We recently connected with Carlos Beltran and have shared our conversation below.

Carlos , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I am fortunate enough to say I have been able to make a full time living from being a musician/ creative. I was drawn to music at just 4 years old, but I knew I wanted to pursue a career during my early years of high school. My Junior year I was invited to play for a pops concert by my music teacher who saw potential in my talent. This was my first paycheck as a performer. From then on I knew this was the career choice I wanted to pursue, but it wasn’t going to be easy. The first hurdle was convincing my parents. My dad was convinced I wouldn’t be able to make a career out of a “hobby”. After a lot of back and forth I was able to persuade them to tour MI (Musicians Institute) in Los Angeles, the school I would later call home. Throughout college I learned what a rollercoaster of a future career this might be. Constantly getting rejected at auditions or getting underpaid for gigs because I was trying to make a name for myself. I quickly learned I needed to grow some thick skin in order to survive in this industry, as the no’s typically exceeded the yes’s. I’ve never considered myself to be the most talented drummer but I always maintained persistence, dedication and a collaborative personality. While pursuing music and still in school, I shifted my career path to Music Business and decided to learn the ins and outs of the industry, getting to intern for label execs and being mentored by well established concert promoters I realized just being a musician and touring wasn’t the lifestyle for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love performing both in the studio and on stage but as I got older I began realizing that depending 100% on gigs and sessions every week wasn’t going to be the way to maintain a healthy lifestyle or even a family in the future. If I got sick and wasn’t able to make a gig I wasn’t making money that day, plain and simple. This is where my ambition to continue working in music/entertainment grew more in depth. I had been on stages and in tours but now I wanted to be on the other side and plan them and work on them. Right now I can proudly say that nearly half of my income continues to be from my passion which is playing the drums. I’m on stage almost every weekend playing music and making people happy. The rest of my career consists of event logistics and planning with some aspirations of more entrepreneurship.
I have always lived in the moment and felt like my life has been circumstantial. I have adapted to what life throws at me or the current opportunities I am presented and make the most of them. I wouldn’t have sped up the process but I would have definitely embraced some moments more than others.

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 come from a hard working well accomplished family with two parents who are both medical professionals and two older siblings who have degrees in law and phycology. Leaving me, the black sheep of the family who wanted nothing more but to pursue music and entertainment. As I mentioned before, I was drawn to music at an early age and since then knew I had to follow my passion wherever it took me and no matter the obstacles. The only thing I can say is you have to be consistent. Discipline comes from consistency. To become better at something you have to do it consistently and accept failure. As corny as it sounds, Failure isn’t the opposite of success it’s part of it and that is what got me through a lot of my professional milestones. I am a musician at heart and will continue to work on stage as long as I can but i found with that passion came a new love for bringing musical and artistic experiences to people and that is where Deep Culture was born. Deep Culture was created with the idea to highlight music and art by curating and promoting experiences that bring people together in one setting. It continues to develop day by day but has been extremely rewarding to see what it has already brought.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is the feeling of knowing I brought happiness to people while giving it all my energy. I never know what situation a person is currently living through or what they’re experiencing but the common denominator between us is music and art. Whether I’m playing an event or organizing it, I’m helping bring a mood and environment where a person can simply live and enjoy, sing along or dance along. In addition, every event is different and you never know the outcome. It brings a bit of spontaneity which motivates me even more. You can prepare and walk through a scenario as many times as you want but there are so many factors that will determine the outcome. For many people this can be terrifying but it goes back to my mention of being circumstantial and “living in the moment” all you can do is embrace it and adapt and learn whether it was good or bad. That is the most rewarding aspect.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think people in general have a misconception of what being in the entertainment/ music industry is. As a musician people often tell me, “What you do is easy. All you do is play music” “That’s not hard”. Or the complete opposite is people defining success with being famous, touring, selling records and thinking if you’re not “accomplishing” that then you’re not really making money “so how could you possibly be sustaining yourself” and… not always taken seriously. Being a musician/ creative is hard as it is. You’re typically “swimming upstream”. You’re already pursuing a non conventional career.
It’s not easy. When you’re job is to entertain and perform and you always have to be on your A game or else how are you going to keep up with the late night, 2-3 hour shows, not to mention the social aspect. Often people want to connect with you afterwards so you have to consistently put on this positive attitude. Mental and physical health are extremely important. I’ve made exercise a priority in my life fe so I can at least try and keep up with myself.
Now transitioning to my next point. There are many ways to be successful in this industry. It just depends what your end goal is. Many colleagues have had financial success by giving lessons and occasionally gigging. Others including myself by being session musicians or even corporate musicians. If your goal is to be a singer songwriter/ producer then you have to commit 100% and learn to define what kind of artist you are and bring something authentic to the table. It took me years and a lot of hard work and dedication to establish myself as a professional musician and I will confidently say that 99% of my jobs/ contracts have been through referrals. Why do people keep calling me back? To be honest I don’t know. I don’t consider myself to be the best musician. I know many colleagues who without a doubt are way more talented than me. The one thing that sets me apart I think is my attitude and charisma. I have dedicated so much to my craft but above that I think I’m easy to work with. I take constructive criticism well and i’m always willing to collaborate. In summary the one thing that is applicable to everyone in any career and has helped me in mine is consistency and dedication. Give it your all, learn from the bad experiences and be thankful for the good ones. Accept failure and keep moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carlosbeltranmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carlosbeltranmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlos-beltran-55957089/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@carlosbeltranmusic

Image Credits
Carlos Beltran