How did you get started in the music business?
I started with business. I was a roadie when I was 15. I used to carry big heavy chunks of music equipment for a blues musician. From there I started working on tour marketing stuff. I did artist development branding from a business end. From a musician standpoint, I’ve written music since I was a kid. Nas was the first rapper I ever heard and I was like ‘oh my god I want to be a musician one day.’ I started ghost writing when I was in college and from there I was like ‘I think I can do this.’ I just never turned back.
What artists have inspired you?
Nas was the first rapper I ever listened to. Kanye West of course since he’s from Chicago and his artistry. His ability to be flexible when it comes to new dynamics I think is awesome. Even on an abstract form, Prince is a huge influence. Ray Charles is a huge influence. Just the way they approached music, I think is so revolutionary. Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon…I don’t know I am kind of a music historian when it comes to that.
I’ve been influenced by a lot of musicians. I believe in quality content. I think everybody that I mentioned and even others that I didn’t mention, they’ve all been so particular on the quality of their content. It’s not just ‘here’s the song, it’s out, and it’s done.’ It’s always about releasing something better and knowing what to release and when to release it. My approach to music, I’d like to say that I have been influenced by them and hopefully it reflects through the stuff that I release.
How did Maek record label start?
Myself and Tiffany Lee started it. I have known her since I was a kid. We wanted to start a record label that approached music business differently from a different contextual standpoint than the archaic business model since inception.
Maek is a free record label, so how does signing work for that?
We have certain things that we look for in musicians. We have certain qualities and not just from a talent standpoint but from a stability standpoint. When it comes to the type of things we do, we don’t sell music…we focus on other areas of revenue: touring, merchandise, product placement, grant partnerships, advertising…things of that nature. When it comes to signing with us, our deals are a lot better than your traditional 360. We share the revenue with the artists straight down the line versus how most labels will take a piece here and take a piece there where they’re not really involved in that area. Our philosophy is that the artist isn’t bigger than the label and the label isn’t bigger than the artist.
How has it been working with Zaena?
Zaena is a label mate of mine. I’ve known her for awhile. She’s amazingly talented. Her EP is one of the best EPs I’ve heard from the indie pop spectrum in a long time. She’s an amazingly talented writer and an amazingly talented singer. More importantly as a person, I think she’s one of the most genuine awesome people I’ve ever met. Working with her is very easy. We’re both very technical when it comes to writing. We both have the same goal of trying to make the best songs, so we’ll sit and debate one bar for two hours because we both have the same goal of making the best song possible. So that’s always really cool.
This summer we’re getting ready for festivals and performing and mixing at the same time. Another really cool thing we want to do is we’re thinking about releasing a new song every week for the entire summer. We have a lot of things going on. It’s a really great time.
Tell us about your new EP “Do Epic Sh!t”
I’m really happy with the reception it’s received. People have really embraced it and that is so cool that people have embraced it. I check Sound Cloud and am like ‘Whoa that’s like one hundred thousand plays.’ People have really taken time to listen and write about it. It’s just so cool to watch that every day even when people reach out to me on Facebook and Twitter. I think it’s just a dream come true.
To listen to Jason and Zaena’s new EPs, “Do Epic Sh!t” and “Harlequin,” go to www.maekme.com
Their EPs are available for free on the website as well.
Follow Jason and Maek Record Label on Twitter:
@jasonmaek
@maekmusic
