We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Robert Burrell a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Robert, appreciate you joining us today. Alright, let’s jump into one of the most exciting parts of starting a new firm – how did you get your first client who was not a friend or family?
Being in an entertainment city such as Los Angeles, you will always run into someone that is in the music business, or those that want to learn how to get into the music business. Social media is a great way to target your first client. Whatever services that you provide, there are people out there that will be interested.
In public/in person interaction, there is a time and place for everything. My approach for my first client was simply a casual conversation that eventually led to my profession and skill(s) You never want to be aggressive, and learn to read people; do they look sad/happy/irritated, etc. That’s why it’s a good idea to start a nice conversation, whether if it’s a hello, a compliment on their attire, or even if they may be listening to music, but they give off an approachable vibe, proceed but be respectful and warm.
I get approached a lot because I am really into fitness, and there has been many times on the street, the supermarket, or hiking that I will get approached about my diet, which leads to, “are you a personal trainer?” I reply with a, “no I am not, I am a musician, pianist and composer” From there it eventually leads to them being interested in learning more about the business, and how I can help them be apart of the industry. Whether it’s teaching them how to play piano, or how to compose music, it eventually leads to them being a client.
It’s always a good thing to have something about you that draws people in, especially in a time where being a musician is at the top of careers that people want. It’s a crowded business, and it’s extremely important that you stand out.
Robert, 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?
Born and raised in, Baltimore, MD, it all started at an early age, inspired by Tim Burton’s 1988’s Beetlejuice soundtrack, I’ve always wanted to play piano, but I truly didn’t get focused and serious about it until my late teenage years. I spent my entire childhood focused on sports, Basketball, Baseball, and Football. After graduating high school in 2003, I had no idea what I wanted to do next, but I knew for a fact that I wanted to be a composer and performer. I attended Baltimore City Community College for a semester where I got all A’s, but I’d often ask myself, “will this take me to where I want to go?” and “am I truly happy?” After I made the decision to leave after one semester, in 2004, I worked 3 jobs to pay a local producer/engineer based in downtown Baltimore to teach me the in’s and out’s of recording and music production. I would work those 3 jobs until the evening where I would spend 9-12 hours at the studio. I put in the work everyday, but I still felt like I needed to be in an environment where I could network and be in a place where my chances of music industry opportunities were higher. I worked, practiced, and studied for 6 years, then I finally made the decision to move to Los Angeles to attend the Los Angeles Film School. I studied audio engineering in 2010 to 2012. I was the only one in my class to intern at a major studio, Conway Recording Studios. After my internship, I re-enrolled at LA Film School from 2012-2014 and was apart of the very first class for the bachelor’s degree program in entertainment business.
After graduating in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree in entertainment business, I became a backline tech for 5 years, where I had the opportunity and pleasure to work with many of the music industry’s biggest music acts such as, KISS, Rolling Stones, Fantasia, John Legend, The Hollywood Vampires, Snoop Dogg, 1500 or Nothin, Rod Stewart, Justin Timberlake, and many other talented musicians.
In 2019, the CEO/Founder of, WorldScout, LLC, Cindy Cooper, contacted me personally to offer me the job for, Director of A&R. I was responsible for reaching out to records labels, artists, producers, and businesses to work with us. It was a company centered around helping indie artists, musicians, and producers build their network, learn the music business, and often times pitch them to the record labels that we had within our network, which included, Disney, Capitol Records, Atlantic, Republic, HitCo, Empire, etc. In that time as director of A&R, I got to contact, connect, and work with, Steve Lobel, Scott Storch, DJ Khaled, Fat Joe, Antonio Reid Jr, Chief Keef, Zhavia, Mike Zombie, Brian “Killah B” Bates, Jason “Koko” Bridges, Purps, Fresh Ayr, Bob Robinson Jr, Jay E, and many other super talented, heavy hitters in the music industry. I also created the companies theme music, as well as, for all of the events that the company presented, from global contests to label A&R involvement workshops and roundtables.
In 2022, I decided to finally take the leap and pursue my passion for composing and performing. Within the past 2 years, I have worked with many talented artists, producers, and musicians, and in 2024, I got 3 music credits in the Lionsgate released, feature film, “Running On Empty” (2024) for composer and musician. I also, recently just composed the original theme for the Los Angeles Film School’s 25th anniversary. At the moment, there are over 60 original music cues that I created for TV/film/amazing that out now on all platforms. (Robert Allen Burrell) I am an, Los Angeles based music producer, pianist, and composer. What honestly sets me apart from most is that I have a strong industry connection and relationships with a lot of major music industry professionals, which you need in order to book gigs and other music industry opportunities.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Staying in touch is important when wanting to build on relationships. Just know that you have to be patient; dedicated and determined, not aggressive to the point where they begin to distance themselves.
Check on them every other week or so to see how they are doing with the services that you provided them with. Build that trust and bond that makes them want to continue to do business with you.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
After years of trying to figure out how to gain followers and a strong presence, I realized that I should focus on and target those people that I would like to work with.
For example, I am a composer, so I respectfully and professionally network and reach out to composers and music supervisors. Many consistently working composers have a very low following because their main focus is working behind the scenes and doing great work. It’s all about your priorities. Focus on getting in the door by connecting and building relationships with industry professionals.
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