Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Omar Payton . We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Omar , appreciate you joining us today. 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?

I made my first dollar from music in 2017 after releasing my 1st EP. The years prior I was creating music and simply marketing it with no return on investment. My first show in 2017 was at a venue in Miami where the event was showcasing new talent. Each talent on the card received $100. After my performance I received $100 in cash and that made me extremely happy to be able to do something I love and make money from it. That moment removed all doubt from my mind that it was impossible to make money from music unless you’re a major artist or signed to a record label. That moment proved to me I can make a living from my passion.

Omar , 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’m a contemporary hiphop artist from Detroit, Mi. I started doing music because it was a way to express myself creatively as a person who enjoyed writing and telling stories. I served 5 years of Active duty in the United States coast guard. I am currently on 2 career paths, a music artist by day and a registered nurse by night. My proudest moment so far is having a genuine connection with my listeners. Anytime I release new music they are the first to steam it and share it. That is more important to me than having casual listeners. Some of the biggest challenges I face as an independent (unsigned) artist is finding the right people to market and promote my content. There are thousands of scam artists out there who prey on independent musicians. They offer fake services that inflate streaming numbers and robot services that increase video views on YouTube. This hurts many artists in the long run you can have millions of views on YouTube but cant sale merchandise or sell out venues.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

To able to share my unique story. Every individual has a story which makes us special in a way. I’m able to talk about my life, experiences, and situations that others may have also experienced so it makes me relatable. People love stories they can relate to or a story that’s interesting.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

As a creative, we can put out music for years but it only takes one moment to change your life in a major way. We put a lot of thought, resources, and marketing behind our projects. When those projects don’t do well in regards to attention or sales it hurts. People think an artist blows up over night but they don’t know what these artists do behind closed doors and how long they’ve been doing music. Some people have been doing music for 10 years and just now starting to get the recognition they’ve been expecting. in the music business, we know that only about 30% is creating the music while the other 70% is the business aspect which is marketing, promotion, and branding.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @shah33dworld
• Twitter: @shah33dworld
• Youtube: Shaheed313