We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mike Béke. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mike below.

Mike, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?

The first time I ever made money from Music was when I was 18 years old. At the time I was having a little album release show at a local coffee shop. I didn’t really want people to have to pay to get in but they left a tip jar at the door. Somehow, even thought the show was relatively small, I somehow pulled in $70 in tips which really meant a lot to me, even if a good chunk of it was because one of my friends accidentally put a 20 instead of a 5 (She never got it back).

Mike, 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 always been around music. Two of my biggest role models growing up were my two older brothers who were both musicians in different rock bands back in the early 2000’s. They always tried to get me exposed to the music environment of the city we grew up in and because of that I owe any success that I’ve had to them. Since then I’ve gone on to try and branch off to make my own connections in the city I’ve been living in these past few years. From playing shows for literally just the sound crew to playing a show with over 1000 guests, I’ve gotten to do a lot these past couple years that I’m super thankful for. I plan to release several projects this year that I’m super excited about and can’t wait to share.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me personally, having someone tell me that they were able to emotionally connect with a song I make always means so much. Knowing that someone listened to what I made and it invoked some kind of emotional response is probably the most rewarding thing I could ever hear. I don’t know that just seems really cool and it makes me happy.

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

I want to just keep making music. If I could find a way to just be able to make music the rest of my life I’d do whatever it takes. So for now, I’m just going to keep working to where I can say that I’m able to do that.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelbeke?igsh=MTcwbWt2dWp2M3c2Yw%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-beke-970270230?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=ios_app
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MichaelBekeMusic?si=HQ9CSO0txoFNQdwR

Image Credits
Jacqueline Kim