The Real Timeline to Quitting Your Day Job as a DJ with Malone | EF EP 129

0:00 I was playing in Miami for years for free and I was like the promoter DJ because every time that I would play, I would bring so many people and sell so many tickets, and that's how I would get my shows. Wow. Yeah. And I wouldn't even probably get like 200 bucks, 300 bucks a DJ, you know? I wonder how top DJs actually built their careers. I had to do 15 years of hard work to get any of the recognition that I wanted. Where I saw a turning point in my career is when I came true to myself. From marketing and mindset to networking and negotiation, I'm giving you the tools you need to build a lasting career in dance music. Give them bits of you and your everyday life. You have to change the way you view the word no. Like me, I'm encouraged by it. Join me, Olivia Mancuso and industry leaders as we reveal what it it really takes to turn your passion into profit.

0:46 This is elevated frequencies. Welcome to your weekly elevation, your dose of real strategies for real results in dance music. I'm Olivia. And today we are talking with Malone, who just made one of the boldest moves in dance music, quitting his corporate job right before Miami Music Week this year to go all in on music with a wife and daughter. Depending on him, most people might call that insane. But sometimes the biggest risks lead to the biggest rewards. And since making that leap, Malone has been touring Europe all summer, expanding his Why Not US label globally and proving that when you bet on yourself completely, the universe tends to respond.

1:30 We're diving into the real talk about making that transition, building a label that puts artists 1st, and why Miami's house scene is unlike anywhere else in the world. I remember seeing something right before Music Week, and it was this big announcement that you quit your day job. Oh, yeah. So what's been the weirdest thing about like, not having a boss these past, what, six or seven months? Yeah, I think I mean, for me it's just kind of like having all this free time, you know, and just like during the day, because I was always, you know, working during the day and then just kind of like taking off that hat and then putting on like my music hat, like my, you know, producer hat, like, you know, writing, making music at night. And now that I have so much free time during the week, I'm kind of like a stay at home, stay at home dad. That's.

2:17 Amazing. Yeah, yeah, that's cool. But now that the baby's getting bigger and stuff, just going to school, but it's it's been amazing. It's been really cool just to be able to be, you know, like 100% fully, you know, immersed and into music, you know, and not have to worry about anything else because, you know, I have my energy spread very, very thin, you know, across a multiple different things, you know, full time work, career, music, touring, family, dad, husband. It's a lot. Yeah, it's a lot. I mean, and we'll get into especially being a space resident, I mean, that is that's not like having a residency anywhere else where it's slightly normal, more normal hours for a club. And that's a late spot.

2:57 So was that Miami Music Week extra celebratory for you? Did it just feel like weird knowing that once the week was over you didn't have to go back? Yeah, it was it was definitely it was a lot more enjoyable for sure, because I remember always having to, you know, request the days off and like, even sometimes like lie about different things. Like it will be Wednesday and I'll be at the surf convert like at 2:00 PM playing like, like, you know, usually like back then because I was, you know, opening a lot earlier back then. I'll be playing like a 3:00 PM set at the pool parties and the beach. And my I will be getting like a bunch of emails and my managers will be calling me like, Hey, what did you do today? Like, you know, and I'll have to like, like completely lie and stuff like that. So, you know, not having to worry about that anymore and just be completely like, you know, just focus on having all my energy towards, you know, music and just the vibe of Music Week and being able to really network and, you know, bounce around and I have to worry about anything.

3:48 It's it was, it felt a lot. It was, I mean, this past Music Week was my favorite Music Week that I've ever, that I've ever had, you know? Yeah, yeah. And I was there. You're set at the ground. And it just, it felt so celebratory and it really did feel like a party back there up on stage. So you, you wore all these hats for so long. And I want to talk about like, what you're doing now, but something that like, I just, I don't want to glaze over because it's important. The majority of people who listen to the show are other artists who are looking to learn from people like yourself. So when did you know it was OK and safe to like, make that transition, especially having a family? When were you like I can do this full time? Well, First off, I want to say, you know, thank you for having me.

4:32 I really, really love, you know, what you're doing. I've find myself sometimes, you know, watching the things that you that you talk about and be like, damn, like I either really needed to hear that or is like, it's so true. You know, you're kind of speaking a lot of things that are real because in an industry where a lot of things are very fake, unfortunately. So, you know, being a little bit of a of a person that comes from a little more of like an old school background, you know, I really appreciate, you know, what you're doing. But for me that moment was, you know, obviously having a family and, and living in Miami, which is very expensive. I like to live a very nice lifestyle as well. So managing all that and just from a financial standpoint to the point that I was comfortable from touring, that I was able to make the decision that I could, you know, do that, you know, really 100% full time support my family, you know, all my expenses life, you know, whatever that case may be. I mean, I actually, you know, I took it to the edge. I was, I could have probably quit like a year or two ago, but I was very comfortable.

5:34 My job was very flexible and I was able to work from home a lot. I was in sales, outside sales and stuff like that. But yeah, I mean, it got to the point that I felt kind of burnt out, to be honest with you. Between work, touring, everything else, you know, in life, whatever, I really started to feel like burnt out and I wanted to more than anything, just take this to the next level. Because, you know, obviously being a tour in DJ and especially, you know, more like in the underground scene that that I'm in, there's a lot of like levels to, you know, to the game, right? You know, anybody could be a, you know, a really dope local local act. You know, you work hard, you network, people like you, your music is dope. You know, on a DJ, you know, you could do your thing in local, but actually, you know, touring full time and becoming, you know, a hard ticker selling act in different markets and stuff like that, which is very difficult to do and become.

6:21 You know, I feel like, I mean, I've been doing this for almost 10 years. A lot of people don't really, you know, people see kind of, you know, what's happening now and be like, whatever. But I've been doing this for a long time. Like I was playing in Miami for years for free. And I was like the promoter DJ because every time that I would play, I would bring so many people and sell so many tickets. And that's how I would get my shows. Wow. Yeah. And. I wouldn't even I would probably get like 200 bucks, 300 bucks to DJ, you know, So yeah, it suck. It's it's crazy now that I that I look back, but like, you know, when you put in so much time in so many years. And you've, I've kind of, you know, I've kind of seen it all, you know, being from Miami also, it's a, it's a very huge blessing and has helped me and shaped me as an artist. Like, I can't even imagine because, you know, I've had so many different experiences and, and growing learning experiences being from, from, from a city like Miami. But yeah, once that once I realized, I think it was just more like a financial thing.

7:13 Once I saw, you know, once the offers were getting, you know, bigger and bigger, the opportunities were getting bigger and bigger. I was able to move to Ibiza this summer and be in Europe for 2 1/2 months. I played like 2024 shows or something like that in 2 1/2 months. All around the world, you know? Wow, Ibiza, you know, all around Spain, Barcelona, Madrid. I did central pay, I did Instanbul for the first time. I played at Fabric London for the first time, which was insane. Wow. So yeah, I mean a lot of cool things happening and I feel like a lot of those things. Once I've made the decision to finally quit my job and just dedicated to like 100% to music, kind of like this energy just kind of shifted.

7:59 And you know, ever since then things have been like, you know, I wouldn't say like skyrocketing, but you know, we're definitely seeing a lot of nice momentum right now with everything. And you know, it's great. It's it's, it's great to see. Yeah, when you can put 100% of your focus into something, it's crazy all the doors that start opening up for you. And I love that your background is like just old school hard work. Promote the promoter DJ bringing in a bunch of people. That's not an easy task to get people together like it's. Kind of awkward to be like, hey, can you please buy a ticket to my party or or to my show or whatever. But yeah, you know. It builds character. People Miami love to party. If you throw a good party and people have a good time at your parties, I feel like it's a lot easier for sure. You know, if you come from a good place and people know you for a long time.

8:45 It's not like you're just like a random promoter that's just blowing people up. You know, you're kind of coming from a good, right authentic place and people see, you know, the amount of time and effort and, you know, sweat that you've put into something. So I think sometimes people are like happy to help out and happy to do it, you know, so a. 100%. Besides, you know, we've done an amazing job of curating some pretty sick parties and lineups so far For, for, for one of us, which is something I'm really proud of. Yeah, yeah. And I, and I want to get into that too, but I was looking at just, you know, looking at some previous interviews that you did, you did like 2020-2021. I think you were talking about like, yeah, I'm doing this without a manager, without an agent and like, obviously that's changed. I know.

9:25 That's. Crazy. So what? So how did that happen for you? Because it was so. Paul is your manager. So Paul is my manager. Who's been on this show before and who's fantastic and such an inspiration? How did that happen? So we me, I've actually known Paul for a very long time, you know, just from being in Miami and just being in the scene or whatnot. And obviously knowing that he's like just like a very successful person and very well respected person individual in the scene. And I really didn't have a manager and I was just kind of like doing my own thing. It's funny because I actually signed to William Morris. I signed to WME, which is like, insane for me, you know, probably one of the best agencies in the world before I even had a manager, which is crazy. Usually the other way around.

10:06 Yeah. So, you know, we actually, you know, hung out plenty of times and he had even seen me DJ plenty of times. And we never even spoke about anything about just, you know, him being my manager. It's kind of like happened like very organically. And, you know, I'm obviously I'm, I'm very, I'm a very, I, I'm a very like vibrant person. I, I go a lot with, you know, my gut, with my feeling and just kind of like the vibes that I feel with, with people. And, you know, I just felt it felt great. And obviously, you know, have a ton of respect for, for him and he's very, very knowledgeable. He's kind of like more of like my psych, my my psychic, just more than that that my manager. But. Well, I mean, he's so inspirational, the content, yeah, stuff that he posts and he lives like he's, I feel like he's not the guy that's gonna ask you to do something he wouldn't do himself. No, 100%, no.

10:53 He understands what I want, what I'm looking for, what I want to accomplish, and the vibe that I'm in the lane that I'm in and what I'm trying to do. So, you know, it's, it's great. It's a very, very great relationship. You know, I love working with him and you know, I switch agencies now I'm with I'm with liaison with Andrew, with Liaison, which is the owner of Liaison's like one of the most legendary agents in the United States. Amazing dude. And ever since we made that switch and made that move, everything's just kind of been feeling, you know, like we're just going in the right direction and moment. I'm just, you know, continuing to build and continuing to build. But you know, like anything, it's just a lot of hard work. You know, a lot of people don't really see time and and the work. 10 years is a long time technically, but like, look what you've been able to accomplish in that time.

11:33 I mean, a couple years ago you're saying I don't have a manager and agent. I'm just like mobbing this out by myself and now look where you are. So why not us? It's a label. It's it's an event series. Talk to me about the fruition of it. Like what was the what's the ethos behind behind? Why not us? So why not us was, you know, it actually started as just like a party that I started doing way a long, long time ago, before even COVID. I did a couple parties called, you know, then I just called them why not us? And it was just more of a, kind of like a, you know, just the same, the mentality like, you know, like a, if this person is doing it, if, if this person can accomplish it, if, if whoever can do it, you know, why can't you do it? Like, you know, why can't we do it? You know, we're the same. We're just as talented. You can do anything that anybody else can do.

12:14 And it applies to all things in life, you know, not only music. So it's just kind of like a name that just stuck with me. And then I that kind of like, I kind of put that to the side. COVID happened and then I got together with with with with my good friends Colusa and we I actually started another level that was called hurry up slowly. Love that I love. Them then that was an amazing time and that was more back in the day, like four or five couple years ago when we were doing more Afro house back then when Afro house wasn't as big and as it is now, you know, it's a little bit more of like an Afro tech, Afro groove vibe that we had going on. We quickly build hurry up slowly to become like the second biggest selling Afro house label in the world, like within a year and we were doing insane parties.

12:55 That was really like kind of like what drew the attention to the brand, like some of the most insane parties like that I've ever seen for a small company, right? And then that kind of like ran its course. And then I just kind of had like this like, you know, crossroads that I just kind of wanted to like do my own thing and just kind of like branch out and just I kind of really find myself as an artist, what my identity was as as an artist because you know, you know, being in for so long as the longer you you're in this game, you know, the trends that you see come and go, things change. Like, you know, the artists that have been around for a very long time, they've changed, you know, in many different ways, whether it's brands, music, genres, whatever the case may be. So, you know, I kind of had like that, that moment that I kind of just wanted to find myself and do something different. And then I started thinking about, I was like, you know, I really want to start my own label again and, you know, start doing parties again.

13:43 And it just be, just be mine, you know, just be my thing, my curation, my vision. And yeah, I just, I, it took me like 3-4 months to, to, to figure out the name that I wanted to, to do. And then, you know, one of us was just always there and I was like, damn, I just want to just bring, bring it back, you know, and it's been great. The response has been amazing. I think a lot of people relate to it. A lot of people are, you know, we're seeing a lot of people that, you know, really love not only the parties and stuff like that, but what we're doing with the label, the artist, the music that we're signing. For me, it's always been about putting other people on. I've always loved the the of of, you know, the idea and the ability to sign music of much younger artists, people from that you've never heard of from different parts of the world.

14:26 Bunch of kids from South America that send me the most insane music every single day. And it's crazy because a lot of these big artists, like, you know, some of my favorite artists, you know, Marco Corolla, Dennis Cruz, like the Martinez brothers, a majority of the music that they're playing is from people that nobody's ever heard of. Yeah. It's crazy. Like kids that have less than 5000 monthly listeners on Spotify. You know, you know, it's crazy having you on this show now and miss Mata and Slug. You guys have all said very similar things that you're always looking so and I I think that's just something special about the Miami market in general. And you guys kind of all share those same values of finding because, because you have this reputation for being collectors too, right? Like that's why people come to you. And you know, you're going to get that very unique. It's not a cookie cutter experience in Miami. And that's just really cool 'cause I feel like you guys probably all is you're all friends, I'm assuming, know each other.

15:19 I feel like you like it. It kind of like challenge is each of you to even find even better music. And I mean, like, you're just like all, like you're, you're all just like encouraging each other to, to be better. I mean, the vision I've always had for one at us is to sign really dope music, you know, throw really dope parties and then also be able to, you know, let's say if I'm having a one at a showcase in Columbia and being able to, you know, book those kids that I, you know, the random two or three people that I signed music from Columbia and then put them on the showcase, you know, and the same thing like the one we did in Ibiza. And then hopefully we're going to be doing, you know, one of us showcases all around the world. We have a lot of things lined up for that. But that's just kind of like was just my idea. But more more than anything, one of the main reasons why I started the label was because I was tired of, you know, labels rejecting my music Because, you know, I'm not saying I'm the best producer in the world.

16:10 I'm not saying my music is the best in the world, but I know my music is good enough to land on some of these labels that we're saying, no, I see the music that everyone's putting out. I study the industry. I study the game more than anything and wanted us for me was just an opportunity for me to just put out my music whenever I wanted to with whoever I wanted to, however I wanted to, you know, market it myself hot, you know, and just have full control of that whole thing besides, you know, being able to put other people on into the dope parties. But that was main, the main thing, you know, like I kind of just wanted to have an outlet for myself. Like if I want to just release a release a track instead of just, you know, it's crazy how many tracks that we just have sitting there that just disappear and never see that light of day. And I just, you know, I didn't like that. I just, you know, I feel like if we spend the time writing music, creating music, you know, I feel like you should share your art with the world.

16:54 Even if it's not a song that's going to stream millions of streams or it's not a song that's going to blow up, you know, it's, it's its own thing. You should give it its own space. Yeah, it's important to create art for the sake of creating art. And I saw someone say, because when I was first starting this podcast, I was like, fuck, no one's going to listen for like the first 50 episodes, you know what I mean? Like, it's just the reality of it. But this girl I saw on TikTok was like, create just to have a proof of concept, just to like, prove to yourself that you can create a library of work. And I think that's so important, important to any type of creative because it can sit in your head. You can have all these ideas in your head all day long, but if you don't put it out into the ether, there's no proof of concept.

17:36 I'm curious because I've had a lot of artists on the show that have started their own labels, which I think is such an amazing and empowering thing. You said that label, you're tired of labels not putting your music out. What do you think the reason is for all of these delays? Yeah, I think, you know, a lot of labels, you know, they have different people running the labels. They're looking for different things at different times. Like I said earlier about the how genres and sounds come and go. You know, there's always a trend in music that comes that's hot and you know that, you know, they want a specific type of sound or they're looking for a specific type of artists, whether it's an artist that makes really good content, an artist that's very strong on TikTok, which is a huge thing that I'm kind of the want to get into. Get into it.

18:21 It's a. Source No spot. To get into. It sound like a no head, yeah. No, no, no, no. TikTok is great. TikTok is great. It's not TikTok is great. No, it is it. Is it's broken a lot of people's careers. It's amazing. It's an amazing tool if you know how to use it, yes, and you got to want to use it. But anyways, yeah, so I think just, you know, different labels, you know, there's so many, there's so many labels, right? There's so many cool labels. There's so many dope labels. I just think that the the beautiful thing about underground house music in the lane that we're in is that, you know, within that sound, there's so many sounds, right? There's so many different styles. You know, like you tell somebody minimal and somebody might think minimal is 3 different things. Right. It's so hot. I don't even like to say genre because I get scared. I'm like fuck some.

19:04 I hate talking about genre because me personally, as a DJ, you know, I like to navigate through a bunch of different sounds and I think a certain track might have this type of characteristic and personality, but it might just land within this genre. But it's I mean, I think it's just all about being an artist and being a DJ and knowing your music and knowing, you know, the proper, proper way of, of mixing and reading a room and stuff like that. But back to the question about the labels. Yeah. I mean, I mean, I wouldn't say they were all rejecting my music. I mean, I have signed a lot of really great music with some really great labels. But, you know, some of the labels that I was really pushing to to try to be on, I feel like sometimes as an artist, when you try to force something or you really want something that bad, you know, it doesn't come. And sometimes when you're least expecting it, that's when it comes. So yeah, with the music, it's crazy because you can have this amazing song and you sign it to the label that you want, but you can't release it for nine months, Right? Yeah.

19:54 And then by the time the song comes out, either you're tired of it or, you know, that sound or that vibe is not really like hot anymore or not really cool anymore. So it's a very tricky. You know, it's a really tricky thing to matter as an up and coming artist, right? As an artist that's not as big as a massive headliner that could pretty much do whatever they want whenever, whenever they want, basically, you know? Right, right, No, you're rely you're relying on that chart to come out. You know, I've heard so many you Parker Cohen and Leighton Giordani just talked about this. He's like this has been a talking point every other episode. I wonder if that will if there will be any change enacted with that. I I get that there's, see where it doesn't make sense to me is if you're waiting nine months to put a track up, but the label isn't putting a budget behind it. They're not doing any sort of special campaign, whatever. It's just like sitting there.

20:44 Now, if you're, if you're doing something strategically, I still think nine months is fucking insane. That's way too long. But it like unless the label is doing something very strategically and it's not just going through an assembly line of other artists, it's like, how can that change? There's got to be if enough people are complaining about it, it needs to change. Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't say. I also think that there's just so many artists, right? I feel like, you know, there's so many DJs now and so a lot of people want to be DJs and there's so many, you know, young kids that are super talented and that are amazing. And I'm sure a lot of these labels are being flooded with thousands and thousands of demos. Sure a day, which is, I mean, me and myself are one at us. I can't even keep track of the demos that I'm getting, which I need to do a good job of. I'm sorry guys, a better job.

21:25 You're just one person. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I'm starting to build a little team. You know when the label to to to handle these things a little bit better. But yeah, I mean, I think a lot of these big labels, you know, massive brands, a lot of artists sometimes are are sending music to a specific label because they want to potentially, you know, play one of those parties. Because a lot of these labels, you know, have the party side of things, you know, but there are a lot of labels that don't have the party side of things too, that are just strictly, you know, amazing labels that do a really good job of putting on music and pushing the artists and and supporting the music. But yeah, I mean, sometimes, you know, I've heard, I've heard, you know, some stories from some artists that they finally landed their dream label and and they've been waiting and they finally got on it and it was the worst experience they've ever had. And then, you know, some artists that decided to sign music and give a label an opportunity that they didn't think they would have ever signed music with.

22:11 And it was the best experience they've ever had. So for sure, like I had, I had a release with Watergate, which is this legendary label from, from from Germany, a German label. And it was one of the best. It was like mind blowing of how incredible of an experience it was to release music with them, right. And I would have never thought that I would have ever released a song with them, you know? But yeah, I mean, I think it's it's always an it's always an evolving thing. It's always, I don't think you can put your finger on it. It's just you kind of just have to go with the flow and just kind of adjust accordingly, whether it's, you know, releasing with this label, not releasing it, put it out yourself, you know, coming up with a really dope content. I think a lot of people now have become knowledgeable enough that you can self release music if you do it the right way, if you prepare, if you have a really cool content plan, you know, and if you have some money to put down behind 'cause at the end of the day, it's all about money.

23:02 Yes, a lot of things are a lot about money one. 100%. Unless you're like a very, very, really, really cool viral, you know, act, you know, a lot of things at the end of the day come down to you know. And if and if it's not money, it's time like you spend, you know, learning how to do everything yourself. There's, you know, I think it's it's also about diversifying, right? It's like self releasing this track for this reason, focusing on this label for another reason, Like you have to kind of cast a wider net and not put all your eggs in one basket now because it's just it's just not feasible. And I like what you said about like allowing yourself to be surprised by the process and not gripping so tightly onto wanting. I think it's great to have a goal and to have tunnel vision on a goal, but you can't be so dead set on it that if it doesn't work out, your whole plan just like crumbles. I think the beautiful thing now about dance music, electronic music, is that we're in a very cool time that I feel like the boundaries have kind of disappeared, you know, in the sense that a lot of artists that you would have never expected to work with this artist are working together. Yeah.

24:11 Which I think is really cool because at least myself, as someone that that used to do, you know, Afro house, a little bit more of Afro house. And now it's doing more of like, you know, like the proper tech house groove groove sound or whatever the case may be. I think it's I think it's a beautiful thing to see. I've never, I've never been one to to, you know, have want to have a boundary or just, you know, have a specific genre type of, you know, play. I think everyone just kind of doing everything now, which is really cool and allows people to be more creative. Like, for example, like my next release that I have coming up at the end of the month is, is a more Afro, more melodic type of groovy type of song. But it's it's a collaboration with Marc Bassi, which is like one of the most talented singer songwriters and dance music. And you know, my boys, I sent me his send me this vocal and I was like, wow, this is amazing, you know, but the first thing that came to my mind was, you know, some, some piano, some chords. And I said, Oh, mentally, it wasn't like, just like a club type of record, you know, And that's the challenging thing with being an up and coming artist. Because kind of what I was mentioning to you before, a lot of these kids from Brazil, South America, Europe, wherever they have the most insane, nasty groove club records ever, right? But there's, there's, there's just they're less than five 10,000 streams monthly.

25:23 So as an artist, if you're trying to grow and you're trying to be known and X part of, you know, wherever the case may be, if that's your, if that's your goal to become a fully, you know, touring artist, living off touring, you know, and traveling and playing all these massive shows, you need your music needs to be scene everywhere, needs to be widespread. And that's where things get a little bit tricky about, you know, being too commercial or is it music too commercial? It's not right. You know, there's only a few guys that could really like, you know, navigate that line. Yeah. Like like stay really cool and stay on the ground, but still have music that's kind of like very crossover is, you know? Yeah, that's that's a question I've been asked and my my business partner in our vent Chicago music Nexus, which is like similar to, you know, WMC.

26:07 We get asked when I first started out, should I just really stick to one genre and just make one genre until people get to know me? So I'm curious what your answer is to that, because like when you're building a brand, I mean, I think there's other things that can be your through line besides genre, right? Like it could be a specific kind of drums, it could be how you look, it could be the experiences you curate. Do you think that like sticking to in the beginning kind of helped you lift off faster? Yeah, I mean, I definitely, I definitely think that it definitely, it's always very important for you to establish some sort of identity as an artist early on especially and stick to some, to stick to one thing. You know, one of the biggest things for me was during COVID, I got very close to Blondish and I was doing her live streams, you know, I was literally playing by myself on my balcony every single week for like a year.

26:57 And, you know, one of the things that got me really close to her was one of the records that I made during COVID, which ended up, you know, you know, signing to her label, whatever the case may be. And, you know, at that time, Afro House was, was, you know, starting to, I mean, Afro House has been around for for a while, you know, but I feel like in the last couple of years, it really has exploded, you know, but as, as an artist, I, it depends. And I feel like if you, if you're in the feeling, if you're in the moment of, of wanting to write something that just leans a little bit more that way, I think you should feel free to do that, you know, but maybe you don't have to release it. Maybe it's just for you to, you know, whatever the case may be, maybe it's for your sets or, or, or what not. You know, you see with a lot of artists in, in, in the underground or, or tech house, whatever, they usually tend to release a lot more, you know, commercial or easy streaming type of music.

27:43 But they, their sets are way more underground than what they really are. You know, like the Martinez brothers, for example, you know, the releases are very housey, very viby, you know, vocal driven, you know, classic, you know, hits type of records. But their sets are just, you know, really, really, you know, proper and and more for the dance floor. So it's just a combination of doing it. But I think there's no right or wrong, you know, answer as long as you do it with the right intention and you do it for the right reasons. I think there's not. I don't think there's, you know, a right or wrong way to go about it. Yeah, there is no one formula anymore. Not anymore, at least not anymore. Before, I think people were more consistent with staying, you know, and trying to stay with one thing.

28:25 I feel like now I think people can can, can diversify a little bit. You know, you see, you know Solomon playing with Amdala, You see John Solomon playing with this. Person, yeah. Dubstep, yeah. There's a bunch of things that are that are happening, you know, Joseph Capriati's residency and Ibiza this year, you know, he had Ben Bomber playing his residency, which I thought was amazing. Ben Bomber's one of my favorite artists in the world. It's all I listen to for the most part when I'm just like, chilling or, you know, hanging out. So yeah, I think, you know, being able to understand what's happening and adapting and, you know, but still staying true to yourself in whatever way you decide to go with, with whatever you're doing. I think it's the most important thing. Would you say that for people who you know they don't have the option to move out of the country, would you say that Miami right now is a good place to move if you're trying to level up your career?

29:16 Yeah, I think Miami's amazing is an amazing hub for for house music. Is there enough opportunities? That's I don't think so. There used to be. I don't think there's, I mean, there's a really good scene in Miami, you know, besides obviously space, you know, there's a bunch of different house parties, a bunch of different crews that are starting to build different parts and and it's actually starting to come back again. So I would say, yeah. I mean, look, I think in any city, any major city, if you are out and about, if you're networking, if you are visible to the community, if you're giving back to the community, you're not just in it to just trying to get something for yourself. You're really participating, you're supporting. I think supporting local artists is one of the most important things that anybody can do as an up and coming artist because you never know who, you know, you might connect with, who you might get close to that might get their break and that they might bring you along and you guys can form your own sort of thing. And you're part of that crew.

30:11 You know, I feel like now more than ever, there's a lot of crews in dance music, right? There's a lot of groups and people like, you know, how like the Brazilians are always supporting each other. The guys from the UK are always supporting each other. And I wish US Latinos and Hispanics would support each other a little bit more. I think Gordo has spoken about that in the past, you know, and he's been one to like really, you know, put on and put us forward and, and support us and like really push for like his Hispanic. And I think that's because, you know, I feel like Hispanics and Latin Americans, South Americans make up a majority of especially in the states, like of the people that are actually attending these these parties, the festivals, you know, it's a huge demographic. So, yeah, I mean, I think supporting each other, especially like, and it doesn't matter whether you're New York, Miami, LA, you know, any of these, you know, major cities, if, if you definitely want to get into house music, if you want to be part of the scene, I would say being in one of these cities is very, very important. It's crucial.

31:03 I think it will be a lot easier. And, you know, going out and supporting your, your local artists and your local scene, I think is the most important way and the easiest way for you to meet people, get put on, get your opportunity, you know, and then what you do with that opportunity is, you know, it's up to you. For sure. Yeah. I also see a lot of value in if you don't live in a major market, but you just throw your own show. And it doesn't have to be fancy, but you just like, if you can like cut your teeth with some of those entrepreneurial skills, right? And then you make the move. So at least, you know, you've thrown a show before, you kind of know how it works. I find so much value in that. And then also, like, I feel like not enough people give credit to their day jobs and the transferable skills. Like you said you were in sales.

31:50 I'm sure that had a lot to do with you being a really good promoter too, and you figuring out how to like, you know, get people to do things you want them to do. Yeah, I think that I think understanding the business side of the music game is very important because the older you get and the more you get into this and the deeper and the bigger you get, you started to you start to realize that it's, you know, it's not as easy. It's it's a lot of shit that goes on behind the scenes. That's, you know, that you having a good business mindset helps for sure. And to your point, I was just in Charlotte last night. I played in Charlotte for the first. Time I heard it's a great market it. Was amazing. I had never been there. I was surprised. Like everybody was dancing, they were grooving, they were locked in every single song. The vibe was amazing. So, you know, that promoter, he's a Venezuelan guy that lives in Charlotte, which is, you know, super random to begin with.

32:37 He's built a beautiful, a beautiful thing. You know, he's the only one of the only people doing house music over there in Charlotte. What's it called? Black Hat. OK, yeah, I think, I think my brother played. I'm not sure the. Venue is well, the venue is called Music Yard, OK. It's like an open air, pretty cool. Yeah, yeah, I think he but. The promoter's called Black Hat. But it was cool because, you know, touring now in different parts of the country, you know, you, you obviously, you know, take shows in different places for the first time. And, you know, I had no idea what I was going into. Yeah. But it was amazing. It was great, you know, and, and I think it's, I think the person I was actually watching where you the interview you had a couple weeks ago or were not that this guy, I don't know his name is, but seems like he built the community, you know, that's based on just the the vibe of his party and he's built not the headliner, not the. DJ Blind Tiger, Yeah, so.

33:22 Like the parties? I mean, I've never heard of the. I'm assuming the parties are amazing to somebody who's DJ ING. Yeah. Oh my God. Every comment, it was like a cult came in. They're like blind Tiger forever. I'm like, that's so cool. That's amazing. That's amazing. Yeah. And it just like. You know, people that have people that build things like that. I mean, the longevity of those type of brands I'm sure will go on forever. Yeah, which is great 'cause they're not dependent on the artists, you know, selling out the show, right? Which at the end of the day is, you know, there's a lot of pressure on artists, you know, to sell tickets, you know, especially as an up and coming artist. Totally. You know, sometimes we don't take shows because we're worried that we're going to, you know, flop, not flop or just not sell. Yeah. You know, as an up and coming artist, just to go into any room and sell 5700 tickets, I mean, it's not easy, you know? It's an amazing feat. And you, I think, I think I saw your story that that's what you did last night, right?

34:05 It was like a 500 person. Room no. It was like, you know, it was like it's like 354 hundred, you know what I mean? But everyone's having a good time. It's so much better than thousands of people in a room not dancing or just, you know what I mean? Like standing. I was in LA for the first time actually recently and I went to a show and nobody was dancing. And I don't know if that's in LA thing but I was fucking confused. Yeah, it happens. In Chicago, people dance. Yeah, they do. And I can't, you can't generalize entire markets. But of course it was just, it was just a really strange thing to see. And I know if I was a DJI would mentally not be able to handle that. Yeah, it's tough. It's tough because, you know, sometimes, you know, it doesn't matter what you play or what you people are just not dancing for whatever reason. And, you know, you question yourself. You would make am I like, the worst DJ in the world? Like what's happening, you know?

34:50 But, you know, sometimes you don't. Things happen, you know, and then there's some other times that just everyone's just vibing. I feel like, you know, obviously people on their phones, attention span, you know, for whatever the case may be. I mean the industry and that and, you know, people definitely used to dance a lot more, that's for sure. Yeah, because we didn't have distractions. Yeah, but it's cool, man. I think, you know, people want to capture the moment. I'm all for that. I think it's I think it's all, it's all good. You know, just obviously some places are going to be a little bit more, you know, culturally. I mean, LA is amazing. You know, I've been to parties. I mean, the last time I played it in LA, it was the party was incredible. Just depends I guess, you know, it's just maybe you just unlucky. I guess, I guess so.

35:33 So touring in Europe all summer, living in Ibiza and just touring in general these past couple years, ramping up. What have you learned about yourself as an artist that took you by surprise? Yeah, I think, I think when you continue to grow and grow and grow and you have these little wins and little wins and you start thinking to yourself, damn, can I really do this? Like, for real? You know, you kind of get like this new type of energy and self motivation of like, you know, really wanting to get to the next level. And by next level, I mean like really becoming like a, you know, a massive touring touring act, you know which I think it's it's you know, I think it's hard. It's not as easy as people think it is. Obviously, if you have a hit world record, of course, you know, whatever.

36:18 But like building it little by little, playing the long game, being consistent, you know, staying shoot of yourself. I think being humble is very, very important. I think a lot of this industry can can, you know, eat a lot of people up really, really quickly. So I found that I have a lot of self-discipline, a lot of willpower, and I'm just, you know, very determined, very determined to, to do it to, to, to, to make it and continue. Because, you know, I feel like anybody could have their moment for a year or two. But you know, I feel like sometimes we don't appreciate enough, you know, how incredible some of these guys that have been doing this for, you know, 10-15 years, you know, like the Bros like Marco, like Dennis, you know, Oscar G from from Miami, from, you know, absolute legends, You know, my mentor and one of my best friends, Edgar V that pretty much taught me how to DJ one of the first residents of space, you know, people that have been doing this for a very long time. It's not an easy, it's not an easy game. You know, people think DJ ING is like, I mean, it's like this beautiful, illustrious thing, but like the tour in the behind the scenes, the cancel flights, the bullshit you got to deal with.

37:22 It's a lot the stress, you know, but I wouldn't change it for anything in the world. It's a beautiful thing, you know, to be able to play music, share your music with, with the world. But yeah. And the one thing that I've, I've learned is that we're, we're very blessed. We're very blessed to be able to do this. I think it's a beautiful thing to, you know, say that you, you know, like literally just DJ for a living. Like that's, that's, I mean, really, if you, you take a second to just kind of step back and just, you know, it's kind of fucking insane, you know? But you're selling your old Co workers shoes. They're. Probably what the. Fuck is he doing? Yeah, I mean, everyone in my old job thinks that I'm insane for sure, because I was there for 12 years. Yeah. So that was. 24 years old when I first started working in corporate America, same job, same company.

38:02 Wow. And you know, people would just kind of see be like it's Skype for real. Is it really doing this? And then I just, you know, started touring more and more and more and then people had no idea how I would do it. I mean, even my wife has no had no idea how I would be. I was managing and I was like 1 of like the, you know, like a top performer, like year in, year out in sales. You know, I'm just very, very disciplined person. Would you say discipline is the number one thing you need to have as a DJ? What's what's the number one trait that someone needs to have to to make it? I would say you need to have a lot of discipline. You need to have short memory like you need to be able to like just let things go, not take things personal. I like that. You know, I think one of the things that I've really been working on myself is lately in the last, you know, I think this year is, you know, not looking left or right and not trying to compare myself to anyone. Because I mean, you can find yourself comparing yourself to XY and Z artists every single day, all day. Oh, why is this person doing this? How is this working for this person? Maybe I should try this.

39:03 Just kind of like just really just focusing on yourself and believing in what you're doing, right? Whether it works out great. If it does, maybe if it doesn't, whatever. But at least you, you know, did something that you wanted to do the way you wanted to do it and you didn't kind of, you know, we're always, I mean, it's it's tough that struggle, right? Because as an up and coming artist, you want to try different things to, to whatever, do whatever you can to better your career and to make it and get to that next step and get to that next party and get this festival. And, you know, whatever the case may be. Sometimes you might even do a song that you didn't want to do, but it had an amazing feature with a massive artist and you thought it was going to blow your Spotify up, but then it ended up just making you not do any and just make it made it worse.

39:46 You know, it's, it's weird. It's a very, it's a very challenging, it's a very challenging thing to understand. But I think, you know, as long as you consistency I think is very important, you know, but discipline is definitely, you know, one of the biggest ones because, yeah, I mean, I'm actually been trying to be, I mean, I drink here and there, but I've been trying to be as sober as possible on my shows. I mean, just, you know, being in a visa for 2 1/2 months, that was wild. Yeah. That was it was nuts. You know, it was literally every single day. It was something, it was something either I was playing or I would go, you know, see the Bros on, on their residency. And then I would leave for two days to play a show and then I would come back and then it was music on. And then every, every single day it was, you know, then I would go to Elro and then it was Sunday and like Solomon's playing.

40:35 It's like then there's 15 afters in a village every single day. It's like, you know, it's nuts, but it's cool. It's a beautiful thing because you get to network and you get to meet so many people because, and specifically in the in the music that I'm doing, in the lane that I'm in, you know, being there the whole summer was a massive, massive thing for me because I met so many people and I was so visible in front of the right people, right? Which I think is just as important as as anything, right. Kind of we talked about earlier about the team, you know, having a strong team, having a strong agent, obviously the music, the brand, everything's got to be on point. But a lot of networking and and relationships moves. It moves mountains in this industry. Being visible in front of the right people is the biggest thing.

41:17 That's something that I've had to navigate as I grow this show. I'm like, well, who is the right crowd? And sometimes it's not like necessarily like massive artists, right? It's behind the scenes people who have the relationships with the big artists who can get them on the show, you know? So it's you really have to be careful about where you're spending your time and make sure it's not wasted. You have a daughter, right? Yes. What's her name? Penelope. That Penelope. That's such a cute name. Does she have a favorite track of yours yet? Is there one that she like perks up to? No, I mean, she's just, she's just listening to me and I'm just literally like in the studio because I just have like, I mean, I live in an apartment.

41:58 Yeah. I mean, I work, I usually work, I work on a lot of music on my headphones. But like she's just, I'm always just, you know, on the computer, you know, on my, you know, on my MIDI just, you know, doing, trying different things. So she always sees me like, you know, she always, she has like her own little piano. It's funny because you see her and she she literally puts her posture in her hands the same way that I do, you know what I mean? Like you can just see like they're. Sponges, yeah. Sponges, yeah, so she's you know, she's always there, you know, vibing with me and but no, not really not one specific. I would say may if anything, and Sue Luad like, which is like one of like my, you know, biggest tracks ever because we always we always play. It always comes up like more when we're at like my mom, my wife's parents house. Like they the the first thing my wife's parents love to do when I walk in is like put like on like one of my sets, like on the TV.

42:40 It's like the last thing I want to see or listen to. Yeah, it's awesome. They love it. But yeah, she's always, she's always, every time she sees me on on on YouTube and stuff, she's always like dancing and stuff. It's funny. That's so I actually brought her on stage with me in Sevilla this summer in front of like 10,000 people. It was insane. And she was she, Yeah, she was. No stage fright. She loved it. Yeah, it was. Good, you might have a future star. Yeah, it was cool. It was cool. Yeah, Well, this has been so great. I'm so glad we finally got to do this. It's been months in the making, so thank you for. Making time? No. Thank you for having me. It was amazing. I appreciate. That is, your weekly elevation at Malone's story proves that sometimes you have to risk it all to get it all.

43:22 That transition from side hustle to full time artist isn't just about the music, it's about building systems, supporting your community, and having the courage to bet on yourself. All this? Remember, success in dance music isn't about luck, it's about strategy. I will talk to you next week.