We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Cory Forthuber. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Cory below.

Cory, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

I earned my first dollar from my craft as a hip hop artist during the Summer of 2007. I was contacted by a local booking company about performing my music live at a venue in Denver, CO. Apparently they found me on MySpace.com (which was a thing at the time). The catch was that I had to sell all of my own tickets and then I received a portion of the profits, which isn’t ideal, but this was my first “real show” so I was pretty pumped for it. In the end I made something like $60 bucks and split that 50/50 with my brother Kano88 who was my producer and live performance DJ at the time.

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 have been making music since 2006. My record label is P.O.L. Music Records and I’ve been recording and releasing albums since 2007. Early on I was known by very few as “Mellow-C” of the hip hop group “Proof Of Life”. Later adopting the alias “IntraVenus” after going solo and beginning the label. I’ve released 13 albums, a few EPs and somewhere around 45 singles.

My favorite collaboration EP is with Krizz Kaliko and it’s called #KRIZZXCROSS
My favorite collaboration LP is with Little Red Rum and it’s called Pomegranates
My favorite self-produced LP is called Growing Pains
My favorite mainstream produced LP is called INFUSION

As an independent musician and emcee/vocalist I got to where I am entirely on my own and with very little money to invest in my product. So instead of paying for promotion I have always used my creative energy to increase my knowledge necessary to create good records. Often producing, writing and recording multiple solo songs each week. Sometimes even in one day.
Over the last 15 years or more, I have seen a lot of what it seemingly takes to be a successful independent modern musician. A whole lot of it seems to be creating a sort of image for your perceived audience, but I have found that a lot of the artists I am seeing are really fueling success by burning their money. Which only really works superficially to attract a temporary fanbase, only to have them drop off after you are unable to live up to the hype.
When I started producing, writing and recording hip hop music. I wasn’t into piles of cash or women and fame. I got into it because it is a unique outlet of true verbal expression (and I freaking love it). I view at it as a very important role that is often over-looked when young emcees are getting into the game. We are here to spread awareness and open minds. Not the other way around. So it has always been a goal of mine to reach an audience that really hears me, before slapping dollar signs on it. I’m very patient. It’s got to have a message and I’m not greedy.
I don’t believe many underground rappers of the passed 10 years or so have really made a sound for themselves that will stay relevant for very long. They don’t have a whole lot of thoughtful projects in their discographies and the topics of the majority of popular hits are all extremely shallow. Really a bit dim-witted. So I came to mix it up a little. Throw some new blood in the game.

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

Social media had always been a sore spot for me until I created a YouTube channel. I was going through a rough divorce and decided to make a few videos about my video game collection as a distraction for my mind, not really thinking much of it. Then I checked in on them about a year later and they had 10s of thousands of plays. Which had also gotten me over 1000 subscribers! So I made the decision to expand on the channel with more gaming related content. While also peppering in my music. Putting my songs at the beginning and end of each video. Sometimes low in the background. With clickable links in the video descriptions. I kept practicing video editing and making new videos. Eventually making entire visualizers to my songs or the occasional low-budget music video. Consistency really does pay off. I still do this today and have moved past 13,000 subscribers. It actually pays way more than music does on streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, etc.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

We need to collectively find a way to level the playing field, when it comes to making a living off of music. To the fans: Get merchandise directly from the artists and not second-hand companies. Find more ways to get real money into the hands of musicians and artists everywhere. We are living and dying for the music that you hear everyday. As a musician I can tell you that the amount of money we are paid for getting our music played is crime. I have a song with over 1,000,000 plays that I have only made $5.00 off of. It’s absolutely insane. The fact that I can make that same amount of money off of an effortless screen capture of a video game playing on YouTube with a fraction of the views is a tragedy! It makes no sense to me.
I don’t yet make a living off of either by the way. I still work a 40+ hour job every week that is completely unrelated to my true passion. So please go to the shows. Buy the albums. Stream the songs and support your favorite independent musicians and artists. We need all the support we can get.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_real_intravenus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554293310602
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/EmceeIV
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@EmceeIV?si=9R8YefyZiCCNsuFg
• Other: My newest single: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/intravenus/m-u-r-d-e-r-feat-little-red-rum

Image Credits
Daniel Forthuber Photography