We recently connected with William Perry and have shared our conversation below.

Hi William, thanks for joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

At this point in my life, the biggest risk I’ve had to take by far was leaving home to pursue a full time career in music. I know it is kind of cliché to say, but it really is easier said than done for most folks – and I obviously was no exception to that.

I like to pride myself on being self aware. Being self aware enables the ability to weigh all options available to you, but being hyper vigilant triggers hesitation. Where I come from, people seem to get too infatuated with the potential of what could be and never provoke any actions that will assist in accomplishing said goals or aspirations.

I remember hearing an analogy that really made me open my eyes and realize this; “A shark in a fish tank will only grow 8 inches, but a shark in the ocean will grow 8 feet. The shark will never outgrow its environment and the same is true about YOU”.

Simply put, trust your gut…you either take the risk, or lose the opportunity.

William, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My entry into the professional music industry was actually assisted by my college audio professor, Nicholas Bagwell. During my senior year at Living Arts College (Raleigh, NC), Bagwell connected me to a few former students he had personally mentored years prior to my arrival. This handful of alumni collaborated together and managed to start a successful Audio & Video company – and even earned local recognition for one of the best A/V catering companies in the state of North Carolina. Once they got their brand off the ground, they came back to speak at the school. Ultimately, they were looking for a few students to possibly intern as live sound technicians. Though this profession wasn’t what I initially intended to dabble with, I gladly accepted the opportunity to “get my foot in the door”.

Originally I was under the impression I would not be receiving any compensation for my time – after all, that’s what interning is supposed to be, right? However, upon reviewing my resume, they were not interested in having me join as an intern. They insisted I be part of their part-time crew! At this point, I was going to school full-time and working part-time on the weekends as a live sound technician. I graduated in 2019 and held this position until the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted all live performances. This employment opportunity didn’t last longer than 2 years, but was a blatant goldmine for networking around the east coast. Not to mention the best part of it all; free concerts! I have been in attendance for nearly 100 different artists and have even seen some of my favorite artists multiple times now. (J. Cole, Lil Wayne, Ari Lennox, etc.)

I no longer accept offers to work gigs as a live sound technician, but the connections I’ve established during that time still stand strong. This is literally the epitome of networking effectively.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Did you know there are actually ways to trigger Twitter’s algorithm? For example, keywords that trigger this include “normalize”, “in your 20’s”, and “passive income” just to name a few.
If you don’t currently have a Twitter page, do yourself a favor and go make one!

Twitter is home to my biggest social media audience. I am approaching 15,000 followers and I am expecting to reach that milestone soon. Last year, I spent countless hours reading documented articles and watching professional marketing tutorials. I summarized the most effective tactics and growth hacks and compiled them all into an eBook specifically intended for music entrepreneurs trying to scale their business via Twitter. The eBook consists of 25 pages of proven information and I also include many graphs and charts to aid in the comprehension of the explanations.

Upon the release of the eBook, I sent it out for free to nearly 50 mutual producers and artists who had less than 1,000 followers at the time. I purposely designed the eBook to read as easily as a magazine would. A couple months later, I sent a follow-up email asking if they’ve noticed any changes in regards to engagement in their analytics – and the results were just as I expected… literally everybody was doing significantly better. Literally every single person! I had so much positive feedback I made a highlight on my Instagram showcasing the responses.

Every strategy listed in my eBook have been researched by professionals and proven effective.
If you are interested in learning more, click the “sound kits” tab on my website at “www.prodbylastwill.com“.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Oh, definitely! My main goal is to establish a collective of talented musicians from all around the world.
Songwriters/artists, sample makers/producers, engineers, etc. all on one accord.
My biggest inspirations for this mission are Taz Taylor (Internet Money) & Southside (808 Mafia).

Although my intent is pure, I am fully aware that before I can reach back to pull others up with me, I must first solidify my own name and brand identity. At this moment, I have a couple trademarks secured for my stage name and logo; next order of business – LLC! When I am in a more suitable position to provide consistent opportunities to others, I will begin recruiting partners.

Brick by brick, I am laying the foundation of something great!
To be honest, I get excited just at the thought of where we could be one year from now.   

Contact Info:

• Website: http://prodbylastwill.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willzthewiz/
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/prodbylastwill
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willzthewiz/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/willzthewiz
• Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCktYuH5le9YEpMvwj4TAwwQ
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2KGhk6OSkbdanwmGgTr7qa?si=rKDP1k6fR3KvIqvm5Vgslg&nd=1
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/willzthewiz

Image Credits
Kavin Bui