We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Klausing a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jessica, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

My mom deserves all the credit for this one. We were brainstorming names one day when she asked me what exactly was the purpose of my blog. I thought about it and replied that I intended to write about B-side music rarities that get overlooked and to provide a platform to share up and coming artists’ music. She immediately thought of the old saying “see you on the flip side” and suggested that. I loved the “on the flipside” phrase because most of what I write about is often not covered in mainstream media, and it’s also a fun allegory on flipping the record over to listen to more music. That’s how On The Flipside Music was born.

Jessica, 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 have had a passion for music and writing from an early age. I did not officially combine the two until my sophomore year at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, GA. I was skimming through some magazines at this local music store where I used to take guitar lessons and just thought, “I want to write about music. This is what I want to do with my life.” I went home and contacted every music magazine on that magazine stand. I had one that offered me a guest writer slot.

My job was to write about the different guitar recording techniques used in professional studios. For the record, I did not know anything about recording or mixing music whatsoever! My work was cut out for me, but I was determined. I spent countless hours at the campus library (we had a really bad internet connection at home!) researching anything I could find about recording guitars. I interviewed guitar players and visited actual recording studios. A few months later my first music article was published in Recording Magazine, and that opened the door to more publication offers for me.

I initially created my music blog for a class project. I was so focused on writing for print publications that I never considered blogging. The idea came about from some friends overseas – they wanted to read my music articles but could not find those magazines. I posted my articles on that blog to share with them. I love talking about music and sharing it with others. I’m always eager to hear music recommendations from others too! The blog was an easy way to connect and share with a broader audience. My ultimate goal is to introduce the newer music as well as re-introduce some old favorites.

On The Flipside Music has evolved so much over the years. What started as a simple college class project has become a working collaboration. I have recently teamed up with DJ Marq from On The Marq Radio Show to form Aries Fire, an A&R company that helps manage artists.

How’d you meet your business partner?

DJ Marq and I go way back! He is one of my dearest best friends. We met several years ago working for the same television company in Atlanta. We became friends over our love for music, and we share the same birthday! Marq has been a huge supporter for On The Flipside Music over the years. He started his amazing music podcast, On The Marq Radio Show to help promote indie Soul and R&B artists. We both wanted to take our platforms a step further to help manage artists and have teamed up to do so through our new collaborative business, Aries Fire.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Teamwork makes the dream work. I think it’s very important for managers and business leaders to work alongside their staff. No one should be treated differently regardless of their status or position within the business. We’re all working towards the same goal, so there’s no reason to be competitive with each other. Everyone deserves to be heard and recognized for their contributions.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ontheflipsidemusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/ontheflipsidemusic

Image Credits
Safe Haven Visuals, On The Flipside Music, SAW Photography, Wonderful Union