We are all familiar with at least some of the music industry’s hottest artists at the moment, but we rarely come to wonder how those artists came to be where they are today. Sure, it must have taken a lot of talent, hard work, etc., but there is also a lot more to the music industry that normally does not meet the eye. There is a middleman through which all quality artists end up passing before they can hit the public, in this case, us.
And that middleman is the marketer. For this article, that’s Derrick Mayes Jr., CEO, and founder of his very own Mayes Marketing Agency, and more recently of freelance service brand Officialdmayes, established earlier this year.
A PR man and marketer with plenty of experience in the music world, Derrick Mayes Jr is the man who does pretty much everything your record needs, in order to become a hit. Unfortunately, it is not enough for you to have the right voice or even the right words. That all goes to waste if there is no one around to hear you. Well, Derrick Mayes Jr. makes sure the world hears you.
Through extensive PR work, social media and marketing campaigns, Mayes gets the word out about your upcoming release and builds the hype, so that there’s already a hoard of listeners dying to hear your new music when it hits the stores.
“My favorite part of the industry is definitely being able to be the middleman, I am not the spotlight person so I love that fact that I can put people in position so that they can be successful. Being able to give someone else the same opportunities I had is what I’m all about,” says Mayes, showcasing his modesty.
Now obviously, the PR man puts in a lot of work to build an artist’s public image and craft their online presence in such a way that it engages as many listeners as possible. What this quote from Mayes does is highlight what a thankless job it can be, though. No one hears about the PR man behind great bands, yet everyone has heard of the Rolling Stones, right?
And naturally, it is all too easy to become sour in this business, frustrated at how little recognition you are getting. But it is men like Derrick Mayes Jr. who keep the industry going. Instead of longing for recognition, Mayes finds solace in seeing artists he works hard with climb to the top and knowing that would not have been possible without him.
A thoroughly good person and a skilled marketer, Mayes swiftly identifies what a client needs and gets it for them, bridging the gap between the studio and the audience. In other words, he is the dude who is bringing you all the hottest hits of the moment, so let us just be thankful for that for a second.
Nobody questions when the lights go down and the spotlight shines over the artist, but let’s for a moment remember that it is men like Derrick Mayes Jr. who direct that spotlight in the first place.
