In this episode of Braving Business, we sit down with Marcus "Bellringer" Bell, an award-winning music producer, entrepreneur, and AI visionary who has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Nicki Minaj and Snoop Dogg. With over a billion streams to his name, Marcus has left an undeniable mark on the music world—but he’s not stopping there.
After losing his voice during a critical recording session in 2023, Marcus turned to Artificial Intelligence to complete his project, unknowingly sparking an entirely new chapter in his career. That experiment led to Ravyn Lyte, the world's first photorealistic AI music artist, whose music is designed in collaboration with neuroscientists to promote peace and healing.
Marcus has never been afraid to push boundaries, from pioneering new music genres to writing his Amazon #1 bestseller, The Bellringer Branding Bible, which helps artists build wealth and amplify their impact. Now, through Bellringer Productions, he’s fusing music, technology, and purpose in ways we’ve never seen before.
In this episode, we cover:
- How Marcus went from a child prodigy to a powerhouse in the music industry.
- The moment he lost his voice—and how it led to the birth of an AI music artist.
- Why AI isn’t the death of creativity, but the next evolution of it.
- The biggest branding mistakes artists make and how to build an authentic, profitable brand.
- His vision for Ravyn Lyte and how she’s redefining the future of music.
Marcus’s journey is one of relentless reinvention, proving that setbacks can be the gateway to something bigger and bolder than we ever imagined.
Key Takeaways:
- AI and music aren’t competing forces—AI can enhance human creativity when used with purpose.
- Obstacles often lead to the greatest breakthroughs—if you have the right mindset.
- Artists today need more than talent—they need a business strategy and a brand that resonates.
Connect with Marcus Bell:
- Instagram: @bellringermusic
Contact Us: Visit www.bravingbusiness.com for more information, resources, and episodes.
Marcus Bell’s journey is proof that the best innovations come from the most unexpected challenges. Tune in to hear his insights, experiences, and predictions for the future of music and AI.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey there, I'm Tals Lotnitsky from Ignite IT Consulting.
(00:05):
You know me from the Braving Business podcast, but when I'm not behind the mic, I'm helping
tech startups and established companies ignite their full potential.
I also help entrepreneurs and businesses in distress reset for success.
With over three decades of entrepreneurial success, I bring hands-on experience to drive
growth, navigate turnarounds, raise capital, and lead to innovation.
(00:28):
Whether it's executive coaching or strategic transformation, I'm here to turn your business
challenges into success stories.
Visit igniteitconsulting.com and let's spark that change together.
That's igniteitconsulting.com.
Your journey to business brilliance starts now.
And one last quick thing.
(00:49):
If you enjoyed this episode, please stay on after the show to learn more about the Braving
Business podcast and other great episodes for you to discover.
And now, let's get the show started.
(01:14):
Well hello there.
Hey there, what do you got on your shirt?
I can't tell.
It looks like somebody's head.
Oh, come on, come on.
John Candy, this is iconic.
Iconic.
It is?
Oh, please.
It doesn't look like John Candy.
Marcus, do you know who this is?
You know this reference?
I don't.
You're blocking one of the words.
It's Wally World.
(01:35):
Wally World.
Yours says Wally World and mine says affluential.
I like that.
What's affluential?
What does that stand for?
A wealthy, powerful, and socially, what does it say?
Stand up.
I can't see.
There we go.
And socially influential impactor who inspires the actions of others.
I love that.
Okay.
See, his is very swivel.
(01:55):
I love that.
Mine is the reference to National Lampoon's movie Vacation where they go all the way across
to go to Wally World.
That's their big vacation and they get there and John Candy's there and he's like, sorry,
folks, park's closed.
That's the shirt.
Got you.
And mine is from me studying a lot of language and being in a gym and someone coming up to
(02:17):
me every time I was in the gym saying, oh, did you go to USC?
Did you go to Harvard?
Did you go to this or some random t-shirt that someone gave me?
And I was like, you know what?
I'm going to make my own t-shirts that have words that have meaning.
And so affluential comes from that.
That's awesome.
Nice.
(02:38):
I love that.
This man makes t-shirt, PJ.
We have struggled to make t-shirts.
We have made pledges of t-shirts and we've been requested to sell t-shirts and it hasn't
worked out.
Oh, so you mean now with AI.
That is true.
I wonder if we're going to talk about AI at all.
There's a man knowing how to plug where he goes, although his AI is very different than
(02:59):
selling shirts.
But you know what?
Let's not belabor it.
Let's introduce our amazing guest and get going.
All right.
Well, today, folks, we have the wonderful Mr. Marcus Bellringer Bell, who is a true
trailblazer blending his extraordinary achievements in music with pioneering achievements in artificial
intelligence, just as we were talking about AI.
(03:22):
As an award-winning music producer, Marcus has amassed over a billion music streams collaborating
with global icons like Nicki Minaj and Snoop Dogg through his company Bellringer Productions.
His work spans platforms from HBO to McDonald's, leaving an indelible mark on the global music
scene.
In 2023, Marcus faced a personal and professional challenge when he lost his voice during a
(03:44):
recording session.
Refusing to let the setback hold him back, he turned to AI to clone his voice and to
complete his project.
This pivotal moment sparked a new passion for harnessing AI's potential to revolutionize
creative expression, leading to the creation of his groundbreaking photorealistic AI musical
artist, Raven Light.
(04:05):
Beyond musical production, Marcus is an author and an educator.
His Amazon number one bestseller, Bellringer Branding Bible, empowers artists with actionable
strategies to build wealth and amplify their impact.
From his roots in Norfolk, Virginia, to the global stage, Marcus continues to inspire
innovation and reimagine the possibilities of technology and creativity.
(04:28):
Marcus, we are honored to have you on the Braving Business Podcast.
So happy to be here with you all.
Thank you, Marcus.
And wow, what an introduction.
Our team does an incredible job coming up with a summary of people's lives and careers.
And yours has been incredible.
What it doesn't say is that you actually started as a child prodigy.
(04:49):
You compose music at eight, you're running your own record label at 12.
I'm chuckling because it's just, it's amusing.
Looking back, talk to us about what sparked that kind of early ambition and how that evolved
into the work and the man that you are today.
Well, my parents discovered that I was a child music prodigy.
(05:13):
When I was two years old, I was in front of the piano, my grandmother's piano that they
had brought to the house.
And usually two year olds will bang on a piano.
In my case, apparently, I walked over to the piano and intentionally pressed down the keys
one by one.
(05:35):
And they said, oh, well, let's try them in piano lessons.
And that is where that started.
And I basically got trained in classical music and then shifted into jazz music.
And then I started songwriting in pop music.
At the same time, I was doing a lot of performing.
(05:55):
So I was acting, singing, dancing, and had been in some TV shows and some movies and
things like that.
But with the songwriting, I realized that I had this opportunity to reach people, to
impact people, to have the things that I cared about or that I thought were important be
(06:18):
communicated to others.
And I had some mentors at the time that became my first investors in my record label when
I was 12.
And the Virginia Opera had put me on tour to do a one man show where I was doing all
the things.
So I was playing the saxophone and tap dancing and performing some original material and
(06:41):
acting and so forth.
And because I was in front of hundreds of thousands of kids on this tour, I said, you
know what?
I need to be putting out music because this is going to be an audience.
Maybe I could sell some music with this audience.
And that started my entrepreneurial journey.
(07:02):
That's brilliant.
What was the name of your first music label?
It was Soul Original.
Ring of Bell Records.
You know what?
What's the saying?
Shake what your mama gave you?
I mean, you know you had Bell.
You know, might as well ring them.
(07:24):
That's right.
That's right.
That's what it is.
That's incredible.
And actually it was foreshadowing what my producer name would end up being.
Bell Ringer.
Bell Ringer.
Yeah.
Very cool.
Very cool.
So you start out in Norfolk, Virginia, and then you go to the global stage.
Obviously, your journey is remarkable.
(07:47):
What is one lesson from your upbringing that still influences the way that you approach
your music today?
The first thing that comes to mind is mentorship.
And there are many ways to have mentorship and to gain specialized knowledge from others
that are experts in other areas.
(08:07):
So I mentioned my mentors when I was 12 being my first investors, and I didn't know what
I was doing.
My father wasn't around when I was that age.
And basically my mother was smart.
She started reaching out to people that she would read about in a newspaper or see on
(08:27):
television and ask them to mentor me.
And so there was like the head of the family channel.
There was executives and African-American men in different positions of influence.
And that taught me that, wow, you could have mentorship in many different ways.
(08:50):
So they were kind of my business, my early business mentors, even though they didn't
know the music industry.
And then later I saw, oh, well, it makes sense to have a mentor that specializes in wealth
building or it makes sense to have a mentor that specializes in marketing or sales or
(09:10):
so in that those mentors can show up with direct personal relationships, but it can
also show up in the form of books or content that you find on YouTube or podcasts.
And so there are many different ways to be mentored.
And so right now, earlier today, I was in a meeting with someone that is very well known
(09:31):
in the art world.
And in that meeting, we talked about the importance of art in capturing culture.
And I saw new things about the role of not pop music, but fine art and the capacity for
(09:54):
music to impact the thinking of people of influence that buy fine art.
And so he doesn't realize it, but he's now my fine art mentor, right?
Because that's kind of how I've learned and been able to develop specialized knowledge
(10:15):
in different areas and become a polymath as a result.
It's fascinating.
And I also at this point in my life am invested in mentorship.
I've always cared about that.
I was generally a young CEO and I was too young to really mentor people.
But at this stage of my career, I'm mentoring actively both college students and people
(10:39):
in high school.
And it is incredible.
You don't have to be Marcus Bell to have an impact on people's lives.
It's great that you do that, Marcus.
But I believe that just about anyone that has a lived experience and is willing to take
some time to get to know particularly children who are in a position where they perhaps are
(11:04):
missing some guidance in their lives that perhaps your children, our children have.
I think it's such a beautiful thing.
You have worked with legends, many of them, again, over a billion music streams as a music
producer, a billion with a B, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg.
(11:27):
I'd love it if you could share a moment with either one of them that shaped your approach.
Or in general, tell us how does one get to, from the beginnings you got to, to a stage
where you are working with names that just about every human being on the planet knows?
(11:48):
There are a few different things that come to mind with that.
But I want to circle back real quick to the mentorship thing, because one of the things
that I realized that I needed along my journey was mentorship around business and finances
(12:09):
and building wealth and how do you make an impact as you gain more influence in the world.
And so as I started to acquire that specialized knowledge, I started to create programs to
support others as well.
So I'm a strong believer in being able to pass specialized knowledge on to others to
(12:32):
ease their journey, to provide guidance and clarity and direction.
And so as it relates to working with brands and seeing something go from an idea to becoming
known by millions of people or billions of people, I see it as a creative process.
(13:00):
I see business as a creative process, just like music is a creative process, just as
gaining notoriety and visibility in a marketplace as a creative process.
That process being clear on what it is that you're doing, your aim, being able to understand
(13:22):
who the audience is for that thing, being able to capture the value in a way that can
spread, finding distribution outlets for that value to be communicated, whether that's a
book, whether that's a song, whether that's a t-shirt, or whether that's whatever, a product,
(13:46):
service, offer, message, movement, and then gaining consensus from enough people that
say, you know, this is valuable, that they would be able to exchange money or attention
for that.
And so that process is one that I support people with, but is one that I observe across
(14:10):
industries.
And that's one of the things that I've picked up along the way as I've looked at, well,
what does it mean to have impact?
What does it mean to build something that can sustain over time?
So let me ask a follow up on that and then to tie that back to my question.
So again, given your beginning, it's amazing what you've just shared is so valuable and
(14:36):
I'm going to go back and re-listen to it because I think it's a darn good point.
The creativity in art is just another form of creativity and it exists in business.
It absolutely does.
Just about every business is a work of art of some kind.
So that's a really interesting, and I'd never thought of it in those terms, so I love that
and I want to reflect on that.
Tie that back to me to, okay, you're meeting artists at some point in their careers.
(14:59):
I don't know where Nicki Minaj was or Snoop Dogg when you met them.
Were they already well known?
Were they not?
What is it that you notice about an artist or much as you would a business, right?
That tells you, you know what?
There's something here.
There's something potentially very valuable behind that person or business.
It started from being an artist.
(15:21):
So we can recognize in others what's inside of us.
So the thing that we appreciate and love about someone, name anybody, and what you love about
them, you can only see that in them because that lives inside of you, right?
(15:41):
And so I see artists that I work with and business owners or CEOs that I may collaborate
with or people that go, they are extensions of me.
And so as extensions of me, then there's not a separation of possibility, right?
(16:06):
So I'm relating to them as, well, wow, I want to make sure that this song is in the right
key so that when you have to perform this every single night, when this thing is a hit,
that it doesn't harm your voice, right?
Because me as a performer, if I know I'm going to have to hit that note, maybe I don't want
(16:31):
to put things in jeopardy in that way, right?
And so coming from an early background of performing has really helped me to understand
and be able to communicate and allow for expression to happen.
So with some of the bigger artists that I've worked with or that have used my music or
(16:57):
that I've written for or it's been varied learnings, for example, I learned how to produce
hip hop from Jam Master Jay from Run DMC.
I was in Boston, I had graduated Berkeley College of Music and Jay called me one day
(17:22):
and said, is this Marcus Bell?
The bell ringer?
And I was like, yeah, who's this?
He's like, it's Jam Master Jay.
Hey, man, I'm a fan of your music.
I've been listening to this song that you did on, it was an unknown artist.
I hadn't had any hits or anything like that, right?
So I was like, is somebody pranking me?
(17:44):
He's like, man, that song that you did, I listened to that on repeat.
I got your information from my cousin who had played it for me.
I'd love for you to come to New York and work with me.
I just got a deal with Virgin Records and I want to put you on everything.
Wow.
(18:04):
Right?
And so I'm in a studio with him and I'm watching his process, right?
I'm watching how he was taking at that time a group of rappers from New York and made
them sound like they were from Atlanta.
(18:25):
And the ghost writing process behind that and all of that.
And then I also learned a major lesson because the night that he was murdered happened to
be a night that I wasn't in the studio with him.
That's both a bane and a blessing, right?
(18:47):
That's heavy.
Yeah.
And so I had this feeling that I should go to Virginia that day.
And I didn't understand why until I got the call, hey, bell ringer, where are you at right
now?
I'm like, I'm in Virginia.
Shae just got shot, right?
(19:10):
So one of the things that I learned from that was that no matter how impactful someone is,
no matter how sweet they are, it was my first time really experiencing grief, right?
(19:30):
Because he was just the sweetest guy.
And he was so generous in bringing me kind of into a part of his world.
But what I recognized in that was that sometimes there's parts of people's worlds that aren't
revealed until later.
(19:51):
And that could be a good thing or that could be a tragic thing.
Yeah.
There's so many...
Okay, sorry.
You shared so much that I'm just trying to soak it all in.
First of all, there is no grief without love.
So for you to be able to share that with Jay is amazing.
(20:14):
And to have that access to such an amazing artist and performer at that time is fantastic.
And what a testament to you that he sought you out.
And you were not at the same popularity level, clearly, as he was at that time.
(20:38):
But for him to recognize your brilliance and what you can bring to the table and how he
said, I want to flow with this guy, I think is just a testament to yourself and fantastic.
And it's also amazing how fate kind of intersects our lives.
Fate for you to not only meet with him and to share those experiences with him and grow
(21:02):
with him in musicality and everything, but also to be spared.
Not only for your own personal safety, but also being spared watching...
Being a part of that entire scene when it happened is also a blessing in disguise.
(21:22):
So I want to say that it absolutely was a golden moment in my life because in that moment,
there was a lot of deaths happening in the hip hop world.
And I decided, okay, I'm cool on hip hop for now.
(21:43):
And so I went to Nashville and started working in country music.
I started traveling the world, doing projects in India and Japan.
So I had like a hit, a K-pop hit.
I had a number two in India.
I ended up going to Turkey.
So I said, you know what, the world is big.
(22:04):
And so I want to expand my horizons until it's time to come back to hip hop.
And so I had that kind of epiphany that, wow, this could be something that could stop me
or it could propel me in new ways.
(22:28):
So we're going to talk about, you know, propelling your new ways in a second.
I want to call out for those of you that listen to our podcast regularly, a theme that you've
heard so many times, a setback, you know, some significant challenges.
And as opposed to tucking tail and, you know, calling it a day or moving in a different
(22:52):
direction, Marcus pivoted, but inside, right?
He didn't give up.
He pivoted.
He saw an opportunity to redirect.
And I think that that's a sign of strength.
And as we've seen repeatedly from guests on the show, it's that beyond all other things
that separates successful people from less successful people, it's resilience.
(23:14):
It's the opportunity to show oneself and the world that even when facing significant challenges,
you can persevere.
That moment where you choose to persevere is the first step on your path to success.
It may not happen overnight.
Success is not an overnight thing, but being persistent and choosing to stick it out is
(23:36):
what every successful person does.
Without that, there is no success.
So I just want to call that out.
Let's talk about, you know, brand new horizons if we can.
Sure, go ahead.
Yeah, I'd like to respond to what that comment that just shared.
One of the key elements to being able to persist and be unstoppable inside of any endeavor is
(24:02):
a connection to something bigger, a connection to what my friend Dan Burris, who's a futurist
and public speaker, likes to call the bigger big.
And when you're connected to a bigger big, then how that gets expressed may take different
(24:24):
forms.
So that desire that I had when I was a kid to create music that would actually help people,
that would give people access to happiness, give people access to a change of mood or
a change of state, right, that the humanist in me, right?
(24:48):
Hip-hop was just one expression.
Country, rock, EDM, those are just expressions.
Music was just an expression.
Courses is an expression now.
AI and how I'm using AI as a tool is another expression of a bigger big, which is to raise
(25:11):
consciousness, to uplift humanity.
And so as I connect myself with that bigger big, then how that rolls out and gets expressed
can go through ups and downs.
It could take many different shapes and forms.
Wow.
(25:32):
I love that.
And I think it's, yeah, I mean, it's insightful and I wholeheartedly agree with that.
Let's talk about some of the very significant career defining moments that you've had, including
you lost your voice.
You're in a recording session, you lose your voice.
I cannot imagine what that must have been like.
You know, it's think about if you're a left-handed pitcher and suddenly you break your left arm.
(25:58):
What went through your mind in that moment and how did you go from there to AI?
Okay, let me give a couple of pieces of context.
So I've been using AI for about 15 years now in different ways, right?
(26:18):
And when the first AI music tools came out, one was a mastering software called Lander
and that came out about 11 years ago.
The first day that it came out, I was using it.
The studio session that I was in when I lost my voice was part of me doing a hundred songs
(26:41):
in a hundred days.
So I had taken on doing challenges over the years.
And so I would create an aim and then get after that aim within a hundred day timeframe.
Is this like a personal one?
Like I'm just challenging myself or do you have a companion that you're saying, all right,
(27:05):
I'm going to do it in a hundred days.
You're going to try it.
You know what I mean?
Like, are you doing it with someone or just by yourself?
Great question.
I used to do it by myself and then I introduced it to a group that my kind of flagship course
is called Wealth and Impact Bootcamp.
And during COVID, I had challenged them to do a hundred day challenge and select something
(27:30):
of importance and get after it for a hundred days, put in a consequence, pair up with someone
for accountability.
And I just kind of gave the structure.
And at the end of a hundred days, I came back and I said, how did it go?
(27:51):
And the testimonials that people gave me were incredible.
Someone has stopped playing music and they started doing music again.
Someone had quit their job and started a new career.
Over and over there was person after person saying, hey, this really impacted me greatly.
(28:17):
And then someone came on and said, can I go to the press about this?
Like it's been that significant.
And I said, you know what, hold on a second.
Let me think about this because this was a private group.
And I was like, okay, do I want to go to the press?
Do I want to be known as a hundred days guy?
Right?
(28:37):
In the world.
And then I woke up one morning and I said, you know what?
They're right.
This needs to be out in public.
And so we launched a public hundred days impact challenge that people can sign up for.
It's still live, so people can go in and do it.
And basically people that sign up for the hundred days impact challenge basically get
(29:02):
a video from me every single day, a text message every single day.
There's a community of support and all of that.
And so I had never done a music hundred days challenge before.
And I had been threatening to do that.
And I decided to do that at the beginning of 2023.
(29:23):
And midstream I lost my voice.
And I said, okay.
And because I was public about my challenge, it wasn't like, okay, well, I'll just pause
the challenge until I get my voice back or anything like that.
I believe again, and being unstoppable and being persistent and finding a way to make
(29:45):
it happen, right?
To pivot.
And so I said, well, there are all these AI tools that are out.
Let me start doing some deep dive into the audio tools.
And I found a way to clone my speaking voice.
And I ended up doing 10 songs in that hundred days challenge using my AI clone voice doing
(30:08):
meditations.
And actually those meditations have been one of the most popular set of songs in those
100 songs on YouTube right now.
And that is what had me say, wait a minute, there is an AI revolution that's happening
right now.
And this is not just a force multiplier for productivity, but what else can happen with
(30:38):
this?
So as opposed to having fear about it, I got really curious about what's possible.
And that drove me deep into the AI rabbit hole where I was eating, drinking, sleeping,
became a prompt engineer, became an AI technologist, took about 40 courses on it, created books
(31:00):
and songs and characters and et cetera.
Wow.
Yeah.
So cool and so interesting that you delved into AI with such robustness, especially given
that a lot of people in the creative space think that it can really hurt them rather
(31:22):
than help them.
So I have two questions.
One, when you said that you were using AI to help, you had recorded your voice, you
had 10 songs that were done.
And this is where I'm assuming this is kind of how you launched Raven.
When you say that AI emulated your voice, did you have like a bunch of recordings of
your voice and then AI would manipulate it?
(31:44):
Or did you use AI to create brand new your voice for her?
Does that make sense?
Okay, great.
I had a recording of me doing affirmations from years before, because in order to train
a Marcus Behringer model, voice model, I needed to have enough of my voice speaking or singing
(32:11):
to actually train the model.
And so I had this recording of affirmations that I had done that was about 35 minutes
long and which ended up ironically being exactly the amount to train a good voice model of
(32:33):
my voice.
And so I chopped up that 35 minutes into pieces and used that to train a Marcus Behringer
voice model.
And then I was using a bunch of different platforms to accomplish this.
And then I ended up with 11 Labs was the AI platform that I ended up using to do the majority
(33:01):
of it.
And so I trained a model and then basically I was able to type in the affirmations and
the meditations that I had created and it outputted my speaking voice.
I took that speaking voice and then I created music around it.
And so that was my process.
(33:21):
That's very cool.
So, all right, so let's talk about AI, specifically AI within your realm, the music industry.
As a pioneer using AI to revolutionize music, and I'll tell you why I'm interested in this,
not only just in general, but also my wife is a creative, she's an author, AI is a big
(33:42):
fear in the author realm, right?
Like it's just words on paper and AI can do that.
Where do you see the intersection of human creativity and artificial intelligence heading
in the next five years?
I'm living it now.
And Raven light is one example of that being lived out.
(34:06):
And basically I had this insight as I went into all of these different spaces of the
large language models and the audio models and the video models and the image generation
models.
So I had been creating NFTs with mid journey, the day mid journey came out.
(34:26):
I have a friend of mine that was an engineer involved in that project and she had reached
out to me and said, Mark, you got to check out this image creation tool that's coming
out.
So I was early on that.
And as a futurist, not just in music, but just kind of like a futurist, I'm always looking
at what the future is.
(34:47):
And the best way to know the future is to be a part of the creation of it, right?
And so I looked at Raven light as a possibility of creating a recording artist that stood
for something greater than just the music.
(35:09):
So Raven light is an advocate for mental health and wellbeing.
I teamed up with some neuroscientists and learn how to integrate inside of Raven lights
music sounds and tones and frequencies that actually help people.
(35:29):
The project has evolved since July in so many important ways.
For example, there's a voice model of Raven light.
So a friend of mine that actually was a participant in one of my programs, she is the voice of
(35:51):
Raven light and so she loaned her voice to be the voice of Raven light.
And so when Raven light talks, it's really the sound of her voice, right?
And we've been able to have Raven light accept telephone calls so you can call her and have
(36:11):
a conversation.
And when the hurricanes happened last year, basically someone had started spreading her
telephone number and people were calling Raven light to just help them through a difficult
time.
And so here's where the human plus technology comes together for good, right?
(36:38):
Out of the Raven light project, we've partnered up with a nonprofit that supports musicians
and kids in underserved communities and learning how to play instruments.
And so profits from Raven lights project actually go and support that nonprofit called the arts
academy.
That's cool.
Let's go backwards.
(36:59):
I think we glossed over a really important part, which is that you lost your voice and
that led you to some discovery.
So it's a great moment and a great teaching moment because here you are, something that
is critical to your success is taken away from you.
(37:19):
And again, you don't talk tail, you persevere and you find an alternative.
And that eventually leads you to Raven light, which I have so many questions about.
But before we go there, what went through your head?
You lost your voice.
Did you immediately in your mind go, okay, it's just, I need to find another solution
or did you freak out?
(37:42):
It was very challenging.
Sure.
I love that I stumped you.
That's awesome.
Well, I wanted to use the right word.
Right, right.
Right.
That captures it because it's not just the singing and performing, but I use my voice
(38:03):
to support so many people.
Right.
I have a nine year old daughter.
So losing the voice, it's not just, oh, I can't sing songs from a hundred days challenge.
Right.
It's now, it's difficult for me to communicate to my nine year old.
(38:27):
Now it's difficult for me to lead a webinar, right, with people that have paid money to
learn from me and be able to support them powerfully.
Right.
And et cetera.
And so in that moment of challenge there for me, once I make a commitment towards something,
(38:55):
I'm all in on it.
And again, one of my words is unstoppable.
Right.
And I looked at my not being able to speak and I said, all right, this is not going to
stop me.
I am going to find new ways to communicate.
(39:16):
This is an opportunity and inside of this opportunity I am going to innovate.
So what did that look like?
Not only did I train the voice model, I created an avatar of myself that actually presented
on one of the webinars.
(39:37):
And it said, you may notice that Marcus has lost his voice.
I am going to be speaking for Marcus on this webinar.
And I created a series of video that I triggered on that webinar, which may have been in that
moment another innovation, which actually I never talked about until this moment.
(40:01):
So thank you for circling back and like digging more into it because that's exactly what happened.
Well, what you're hearing, and I'm talking to our audience, is you are hearing what refusing
to quit looks like, that a door closes, you look for another, you look for a window, you
figure it out.
(40:22):
But also that's why he's successful, ladies and gentlemen.
He's brilliant too, but he's successful because he refuses to quit.
And to kind of add onto that, Tal, you're 100% right.
He also recognized the tools that he had at his disposal and maximized what he had at
his fingertips.
Right.
(40:42):
And that also takes a lot of creativity to be able to say, oh, personally, if I couldn't
communicate with my daughter or any of my children, I would have been pretty devastated.
So I think it's huge kudos to you to be able to sit there and assess where you're at because
(41:04):
we talk a lot about the pivot on this show and that pivot can come in many different
ways.
Normally it's external.
Your pivot's internal in that you physically had a hurdle that you couldn't get over, which
is terrible.
What, and just a side note, what was it?
Clearly it's not laryngitis.
(41:24):
This is something like a major thing that you had suffered.
What is it?
It was bronchitis.
Oh, but just super bad then, super terrible bronchitis.
Yeah, yeah.
It was bad.
Okay.
All right.
But still it forced you down this path where you had to keep inertia and momentum going
(41:45):
and you already dabbling in AI were able to take this and say, oh, you know what?
Let me push this in this slot and see how that goes.
That's innovation by force, which I think shows just a tremendous amount of resilience.
So that's very cool.
It shows this to me in a moment of crisis, he did an inventory of what he had and what
(42:06):
he could tap into.
And that's great.
In a moment of crisis, don't panic.
In a moment of crisis, don't bellyache.
Find answers.
They're there.
Find answers.
That's what he did.
Yeah.
I'd like to speak into that for a second because there are many ways to look at assets.
(42:28):
We have tangible assets.
We have intangible assets.
We have human assets.
Right?
And so in moments of breakdown, is there a technology that can solve this?
If I don't know, is there someone that I can reach out to that does know?
(42:49):
Is there some online community that I can tap into?
Right?
It's when I've discovered for myself, when I isolate myself is when, you know, wait a
minute, I have to figure this out all on my own.
Right?
That stifles opportunity.
(43:09):
And so it's when moving outside of self into possibilities, whether that's through tech
or whether that's through community or whether that's where, to me, that's where the juice
is.
The juice is right there when you're able to go from, oh, I have to solve this on my
(43:29):
own to actually let me open myself up for other people to be able to contribute, for
other people to have the opportunity to reciprocate.
Right?
In exchange and in other ways, not just money.
Right?
It could be just in energy.
It could just be in, you know, I'm rooting for you.
(43:53):
Sometimes I'm rooting for you is all that is needed for someone to be able to get over
a hurdle.
Support.
Support.
Very cool.
So, so you are now currently promoting Raven Light, who in case our audience has missed
it is a virtual person, an AIO artist as a worldwide artist.
(44:15):
What is your ultimate vision for her?
Right?
You've you've literally created her from scratch.
How do you see her redefining what it means to be a musical artist?
The first thing I would say is that it's a creation that started with me, but it's become
(44:38):
the creation of a team of women and technologists that really see the opportunity that I saw.
And that is the creation of, you know, imagine, you know, we have all these characters, right?
(44:59):
You have like Mickey Mouse.
You have Barbie.
You have, I mean, there are the way we personify objects even.
Right?
So we as human beings, we can really impose ourselves on objects, on things and bring
(45:21):
meaning to it.
Right?
Well, in this case with Raven Light, where I'm aiming is to create a brand that sustains
over time, that creates value, that is a music artist that I don't mind playing for my daughter.
(45:42):
Right?
I don't mind young people.
In fact, I want young people to enjoy Raven Light's music.
Right now, I can't play everything that I hear on Spotify in my car with my daughter.
Right?
Because there's so much explicit, you know, content and so forth that I have to put the
(46:07):
filters on and it filters and so it limits that.
Right?
So one of my missions is to bring cooler music to young people.
So Raven Light kind of does that in a particular kind of way.
But also when you go to Raven Light's website, you can download a book.
(46:30):
Right?
A book that guides you with affirmations and things like that.
Right?
So what I see as the future for artists like Raven Light and others that are in development
right now is to create an example of what's possible for even human artists.
(46:53):
Right?
To show new ways to engage with audiences.
So through language, for example, I'm not just calling my voice for singing in English,
but I've done songs in Spanish.
(47:13):
So there's a set of songs that are going to come out with me singing in Spanish and I
don't speak Spanish.
So for human artists, right, it creates the opportunity to reach larger audiences through
AI and its application in language.
(47:33):
Same thing with businesses.
Right?
So I look at businesses and that opportunity for businesses to create their materials in
different languages, right, so that it can expand the possibilities for impact and income.
So let me ask you this, and that's a data point that I glossed over because we talked
about some of your accomplishments, I've talked to many of them, but okay, a man who at the
(47:58):
age of two was at the piano writing his first songs at eight, started his own record label
at 12.
He's a Berkeley College of Music graduate.
If you don't know it, that's the best music school in the world.
And guess how many instruments he plays, PJ?
He mentioned saxophone and piano, eight.
12.
He plays 12 instruments.
So I have a question for you, Marcus.
(48:19):
Is there anything you've ever set your mind to that you did not manage to master or at
least become very, very capable at?
He's thinking, because if you're not watching the YouTube, he's in deep thought.
He's deep in thought.
Can empathy and compassion be the thing that ends war?
Okay, I hear you.
(48:41):
Well, you know what?
That's inspiring.
You know what?
I think that there are certain things that, you know, my mother used to say that we plan
and God laughs, right?
So there are certain things that, you know, the Almighty, if you believe in him, as I
do, you have the opportunity to master.
And then there are other things that are just beyond our human capabilities.
(49:03):
So I challenge you, because you've more or less accomplished everything you've set your
mind to, to please figure out how to end, I don't know, global warming or something
like that.
I'm at work on it.
I have a feeling you might be able to figure that out, right?
I'm at work on it.
Sounds good.
Our guest today was Marcus Bellringer Bell.
He's incredible and award winning music producer over a billion music streams.
(49:26):
You've heard all the accomplishments and all the things this man can do and the humility
and the kindness just resonate from his face.
If you're not watching this on YouTube, go check that out.
You need to see this man, Marcus Bell.
It's been such a privilege to have you on the show.
We are so, so grateful that you took time to be with us today.
(49:47):
Continued success, continue doing amazing things.
I'm going to download Raven Light just to see what you do with her.
But thank you.
Thank you so much for being our guest today.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah, thank you so much for having me and instigating some new conversations.
Yeah, absolutely.
(50:08):
Love that.
Yeah, so I really appreciate that.
Thank you, Marcus.
And that's a wrap, folks.
Like what you heard, want to support the show?
Please follow our page on LinkedIn and Facebook, visit us on YouTube, and please like and rate
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You can also see exclusive content, subscribe for free to our weekly blog, support our sponsors,
(50:31):
and soon buy our merchandise at www.bravingbusiness.com.
Thanks for being a part of our production, and we'll see you next time on the Braving
Business Podcast.
Hey there, I'm Tals Lotnitsky from Ignite IT Consulting.
(00:05):
You know me from the Braving Business podcast, but when I'm not behind the mic, I'm helping
tech startups and established companies ignite their full potential.
I also help entrepreneurs and businesses in distress reset for success.
With over three decades of entrepreneurial success, I bring hands-on experience to drive
growth, navigate turnarounds, raise capital, and lead to innovation.
(00:28):
Whether it's executive coaching or strategic transformation, I'm here to turn your business
challenges into success stories.
Visit igniteitconsulting.com and let's spark that change together.
That's igniteitconsulting.com.
Your journey to business brilliance starts now.
And one last quick thing.
(00:49):
If you enjoyed this episode, please stay on after the show to learn more about the Braving
Business podcast and other great episodes for you to discover.
And now, let's get the show started.
(01:14):
Well hello there.
Hey there, what do you got on your shirt?
I can't tell.
It looks like somebody's head.
Oh, come on, come on.
John Candy, this is iconic.
Iconic.
It is?
Oh, please.
It doesn't look like John Candy.
Marcus, do you know who this is?
You know this reference?
I don't.
You're blocking one of the words.
It's Wally World.
(01:35):
Wally World.
Yours says Wally World and mine says affluential.
I like that.
What's affluential?
What does that stand for?
A wealthy, powerful, and socially, what does it say?
Stand up.
I can't see.
There we go.
And socially influential impactor who inspires the actions of others.
I love that.
Okay.
See, his is very swivel.
(01:55):
I love that.
Mine is the reference to National Lampoon's movie Vacation where they go all the way across
to go to Wally World.
That's their big vacation and they get there and John Candy's there and he's like, sorry,
folks, park's closed.
That's the shirt.
Got you.
And mine is from me studying a lot of language and being in a gym and someone coming up to
(02:17):
me every time I was in the gym saying, oh, did you go to USC?
Did you go to Harvard?
Did you go to this or some random t-shirt that someone gave me?
And I was like, you know what?
I'm going to make my own t-shirts that have words that have meaning.
And so affluential comes from that.
That's awesome.
Nice.
(02:38):
I love that.
This man makes t-shirt, PJ.
We have struggled to make t-shirts.
We have made pledges of t-shirts and we've been requested to sell t-shirts and it hasn't
worked out.
Oh, so you mean now with AI.
That is true.
I wonder if we're going to talk about AI at all.
There's a man knowing how to plug where he goes, although his AI is very different than
(02:59):
selling shirts.
But you know what?
Let's not belabor it.
Let's introduce our amazing guest and get going.
All right.
Well, today, folks, we have the wonderful Mr. Marcus Bellringer Bell, who is a true
trailblazer blending his extraordinary achievements in music with pioneering achievements in artificial
intelligence, just as we were talking about AI.
(03:22):
As an award-winning music producer, Marcus has amassed over a billion music streams collaborating
with global icons like Nicki Minaj and Snoop Dogg through his company Bellringer Productions.
His work spans platforms from HBO to McDonald's, leaving an indelible mark on the global music
scene.
In 2023, Marcus faced a personal and professional challenge when he lost his voice during a
(03:44):
recording session.
Refusing to let the setback hold him back, he turned to AI to clone his voice and to
complete his project.
This pivotal moment sparked a new passion for harnessing AI's potential to revolutionize
creative expression, leading to the creation of his groundbreaking photorealistic AI musical
artist, Raven Light.
(04:05):
Beyond musical production, Marcus is an author and an educator.
His Amazon number one bestseller, Bellringer Branding Bible, empowers artists with actionable
strategies to build wealth and amplify their impact.
From his roots in Norfolk, Virginia, to the global stage, Marcus continues to inspire
innovation and reimagine the possibilities of technology and creativity.
(04:28):
Marcus, we are honored to have you on the Braving Business Podcast.
So happy to be here with you all.
Thank you, Marcus.
And wow, what an introduction.
Our team does an incredible job coming up with a summary of people's lives and careers.
And yours has been incredible.
What it doesn't say is that you actually started as a child prodigy.
(04:49):
You compose music at eight, you're running your own record label at 12.
I'm chuckling because it's just, it's amusing.
Looking back, talk to us about what sparked that kind of early ambition and how that evolved
into the work and the man that you are today.
Well, my parents discovered that I was a child music prodigy.
(05:13):
When I was two years old, I was in front of the piano, my grandmother's piano that they
had brought to the house.
And usually two year olds will bang on a piano.
In my case, apparently, I walked over to the piano and intentionally pressed down the keys
one by one.
(05:35):
And they said, oh, well, let's try them in piano lessons.
And that is where that started.
And I basically got trained in classical music and then shifted into jazz music.
And then I started songwriting in pop music.
At the same time, I was doing a lot of performing.
(05:55):
So I was acting, singing, dancing, and had been in some TV shows and some movies and
things like that.
But with the songwriting, I realized that I had this opportunity to reach people, to
impact people, to have the things that I cared about or that I thought were important be
(06:18):
communicated to others.
And I had some mentors at the time that became my first investors in my record label when
I was 12.
And the Virginia Opera had put me on tour to do a one man show where I was doing all
the things.
So I was playing the saxophone and tap dancing and performing some original material and
(06:41):
acting and so forth.
And because I was in front of hundreds of thousands of kids on this tour, I said, you
know what?
I need to be putting out music because this is going to be an audience.
Maybe I could sell some music with this audience.
And that started my entrepreneurial journey.
(07:02):
That's brilliant.
What was the name of your first music label?
It was Soul Original.
Ring of Bell Records.
You know what?
What's the saying?
Shake what your mama gave you?
I mean, you know you had Bell.
You know, might as well ring them.
(07:24):
That's right.
That's right.
That's what it is.
That's incredible.
And actually it was foreshadowing what my producer name would end up being.
Bell Ringer.
Bell Ringer.
Yeah.
Very cool.
Very cool.
So you start out in Norfolk, Virginia, and then you go to the global stage.
Obviously, your journey is remarkable.
(07:47):
What is one lesson from your upbringing that still influences the way that you approach
your music today?
The first thing that comes to mind is mentorship.
And there are many ways to have mentorship and to gain specialized knowledge from others
that are experts in other areas.
(08:07):
So I mentioned my mentors when I was 12 being my first investors, and I didn't know what
I was doing.
My father wasn't around when I was that age.
And basically my mother was smart.
She started reaching out to people that she would read about in a newspaper or see on
(08:27):
television and ask them to mentor me.
And so there was like the head of the family channel.
There was executives and African-American men in different positions of influence.
And that taught me that, wow, you could have mentorship in many different ways.
(08:50):
So they were kind of my business, my early business mentors, even though they didn't
know the music industry.
And then later I saw, oh, well, it makes sense to have a mentor that specializes in wealth
building or it makes sense to have a mentor that specializes in marketing or sales or
(09:10):
so in that those mentors can show up with direct personal relationships, but it can
also show up in the form of books or content that you find on YouTube or podcasts.
And so there are many different ways to be mentored.
And so right now, earlier today, I was in a meeting with someone that is very well known
(09:31):
in the art world.
And in that meeting, we talked about the importance of art in capturing culture.
And I saw new things about the role of not pop music, but fine art and the capacity for
(09:54):
music to impact the thinking of people of influence that buy fine art.
And so he doesn't realize it, but he's now my fine art mentor, right?
Because that's kind of how I've learned and been able to develop specialized knowledge
(10:15):
in different areas and become a polymath as a result.
It's fascinating.
And I also at this point in my life am invested in mentorship.
I've always cared about that.
I was generally a young CEO and I was too young to really mentor people.
But at this stage of my career, I'm mentoring actively both college students and people
(10:39):
in high school.
And it is incredible.
You don't have to be Marcus Bell to have an impact on people's lives.
It's great that you do that, Marcus.
But I believe that just about anyone that has a lived experience and is willing to take
some time to get to know particularly children who are in a position where they perhaps are
(11:04):
missing some guidance in their lives that perhaps your children, our children have.
I think it's such a beautiful thing.
You have worked with legends, many of them, again, over a billion music streams as a music
producer, a billion with a B, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg.
(11:27):
I'd love it if you could share a moment with either one of them that shaped your approach.
Or in general, tell us how does one get to, from the beginnings you got to, to a stage
where you are working with names that just about every human being on the planet knows?
(11:48):
There are a few different things that come to mind with that.
But I want to circle back real quick to the mentorship thing, because one of the things
that I realized that I needed along my journey was mentorship around business and finances
(12:09):
and building wealth and how do you make an impact as you gain more influence in the world.
And so as I started to acquire that specialized knowledge, I started to create programs to
support others as well.
So I'm a strong believer in being able to pass specialized knowledge on to others to
(12:32):
ease their journey, to provide guidance and clarity and direction.
And so as it relates to working with brands and seeing something go from an idea to becoming
known by millions of people or billions of people, I see it as a creative process.
(13:00):
I see business as a creative process, just like music is a creative process, just as
gaining notoriety and visibility in a marketplace as a creative process.
That process being clear on what it is that you're doing, your aim, being able to understand
(13:22):
who the audience is for that thing, being able to capture the value in a way that can
spread, finding distribution outlets for that value to be communicated, whether that's a
book, whether that's a song, whether that's a t-shirt, or whether that's whatever, a product,
(13:46):
service, offer, message, movement, and then gaining consensus from enough people that
say, you know, this is valuable, that they would be able to exchange money or attention
for that.
And so that process is one that I support people with, but is one that I observe across
(14:10):
industries.
And that's one of the things that I've picked up along the way as I've looked at, well,
what does it mean to have impact?
What does it mean to build something that can sustain over time?
So let me ask a follow up on that and then to tie that back to my question.
So again, given your beginning, it's amazing what you've just shared is so valuable and
(14:36):
I'm going to go back and re-listen to it because I think it's a darn good point.
The creativity in art is just another form of creativity and it exists in business.
It absolutely does.
Just about every business is a work of art of some kind.
So that's a really interesting, and I'd never thought of it in those terms, so I love that
and I want to reflect on that.
Tie that back to me to, okay, you're meeting artists at some point in their careers.
(14:59):
I don't know where Nicki Minaj was or Snoop Dogg when you met them.
Were they already well known?
Were they not?
What is it that you notice about an artist or much as you would a business, right?
That tells you, you know what?
There's something here.
There's something potentially very valuable behind that person or business.
It started from being an artist.
(15:21):
So we can recognize in others what's inside of us.
So the thing that we appreciate and love about someone, name anybody, and what you love about
them, you can only see that in them because that lives inside of you, right?
(15:41):
And so I see artists that I work with and business owners or CEOs that I may collaborate
with or people that go, they are extensions of me.
And so as extensions of me, then there's not a separation of possibility, right?
(16:06):
So I'm relating to them as, well, wow, I want to make sure that this song is in the right
key so that when you have to perform this every single night, when this thing is a hit,
that it doesn't harm your voice, right?
Because me as a performer, if I know I'm going to have to hit that note, maybe I don't want
(16:31):
to put things in jeopardy in that way, right?
And so coming from an early background of performing has really helped me to understand
and be able to communicate and allow for expression to happen.
So with some of the bigger artists that I've worked with or that have used my music or
(16:57):
that I've written for or it's been varied learnings, for example, I learned how to produce
hip hop from Jam Master Jay from Run DMC.
I was in Boston, I had graduated Berkeley College of Music and Jay called me one day
(17:22):
and said, is this Marcus Bell?
The bell ringer?
And I was like, yeah, who's this?
He's like, it's Jam Master Jay.
Hey, man, I'm a fan of your music.
I've been listening to this song that you did on, it was an unknown artist.
I hadn't had any hits or anything like that, right?
So I was like, is somebody pranking me?
(17:44):
He's like, man, that song that you did, I listened to that on repeat.
I got your information from my cousin who had played it for me.
I'd love for you to come to New York and work with me.
I just got a deal with Virgin Records and I want to put you on everything.
Wow.
(18:04):
Right?
And so I'm in a studio with him and I'm watching his process, right?
I'm watching how he was taking at that time a group of rappers from New York and made
them sound like they were from Atlanta.
(18:25):
And the ghost writing process behind that and all of that.
And then I also learned a major lesson because the night that he was murdered happened to
be a night that I wasn't in the studio with him.
That's both a bane and a blessing, right?
(18:47):
That's heavy.
Yeah.
And so I had this feeling that I should go to Virginia that day.
And I didn't understand why until I got the call, hey, bell ringer, where are you at right
now?
I'm like, I'm in Virginia.
Shae just got shot, right?
(19:10):
So one of the things that I learned from that was that no matter how impactful someone is,
no matter how sweet they are, it was my first time really experiencing grief, right?
(19:30):
Because he was just the sweetest guy.
And he was so generous in bringing me kind of into a part of his world.
But what I recognized in that was that sometimes there's parts of people's worlds that aren't
revealed until later.
(19:51):
And that could be a good thing or that could be a tragic thing.
Yeah.
There's so many...
Okay, sorry.
You shared so much that I'm just trying to soak it all in.
First of all, there is no grief without love.
So for you to be able to share that with Jay is amazing.
(20:14):
And to have that access to such an amazing artist and performer at that time is fantastic.
And what a testament to you that he sought you out.
And you were not at the same popularity level, clearly, as he was at that time.
(20:38):
But for him to recognize your brilliance and what you can bring to the table and how he
said, I want to flow with this guy, I think is just a testament to yourself and fantastic.
And it's also amazing how fate kind of intersects our lives.
Fate for you to not only meet with him and to share those experiences with him and grow
(21:02):
with him in musicality and everything, but also to be spared.
Not only for your own personal safety, but also being spared watching...
Being a part of that entire scene when it happened is also a blessing in disguise.
(21:22):
So I want to say that it absolutely was a golden moment in my life because in that moment,
there was a lot of deaths happening in the hip hop world.
And I decided, okay, I'm cool on hip hop for now.
(21:43):
And so I went to Nashville and started working in country music.
I started traveling the world, doing projects in India and Japan.
So I had like a hit, a K-pop hit.
I had a number two in India.
I ended up going to Turkey.
So I said, you know what, the world is big.
(22:04):
And so I want to expand my horizons until it's time to come back to hip hop.
And so I had that kind of epiphany that, wow, this could be something that could stop me
or it could propel me in new ways.
(22:28):
So we're going to talk about, you know, propelling your new ways in a second.
I want to call out for those of you that listen to our podcast regularly, a theme that you've
heard so many times, a setback, you know, some significant challenges.
And as opposed to tucking tail and, you know, calling it a day or moving in a different
(22:52):
direction, Marcus pivoted, but inside, right?
He didn't give up.
He pivoted.
He saw an opportunity to redirect.
And I think that that's a sign of strength.
And as we've seen repeatedly from guests on the show, it's that beyond all other things
that separates successful people from less successful people, it's resilience.
(23:14):
It's the opportunity to show oneself and the world that even when facing significant challenges,
you can persevere.
That moment where you choose to persevere is the first step on your path to success.
It may not happen overnight.
Success is not an overnight thing, but being persistent and choosing to stick it out is
(23:36):
what every successful person does.
Without that, there is no success.
So I just want to call that out.
Let's talk about, you know, brand new horizons if we can.
Sure, go ahead.
Yeah, I'd like to respond to what that comment that just shared.
One of the key elements to being able to persist and be unstoppable inside of any endeavor is
(24:02):
a connection to something bigger, a connection to what my friend Dan Burris, who's a futurist
and public speaker, likes to call the bigger big.
And when you're connected to a bigger big, then how that gets expressed may take different
(24:24):
forms.
So that desire that I had when I was a kid to create music that would actually help people,
that would give people access to happiness, give people access to a change of mood or
a change of state, right, that the humanist in me, right?
(24:48):
Hip-hop was just one expression.
Country, rock, EDM, those are just expressions.
Music was just an expression.
Courses is an expression now.
AI and how I'm using AI as a tool is another expression of a bigger big, which is to raise
(25:11):
consciousness, to uplift humanity.
And so as I connect myself with that bigger big, then how that rolls out and gets expressed
can go through ups and downs.
It could take many different shapes and forms.
Wow.
(25:32):
I love that.
And I think it's, yeah, I mean, it's insightful and I wholeheartedly agree with that.
Let's talk about some of the very significant career defining moments that you've had, including
you lost your voice.
You're in a recording session, you lose your voice.
I cannot imagine what that must have been like.
You know, it's think about if you're a left-handed pitcher and suddenly you break your left arm.
(25:58):
What went through your mind in that moment and how did you go from there to AI?
Okay, let me give a couple of pieces of context.
So I've been using AI for about 15 years now in different ways, right?
(26:18):
And when the first AI music tools came out, one was a mastering software called Lander
and that came out about 11 years ago.
The first day that it came out, I was using it.
The studio session that I was in when I lost my voice was part of me doing a hundred songs
(26:41):
in a hundred days.
So I had taken on doing challenges over the years.
And so I would create an aim and then get after that aim within a hundred day timeframe.
Is this like a personal one?
Like I'm just challenging myself or do you have a companion that you're saying, all right,
(27:05):
I'm going to do it in a hundred days.
You're going to try it.
You know what I mean?
Like, are you doing it with someone or just by yourself?
Great question.
I used to do it by myself and then I introduced it to a group that my kind of flagship course
is called Wealth and Impact Bootcamp.
And during COVID, I had challenged them to do a hundred day challenge and select something
(27:30):
of importance and get after it for a hundred days, put in a consequence, pair up with someone
for accountability.
And I just kind of gave the structure.
And at the end of a hundred days, I came back and I said, how did it go?
(27:51):
And the testimonials that people gave me were incredible.
Someone has stopped playing music and they started doing music again.
Someone had quit their job and started a new career.
Over and over there was person after person saying, hey, this really impacted me greatly.
(28:17):
And then someone came on and said, can I go to the press about this?
Like it's been that significant.
And I said, you know what, hold on a second.
Let me think about this because this was a private group.
And I was like, okay, do I want to go to the press?
Do I want to be known as a hundred days guy?
Right?
(28:37):
In the world.
And then I woke up one morning and I said, you know what?
They're right.
This needs to be out in public.
And so we launched a public hundred days impact challenge that people can sign up for.
It's still live, so people can go in and do it.
And basically people that sign up for the hundred days impact challenge basically get
(29:02):
a video from me every single day, a text message every single day.
There's a community of support and all of that.
And so I had never done a music hundred days challenge before.
And I had been threatening to do that.
And I decided to do that at the beginning of 2023.
(29:23):
And midstream I lost my voice.
And I said, okay.
And because I was public about my challenge, it wasn't like, okay, well, I'll just pause
the challenge until I get my voice back or anything like that.
I believe again, and being unstoppable and being persistent and finding a way to make
(29:45):
it happen, right?
To pivot.
And so I said, well, there are all these AI tools that are out.
Let me start doing some deep dive into the audio tools.
And I found a way to clone my speaking voice.
And I ended up doing 10 songs in that hundred days challenge using my AI clone voice doing
(30:08):
meditations.
And actually those meditations have been one of the most popular set of songs in those
100 songs on YouTube right now.
And that is what had me say, wait a minute, there is an AI revolution that's happening
right now.
And this is not just a force multiplier for productivity, but what else can happen with
(30:38):
this?
So as opposed to having fear about it, I got really curious about what's possible.
And that drove me deep into the AI rabbit hole where I was eating, drinking, sleeping,
became a prompt engineer, became an AI technologist, took about 40 courses on it, created books
(31:00):
and songs and characters and et cetera.
Wow.
Yeah.
So cool and so interesting that you delved into AI with such robustness, especially given
that a lot of people in the creative space think that it can really hurt them rather
(31:22):
than help them.
So I have two questions.
One, when you said that you were using AI to help, you had recorded your voice, you
had 10 songs that were done.
And this is where I'm assuming this is kind of how you launched Raven.
When you say that AI emulated your voice, did you have like a bunch of recordings of
your voice and then AI would manipulate it?
(31:44):
Or did you use AI to create brand new your voice for her?
Does that make sense?
Okay, great.
I had a recording of me doing affirmations from years before, because in order to train
a Marcus Behringer model, voice model, I needed to have enough of my voice speaking or singing
(32:11):
to actually train the model.
And so I had this recording of affirmations that I had done that was about 35 minutes
long and which ended up ironically being exactly the amount to train a good voice model of
(32:33):
my voice.
And so I chopped up that 35 minutes into pieces and used that to train a Marcus Behringer
voice model.
And then I was using a bunch of different platforms to accomplish this.
And then I ended up with 11 Labs was the AI platform that I ended up using to do the majority
(33:01):
of it.
And so I trained a model and then basically I was able to type in the affirmations and
the meditations that I had created and it outputted my speaking voice.
I took that speaking voice and then I created music around it.
And so that was my process.
(33:21):
That's very cool.
So, all right, so let's talk about AI, specifically AI within your realm, the music industry.
As a pioneer using AI to revolutionize music, and I'll tell you why I'm interested in this,
not only just in general, but also my wife is a creative, she's an author, AI is a big
(33:42):
fear in the author realm, right?
Like it's just words on paper and AI can do that.
Where do you see the intersection of human creativity and artificial intelligence heading
in the next five years?
I'm living it now.
And Raven light is one example of that being lived out.
(34:06):
And basically I had this insight as I went into all of these different spaces of the
large language models and the audio models and the video models and the image generation
models.
So I had been creating NFTs with mid journey, the day mid journey came out.
(34:26):
I have a friend of mine that was an engineer involved in that project and she had reached
out to me and said, Mark, you got to check out this image creation tool that's coming
out.
So I was early on that.
And as a futurist, not just in music, but just kind of like a futurist, I'm always looking
at what the future is.
(34:47):
And the best way to know the future is to be a part of the creation of it, right?
And so I looked at Raven light as a possibility of creating a recording artist that stood
for something greater than just the music.
(35:09):
So Raven light is an advocate for mental health and wellbeing.
I teamed up with some neuroscientists and learn how to integrate inside of Raven lights
music sounds and tones and frequencies that actually help people.
(35:29):
The project has evolved since July in so many important ways.
For example, there's a voice model of Raven light.
So a friend of mine that actually was a participant in one of my programs, she is the voice of
(35:51):
Raven light and so she loaned her voice to be the voice of Raven light.
And so when Raven light talks, it's really the sound of her voice, right?
And we've been able to have Raven light accept telephone calls so you can call her and have
(36:11):
a conversation.
And when the hurricanes happened last year, basically someone had started spreading her
telephone number and people were calling Raven light to just help them through a difficult
time.
And so here's where the human plus technology comes together for good, right?
(36:38):
Out of the Raven light project, we've partnered up with a nonprofit that supports musicians
and kids in underserved communities and learning how to play instruments.
And so profits from Raven lights project actually go and support that nonprofit called the arts
academy.
That's cool.
Let's go backwards.
(36:59):
I think we glossed over a really important part, which is that you lost your voice and
that led you to some discovery.
So it's a great moment and a great teaching moment because here you are, something that
is critical to your success is taken away from you.
(37:19):
And again, you don't talk tail, you persevere and you find an alternative.
And that eventually leads you to Raven light, which I have so many questions about.
But before we go there, what went through your head?
You lost your voice.
Did you immediately in your mind go, okay, it's just, I need to find another solution
or did you freak out?
(37:42):
It was very challenging.
Sure.
I love that I stumped you.
That's awesome.
Well, I wanted to use the right word.
Right, right.
Right.
That captures it because it's not just the singing and performing, but I use my voice
(38:03):
to support so many people.
Right.
I have a nine year old daughter.
So losing the voice, it's not just, oh, I can't sing songs from a hundred days challenge.
Right.
It's now, it's difficult for me to communicate to my nine year old.
(38:27):
Now it's difficult for me to lead a webinar, right, with people that have paid money to
learn from me and be able to support them powerfully.
Right.
And et cetera.
And so in that moment of challenge there for me, once I make a commitment towards something,
(38:55):
I'm all in on it.
And again, one of my words is unstoppable.
Right.
And I looked at my not being able to speak and I said, all right, this is not going to
stop me.
I am going to find new ways to communicate.
(39:16):
This is an opportunity and inside of this opportunity I am going to innovate.
So what did that look like?
Not only did I train the voice model, I created an avatar of myself that actually presented
on one of the webinars.
(39:37):
And it said, you may notice that Marcus has lost his voice.
I am going to be speaking for Marcus on this webinar.
And I created a series of video that I triggered on that webinar, which may have been in that
moment another innovation, which actually I never talked about until this moment.
(40:01):
So thank you for circling back and like digging more into it because that's exactly what happened.
Well, what you're hearing, and I'm talking to our audience, is you are hearing what refusing
to quit looks like, that a door closes, you look for another, you look for a window, you
figure it out.
(40:22):
But also that's why he's successful, ladies and gentlemen.
He's brilliant too, but he's successful because he refuses to quit.
And to kind of add onto that, Tal, you're 100% right.
He also recognized the tools that he had at his disposal and maximized what he had at
his fingertips.
Right.
(40:42):
And that also takes a lot of creativity to be able to say, oh, personally, if I couldn't
communicate with my daughter or any of my children, I would have been pretty devastated.
So I think it's huge kudos to you to be able to sit there and assess where you're at because
(41:04):
we talk a lot about the pivot on this show and that pivot can come in many different
ways.
Normally it's external.
Your pivot's internal in that you physically had a hurdle that you couldn't get over, which
is terrible.
What, and just a side note, what was it?
Clearly it's not laryngitis.
(41:24):
This is something like a major thing that you had suffered.
What is it?
It was bronchitis.
Oh, but just super bad then, super terrible bronchitis.
Yeah, yeah.
It was bad.
Okay.
All right.
But still it forced you down this path where you had to keep inertia and momentum going
(41:45):
and you already dabbling in AI were able to take this and say, oh, you know what?
Let me push this in this slot and see how that goes.
That's innovation by force, which I think shows just a tremendous amount of resilience.
So that's very cool.
It shows this to me in a moment of crisis, he did an inventory of what he had and what
(42:06):
he could tap into.
And that's great.
In a moment of crisis, don't panic.
In a moment of crisis, don't bellyache.
Find answers.
They're there.
Find answers.
That's what he did.
Yeah.
I'd like to speak into that for a second because there are many ways to look at assets.
(42:28):
We have tangible assets.
We have intangible assets.
We have human assets.
Right?
And so in moments of breakdown, is there a technology that can solve this?
If I don't know, is there someone that I can reach out to that does know?
(42:49):
Is there some online community that I can tap into?
Right?
It's when I've discovered for myself, when I isolate myself is when, you know, wait a
minute, I have to figure this out all on my own.
Right?
That stifles opportunity.
(43:09):
And so it's when moving outside of self into possibilities, whether that's through tech
or whether that's through community or whether that's where, to me, that's where the juice
is.
The juice is right there when you're able to go from, oh, I have to solve this on my
(43:29):
own to actually let me open myself up for other people to be able to contribute, for
other people to have the opportunity to reciprocate.
Right?
In exchange and in other ways, not just money.
Right?
It could be just in energy.
It could just be in, you know, I'm rooting for you.
(43:53):
Sometimes I'm rooting for you is all that is needed for someone to be able to get over
a hurdle.
Support.
Support.
Very cool.
So, so you are now currently promoting Raven Light, who in case our audience has missed
it is a virtual person, an AIO artist as a worldwide artist.
(44:15):
What is your ultimate vision for her?
Right?
You've you've literally created her from scratch.
How do you see her redefining what it means to be a musical artist?
The first thing I would say is that it's a creation that started with me, but it's become
(44:38):
the creation of a team of women and technologists that really see the opportunity that I saw.
And that is the creation of, you know, imagine, you know, we have all these characters, right?
(44:59):
You have like Mickey Mouse.
You have Barbie.
You have, I mean, there are the way we personify objects even.
Right?
So we as human beings, we can really impose ourselves on objects, on things and bring
(45:21):
meaning to it.
Right?
Well, in this case with Raven Light, where I'm aiming is to create a brand that sustains
over time, that creates value, that is a music artist that I don't mind playing for my daughter.
(45:42):
Right?
I don't mind young people.
In fact, I want young people to enjoy Raven Light's music.
Right now, I can't play everything that I hear on Spotify in my car with my daughter.
Right?
Because there's so much explicit, you know, content and so forth that I have to put the
(46:07):
filters on and it filters and so it limits that.
Right?
So one of my missions is to bring cooler music to young people.
So Raven Light kind of does that in a particular kind of way.
But also when you go to Raven Light's website, you can download a book.
(46:30):
Right?
A book that guides you with affirmations and things like that.
Right?
So what I see as the future for artists like Raven Light and others that are in development
right now is to create an example of what's possible for even human artists.
(46:53):
Right?
To show new ways to engage with audiences.
So through language, for example, I'm not just calling my voice for singing in English,
but I've done songs in Spanish.
(47:13):
So there's a set of songs that are going to come out with me singing in Spanish and I
don't speak Spanish.
So for human artists, right, it creates the opportunity to reach larger audiences through
AI and its application in language.
(47:33):
Same thing with businesses.
Right?
So I look at businesses and that opportunity for businesses to create their materials in
different languages, right, so that it can expand the possibilities for impact and income.
So let me ask you this, and that's a data point that I glossed over because we talked
about some of your accomplishments, I've talked to many of them, but okay, a man who at the
(47:58):
age of two was at the piano writing his first songs at eight, started his own record label
at 12.
He's a Berkeley College of Music graduate.
If you don't know it, that's the best music school in the world.
And guess how many instruments he plays, PJ?
He mentioned saxophone and piano, eight.
12.
He plays 12 instruments.
So I have a question for you, Marcus.
(48:19):
Is there anything you've ever set your mind to that you did not manage to master or at
least become very, very capable at?
He's thinking, because if you're not watching the YouTube, he's in deep thought.
He's deep in thought.
Can empathy and compassion be the thing that ends war?
Okay, I hear you.
(48:41):
Well, you know what?
That's inspiring.
You know what?
I think that there are certain things that, you know, my mother used to say that we plan
and God laughs, right?
So there are certain things that, you know, the Almighty, if you believe in him, as I
do, you have the opportunity to master.
And then there are other things that are just beyond our human capabilities.
(49:03):
So I challenge you, because you've more or less accomplished everything you've set your
mind to, to please figure out how to end, I don't know, global warming or something
like that.
I'm at work on it.
I have a feeling you might be able to figure that out, right?
I'm at work on it.
Sounds good.
Our guest today was Marcus Bellringer Bell.
He's incredible and award winning music producer over a billion music streams.
(49:26):
You've heard all the accomplishments and all the things this man can do and the humility
and the kindness just resonate from his face.
If you're not watching this on YouTube, go check that out.
You need to see this man, Marcus Bell.
It's been such a privilege to have you on the show.
We are so, so grateful that you took time to be with us today.
(49:47):
Continued success, continue doing amazing things.
I'm going to download Raven Light just to see what you do with her.
But thank you.
Thank you so much for being our guest today.
Yeah, that's awesome.
Yeah, thank you so much for having me and instigating some new conversations.
Yeah, absolutely.
(50:08):
Love that.
Yeah, so I really appreciate that.
Thank you, Marcus.
And that's a wrap, folks.
Like what you heard, want to support the show?
Please follow our page on LinkedIn and Facebook, visit us on YouTube, and please like and rate
us on all of your favorite podcast streaming services.
You can also see exclusive content, subscribe for free to our weekly blog, support our sponsors,
(50:31):
and soon buy our merchandise at www.bravingbusiness.com.
Thanks for being a part of our production, and we'll see you next time on the Braving
Business Podcast.
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