We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sergio Ortiz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sergio thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

The music industry is probably one of the most difficult fields to be in. After retiring from the U.S. Navy, I knew I didn’t want to go back to working for anyone ever again. I set my eyes on creating my own business and being independent from any schedules or bosses. I attended San Antonio College’s Music Business program the first couple of years and started investing a lot of time and energy into my music career. I quickly realized the music industry has no rules and no safeguards for the musicians’ well-being, financially or any other way. I realized most people in San Antonio, and everywhere else for that matter, see musicians as hobbyists rather than music professionals. Many venue owners/managers think musicians should feel lucky to play in their establishments, Most of the time they offer you little to no guarantee, yet expect you to bring in a crowd and fill their bars.
The other day a well-known local establishment reached out to me asking to open for a touring band. I asked about pay and they told me there is no pay, but would give us the “opportunity” to sell tickets for a discount price of $10 and we could keep $2 from every ticket sold. If we sold 100 tickets ($1000) we would get $200 for the band. I responded asking for a $500 guarantee to pay my five band members $100 each for the gig. Then crickets… No response. I realize many venues cannot afford to pay $500 for a band because they don’t have the volume of customers coming in. I get it. But this amplifies a larger problem in the music and entertainment industry.
For this reason, many of us in the music industry have to hold several jobs to make end meet every month. I am lucky to have a retirement check, but even then I have to do so many other jobs to enjoy the quality of life I desire.
This is the reason I am so passionate about changing the current state of affairs. I am not sure how successful I will be in the end, but I feel much more satisfaction doing what I do than I think I would doing anything else. At the end of the day, music is an important part of all our lives. And the music industry professionals who bring us this music should be able to live a comfortable life as well as any other professional.

Sergio, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Most people know me as Remo. My stage name is Sgt. Remo and I perform all over Texas with my band The Vibratones. We are a six-piece reggae band playing a lot of roots reggae music as well as a little bit of dancehall. I fell in love with reggae music in high school and it’s been an integral part of my life ever since. While in the Navy, I met a couple of guys from Guyana and Jamaica. They were just as passionate about reggae as I was and one day we started recording over the B sides of popular Jamaican records. At first it was just for fun, but eventually I started recording originals and in 2011 I started my label Jah Yute Entertainment. 13 years later, I have released over 40 albums/EPs/singles for myself and many other artists. Since moving to San Antonio from Florida in 2013, I started to find other areas I felt needed some attention to further my goals. I realized merch could help to generate additional income at our gigs so I started screen printing t-shirts. This was the beginning of one of the many small business ventures I’m involved in today. Another area that needed attention was live sound reinforcement. Many places we played at did not have adequate PA Systems or audio engineers, so I started learning more about running sound for bands. I started to buy equipment so we could put on a good show. Fast forward a few years and friends started reaching out to me about printing their merch or running sound for their events.
Music marketing has been one of my latest endeavors. Without knowing, I’ve been learning about music marketing since I first released my first album in 2011. When I first released that album, I though people would discover it and like our music. But in reality, it was a complete failure. I didn’t understand the music industry landscape. Today, I understand marketing is one of the most important elements for any business, not just music. So I’ve spent a lot of time, energy, and money in presenting our work in a professional manner at the same level of any music label, no matter how large.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

It’s important for creatives to understand the power of social media. It’s a great tool to reach new audiences and be discovered. I started with Facebook and today I am pretty much on all the platforms although Instagram has become one of the most engaging platforms for me in the last few years. I post daily on most platforms but I try to share engaging content that is relevant not just to me but to my audience. People want to feel a connection with the artists they follow. They want to feel as if they know the artist personally, even if they never approach you in person. One thing I feel can be done better by some musicians and creatives is to understand that whatever you post is helping to define your brand. Every brand has a tone, whether it’s professional, funny, hip, etc… I hate to see creatives use their social media as a personal page where they address issues which may be too personal. This type of posts drive away potential fans/customers who don’t know you personally.
Also, I see some artists who are just starting up who don’t follow anyone or do not engage with comments, shares, etc. Social media is social. There is an actual person on the other end of the screen. Responding to comments, following people back, engaging with similar pages are all part of being social. It’s just like in real life. We have to build relationships with our supporters.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

One thing I wish I would have done earlier is to network. I am an introvert by nature so networking and talking to people has never been one of my strengths. But in the music industry, networking is the key to success. You don’t get booked because of how great your art is. You get booked primarily because of who you know. The music industry does not have any rules. There are those who can make things happen, and you need to know them on a first name basis.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sgtremo.com/home
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgt.remo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sgtremomusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/sgtremo
• Other: https://linktr.ee/sgt.remo

Image Credits
Rick Rodriguez Sade Tashone