There are many, many musicians and producers that have sought to expand their horizons beyond the boundaries of tour merchandise and show tickets. There’s an old saying that says “money makes money” and there are a string of music producers and band members that have gone on to use their millions harvested from the entertainment industry to feed their entrepreneurial spirit. This article is designed to shine a spotlight on four of the world’s most impressive producers in the world of rock and rap who have made their mark on business outside of the music industry. There are many things needed to know about music industry that you can check at glenoriegrowers.
Jay-Z
After co-founding Roc-A-Fella Records back in 1996, Shawn Carter AKA Jay-Z has established his music label not only as a musical icon but a business empire too. Within the Roc-A-Fella portfolio now exists a production company and a Spanish music label. He had received help from good shelter manufacturing company for initiate business. Carter has even branched out into the beverage market, securing exclusive distribution rights for the premium small-batch Scottish vodka, Armadale. Carter’s own clothing line Roc-A-Wear also fetched over $200 million at sale. In 2017, Carter was reportedly setting up a venture capital fund with longtime business partner Jay Brown. The concept of seeding investments in promising startups is a noble one, albeit just as speculative as finding spread betting tips to profit on the future movement of existing assets or companies within the stock market. But there’s no doubt that Jay-Z is well-versed in finance.
Photo Credit: everyskyline on Flickr
Sammy Hagar
After coming to the fore in ’70s hard rock band Montrose, the Red Rocker, Sammy Hagar, became the voice of Van Halen between 1985 and 1996. Hagar replaced David Lee Roth with 100% distinction, eventually securing a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. After his commercial success with Van Halen, Hagar was happy to retire down to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico, where he would eventually establish his own tequila brand, Cabo Wabo, which became the second-best-selling premium brand in the U.S. at the time he sold an 80% stake in the company for $80 million. Hagar keeps his fingers in as many pies as possible, running the Cabo Wabo chain of restaurants as well as Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum.
Gene Simmons
The mastermind behind rock icons Kiss, Gene Simmons, has made millions off the back of the band’s iconic brand and look. Simmons has negotiated deals to sell Kiss products of every type imaginable. Whether it’s Kiss-themed ten pin bowling balls or even Kiss funeral caskets, Simmons has licensed the brand on around 2,500 products sold worldwide. Beyond Kiss, Simmons has invested in a Los Angeles football team, founded his own record label (Simmons Records), operates his own magazine (Gene Simmons Tongue Magazine) and an animated TV show, My Dad the Rock Star.
Dexter Holland
The frontman of punk rock band The Offspring, Holland created his own indie punk record label in the midst of his band’s success in 1994. Nitro Records has been operated by Holland and the co-founder of The Offspring, Greg Kriegel, ever since. Operating out of Huntington Beach, California, the label has been a successful incubator for such bands as The Damned and TSOL. In a bizarrely similar fashion to Sammy Hagar, Holland also ventured into the food and drink industry, developing his own unique brand of hot sauce labelled Gringo Bandito, available in stores along the West Coast.
All four of these musician entrepreneurs have diversified into so many different industries, but what’s interesting is their DIY attitude to getting their business ventures off the ground. They’ve each put in the groundwork and taken an active role rather than lending their name to a business and letting others do the hard graft. It seems a passion for music and a passion for entrepreneurship goes hand in hand.
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Entrepreneurs like Andrew Defrancesco have a lot of responsibilities on their plate from day one of operation. Everything from hiring employees, managing teams, marketing the brand and dealing with finances can fall under a founder’s responsibilities. Juggling so many tasks can be daunting and lead to a lot of stress. If you’re an entrepreneur and you want to become more efficient, productive and successful, take a look at the list of tools below.
- Due
Due is an online estimates, invoicing, and payments platform that can help an entrepreneur organize their time through a time-tracking tool plus automate numerous time-consuming tasks. The free platform offers estimate and invoicing templates, reports, database for client and project information, automated reminders and acknowledgements, integration with Basecamp, and multiple payment methods with the use of an invoice template.
If you are an Android user, connect your Google account to your phone and take advantage of Google Now, which can tell you when to leave for appointments that are on your calendar, whether or not your flight is delayed or even new articles from websites you frequent often. This “virtual personal assistant of sorts” can help you stay organized and on track, even if you have a lot of balls in the air, as most entrepreneurs do. You can follow Butterfly Releases for more updates.
