We recently connected with Julian Carpio and have shared our conversation below.
Julian, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s talk legacy – what sort of legacy do you hope to build?
When I start thinking about the future, and all of the opportunities that have yet to come… I can’t help but picture the empire I’ve yet to build. I’ve always pictured myself standing on my own two feet, surrounded by the people I love most; creating something that inspires positive change in the world. These dreams have always been on my mind… I just had to find the means of communicating them with the world.
Modern Renaissance was the means to my ends. Within three years, I created a community of like-minded, hard-working artists who inspired each other to step confidently into the world of music. We wanted to empower independent artists and show them that we could stand together to create an empire, instead of competing against each other as individuals. Over time we shared our thoughts and ideas with each other, as well as our friends, family, and fans through the music. Speaking our minds, and establishing ourselves as the people that we’ve always wanted to become. That was the main goal of Modern Renaissance Records… to inspire that change in the community of creatives around me. These values held our community together and inspired an abundance of growth (creatively and personally) throughout the collective.
As a kid… I didn’t feel very included or in touch with the people around me. I was always dreaming of a way to escape the world, getting lost in my thoughts. Music always allowed me to take a step back, it showed me how to reflect on my own life from someone else’s perspective. Capturing those moments where I let my mind flow freely were some of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences of my life. And whether it was intentional or not, I began making changes in my own life. I decided that this was a bet I had to make on myself. So when I think of the legacy that I will be leaving behind, there’s a clear image that I’d like to bring to light.
Modern Renaissance is, and always will be, a hub for inspiration, creativity, and community. We have and always will connect artists with their communities by sharing their stories with the world, indiscriminately. By securing independent artists’ rights and allowing our artists full ownership of their music… Modern Renaissance Records hopes to inspire a legacy of independence, loyalty, and innovation; by taking steps to establish Modern Renaissance Records as a leader in the music industry, and by creating more opportunities for upcoming artists.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Julian Carpio, and I am the founder of Modern Renaissance Records. A fully independent record label and art collective located in Orlando, Florida.
We provide professional studio recordings, mixes, and masters at affordable prices to create more opportunities for upcoming artists. I founded Modern Renaissance Records about three years ago when I decided to pursue artistic independence. Once I established myself as a free-standing independent artist (owning all parts of my music and providing mixing and mastering services for local artists), I called for my fellow artists and friends to follow in my footsteps!
One key element to Modern Renaissance Records is that all of our artists own the rights to their music in their entirety. We have established trustworthy relationships with our artists and are excited to see them grow in their ventures! By allowing our artists their independence and encouraging positive growth, we hope to see a new wave of artists unfazed by the fears of the old music industry. An era where artists are no longer bound by major record deals or closed off to the world of music distribution and publication.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
One of the scariest but proudest moments of my life was when I quit my day job. I had been working as a valet for quite some time, but as the days passed, I became frustrated with where I was in life. I had horrible managers who never respected my time. And I was surrounded by coworkers who were more focused on who had the dopest car; or the most expensive clothes.
It was a terrible environment to be in, and it felt like we were playing some twisted game. Being ordered around like puppets, not people. I was over the ignorant customers and the entitled bosses. I became so angry with myself for letting them toy with me and vowed that I’d never let someone treat me that way again. I promised myself that I’d never work for anyone else. I would never put anyone through that kind of situation, and I hoped to never be in that position again.
Now, here I am with my record label. Working alongside people who inspire me, people who take action on their dreams. People who don’t hesitate to chase after their crazy ideas. I always thank everyone who got me to this point because I know I couldn’t do it without them. I remind myself daily and appreciate the resilience it took to commit to this dream. The months of extreme saving/budgeting to build the studio and the following months of free work to bring in business. The acceptance that money wasn’t everything and the realization of my dream. I knew we could create something from nothing. That was my motivation.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I took the genuine approach to social media. Most people won’t agree with me, but I stand by my beliefs. All of our artists, including myself, have created our social media followings organically. No ads paid, no social media placements. Just plain old posting every time one of us is having a night out with friends or videos of us creating/jamming out to our music. We reached out to our friends and family to share our music on our release days, and it spread like wildfire from there. The most important part is consistency. You have to stay disciplined with your posts and your brand!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://modernrenaissancer.wixsite.com/modernrenaissancerec
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliancarpiomusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julian.carpio.50
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/juliancarpiomus?s=21&t=pDVsGICbKzGRT_rlTLBJeA
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCOf9Ftv63HgO2PKGKw7-bJg
- Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3NmwdrxWuSgySPEOiGK0Ya?si=tMQAHlqTSOOk-Moisu3p9g Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/julian-carpio/1591564376 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/julian-carpio?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing TikTok: @juliancarpiomusic
Image Credits
Robert Fernandez – Photographer Joseph Ramos – Editing