We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Talena J “Da Goddess”. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Talena J below.
Talena J , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
In any Business or Art you have to first Master your craft and study the Game! I think like anyone else just getting started at something you may be really good at, I had the wrong idea! Lol You learn real quick that it’s not just Talent or skill and Image that makes you successful! It’s Business.
So here I was this child poet turned Rapper who had been writing and performing since six years old thinking what every fresh Artist thinks! “Someone just needs to hear me” Lol Well, that’s until one day It all clicked. I was contacted by David Banner’s Big Face Ent. Back In the early 2000’s. I didn’t know anything about a budget, a Ryder or contract law to say the least.
One thing I did know though, was to copyright all my works,. My mom has always drilled that in me as early as I can remember.! Long story short, We ended up declining an offer to write hooks at the time for one reason or another and unfavorable clauses but I decided after that, and being in touch with a Celebrity PR , that it was time for me to learn The Business of Music before anyone else could take me serious!
I think those early experiences played a major part in what fueled me to not only present myself not just as an Artist, but as a Business, owning my own record label and publishing company.
It also inspired me to start my current Music Administration Company. Indie Is The New Major LLC. I wanted to help educate other Artists and Creatives on Understanding The Business as well.
There are A lot of Talented people who rap, sing or produce but aren’t as savvy about Contracts, Royalties, Rights or even Protecting their intellectual property.
This is also what essentially led to me writing my coming book “The Game Before Fame”. I feel like Creatives need a n underground guide and breakdown of how things really work from an independent standpoint to industry standard so they are better equipped to be fruitful.
I’m definitely a firm believer in turning ideas into empires! However, The first step is always implementation. We can all agree, It’s even better to implement anything with applied Knowledge!
Talena J , 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?
I always loved music! I grew up in a musically inclined family. My Grandpa recorded The Great Tina Turner when she was just “Little Ann”! The record I believe was “Box Top” engineered on his Tune Town Records in my hometown of St. Louis. My uncle played in a reggae band for as long as I can remember and my mom was also a singer/ songwriter who could play bass guitar with her left hand! Fast forward Time, Music just stayed with us no matter the genre! Although we all grew up singing gospel first, I have a brother who sings Opera and as for me, I fell in love with R&B and Hiphop!
As a creator, I just loved the rhythm and mood of urban radio hits and bangin’ production! It was the perfect wave for me to write my best works!
I think I first developed my style of flow and delivery based upon being a young poet and oratorical speaker. The Demand to be heard and felt at the same time definitely puts some fire on a track!
As a female rapper, I never liked being underestimated in a male dominated industry at the time I started. I made sure my presence was felt in any cypher and my wordplay was a force to be reckoned with! Lol It’s kinda how I got my name too. I was “Da Goddess” of rhymes!
It was a few years After high School, I started to take my music career more serious though. Like I said, there was a lot of business to learn aside from being talented. I think what sets me apart is that I took the time to brand myself, build industry relationships and develop an independent empire. This way, I always have ownership and bargaining power for any partnerships I wish to broker.
I love being an Independent Artist because you have control over your assets and creativity! The greatest challenge after that is just financing bigger budgets for mass marketing. You gotta get strategic and be serious about what you do. I encourage any Artist to plan their work and work their plan!
My greatest joy is expanding my reach and meeting new fans. The more markets you break into, the more the world hears you! And as long as your business is right, the more you get paid!
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
When it comes to business, you always wanna make sure you do good business and stand on that in return. Being prompt and delivering Quality are two of the strongest points an Artist can have.
I had to build a lot of relationships with important people and rapport means everything to all of us. I stood on integrity and believing in my vision. This is how I gained respect for my business ethics and my grind. Nothing is going to fall in your lap! You have to put in the work, and you definitely have to represent yourself professionally. Think about it, You can’t expect anyone to take you serious if you aren’t taking yourself serious right?
I’ll also throw this out there though, Building a strong reputation does not mean you have to be a “yes man” either! By all means, Don’t be afraid to decline any opportunity that doesn’t serve you. However, you do want to be strategic and work smarter and not harder! Try to Develop a marketing strategy with every move you make rather it is compensated or uncompensated.
It’s important to understand, Your Network can be your Net worth too! So You do wanna seize as many opportunities as you can to gain your following, Especially if it adds value to you, promotes to your fan base, and helps build your brand!
I’m always careful not to burn bridges, and I network a lot. You got to learn how to be firm when you need to be, and still remain humble. See, It’s one thing to be confident but it’s another to be so cocky no one wants to work with you!
If you’re professional and diligent, People will learn to respect you and your time.
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
As an Artist I always wanted an empire! A lot of us are multitalented anyway so there’s always more than one stream of revenue we can have or generate.
I decided to launch my own online store for not just my music, books and Merch but I have a couple Apparel lines and a cosmetics line as well, “Royal by Goddess.” This way I can kind of streamline all of my retail products to be available in one space. I even have my kids’ brands on there!
As for Business Development, there are still those Professional services that I provide for my B2B And B2C clients through my business firm, Maycorp Enterprise. I still think financial literacy, Insurance and Creating more Businesses are highly essential to building generational wealth. I’ve recently expanded the firm to include logistics and government contracting!
And we’ve talked about The Music Administration Company already!
I’m always exploring new opportunities to profit in business. As long as it’s purposeful and I’m passionate about it!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.Iamdagoddess.com
- Instagram: @Iamdagoddess
- Facebook: Talena J Acon