Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tyler Witt. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tyler, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I got my start taking a basic intro course to running your own record label. I initially did it as a way to meet artists to promote my digital art work, as I wanted to get into the album artwork space. I fell in love with everything about it and decided to take the leap into the music industry.

I think trying to learn more through other artist managers directly instead of thrusting myself into being one would’ve helped me learn some hard lessons a lot sooner. While I did a lot to supplement my learning on my own through videos and learning on the fly, I think my transition would’ve been a lot smoother into the role.

The skills I find most essential to running your own record label are adaptability and creativity. You have to be creative when it comes to promoting your artists. That’s how you can get them to stand out among the millions of others releasing music. The adaptability comes into play when the initial creative idea doesn’t go exactly like you hoped. You have to change on a dime and know your next move to continue the success you’ve built with your artists in order for it to be sustainable.

I don’t like to think of the obstacles as something that has hurt me as I’ve grown. I’ve learned a lot through facing them head on and trusting myself to do the right thing. My biggest obstacle however, came as I was first starting out. Not being in the music industry before, I didn’t really know where exactly to start with everything. The great thing about the time we live in is access to social media. So I tried to plug myself into every possible avenue to learn more as possible. I participated in a wide range of virtual events, from networking and social media management, to speakers talking on the music industry as a whole. This helped me gain a more diverse base of knowledge before I took my label to the next level.

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

My name is Tyler Witt and I’m the owner and manager of Broken Record Music Club. We are an independent record label that primarily operates out of Fort Worth, TX and Joliet, IL. I was never in the music industry before, as I’ve been an athlete for most of my life. During my time with one of the professional football teams I played for, I got the interest to promote the digital art I made in hopes of working with artists on album artwork. I’m doing so, I took a class on running your own record label. I grew such a passion for it, I decided to give it a try and made the jump to create Broken Record Music Club.

When I set out to make the label, I wanted to stand out. I wanted to work with artists that are creating music that meant something. There’s a lot of music out there that gets you hype and that’s great, but in the grand scheme of things where is the depth that can help people with the stuff they are going through? It has been our goal to provide music that does just that and the reason our motto is “music for whatever you’re going through.”

We provide a variety of services to the artists we work with. We provide management services, such as music distribution, social media management, personalized marketing plans, and booking services. We also offer in-house artistic resources such as photography, graphic design, and production. We try to be a one stop shop for our artists and help them be successful. In our hub cities, we also offer studio access as well as a variety of other services.

We want all prospective artists to know that we are an artist-first label. We give them the creative freedom to make music the way they want. At the end of the day, we are here to make them as successful as possible. We see the vision they have for themselves and will do anything in our power to get them there.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think one of the most underrated aspects of supporting artists, especially lesser known artists, is giving support to the ones you know personally. In our lives, we all know people pursuing their passion. They see it on social media. And for some reason, people don’t support the people they know. That’s how artists get their start, it’s the core audience of family and friends that supports them as the start their journey. Sure, it’s easy to write them off for doing something that isn’t considered a norm. But your support of them goes a long way. It doesn’t mean you have to make a big deal out of it like constantly posting their links to music. Something as simple as a like or a comment, or even sharing a post they made means the world to them.

It should be a societal norm for people to support the independent artists they know. Help them to achieve their dreams because they are the ones putting themselves out there for everyone to see. Sharing their stuff and supporting their art can put it in front of someone that can elevate their career.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I think in my role right now, the most rewarding thing about working with independent artists is seeing them achieve success. That doesn’t necessarily mean they make it to stardom. I mean seeing success as they are moving closer to the goals they set out for themselves and realizing the potential they had in them all along.

It makes me think of when I started working with my artist, Supah Sayin. When we first started, he had these great aspirations. And at first, he didn’t know how to reach them. But when we started working together we put a plan in place that gave him direction. He started to see the results. He got onto streaming services and has amassed over 145,000 streams in less than 8 months. He started getting booked to play shows. Supah’s confidence grew as a result. He no longer has a doubt about what he is doing, he sees the goals he laid out and can see us making our way to them. There is no feeling quite like seeing someone see their full potential and move closer to their goals.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.brokenrecordmusicclub.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/brokenrecordmusicclub?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@brokenrecordmusicclub?_t=8Zxmsh3jBny&_r=1 Email: brokenrecordmusicclub@gmail.com

Image Credits
Angela Lawson