We recently connected with Oronde “Oplex” Stephens Producer, Songwriter, DJ, and have shared our conversation below.

Oronde “Oplex” Stephens, appreciate you joining us today. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

I think some of the unexpected issues that happen in my space is communication. When you’re dealing with artists, we all have our quirks on expressing ourselves. And so working with people, I find, can often be the most challenging activity. Even employers admit Emotional Intelligence (EI) is more valuable than one’s IQ. So I encourage artists to study Emotional Intelligence because often how you work with people will have a significant impact on your personal goals if those goals include working with people.

I’ve seen it time and time again where artists failed due to them not being able to effectively communicate with a stakeholder. Sometimes it’s not what you said but how you said it. Or it’s not what they said, because you are playing in your mind what you want to hear. These cause fundamental breakdowns in communication and artists should be mindful of this.

Oronde “Oplex” Stephens, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My company, ABL Audio and Entertainment, is more of a vehicle that provides different products or services under the Set the Bar brand. Set the Bar is a lot of things. It’s a way of approaching life, it’s a certain standard of quality music, a certain standard to the mix on the song – you can set the bar wherever you see fit, but musically speaking, we strive to Set The Bar whether it’s a song from my studio or music from a guest on the show. From professionally mixing artist’s songs, to offering advice on how artists can improve their career, the Set The Bar brand is designed for urban, indie artists to gain more exposure through our channels and to assist artists in accomplishing their goals. Set The Bar is also a podcast, as well as a weekly FM radio set in Northwest Arkansas, that features urban indie music.

So in the end, it’s really about helping your peer when you can. It’s about building relationships with artists and learning mutually. Indie artists, by in large, have to do everything on their own or with minimal assistance at best. I can only judge how serious an artist is about their career based on 1) The quality of the music you create and 2) The amount of promotion you put towards your career. We can all save each other time if we leverage our experiences. I think we live in the times where artists are leveraging their experiences to other artists for whatever reason. As indie artists, we have many channels to share collectively but how often does it happen? When was the last time an urban indie artist shared another urban indie artist’s music? That becomes to be a fundamental problem in fact. So if you can build a platform for artists where all the railroads connect, then you have something sustainable. So now the artists can come in the room and know that the room is filled with other urban, indie artists and everything is being moderated and curated by professionals. Now the artists can relax and get down to business. That’s how I see it in my head. We’re making good progress on the mission.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I’ve been in the music business for 27 years and as a business owner, engineer and producer, I think it’s easy to learn the music side of the business. For instance, purchasing audio equipment that enables you to create music is just part of the game. What I wish I knew more about beforehand was how much social media would affect how an independent artist sells and promotes their music. Streaming platforms, for the most part, have not been beneficial to independent artists. The average pay out on one stream is .06. Is that a fair wage for a creator? I would think not. However, no one owns music anymore. Artists had more financial incentives when people were forced to buy music at various retailers.

The only major distribution company that sells records (digital files) is Itunes. There are other companies like Bandcamp that provide a retail platform to purchase music but most people are streaming music whether they are paying a subscription fee or not. In contrast, promoting your music is even more perplexing because it requires one to understanding business strategies and marketing techniques to effectively run successful campaigns. If you just go for it and don’t adhere to the methods of the madness, you will likely lose money. People love music but for a lot us, at the end of the night, it’s a business.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My company, ABL Audio and Entertainment, is more of a vehicle that provides different products or services under the Set the Bar brand. Set the Bar is a lot of things. It’s a way of approaching life, it’s a certain standard of quality music, a certain standard to the mix on the song – you can set the bar wherever you see fit, but musically speaking, we strive to Set The Bar whether it’s a song from my studio or music from a guest on the show.

From professionally mixing artist’s songs, to offering advice on how artists can improve their career, the Set The Bar brand is designed for urban, indie artists to gain more exposure through our channels and to assist artists in accomplishing their goals. Set The Bar is also a podcast, as well as a weekly FM radio set in Northwest Arkansas, that features urban indie music.

So in the end, it’s really about helping your peer when you can. It’s about building relationships with artists and learning mutually. Indie artists, by in large, have to do everything on their own or with minimal assistance at best. I can only judge how serious an artist is about their career based on 1) The quality of the music you create and 2) The amount of promotion you put towards your career. We can all save each other time if we leverage our experiences.

Even though Forbes is saying independent artists are the future of the music industry, I think we live in the times where artists aren’t sharing their experiences to other artists for whatever reason. As indie artists, we have many channels to share collectively but how often does it happen? When was the last time an urban indie artist shared another urban indie artist’s music or gave substantial advice to another artists in order to help their career? That becomes to be a fundamental problem in fact. So if you can build a platform for artists that is for artists succeeding in their careers, then you have something sustainable. So now the artists can come in a room and know that the room is filled with other urban, indie artists and everything is being moderated and curated by professionals. Everything is designed to enhance their careers. Now artists can relax and get down to business. That’s how I see it in my head. We’re making good progress on the mission.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oplexmusic.myshopify.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oplexmusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oplexmusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oronde-stephens-31666426/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/OplexStephens
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ablentertainment