collecting a checkevery now and then.
Right?
Because, you know, these these songs are stillhitting the airwaves.
Right?
(05:13):
But that's not really a possibility these days,and I think any musician who's in the game
realizes that streaming isn't going to payreally anyone's bills anytime soon.
So it's exactly what you kinda touched on atthe beginning there is it's about building a
community around your art.
Right?
And then letting that community kind of investinto you through merch and ticket sales and,
(05:37):
you know, maybe you're writing a book, yourmemoirs.
I I think a lot of artists these days can takecan take a model from the biggest acts in the
world and what they've done and to just do thesame thing.
Now will you run the same numbers?
Probably not.
But we don't not all of us need those numbersto maintain the lifestyle that we want to live.
I don't think many artists these days arechasing the, you know, the rock star lifestyle.
(06:02):
They just wanna get to stay on the road,essentially.
I agree.
I agree.
You could follow, like, Kevin Kelly's model,the 1,000 true fans.
If you can get a thousand people to spend a$100 a year on your merch, your product, your
community, that's a $100,000.
And that's a good way of living.
You can build from there, do other things.
That's kind of the model that I really speakfrom and the philosophy I really like to
(06:25):
promote.
And, you know, like you said, some of thebiggest artists, like, we'll look at, like, a
Taylor Swift.
She's written a book.
So that's that shows you just how you can dothat.
There are other artists who have phenomenalmerchandise, things like that.
So it's just what can you do to keep people inyour community and to try to monetize it that
way?
And I think it's hard for a lot, especiallyfans, to realize that Taylor Swift started out
(06:48):
essentially as one of us.
Right?
She was a young girl with a dream.
I I follow her former manager, Rick Barker,quite a bit.
And Mhmm.
And that's kind of so when I got out of prisonin 2018, it was obvious that the world had
changed.
Right?
I I did two years in prison and was kind ofcoming out to one of a new life.
(07:09):
Right?
I I was not going to be doing the things I wasbefore, mainly, you know, selling drugs at the
parties we were throwing in.
You know?
Like, that I wasn't going back to that.
I'm sure as a DJ, you can relate to plenty ofpeople around the scene in DC that that that
was the model.
Right?
You know?
Oh, we're gonna throw rave so we can sell thedrugs to the kids at the party, And, like,
that's how you made mute that's how you mademoney in the music business.
(07:31):
Mhmm.
And, obviously, that's not tenable nor is it avery great place to live in, you know, from a,
you know, a moral standpoint.
And I think that following that model of, like,just go find the people that love you and keep
investing in those people.
Keep inviting those people further and furtherinto your world.
(07:53):
And things like Patreon can be so influentialand such a great.
Maybe it's not providing that lifestyle, butit's providing a a foundation, right, of that
monthly subscription coming in that might paythe rent.
Right?
So, I think it's great what you're doing.
I can't wait to read the book.
I'll need a copy of that to put on the displayback here
(08:15):
and
and tell all of our our other artists.
So, obviously, you just released the book backin February, pushing that very hard.
Is there I mean, obviously, we're trying to,you know, teach, teach artists how to make
money.
But is there a central theme to the book thatis that is more than the money?
(08:36):
Yeah.
The theme to the book is just the history of rand b groups.
So we started in the nineteen fifties and go tothe mid two thousands.
We identify about 10 or 11 groups per decadethat were the top groups based on Grammy
nominations and wins, record sales, notableperformances, and billboard hot 100 hits.
So we go through the entire chronology of allof the groups, then the last 20% is what
(08:59):
happened to the groups, why they disappear, andwhat's gonna happen next.
So that's kind of the theme, takes you througha journey.
You understand some stories.
You'll learn from artists about how they, youknow, had issues with the record label or group
dynamics caused them to break apart or, youknow, drugs were a big part of how they
declined, but also some of them were reallycreative.
And, like, earth, wind, and fire was able toreally create, you know, memorable shows that
(09:21):
still to this day have been unmet.
And so that's kind of the theme.
What what it's about takes you on a journey.
There's lots of songs in there, playlist, andthat's the book.
Yeah.
Oh, man.
Music fans are gonna love this one.
I think we all crave that a little bit behindthe curtain.
Right?
That's why shows like Behind the Music on VHone way back in the day were so successful.
(09:44):
In some ways, that's what this network and thisthis program specifically, the Scene Projects,
is really about is letting you kinda meet thepeople behind the art, right, and giving you a
little glimpse into that because, it's notalways easy to, to get the whole story just in
the art.
Had a really interesting conversation todaywith a, dancer turned choreographer turned
(10:08):
author herself now.
And it's like, wow.
You know, you got this whole journey, but forpeople just watching you perform one time, they
build a totally different story in their mindof who you are, and that was so so interesting
to me.
So love that.
Not only are you doing that, you know, foryourself, obviously, you probably have ways for
(10:29):
your fans to engage with you, but also showinga little bit of the history of where we've come
from and how we got here is so important.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
Just the history is good, the knowledge, andthen another part is, like, just the samples.
So samples are really a big part of, like, hiphop, but most of the samples come from, like, r
(10:50):
and b music and other music.
And so to share with some of our youngerviewers and younger fans where this music is
coming from is also very educational.
It really, really makes me feel happy also.
Yeah.
And and especially as a DJ, do you find thatsomehow you've become, like, an archivist of
the good music so you can introduce the youngergenerations
to it?
(11:10):
Yeah.
I like the way you put that.
An archivist, a curator, those are two goodwords to kinda say just to share.
Here's what's hot now, but maybe here's wherethey where it came from, where they got a
sample from or the lyrics and stuff.
So just a little education here and there.
But we have love for the new music, but we havelove for the older classics as well.
Yeah.
And I think in this day and age, I mean,obviously, early hip hop, late eighties,
(11:34):
nineties, you know, Dre's samples was pullingall from that funk and r and b sound that, I I
mean, I wasn't familiar with the music.
I've been you know, I was I was kind of a babyin the early nineties when this music was
popular.
But now as my taste have expanded and I'mlistening back to some of the hip hop from
there, I'm like, oh, that's where that camefrom.
(11:54):
Oh, that's where that came from.
So I think your book's a really cool dive intothat.
Really can't wait to dig into the pages.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you.
I agree.
It's just, it's a great curation of all thishistory of music as well as the ode to the
future.
And I think, you know, your listeners and yourcommunity is gonna really enjoy it because it's
you can't read it all, like, in one sitting.
(12:15):
You have to keep coming back to it, listen tosomething, kinda kinda analyze it for yourself,
and go from there.
Yeah.
Did you make a Spotify playlist that goes alongwith with everything?
There's a Spotify playlist and a YouTubeplaylist that talks about my favorite songs.
It's kinda one playlist, and then my favoritesamples that I mentioned in the book and other
ones.
So you have, like, two different ways you canlisten to it.
(12:37):
The Spotify favorite songs, Spotify samples,and then the same thing is on YouTube.
Oh, that's so cool.
What a what an interactive way to just reallyimmerse yourself in this book and into the
songs.
Right?
And remembering what music made us feel like.
Mhmm.
And you kinda touched on the top that I we knowwe're listening to AI music at this point.
(13:00):
It it's been devalued so much, and we need toremember what it did for us.
And I think on some levels, me, as a songwriterand musician, a lot of times need that, that
refresher, right, of, you know, music is ispowerful, powerful stuff, and it deserves
better than what it's been given the lastdecade, really.
(13:22):
And I think we're finding our way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think, a lot of people ask me my opinions on,like, AI music and what are my thoughts.
I don't think like, this is my opinion.
Like, AI hasn't gone through heartbreak.
They haven't go gone through, you know, theloss of a parent suddenly.
They haven't gone through maybe you the feelingthat you miss when you're away from home for
(13:42):
multiple years.
So even if an AI artist is singing or making asong, it's not gonna have that feeling, that
soul within the song.
In addition, some of the greatest songs inhistory have lots of imperfections throughout
the song.
Look at, like, a Jimi Hendrix when he playedthe guitar.
He did crazy things that people hadn't reallythought of before.
(14:03):
And so at first, people thought he was crazy,then it's, like, legendary.
When someone sings a song, maybe it's CelineDion, and she sings a song, and maybe she's off
key because she gets so emotional singing aboutthe song, or her voice breaks in a a certain
part of the song, like, you can't program AI todo that.
And those are the parts of the song that welove the most, the imperfections.
So I think that as much as people try to use AIto create music, it's the imperfections that we
(14:27):
love, and it's very hard to predict orduplicate that using an AI artist.
Well and even, you know, studio techniques,because we've moved from, you know, analog tape
and that you only had a certain amount of tape.
Right?
Like, you better go in there and deliver theperformance of your life.
Now with techniques like comping, where yeah.
I watched a short bit with Billie Eilish onetime, and she's like, yeah.
(14:50):
This take is, like, a 197 takes, and we tookthe best little moments from all these things.
And it's just like, but doesn't that rule?
Like, you're such a soulful person too.
Right?
Like, I feel like I I know I'm not a hugeBillie Eilish fan, but what I've seen from her
is, like, you're a very deep individual.
Why would you kind of want to degrade thatperformance that you delivered by going and
(15:11):
dissecting and chopping it up.
And, I understand that, you know, we're we'reseeking perfection, but it's just I don't know
that that's how you get there.
And maybe that's because I was raised on theGrateful Dead and and, like, live music is the
best.
Right?
Right.
And I'm just coming from a different era ofmusic, right, than what these young children,
you know, kids, I call them, right, these 20now
(15:33):
Yeah.
Are doing.
Even if she's using comping, it's all gonnashow up when she's singing live.
When she's singing live, she's gonna have tosing it as it is, and maybe she pauses.
Maybe her voice breaks.
But in the live performances is where I say,like, the chickens come on the roost, people
and love her.
So they're gonna love her live shows whether orshe's singing everything perfectly or their
imperfections.
(15:54):
So no matter what you do in the studio, when itcomes to a live performance, that's when it's
gonna show up.
Well and maybe it's I mean, Billie Eilish is avery young woman.
And now she's been in this huge nationalspotlight.
So maybe it's, you know, just experience.
And with experience that she's going to evolvein that way to say, no.
I wanna go bare bones, and maybe they'rerecording on actual tape again in in the
(16:17):
future.
And I look at an artist like a, Miley Cyrus whokinda did that with her album Malibu and really
brought it back and kinda got a little moreraw.
And I think sometimes age and experience arethe only things that can teach you that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, Malibu, I think Flowers was onthat album, if I recall correctly.
And that's, like, that was song of the year, Iwanna say.
(16:39):
That one you've got nominated many awards, andthat's a great song.
I mean, with the beat, the lyrics, like, sheknocked that one out of the park, and that's
good that she went back to being more rawbecause she did that, and you see the results.
And she's got a classic song now.
Man, I am so thankful we got to have a littleconversation today because these are these are
topics I don't get to talk about a lot in mysmall town.
(17:02):
And, you know, nobody's in my industry.
That that was really the impetus for startingthe scene projects was to connect mostly with
Midwest artists because I feel like in flyovercountry here, nobody's coming to cover us.
Anyway.
We don't have a lot of weekly arts magazineslike that, but the conversations I've been able
to have with other artists and people from allover the country and all over the world has
(17:26):
just been an absolute blessing.
Amani, do do you have your own podcast at all?
I do.
I do a podcast called Adventures in Business.
It's with my cohost and great friend, MannyGraziano, and we talk to people who primarily
work in, like, the hospitality industry,speaking, and we kinda get to know them, get
advice, wisdom, and we do that every week.
(17:46):
Usually, it's live, 4PM on the East Coast, 1PMon the West, and then it goes out to a podcast
after that.
So that's the podcast that, I work oncurrently.
And we've we're just celebrating about threeyears, 200 episodes.
Awesome.
Awesome, man.
I just love it.
You got such great insights into the musicbusiness and to music in general.
(18:07):
So thankful that we got to get together todayand have a little conversation.
Let you go ahead and plug any, you know,website where we can find the book and
everything before I let you get out of here.
Yeah.
If if anyone an artist is listening to ourconversation and they really wanna take the
next step to get to the next level with theirmusic, they can go to amaniexperience.com
backslash call.
I give a free thirty minute call.
(18:27):
We can talk about your music, your art, andthat's the best way to reach me.
Well, Amani, thanks for coming on the showtoday, and I wanna thank you for being part of
the scene.
Awesome.
Thank you very much for having me.
It was a great conversation.
And everybody else, make sure you're liking theshow, following us everywhere, and we'll see
you next time.
Welcome in to another exciting episode of TheScene.
I'm your host, Bubba Sartz.
And with me today is DJ, author, and publicspeaker, Amani Roberts.
So welcome to the show.
Thank you very much for having me.
Excited to chat with you.
Yeah.
Well, we're we're already getting to it offcamera.
I said, hey.
We gotta hit record and get get this recorded.
So, go ahead and introduce yourself to ourlisteners a little bit, little backstory, and
(00:24):
then we're gonna jump into, some exciting stuffyou got going on.
Okay.
My name is Amani.
Grew up in the DC area, the DMV.
I grew up in hotels, working in hotels acrossThe United States, then became a full time DJ,
and also now released my second book called thequiet storm, which came out in February.
(00:45):
We reached The USA TODAY bestseller list onlaunch week, which was amazing.
And then I speak about the music business andcreativity, and I coach people who are working
in the music industry but wanna make moremoney.
That's a little bit about me.
Good.
Well, we're just gonna jump into, you helpingme make money in the music industry then.
Alright.
Let's go.
(01:07):
Let's go.
Amazing.
That's a what what a turn.
So hospitality hospitality was was kind of yourbase.
Obviously, easy to dip into starting to DJparties and things like that.
From that world, was it kind of a naturalprogression through these things during your
life to, okay.
Now I know how to do this.
Now it's time to teach others?
(01:28):
Well, what happened is that kinda in themiddle, once I became a full time DJ, I also
became a college professor, and I would teachmusic business at the local college and also be
DJing out and about.
And that's where I really grew my love for themusic business.
Then I went to grad school, Berkeley College ofMusic in Boston for my master's in music
business, and that kinda confirmed it.
My thesis was my book, and that's kind of theevolution of how I got there.
(01:52):
And now I just help, you know, both people whoare working full time but have music that they
wanna monetize, then people who are kind ofworking in the industry as a musician and wanna
get a bigger audience, more money, etcetera.
So those are two people I work with.
Right.
Well and there's just so many avenues thesedays in the entertainment industry, to to make
a living.
And I think every single one of us kinda has adifferent path.
(02:16):
There's not a one size fits all.
You know?
It's not the eighties.
Get a band of your buddies together, grow yourhair long, and play some power chords and hunt
a record deal.
Right?
Like, those days are so long gone, and both ofus kinda lived through it.
I I'm just kind of, I guess interjecting.
I'm 39.
So as I'm graduating high school, the Internetis really starting to push.
(02:38):
By the time I'm five years into a music career,the whole game changed.
Right?
And I've been stumbling through for the lastdecade and a half trying to, like, okay.
Well, what what is the music industry now?
And, well, I was very fortunate to findpodcasting within the last, you know, eighteen
months to find that I really have a knack forthis, and this is how I serve my community of
(03:00):
musicians.
Doing a lot of the same things.
I I my book isn't out yet.
I'm still working on, finishing the manuscriptand, getting that out, but it it's really to
train people how, like, this is what I did.
It's not necessarily like you have to do this,but this is how I did it.
I had success.
Here's maybe some other, you know, casestudies, right, friends of mine that have made
(03:21):
it in another way and to deliver that.
Love that, you know, a a music educator who'swell educated, not just from the school, but
you you've lived the career as well.
And I feel like that's not always the case.
Yeah.
I would agree.
You know, over eighteen years being a DJ, doingremixes, performing.
So it could be as even as basic as just makingsure you're getting all your royalties both
(03:45):
domestically and internationally.
A lot of artists don't know about that, whetherit be through Songtrust, Soundexchange, the
MLC.
Then the whole concept of synchronization,getting your music into movies, films, video
games, is pretty new to some artists.
They they know about it, but they don't reallyunderstand it.
And then we get into the merch game,communicating with your fans.
Like, there's so much to it.
(04:06):
And now, as you said, like, I grew up I'm alittle older than you.
I grew up in the area of, like, buyingcassettes and CDs.
But now music has been devalued so much, it'salmost for free.
You can listen to everything for free onYouTube, so it's really marketing.
Really, you're streaming and your songs aremarketing.
You want people to come into your community,whether it be through a podcast, you know, or,
like, a Patreon, things like that, buy yourmerch, sign up for your subscription, and to
(04:30):
just continue to come see you when you're outon tour.
Those are kind of the keys in the short term.
The long term would be like you're publishing,getting that money to pay you, you know,
mailbox money as we call it.
Right.
And I don't know how much of that is.
I mean, obviously, there's still some outthere, but it it's far and few between.
There's no radio hits really anymore thatyou're I I worked with a gentleman who did Tom
(04:53):
Petty's first two records for Shelter Records,and he didn't get his name on the record,
because the guy you know, the record exec kindatook the producer name, but he gave him the
royalties.
And for decades, this man is collecting a checkevery now and then.
Right?
Because, you know, these these songs are stillhitting the airwaves.
Right?
(05:13):
But that's not really a possibility these days,and I think any musician who's in the game
realizes that streaming isn't going to payreally anyone's bills anytime soon.
So it's exactly what you kinda touched on atthe beginning there is it's about building a
community around your art.
Right?
And then letting that community kind of investinto you through merch and ticket sales and,
(05:37):
you know, maybe you're writing a book, yourmemoirs.
I I think a lot of artists these days can takecan take a model from the biggest acts in the
world and what they've done and to just do thesame thing.
Now will you run the same numbers?
Probably not.
But we don't not all of us need those numbersto maintain the lifestyle that we want to live.
I don't think many artists these days arechasing the, you know, the rock star lifestyle.
(06:02):
They just wanna get to stay on the road,essentially.
I agree.
I agree.
You could follow, like, Kevin Kelly's model,the 1,000 true fans.
If you can get a thousand people to spend a$100 a year on your merch, your product, your
community, that's a $100,000.
And that's a good way of living.
You can build from there, do other things.
That's kind of the model that I really speakfrom and the philosophy I really like to
(06:25):
promote.
And, you know, like you said, some of thebiggest artists, like, we'll look at, like, a
Taylor Swift.
She's written a book.
So that's that shows you just how you can dothat.
There are other artists who have phenomenalmerchandise, things like that.
So it's just what can you do to keep people inyour community and to try to monetize it that
way?
And I think it's hard for a lot, especiallyfans, to realize that Taylor Swift started out
(06:48):
essentially as one of us.
Right?
She was a young girl with a dream.
I I follow her former manager, Rick Barker,quite a bit.
And Mhmm.
And that's kind of so when I got out of prisonin 2018, it was obvious that the world had
changed.
Right?
I I did two years in prison and was kind ofcoming out to one of a new life.
(07:09):
Right?
I I was not going to be doing the things I wasbefore, mainly, you know, selling drugs at the
parties we were throwing in.
You know?
Like, that I wasn't going back to that.
I'm sure as a DJ, you can relate to plenty ofpeople around the scene in DC that that that
was the model.
Right?
You know?
Oh, we're gonna throw rave so we can sell thedrugs to the kids at the party, And, like,
that's how you made mute that's how you mademoney in the music business.
(07:31):
Mhmm.
And, obviously, that's not tenable nor is it avery great place to live in, you know, from a,
you know, a moral standpoint.
And I think that following that model of, like,just go find the people that love you and keep
investing in those people.
Keep inviting those people further and furtherinto your world.
(07:53):
And things like Patreon can be so influentialand such a great.
Maybe it's not providing that lifestyle, butit's providing a a foundation, right, of that
monthly subscription coming in that might paythe rent.
Right?
So, I think it's great what you're doing.
I can't wait to read the book.
I'll need a copy of that to put on the displayback here
(08:15):
and
and tell all of our our other artists.
So, obviously, you just released the book backin February, pushing that very hard.
Is there I mean, obviously, we're trying to,you know, teach, teach artists how to make
money.
But is there a central theme to the book thatis that is more than the money?
(08:36):
Yeah.
The theme to the book is just the history of rand b groups.
So we started in the nineteen fifties and go tothe mid two thousands.
We identify about 10 or 11 groups per decadethat were the top groups based on Grammy
nominations and wins, record sales, notableperformances, and billboard hot 100 hits.
So we go through the entire chronology of allof the groups, then the last 20% is what
(08:59):
happened to the groups, why they disappear, andwhat's gonna happen next.
So that's kind of the theme, takes you througha journey.
You understand some stories.
You'll learn from artists about how they, youknow, had issues with the record label or group
dynamics caused them to break apart or, youknow, drugs were a big part of how they
declined, but also some of them were reallycreative.
And, like, earth, wind, and fire was able toreally create, you know, memorable shows that
(09:21):
still to this day have been unmet.
And so that's kind of the theme.
What what it's about takes you on a journey.
There's lots of songs in there, playlist, andthat's the book.
Yeah.
Oh, man.
Music fans are gonna love this one.
I think we all crave that a little bit behindthe curtain.
Right?
That's why shows like Behind the Music on VHone way back in the day were so successful.
(09:44):
In some ways, that's what this network and thisthis program specifically, the Scene Projects,
is really about is letting you kinda meet thepeople behind the art, right, and giving you a
little glimpse into that because, it's notalways easy to, to get the whole story just in
the art.
Had a really interesting conversation todaywith a, dancer turned choreographer turned
(10:08):
author herself now.
And it's like, wow.
You know, you got this whole journey, but forpeople just watching you perform one time, they
build a totally different story in their mindof who you are, and that was so so interesting
to me.
So love that.
Not only are you doing that, you know, foryourself, obviously, you probably have ways for
(10:29):
your fans to engage with you, but also showinga little bit of the history of where we've come
from and how we got here is so important.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I agree.
Just the history is good, the knowledge, andthen another part is, like, just the samples.
So samples are really a big part of, like, hiphop, but most of the samples come from, like, r
(10:50):
and b music and other music.
And so to share with some of our youngerviewers and younger fans where this music is
coming from is also very educational.
It really, really makes me feel happy also.
Yeah.
And and especially as a DJ, do you find thatsomehow you've become, like, an archivist of
the good music so you can introduce the youngergenerations
to it?
(11:10):
Yeah.
I like the way you put that.
An archivist, a curator, those are two goodwords to kinda say just to share.
Here's what's hot now, but maybe here's wherethey where it came from, where they got a
sample from or the lyrics and stuff.
So just a little education here and there.
But we have love for the new music, but we havelove for the older classics as well.
Yeah.
And I think in this day and age, I mean,obviously, early hip hop, late eighties,
(11:34):
nineties, you know, Dre's samples was pullingall from that funk and r and b sound that, I I
mean, I wasn't familiar with the music.
I've been you know, I was I was kind of a babyin the early nineties when this music was
popular.
But now as my taste have expanded and I'mlistening back to some of the hip hop from
there, I'm like, oh, that's where that camefrom.
(11:54):
Oh, that's where that came from.
So I think your book's a really cool dive intothat.
Really can't wait to dig into the pages.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Thank you.
I agree.
It's just, it's a great curation of all thishistory of music as well as the ode to the
future.
And I think, you know, your listeners and yourcommunity is gonna really enjoy it because it's
you can't read it all, like, in one sitting.
(12:15):
You have to keep coming back to it, listen tosomething, kinda kinda analyze it for yourself,
and go from there.
Yeah.
Did you make a Spotify playlist that goes alongwith with everything?
There's a Spotify playlist and a YouTubeplaylist that talks about my favorite songs.
It's kinda one playlist, and then my favoritesamples that I mentioned in the book and other
ones.
So you have, like, two different ways you canlisten to it.
(12:37):
The Spotify favorite songs, Spotify samples,and then the same thing is on YouTube.
Oh, that's so cool.
What a what an interactive way to just reallyimmerse yourself in this book and into the
songs.
Right?
And remembering what music made us feel like.
Mhmm.
And you kinda touched on the top that I we knowwe're listening to AI music at this point.
(13:00):
It it's been devalued so much, and we need toremember what it did for us.
And I think on some levels, me, as a songwriterand musician, a lot of times need that, that
refresher, right, of, you know, music is ispowerful, powerful stuff, and it deserves
better than what it's been given the lastdecade, really.
(13:22):
And I think we're finding our way.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I think, a lot of people ask me my opinions on,like, AI music and what are my thoughts.
I don't think like, this is my opinion.
Like, AI hasn't gone through heartbreak.
They haven't go gone through, you know, theloss of a parent suddenly.
They haven't gone through maybe you the feelingthat you miss when you're away from home for
(13:42):
multiple years.
So even if an AI artist is singing or making asong, it's not gonna have that feeling, that
soul within the song.
In addition, some of the greatest songs inhistory have lots of imperfections throughout
the song.
Look at, like, a Jimi Hendrix when he playedthe guitar.
He did crazy things that people hadn't reallythought of before.
(14:03):
And so at first, people thought he was crazy,then it's, like, legendary.
When someone sings a song, maybe it's CelineDion, and she sings a song, and maybe she's off
key because she gets so emotional singing aboutthe song, or her voice breaks in a a certain
part of the song, like, you can't program AI todo that.
And those are the parts of the song that welove the most, the imperfections.
So I think that as much as people try to use AIto create music, it's the imperfections that we
(14:27):
love, and it's very hard to predict orduplicate that using an AI artist.
Well and even, you know, studio techniques,because we've moved from, you know, analog tape
and that you only had a certain amount of tape.
Right?
Like, you better go in there and deliver theperformance of your life.
Now with techniques like comping, where yeah.
I watched a short bit with Billie Eilish onetime, and she's like, yeah.
(14:50):
This take is, like, a 197 takes, and we tookthe best little moments from all these things.
And it's just like, but doesn't that rule?
Like, you're such a soulful person too.
Right?
Like, I feel like I I know I'm not a hugeBillie Eilish fan, but what I've seen from her
is, like, you're a very deep individual.
Why would you kind of want to degrade thatperformance that you delivered by going and
(15:11):
dissecting and chopping it up.
And, I understand that, you know, we're we'reseeking perfection, but it's just I don't know
that that's how you get there.
And maybe that's because I was raised on theGrateful Dead and and, like, live music is the
best.
Right?
Right.
And I'm just coming from a different era ofmusic, right, than what these young children,
you know, kids, I call them, right, these 20now
(15:33):
Yeah.
Are doing.
Even if she's using comping, it's all gonnashow up when she's singing live.
When she's singing live, she's gonna have tosing it as it is, and maybe she pauses.
Maybe her voice breaks.
But in the live performances is where I say,like, the chickens come on the roost, people
and love her.
So they're gonna love her live shows whether orshe's singing everything perfectly or their
imperfections.
(15:54):
So no matter what you do in the studio, when itcomes to a live performance, that's when it's
gonna show up.
Well and maybe it's I mean, Billie Eilish is avery young woman.
And now she's been in this huge nationalspotlight.
So maybe it's, you know, just experience.
And with experience that she's going to evolvein that way to say, no.
I wanna go bare bones, and maybe they'rerecording on actual tape again in in the
(16:17):
future.
And I look at an artist like a, Miley Cyrus whokinda did that with her album Malibu and really
brought it back and kinda got a little moreraw.
And I think sometimes age and experience arethe only things that can teach you that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I mean, Malibu, I think Flowers was onthat album, if I recall correctly.
And that's, like, that was song of the year, Iwanna say.
(16:39):
That one you've got nominated many awards, andthat's a great song.
I mean, with the beat, the lyrics, like, sheknocked that one out of the park, and that's
good that she went back to being more rawbecause she did that, and you see the results.
And she's got a classic song now.
Man, I am so thankful we got to have a littleconversation today because these are these are
topics I don't get to talk about a lot in mysmall town.
(17:02):
And, you know, nobody's in my industry.
That that was really the impetus for startingthe scene projects was to connect mostly with
Midwest artists because I feel like in flyovercountry here, nobody's coming to cover us.
Anyway.
We don't have a lot of weekly arts magazineslike that, but the conversations I've been able
to have with other artists and people from allover the country and all over the world has
(17:26):
just been an absolute blessing.
Amani, do do you have your own podcast at all?
I do.
I do a podcast called Adventures in Business.
It's with my cohost and great friend, MannyGraziano, and we talk to people who primarily
work in, like, the hospitality industry,speaking, and we kinda get to know them, get
advice, wisdom, and we do that every week.
(17:46):
Usually, it's live, 4PM on the East Coast, 1PMon the West, and then it goes out to a podcast
after that.
So that's the podcast that, I work oncurrently.
And we've we're just celebrating about threeyears, 200 episodes.
Awesome.
Awesome, man.
I just love it.
You got such great insights into the musicbusiness and to music in general.
(18:07):
So thankful that we got to get together todayand have a little conversation.
Let you go ahead and plug any, you know,website where we can find the book and
everything before I let you get out of here.
Yeah.
If if anyone an artist is listening to ourconversation and they really wanna take the
next step to get to the next level with theirmusic, they can go to amaniexperience.com
backslash call.
I give a free thirty minute call.
(18:27):
We can talk about your music, your art, andthat's the best way to reach me.
Well, Amani, thanks for coming on the showtoday, and I wanna thank you for being part of
the scene.
Awesome.
Thank you very much for having me.
It was a great conversation.
And everybody else, make sure you're liking theshow, following us everywhere, and we'll see
you next time.
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