Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Alejandro Medina. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alejandro, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
This question caught my attention. Am I happy as an artist or creative? Sometimes. Sometimes not. I spend a lot of time figuring out ways to make the things I love to do pay me. I don’t really wonder what a day job would be like because I’ve had one. Out of college I had a job doing database management for a healthcare IT company. While I was at that job I ended up getting diagnosed with ADD after falling asleep in a meeting. My doctor said something interesting that stuck with me. She said, with ADD, it’s easy to hyper focus on things you love. On the contrary it’s impossible to focus on something you’re not interested in. I took that to mean that for me, ADD can be a superpower if I can find ways to make the things I love to do pay me at least as much as a day job. I quite that job about a month later and have been pursuing a career in the creative field ever since. It has it’s ups and downs, and many frustrations but I know that if I make this work I’ll at least not have to pop pills to feel like a normal person. I love to create. The happiness comes from time to time, in the meantime I just focus on the discipline it takes to get more of those moments.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m Alejandro Medina III, I’m a musician, artist, producer, content creator, photographer, videographer, bass player, business owner, entrepreneur… a number of things. My first semester out of high school I attended Berklee College of Music as a bass player hoping to study audio engineering. I was there for a semester before transferring to Belmont University where I studied audio engineering and eventually graduated Business Administration.
My time at Belmont I realized there were things I could better learn through mentors and practice leading me to study business, which I felt would be a necessity in anything I chose to do in or out of music.
Today, I spend most my days working on music or working with the very best clients and partners on a number of businesses, some of which are solely music related and others which are more corporate and I can use my creative knowledge for marketing and branding.
On the music/creative side I started releasing music under my full name (Alejandro Medina III) this year, and have a couple collaborative projects previously released under the name Colour Storm. As an artist, I release music in the Latin Urban genre blending Reggaeton with my own personal flavors, too many to describe (you’ll have to listen to it and tell me what you think it is). Also on the music side, I work closely with one of CMT’s Next Women of Country 2022: Julia Cole as her Director of Media, working on music videos and other creative content as well as touring in her live band playing bass or sometimes guitar. I not only work on her content but also learn a significant amount about being an independent artists as she’s one of the best I know with an incredible trajectory. Through 3rd Lion, I spend a lot of time producing records for others as well as making music videos, photoshoots, album arts, and anything else artists need to launch and maintain an artist career. With a constantly changing music industry and the shift in consumption I work with artists to find creative solutions to get their music right and heard by the world.
On the corporate side, I work with companies some of which I’m partnered with and some who have 3rd Lion on retainer for digital creation and ad management. A few years ago, my good friend Marshall Kasowski (L.A. Dodgers organization) started an online baseball training company, Throwdown Athletics, that we’ve worked closely together on developing with his expertise in baseball and my skills in the creative world. I partnered with him to get Throwdown out in the world and we’ve since ran our first camp and launched a couple products as well as working on the development of a new hitting program. Through 3rd Lion, I also work closely with my good buddy Todd Filbrun of Transform Energy and Cleanlogix, both solar companies out of California, creating marketing content and managing digital ads.
3rd Lion can best be described as a production company specialized in both music production and artist/corporate branding. Alejandro Medina III the artist, can best be described as a Latin-American artist making music people can simply vibe or have a good time to.
My goals with everything I do is to work with good people and add value to every conversation I have. I plan on releasing a ton of music starting in late January and play more live shows. I’m working with my manager Luciano Pinto of Candela Records in the UK on release strategies for the upcoming year as well as planning some live show dates. With 3rd Lion, I have a couple new additions to the team that I am excited about and plan on expanding 2o23 to service more clients and provide the world with the best music, videos, creative content, and business growth.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
The biggest thing I wish I had taken seriously early on is the value of understanding business. One of the hardest realizations I had in my adult life was the day i realized that being very talented simply wasn’t enough. Neither was just “working hard” and hoping for the best. A business education is fundamental for daily life. Everything costs money and the love of music alone doesn’t pay the bills. I used to believe it wasn’t good to mix business with friendships, now I realize the best friends do good business. I think everyone should understand a balance sheet, income, expenses, assets and liabilities and see music business as an opportunity to make a living doing what you love with a well thought of plan rather than some nasty business that is out to get you. Sometimes it is a nasty business out to get you and the best defense is financial literacy. The resource I wish I knew earlier is that, financial and business literacy.
Have you ever had to pivot?
The biggest pivot in life and career I had to make was after realizing that sheer talent alone wasn’t enough to get by. I remember the day I accomplished all the goals 18 year old me had and I was still struggling to get by. At that time I started going down the YouTube rabbit hole and realizing that the best information people have to give is usually promoted through interviews and podcasts as they sell their books. The books contain the meat and potatoes. Books are how an author makes a well deserved living off of the information that can bring you great value. I remember picking up books like Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad, Chris Voss’s Never Split the Difference, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and many more. I would read books to supplement the information I was missing in my personal life then think of creative ways to apply their information into my daily needs. For instance, Robert Kiyosaki’s book has knowledge that came from real estate but a lot of the same principles can apply to a musician if you think of intellectual property as an asset and work to grow a portfolio of mechanicals, publishing and anything else that can bring in revenue through ownership or negotiations. Of course a little different with many variables but that was my pivoting process where I stopped hoping for the best and started formulating plans, targets, visions and goals.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.3rdlion.com
- Instagram: alejandro_medina_3
- Facebook: Alejandro Medina III
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@3rdLion