We were lucky to catch up with Jarvis Blackmon Jr. recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jarvis, appreciate you joining us today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

Around 2019, I secured my first paid teaching opportunity through Los Medanos College. I was invited to deliver a lecture, paid at a rate of $175 per hour, on music royalties and streaming. The session focused on helping students understand how to use streaming platforms to generate royalties and tap into monetization opportunities.

Jarvis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I got my start as an independent educator through a partnership with the Boys and Girls Club in Pittsburg, California. I was given the opportunity to run a music studio designed to teach youth how to engineer music and understand the structure of song creation. The program originally launched as a safe space for kids to spend their Friday nights, addressing the need for positive, constructive activities. At the same time, it offered a pathway for students to develop valuable skills that could lead to future income.

This initiative later evolved into a focus on marketing and entrepreneurship. Venomous Productions began as a music production company, but as I continued working with artists, I noticed a recurring issue: many were spending large sums of money at high-end studios without understanding how to engineer their own music at home. I saw this as a teachable opportunity—not just to help artists become more self-sufficient, but to encourage them to redirect their budgets toward marketing, which I recognized as one of the most common areas holding them back from success.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

As a musician and performing artist, one of the most valuable lessons I wish I had learned earlier was the importance of music publishing and royalty collection. Many artists don’t realize that even if they aren’t being paid directly by a venue or club to perform—such as at open mic events—they may still be entitled to performance royalties. If their songs are properly registered with performance rights organizations like BMI or ASCAP, those performances can generate earnings.

These organizations act much like unions for musicians, ensuring that artists are compensated when their work is used publicly. What I didn’t know at the time is that each song performed must be registered, and every live performance reported—similar to clocking in for a job. Depending on the event and usage, each song can generate anywhere from a dollar to $10 or $15 in royalties. That means artists who regularly perform without logging these details could be missing out on hundreds of dollars in unclaimed income.

I’ve since given lectures to help educate other artists on how to properly register their work and report performances, so they don’t leave money on the table as I once did.

Can you share your view on NFTs? (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFTs represent a powerful shift in how we consume and value digital content. They offer an innovative way for consumers to move beyond passive use and actually become owners of unique digital assets. While cryptocurrency as a whole has faced skepticism—often due to misunderstanding and misuse—I’ve recognized the potential of NFTs from the very beginning.

I truly believe NFTs are the future of digital ownership and creative commerce. They provide artists, musicians, and creators with a new framework to monetize their work directly, without relying solely on traditional platforms or intermediaries. I’m excited to be part of this evolving movement and committed to helping others understand how to leverage NFTs to turn their creativity into sustainable income.

Image Credits

Jb quinnon