We recently connected with Rob Kleiner and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

I’ve spent my entire adult life working in music. For the 1st 10 years I would sometimes need other part time work to stay afloat. Though I was spending most of my time making music, expenses often exceeded profits. Though I was doing what I wanted, I wasn’t looking at it from a business perspective. Once I did, things started to change. The best creative/business advice I got went something like this: “Somebody is making money off your career even if you aren’t, how do you change that?” Recording studios were making money off my career, producers, mixing and mastering engineers were making money off my career. The lesson here was to cut out my expenses and learn these important roles for myself. Be truly independent. Taking that a step further I decided to stop knocking on the doors of record labels and music managers, and instead focus on mastering my crafts. I decided that once I was good enough those people would find me. And I was right.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m equal parts songwriter, producer, mix engineer, mastering engineer. I also do Dolby Atmos mixes. I could be wearing one of those hats or all of them depending on the project. With professional credentials across each of these aspects of music, I can be an asset for many needs. From creative to technical, I cover a lot of ground. Some notable recent credits include mastering the soundtrack for “Avatar: The Way of Water”, mixing Labrinth’s Euphoria season 1&2 albums, and writing/producing original music with millions of streams and featured in many popular films, tv and ads. I’ve been nominated for a Grammy 4 times. Some note worthy artist collaborators/clients include: Sia, the Weeknd, Andra Day, James Blake, & Zendaya. I work closely with all the major record labels as well as all the major film and tv streaming networks. The people I work with know me for my high quality and quick output as well as being easy to work with and open. I’m available to work with both established or independent artists. I love being on the ground floor working with up-and-comers.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I don’t think I can say it better than the old cliche “if you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life”. Another one is “you make your own luck” which I think is true, nevertheless I feel very lucky to able to thrive from a career based on my passions.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to continue to re-inspire myself every day. That could be producing music I love, or just finding and listening to something new. I do music because I love music. It always blows my mind to see someone working in this ecosystem who doesn’t (and there are TONS of them).

Contact Info:

• Website: robkleiner.com // semastering.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rob_kleiner/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rob.kleiner.7