We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stone Stafford a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stone thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

As a veteran in the entertainment business, things such as money, fame, and material possessions were the barometers of success.

Right before I was hired by Sony/ATV I had just married a beautiful success driven woman, bought a 3,000 s.f. 4 bedroom home as our first home and purchased a new Ford Expedition which was the SUV to have back in the late 90’s early 2000’s.
And then then after all of that, got hired as the Atlanta rep for the 2nd largest music publisher in the world.

But with all of that, my wife and I suffered a miscarriage and followed the failure to get pregnant. I eventually got laid-off after 4 years at Sony when they closed the Atlanta office. My wife was hit with one of a few health challenges that shook our world. And along with other losses and challenges, my nephew found himself involved in a crime that got him sentenced to 17 years in prison.

I realized the money, car, house and job position couldn’t solve any of these problems. It was at this point that my perception and definition of success ultimately changed.

Today, I define success as doing what you want to do when and how you want to do, with whom you want to do it with. To me, success is happiness with options.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was the middle child, born and raised in Trenton, NJ to a single mother of three. My mom did her best to expose us to as much as possible to see life beyond poverty in the inner-city. This exposure led me to private schools such as the American Boychoir School in Princeton, NJ and The George School in Newtown, PA, to Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.

While at Morehouse I met up with a childhood friend with whom I joined a singing group that eventually got signed to First Priority/ Atlantic Records. This was the start of my next 30 years in the music business.

* (the details of my journey can be heard on episode #18, “Our Story” on L.I.F.E on Podcast. Available on all streaming platforms)

Through my studio Icon Studios ATL, my podcast, www.lifeonpodcast.com, and my coaching services, my primary goal is to provide people with the tools and wisdom they need to not only navigate the music industry successfully, but life itself.

Have you ever had to pivot?

After COVID, the role of technology catapulted to the forefront for creatives, giving them more tools tan ever to become self-sufficient. As a studio owner, we saw our client traffic drop significantly and we were forced to develop ways to re-purpose the studio to offer more than just studio space to produce, record and mix.

As podcasting continues to increase in popularity, one of the first things we did was redesign one of our office spaces into a podcast studio. We provide space, equipment engineer and education for both new and established podcasters.

Another offering we are launching in May 2023 is “Iconic Karaoke”. We wanted to provide a fun and unique alternative for corporate employee outings and team-building events. We also see it being very popular for bachelorette and birthday parties.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

One of the first things people attribute to Icon Studios is the fact that we are a non-smoking facility. When we built the facility in 2008 we were the only non-smoking recording studio in Atlanta.

We felt this was important because it fit our brand of doing what we call “clean business”. Clean business entails: friendly, respectful customer service, honest business practices and a clean, safe working environment.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stonestafford.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/stoneoo7
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/StoneStafford.dotcom
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/stonestafford
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/stone007
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@lifeonpodcast
• Other: www.lifeonpodcast.com www.iconstudiosatl.com