We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful The Lion Heart. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with The Lion below.
The Lion , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.
Ten years ago my comrades Kami, Asha and myself started an independent music label we named FLAR Entertainment, which stands for Free LA Records. It was born out of necessity, because in the early days there were a lot of services we didn’t have the finances to outsource. Like studio time, mix and mastering services, recorded video content, etc. So we had to learn to do all those skills ourselves. We are all music artists, but we share a mutual love for the business end of things as well, and made it a priority to make sure whatever we do creatively can also sustain us in the future. And 10 years later we do everything in house with the freedom to outsource and partner with people and brands we care about, which has been a blessing. It’s been the three of us from the beginning and over the years we’ve grown as a business and have had the opportunity to collaborate within the entertainment industry. Those experiences have really shaped how we do things in our company.
We’ve experienced first hand the unfair advantages many label contracts offer artists. And many hopeful musicians fall for horrible record deals because most times they don’t believe they could do it on their own. And that’s just not true, especially in the era of the independent artist we live in today. Our mission from the beginning was to create lasting relationships with other industry professionals, our super creative like hearted friends, and partners who understand our vision while providing them with mutual value, to bring a more meaningful light to the music sphere. How we differ from most record companies is we put the artist and their sound first. We do not sign artists but rather provide them with the support, and direction they need to manage their own brand themselves. It can be something as simple as how to upload your music to streaming for the first time, or understanding how to read music contracts, or connecting them with meaningful opportunities with people we know and respect in the music world that can help take them to the next level. We help build and release so that they can continue to build upon their brand and turn their passion into more than just a hobby, but rather a career. We don’t try to be different, we just are. We don’t believe in trying change anyone to fit our creative model. I think creative people are much more successful the less you tamper with them. Just let them do their thing. A little honing doesn’t hurt here and there, but I will never understand why the main thing you do that got the attention from a label scout or whatever, is the first thing they want to change. And then that person or band just ends up sounding generic. And either that band gets shelved or dropped because now the labels won’t push you because they’d rather spend the resources on the artists or band who they wanted you to emulate. It’s such an old model.
And their core audiences have shifted into the hands of the independent creative, and it’s one of the most beautiful times to be an independent artist.
To answer the core question; “What do we do differently from the industry standard?”
The standard we follow is the standard we set. We keep our faith strong, our music and artist communities supported, our business relationships purposeful, and the creative process fun. When you keep your integrity and just be a good person, treat and pay everyone fairly, and learn to serve first as opposed to just using people for what you need, then you’re going to succeed in not just business but every area of life. The entertainment Industry can be a very selfish place, but we don’t play by its games. And that’s what makes us different.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I go by Lion and I am the front woman for the Spaghetti Western, Desert Rock trio ‘The Lion Heart.’ Apart from producing original music, releasing albums and touring with the amazing fellas in my band, Jonathan Burx (Bassist) and Kenny Ramirez (Drummer), I am also the Co-Owner of the independent record label FLAR Entertainment.
I started performing and working in the music scene 10 years ago after I moved from Northern Cali down to LA. I always loved playing music, but I wanted to pursue it as an actual career. So I enrolled at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, and took some music business courses. After I finished there, I met this amazing non profit CBFREELA. They mentor aspiring artists, and give them the support and community they need to help them in their creative career journey. That’s how I was able to start FLAR Ent. With the knowledge I received from CBFREELA’s business program. I spent a lot of years mixing and mastering other artists music, shooting and editing music videos, producing, whilst honing my skills performing live. I’ve definitely put in the 10,000 hours + to be proficient in all those skills. Whoever said you can’t do it all obviously hasn’t met my team, because we spent 10 years doing it all, and now we get to bless other people by providing these services for them.
Currently I have been touring and playing shows with my band The Lion Heart and we recently released our new album “Glory West II Live.”
I’m most proud of the community of folks who support us. It has grown over these past two record releases and I love each and every one of my new listeners. They not only play our music, but they buy our merch, come out to our shows, and go out of their way to always show support. And I couldn’t ask for a greater group of friends (I don’t use the word fan because I ain’t above anybody, I just see us all enjoying these Westy tunes together as comrades). I always say if it wasn’t for God and the people who support us we wouldn’t have gotten this far. I can blab on about all my achievements, and people can go to my instagram and see all I’ve done, I post everything, it’s all there, but I count all that as nothing compared to the people who bless me everyday and lift me up. Some of them I’ve never met, but they treat me like family. And that is my great reward for all our hard work. It’s my fellow Outlaw friends. The fact my music has an effect on folks in a good way, still blows my mind and has humbled me tremendously. It makes me so grateful that I decided to do this music thing.
For anyone who’s reading about me for the first time, first off thank you for taking the time to do so. You read through a lot of words to get down to this point. If you think you’d be interested in hearing what my music sounds like, or you think you’d dig Spaghetti Western Desert Rock, go head and give our music a spin. You can follow me on social media. If you happen by one of our shows please come up to me and introduce yourself. I’d love to meet ya! God bless and Glory West.
How did you build your audience on social media?
90% of all the people who support my music have come from social media. I use to look at it as this impossible mountain I had to climb to get followers. I spent hours watching videos about how to grow on social media and nothing worked for years. I just didn’t grow. I remember releasing music a few albums before my Glory West series and would believe just because I thought it was important, others would too. And I find that many musicians fall into that trap. You begin to blame the algorithm, or the audience. We think we’re entitled to views or streams or followers because our music is great and other people just need to hear how great it is. And if you post it they will come. But that’s kind of a selfish way to go about it.
Honesty I’ve grown the most over this past year than I have over the span of the last 5 plus years I’ve been on social media. And it was because I changed my perspective. I honestly stopped caring about followers and started caring about people. I stopped promoting my products/music only and began making content that focused on my personality and who I sincerely am. I began engaging on other peoples pages, commenting and sharing their projects or posts in my stories. I stopped making it about me and what I wanted from people and just made it about making relationships with people.
Because at the end of the day, behind every device is a living, breathing, loving person who just wants the same thing as you. A little kindness and appreciation for something they did. Even if it’s sincerely liking and commenting on a pic of a blurry sunset they posted. You have no idea the impression that makes on people. For someone to take the time out of their day to care about them. And if you do that wanting nothing in return, it doesn’t matter if they acknowledge you, or you never hear from them again. Just show interest as much as possible and I promise it will make its way back to you.
Apart from that, I stopped following trends, and upgraded my video/ picture quality. I don’t often use the word niche, but people understand what it means; I make posts that showcase my unique way of what I do, and stay in my lane.
The best advice is to just be yourself. Sounds cliche, but don’t try to put on a character for social media, or copy what your friends are doing. People can see through that. Just be you. And I promise, you will come across more people who resonate with your personality. Those will be your people. My mentor told me, “you may not be for everybody, but the people that you’re meant for are the somebody’s”. And those are the people I pour all my love and attention into and they do the same for me.
That’s how I continue to grow my social media presence, one real person at a time. If anyone claims there is a secret formula, I’d have to say, good old fashioned friendship building is it! It may take time but it’s definitely worth it!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
The motto I live by is ‘do what you say and say what you mean.’ In the entertainment/music industry, it’s important to navigate around people not following through on their word. I believe a lot of people are well intentioned, but they just lack the ability to follow through, or maybe they were just afraid to say no in the first place. That’s why you get a lot of talk in this industry and a lot of broken promises. So I decided early on if I work with someone or promise to do so, unless they decide otherwise I will follow up and make sure I’m there. And if I can’t do something, I’m upfront about it. I believe people respect that about my team. We show up early to gigs, and meetups, we put our excellence into everything we do, no matter the pay or not. We honor people’s time and give grace when it’s not reciprocated. Because being a jerk to someone is definitely not the best business practice. Reputation, good or bad, grows out of whatever you’re most consistent at showing. If you’re dependable and easy to work with and communicate well, people remember that. Our team has done our best to show consistency in being dependable and professional. And I believe the growth in our clients, and opportunities reflect that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thelionheart.komi.io/?fbclid=PAAaaXm-RyLEKQFd78MCeZEjKPPvqQLF7mArEmIUmPUSUn5iNINkh48Uzaz1E_aem_Aey-CBj-6ezjPSlURh9kjrVMkSvyWvmvGqjQZLqHyZSQzMRVCHPJfa6av_lXnFD2zdc
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/thelionheartmusic?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@TheLionHeartMusic?si=4GDoQHKNeKDtTjGr
Image Credits
Cover image: Emily Buckingham IG: @bonesthenskin Additional photos: Ken Pappanduros IG: @circles_of_sound