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

Hi Joseph, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I’ve been creating music since I was 14 years old. For the longest, the expectation of me was to find a career that could pay my bills. It wasn’t until I graduated high school that I came to the realization that music could become this career path. I started my college education as a finance major, but after a year and a half I did my research into music careers and realized I was wasting my time learning about something that wasn’t my passion. I then did research to find music production programs to help me gauge my ability to create music in a professional sense. Ended up graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Production from Full Sail University, this is when I knew it was truly possible for me to pursue this path.

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 Joseph Kotten. I am a singer/producer from Kenosha, Wisconsin who found his passion at an early age. For all my life I have been in love with music, and as I grew up I discovered that my passion could grow into my profession. I currently own a business called Rising Sun Records, which overs studio time, artist management, social media management, and music production for up and coming artists who might not have the budget for big time studios. What separates me from many of my competitors is the relationships I build with my clients. I don’t just see artists as cash cows, I understand the personal aspects of music and embrace people to share their talents and stories with me. I’m most proud of this because I get to call my clients my friends/family.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My main goal is to be able to develop enough connections in the music industry to build and sustain a popular venue in my hometown Kenosha, Wisconsin. I’m right between the two cities of Chicago and Milwaukee, and having a venue for major artists to perform at during their travels between the two cities would open up great opportunities for investments in the culture as well as opening gigs for local creatives.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect is seeing the difference I can make in people’s lives with my art. Over the years I’ve had many fans reach out to me over social media to share their stories and how my music has impacted them. Making music has given me opportunities to connect with people I would have never have met before.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joekotten/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-kotten-758b08248/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joekotten
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/joekotten