We were lucky to catch up with Monzer Kotob recently and have shared our conversation below.

Monzer , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with 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?

A lot of people nowadays go about their creative pursuits alone. The tools for creating are on everyone’s phone and laptop, and there are university courses worth of tutorials online for free. It is possible to create masterpieces on your own. There’s that stereotype of the shut-in artist for a reason, although I would not recommend that path to anyone.

I spent years quietly creating on my own, with a surface level participation with my local art scene. I feel like I spent a lot of time stagnant because of that. I wasn’t showing my work before I put it out. I wasn’t learning from anything but a cold, impersonal internet. My work was not improving, and nobody was seeing it.

Bughead Media partially came from this need to be a part of something bigger and more connected. Instead of rotting away at my computer, I got involved with my local art and music scene. The first concert edit I was paid to make was for a band I met the bassist of at another concert. We had exchanged instagrams, and later they asked if I could film a charity show they were putting on. This was the first time I had made significant money off my creative process.

This initial in person interaction was the catalyst to what I’m still doing now, filming concerts, music videos, and interviews. When you put effort into meeting and collaborating with other creatives you will find more opportunities, and your work will improved. If I hadn’t stopped isolating myself to “focus on my craft” I would never have made my first dollar.

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 Monzer Kotob, most of my friends call me Maky. I’m a professional camera operator and video editor from Framingham Massachusetts. I got my start working for my towns Public Access Station in high-school. The majority of my income is made through live sports broadcast and other odd-jobs, but my passion is my project Bughead Media.

Bughead Media is my main creative outlet. With the help of some friends, we create web-content primarily for musicians. We shoot concerts, create music videos, and more. I also run The Bughead Podcast where I interview musicians, artists, organizers, and other interesting people within the underground arts scene.

All of this truly comes from a place of love. I want to give creatives outside the mainstream eye opportunities they would not normally have. I love being able to give these artists a high quality image to go with their music, whether that’s by documenting their live performances, or creating unique music videos.

I think one of my proudest moments is getting the band Vs Self on the podcast before they blew up. I think I do a good job as an interviewer. I do a lot of research on my subjects; I want to be respectful to their fans. It was really exciting to get such good answers out of a band I’m such a big fan of, as they’re starting to see their career really take off.

All of this is on the Bughead Media YouTube page. I’m working on a website as well, Bughead.Org. Hopefully there are some big things to come soon.

How did you build your audience on social media?

My social media following is actually quite small. I’ve honestly seen more monetary success from in person interaction. People are more willing to trust their money in your creativity if they’ve met you in person. I think my advice for building an audience of any kind is get involved locally. Go to independent film screenings. Go to art and music shows. Meeting people, especially creatives, face to face is still an incredibly powerful tool in the digital age. More opportunity will spring from that than grinding the algorithm.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think how passively we consume art in the tik-tok age is hurting artists. When you doomscroll you aren’t truly connecting with anything you’re seeing. You don’t really remember it after you put the device down, and the artist doesn’t receive anything more than a view. Being mindful about your media consumption is beneficial for both the fan and artist. As a start, next time you see something interesting while scrolling, take a deeper dive into that creators library. Do they have an album out? A short film? A zine? Just taking the time to stop hitting the dopamine button and actually process and connect with a work is something anyone can do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bughead.org
• Instagram: @Bughead_Media
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bughead

Image Credits
Axel Martinez & Monzer Kotob