We recently connected with George Mathews and have shared our conversation below.

George, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. What do you think matters most in terms of achieving success?

I used to think being successful just took just working hard and showing up. Being the first one in and the last one out. But in my years of experience In Sync licensing, I’ve come to realize that the most important thing you need to be successful is the ability to treat people the way they should be treated. To see the true value in people. As a CEO, it’s my job to recognize strengths in people and to put them in a position to succeed. Of course, you have to have a great skill set and an awesome work ethic, but ultimately it comes down to how you treat people and how you’re viewed by your peers as well. I’ve been fortunate to have fostered quite a few great working relationships over the years, some of which blossoming into lifelong friendships.

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.

My name is George Mathews. I’m the founder and CEO of Smash Coast Music, a Sync Licensing and music publishing company based in Los Angeles. Our primary services that we provide is the licensing of bespoke indie and production music to all areas of media. In other words, we create the background and featured music in television, film, video games and advertising. SMASH COAST MUSIC started licensing music in 2005 and was officially launched in 2009.

Since then, SCM has been responsible for thousands of music placements for indie artists across many genres and styles of music. What sets us apart from many of our peers and competitors? It’s the fact that we specialize in bespoke urban music of all styles. This is an area not many companies can compete with us in. At SCM, we set the bar high when it comes to customer service as well! With the highest quality music and the fastest turnarounds, we realize that the client is the priority.

I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished over the years and what we’ve put together with this community of great indie artists, producers, composers and songwriters. Another thing that sets Smash Codes apart that I failed to mention, is our great relationship with our creators. Even as the CEO, I make sure that everyone on our team has access to me. I keep an open line of communication with everyone and answer all questions asked of me. And as I said before, it’s all about how you treat people.

As far as accomplishments that I’m proud of, I’d have to say that I think I’m prouder of the team that we’ve put together. More so, the way that they rise to the occasion with our clients and tackle intricately detailed briefs that are sometime miles long, only to still turn in amazing music that is either early or right on time, amazes me! I see this over and over again and it never gets any less incredible to witness.

Our brand is… edgy. We’re small, boutique style in stature, but our love for music and the creators of it is robust! We don’t try to fit in, we stand out by being ourselves. We know the importance of music in the media, as well as in our lives. Our love for the for the music is what drives us. Our passion is what makes us dope!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

A story from my journey that illustrates my resilience? OK. In 2003, I moved to Los Angeles from Phoenix, AZ, fully intent on making it in the music industry. And after a couple of years of hustling bootleg luxury goods and working part time jobs, (I was even a dog bather for the majority of that time) I was finally introduced to Sync Licensing. I was 37 when I decided to move to L.A., so let’s just say that my friends and family understandably weren’t too supportive. So, knowing that the music I created was going to actually end up on television was very motivating for me. I made more music than I had ever made before. I was creating 10/15/20 pieces of music in a 24 hour.

On average, I would only sleep 4 hours per night, and my eating habits were even worse. Being a music producer, I never had the best eating habits or got much sleep. I guess one day it finally caught up to me. I had been working all night and all day on a submission for a music supervisor. After producing EDM beats for about 7 hours straight, I started to develop a tingling in my fingertips. It was early evening, and I didn’t think much about it. I decided to turn my equipment off and rest. The tingling never went away for the rest of the evening, so I decided to just go to sleep. But when I woke up in the morning, I had all but lost all use of my hands completely. The best I could describe the pain. Would be to compare it to Frostbite. It felt like sticking your hands in snow until your hands just hurt. I couldn’t press the keys down on my keyboard. And I couldn’t even lift a glass up to drink. Needless to say, I was scared to death.

I had no idea what was wrong with me. I immediately made an appointment with the doctor. And the first doctor I see. Within a few moments of speaking to me. Tells me that he believes I have Ms. I immediately get up and leave his office. Not believing him. But now I’m really scared. That first doctor’s visit was the beginning of a long line of doctors that basically had no idea what was wrong with me. After a bit more than I decade, I was finally diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder that was responsible for permanent damage to my peripheral nerve, causing peripheral neuropathy. Fast forward to today and yes, I still suffer from it, but much more tolerable with medication.

During this journey with my health, I’ve had many opportunities to quit. When this disorder first hit me, I was already neck deep at work with music supervisors and didn’t want to jeopardize my relationships with them or let them down. My only choice at the time was to get on MySpace and ask music producers to send me their music so I could keep the placements going. Thanks to the many guys that came through for me, I was able to concentrate on getting the use of my hands back. I’m forever grateful to those guys for stepping up for me!

I now have a single tattoo on my left arm that says, “Never Give Up”. I got it on one of those days I was about to do just that. I knew that if I got a tat saying not to quit, I never would because I’d never put a lie on myself. I’ve never been a quitter, but this journey has shown me just how resilient I can be. I’ll never stop, I’ll never quit!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think we’ve earned a great reputation within the space based on our work ethic and our attention to detail. We firmly believe that the client comes first in all situations, and we work accordingly. We realize that the clients’ time is valuable, and we pride ourselves on serving them in the most expeditious fashion possible. When you work this way, after a while word of mouth becomes a factor. People talk about bad experiences, but people also talk about great experiences as well. A great work ethic is a good way to build a great reputation. (Plus our music is awesome)

Contact Info:

• Website: smashcoast.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smashcoastmusic/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smashcoastmusic/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/smashcoast-music-llc

Image Credits
In photos: Kim Williams, COO at SmashCoast Music Aloe Black, recording artist.