We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Segovia a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, James thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I first started making beats when I was 17, I was actually on vacation in Cancun, Mexico with my family. It was the first day of our vacation and while we were settling into our room, I was on my dads phone watching youtube when i came across a video of a producer remaking “Bank Account” by 21 Savage. Now growing up, I would always hear music in a different way, I always knew what was coming in a song before hearing even hearing it, i mean that as in certain sounds, structure of a song and what notes the instruments/vocalist would go to at the certain moments. Basically, I always had an ear for music. That being said, watching that producer remake that beat, it seemed so easy that I downloaded Garage Band on my dads phone and began to remake that same beat. I kept going that entire vacation remaking popular songs beats and when i got back home my dad bought me a mac for my birthday. Since that day I have never stopped making beats/working on something musically. I also play piano which I taught myself at the age of 12/13, and now at the age of 23, I am a beat maker, a sample maker, piano player, recording/mixing engineer, and a studio owner.
Knowing what I know now about music, the industry and life, there are so many things I would have done back then to speed up the process. The first would be to be consistent on social media. Over the past year/year and half, I grew my TikTok from a couple hundred followers to over 3.2k at this moment. That all came from posting consistently regardless of how I felt about my work or in general. The connections you can make via social media is genuinely life changing and I suggest that any musician who wants to grow fast to get consistent with content. In today’s world, its essential.
Secondly, I would reach out to everyone and anyone you can. Reach out to producers, engineers, artists, songwriters, session musicians, vocalists. The list could go on. You never know who is going to like your work and see potential in you to work together. I probably DM about 100+ people a week and theres some weeks where i get 0 responses. Yeah it sucks and sometimes it might hurt my feelings but there might be 1 response that can change my life.
Third, I would be relentless with the input I give. I am at the point now where i work on music more a day then anything else. However, just a few years ago that was not the case. If your’e serious about your craft and you want to make it a profession. You NEED to be RELENTLESS. That means, no partying, no going out for happy hour, no hanging out. Straight work. Cut out distractions and things that are not helping you improve as a human, person and musician. Its hard but success is a lonely road.
The only obstacles that have ever stood in my way was myself. That goes for any human ever, EXTERNAL FACTORS ARE REAL, but life happens for you, not to you. If you want to make your dreams a reality, you go and get them, not wait around like a sheep. Procrastination, vices, laziness, limiting beliefs and not keeping promises to yourself is the only thing that will ever stop you from becoming who you truly are inside.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I got into my industry just by involving myself with other people on or above my level. Other engineers, other producers, artists. Anyone who had any type of industry connections. I always say “networking can be exponential”. When you meet someone, you have the opportunity to meet their entire network if you play your cards right.
The services I can provide are custom beat making, custom sample making, live recording, mixing and mastering, executive production. I can also provide various types of session musicians as well as a creative space for song creation/production.
I solve various problems for clients, wether they need a specific vibe or a specific type of instrumental, I can provide whatever that may be. If they need recording, mixing and or mastering, that will be provided as well. I’d say what sets me apart from others is my openness, my willingness to be more than just a producer or more than just an engineer. I love to become friends with my clients, know their stories, what they like/don’t like, what puts them in a creative head space. I do my best to give music the human touch and provide a comfortable space for clients to create in.
I am most proud of the progression I have made since I graduated college in January of 2023. Since then I have created my own studio, worked with various talented artists and grown my social medias tremendously.
My clients should know that besides everything I do, I am a music lover at heart. I can help create without touching a button or lifting a finger. I have the ear to help any vision come to life and thats only strengthened with my ability on the computer. They should also know that I am super eager to work on whatever comes my way, I love to feel uncomfortable and be well out of my comfort zone. That is when I thrive the most.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is the positive and negative feedback you get from your work. Not everyone is going to love your work and some people might even hate it. However, its something about responding with kindness and openness that can turn a hater into a lover of your work. Now on to the positive feedback, I love the dopamine rush of seeing your content do well, or your song/instrumental receive compliments/positivity. However, the part I love the most is knowing I have helped others. Theres been several times where I post a video and someone reaches out to me to let me know how much they have improved in their own productions just watching my videos. To me, thats worth everything and more.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
The way I built an audience for myself on social media was through CONSISTENCY and CREATIVITY.
Everyday I CREATE at least 3 different videos and constantly upload each one at least twice a day on every page I have across every platform I use (Instagram and TikTok).
No matter the results, even if you get 10 views on each video for 3 days straight, you MUST continue with your CONSISTENCY. Eventually, one video will pop off with the results you are seeking.
Lastly, you need to have a strong mentality. You are going to receive hate and negative comments. You are going to have days where you do not get the views you are used to getting. You are going to have days where you do not feel like creating nor posting. With a strong mentality, you can power through and deal with anything that can knock you off your trajectory.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @SegoJames @ProdbySego
- Other: TikTok @Segojames @ProdbySego
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