We caught up with the brilliant and insightful MARK PEAY a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi MARK, thanks for joining us today. Folks often look at a successful business and imagine it was an overnight success, but from what we’ve seen this is often far from the truth. We’d love to hear your scaling up story – walk us through how you grew over time – what were some of the big things you had to do to grow and what was that scaling up journey like?
“From Broken Crayons to Building Creatively” –
My story starts when I was just a 2nd grader in a Baltimore City grade school Coming from a large family where I was the youngest of ten kids, I always had to find ways to amuse and occupy myself. For me that way was music. You say, why, in a big family of ten would I need to “find something to do” (As my elders used to say). Its because with so many siblings, it’s often easy to get lost in the mix. So music was my go to for self-entertainment. Listening to songs, creating rhythms, making uo beats and songs using whatever was around. This served as a healthy norm for me…or so we thought.
One day, my mother got a call from my school counselor and stated that they needed to speak with her rather urgently.. When she arrived at the school, they sat her down and told her something that she was definitely NOT prepared to hear…
“We think you son has autism”. When my mom asked why, the counselor and my teacher proceeded to tell her that it was because of my “constant tapping in class” and because I often “Sang my answers when called upon in class”. My mom stopped her and asked her “Are the answers he sings CORRECT?” After stuttering a bit, the teacher said, “Uh…yes they are correct answers, Mrs. Peay”. My mom then leaned back in her chair and said, “Well then…what’s the problem?”. Apparently, (according to my teacher) I was such a disruption and distraction to her and the class, that they offered to have me tested for autism or for some underlying learning disabilities. My mother said, “I’ll bite. You go right ahead.”
I asked my mother if something was wrong with me or if I was somehow broken. Her answer…”No son, you’re not broken. You just see and hear the world more colorfully than others. And even if you sometimes think you ARE broken, broken Ccayons STILL color.”
Fast forward to the results of the comprehensive test I was given based on my teacher’s autism concerns…
The results from my tests stated that not only was I not autistic and not only did I not have any learning disabilities, but that I was diagnosed as ‘Highly Gifted” and they recommended me for a new program for kids in the inner city who were gifted like me. And the rest is history.
This foundational story is very pertinent to my business and what I do as a business owner, an educator and a creative. This is because it birthed in me the importance and value of capacity, adaptability and inclusion. As a business owner it taught me to be open, to be receptive and to have capacity for the needs of all my clients. As an educator, it taught me to normalize “teaching the way my students learn rather than forcing them to learn the way that I teach”. And as a music producer, it daily reminds me that it’s okay to color outside the lines in the musical coloring book of life; broken crayons and all.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I am a native of Baltimore, MD, and have been blessed to have been a fixture to the arts and entertainment industry on both the East and West Coasts for over 30 years. I am an alumni of the Baltimore School of Performing Arts and a Peabody Conservatory of Music scholarship recipient. Along with serving at some of the nations largest mega-churches as musical director, I also served as former Musical Director for Grammy nominated recording artist, Kelly Price, awarding winning playwright and director, Tyler Perry, renown actress and singer Loretta Devine and numerous others.
One of the greatest loves of my life is what I do in the educational systems. I am also a proud music educator for both Drew Charter School in Atlanta, GA, as well as an adjunct professor for SAE Institute, teaching Music Theory and Compositional Studies.
Because of my industry and educational backgrounds, I was able to bring it all “full circle” when I launched WILMARK Media and Entertainment Group. My long time friend and business partner, Wil Francis and I have birthed several projects that are engaging, provocative and socially-driven.
My past and current work as musical director for well known artists, producers, actors and celebrities has given me the largess of experience, understanding, wisdom and strategies on how to increase your visibility, sustainability and worth within the music industry. Which is why I have just released my new book, “The Encore of Elevation” – A Practical Guide to Increasing Your Net Worth in the Music Industry. Available now on Amazon, Kindle and for download to all devices.
Order here: https://wilmarkmediagroup.com/e-book-purchase
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
3 things… Service, service and SERVICE!!
As a musical director, I have learned that being willing to serve your client is indeed a SUPER POWER. Why service? Because serving is the greatest gift you can give to others. It is an expression of living and of loving. Now SERVICE is not to be confused with SERVITUDE. Servitude is defined as: “A condition in which an individual lacks liberty, especially to determine his or her course of action or way of life”. Service on the other hand is defined as: “An act of helpful activity; to do someone a service.”
I have countless stories of the times I served as musical director for various artists onstage where the commodity of service caused not only the artist to shine, but allowed me to get the callback. My reputation as a self-less, compassionate and talented musician, director and educator have blessed me to be sought after and allowed me to excel in the various markets that I have traversed. Often as a creative, it is tempting to want to shine and self-express, even when accompanying artists. But being able to have the capacity to not only give the people what they want, but be perceptive enough to give the artist what they don’t even know they need. And THAT is the super power of service.
In my new book, “The Encore of Elevation” – A Practical Guide to Increasing Your Net Worth in the Music Industry, I discuss how enlarging your capacity will indeed enlarge your territory, which will indeed enlarge you bank account.
Have you ever had to pivot?
After gaining much success in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles, California, I knew that I wanted to return to my educational roots. Following the atrocities and injustices of the Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner cases, I sensed a tug in my spirit to get back into the classroom setting. I felt the call that a generation needed to understand how to re-build in equity and music and I knew that the arts was a vital part in doing so. So after briefly returning to my home in the south, I relocated to the mid-west and taught music. Upon relocating, it took me quite a bit of time to not only adjust to the colder climate, but also to the difference in cultural inclusion and collaborative opportunities. I found myself alone and aloof; often feeling like I didn’t have anyone to pour into; let alone anyone to pour into me. The Bible states, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17 NIV) During that time in my life, I had a dearth of people in my professional, creative and business circle to draw from or draw to. Low grade depression began to creep in. It was a dark time in my life.
During that same time, my then pre-teen son, Markis was selected to be part of a youth leadership trip to Shanghai, China. As his parent, I was also asked to accompany them. Upon arriving in mainland China, our delegation frequented a Chinese school daily. This is where our American students got to exchange and collaborate with the students and visa versa. We learned Mandarin and they learned English. Upon learning that I was an educator in the U.S., I was asked to teach several music classes to the Chinese students. That’s when the light bulb came on…
At that moment, I realized that it didn’t matter WHERE I was geographically, the light I needed to impact the world was INSIDE of me all along. And that light indeed followed me where ever I went. Upon arriving back in the states, I metaphorically pulled up my bootstraps and began to encourage myself and enlarge my capacity. And although I relocated from the Mid West shortly after, I learned to appreciate the lessons, experiences and friendships that I garnered along the way. And after all…It was there I met my lovely wife.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://wilmarkmediagroup.com/
- Instagram: musicmdmp
- Facebook: facebook.com/markpeay
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-peay-44158189/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/markpeay
- Other: https://www.idreamartscenter.org/
Image Credits
Mark Peay Stills by Chon