Entrepreneurship: More Than Music (Episode 16)

🎧 Want to break into the music industry? There's way more to being a DJ than just dropping beats! In this game-changing episode, professional DJ Hollyw8d pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to build a successful career behind the decks.

From mastering the business side of music to creating multiple revenue streams, DJ Hollyw8d shares the real-world lessons that transformed him from a music lover into a successful entrepreneur. You'll discover how he's using his platform to make a difference in his community while building a sustainable career.

Join us as we explore:

- The unexpected skills every successful DJ needs
- Creative ways to turn your passion into profit
- Building authentic community connections through music
- Behind-the-scenes insights into the DJ business
- Turning music industry knowledge into community impact

Perfect for: Aspiring DJs, music enthusiasts, young entrepreneurs, creative minds looking to make an impact, and anyone interested in the business side of entertainment.

Features exclusive insights on building a career in music while making a positive community impact. Learn how to balance artistic passion with business savvy from someone who's actually doing it.

To find DJ Hollyw8d everywhere:
Www.Linktree.com/HollyW8D

To learn more about More Music Less Violence:
https://www.moremusiclessviolence.org/

Transcript

Welcome to Mindshift Power podcast, a show for teenagers and the adults who work with them, where we have raw and honest conversations. I'm your host, Fatima Bey, the mind shifter. And welcome. Thank you everyone for joining our show today. So today, we have on a special guest on, Mario Johnson, AKA DJ Hollywood out of Albany, New York, and he is the founder of More Music, Less Violence.

How are you today, DJ Hollywood? I am well. I am well. I'm super blessed, man. And, yeah, thank you for having me as a guest on your podcast.

I'm glad to have you, and I'm hoping that you're an inspiration for for the youth listening. So tell us about DJ Hollywood. Who are you? What do you do? Yes.

That is a very, very good question and could be a very long winded one. But to summarize it up in intro form, I would say, I am a, young black man and entrepreneur from Brooklyn, New York, who currently lives in, the Capital District. And, I came out here to go to Hudson Valley Community College to play football, which I played sports the whole entire, you know, portion of my, teen years, you know, 18 and under, and then coming out to, you know, a college to play to play sports, you know, kind of got like a plot twist and a and a hit of reality. So, ended up, you know, leaving the team and then ended up staying and then got my degree from, there and then UAlbany. And then shortly after that became, DJ Hollywood.

And, you know, the rest is kind of history. Okay. So you own you're the founder, rather, of what, of More Music Less Violence. So tell us about what that is and how it got started. Yes.

Correct. So more music, less violence is a community concert series, that sparked up in 2020. It was we all know what happened during 2020, but, specifically, you know, in regards of the music realm, there were no performances happening. So from 2018, which is the year I graduated UAlbany, to 2020, I curated, you know, 15 independent artist showcases is what I call them. And, with the pandemic, you know, I wasn't allowed to, you know, do, you know, social gatherings were basically frowned upon.

So, you know, when things kind of lightened up a little bit, I got the idea to do a, basically a pop up showcase. And, if anyone that's listening knows Riverfront Park in Troy, we went there. They had, you know, the the polls had the the outlet in them. And, you know, I seen an opportunity and called up some artists and legit we did a pop up show. And that was in the realm of, the George Floyd situation as well.

And, you know, just violence was it was weird. It was weird because everyone was still inside, but there was still violence happening. And on the other side of things, you know, music was also still, you know, coming out. So that's kind of what sparked the idea in regards to more music, less violence. And then the feedback was great.

So from there, ended up doing it, you know, the legit way, not, you know, just popping up in a park because we definitely could have got in trouble because we didn't have any permits. But, you know, it was all a peaceful environment. So, you know, I wasn't really thinking about it too much. And you're only going to be there for an hour or two. So we did it the legit way in 2021 is where it officially, you know, started.

And then we started from cafes to, you know, major stages to collaborating with, you know, major organizations and, you know, getting grants. So, yeah, three years later, we are here, six shows deep and, yeah, ready to collab and, you know, network and build with, you know, whoever is, you know, down with the movement. What have you found that there are any effects with with what you're doing? Yeah, for sure. For sure.

So one of our biggest things is, you know, bringing the community together. And, it's it allows people a safe space and, you know, a moment of, you know, we call it, like, healing where, you know, you can be in this space and, you know, you don't leave the same way you enter, you know, our shows. And, you know, I'm super big on that. And I have a famous saying is that, the, you know, the name of the movement is, you know, basically it's rhetorical. You know, it's it's obvious.

But, you know, the experience you get is unexplainable. So I could sit here and tell you, you know, all the thousand things of how a more musical, less violent show will make you feel. But, you know, you entering the space and, you know, being in the atmosphere of a more musical less violence event is something that, like I said, is unexplainable. That sounds pretty awesome. Do you find that it has helped you connect with more youth?

Yeah. Yeah. So, actually, with the shows, we there's no age limit on on, you know, artists. So I've had, 13 year olds perform. I've had 10 year olds perform.

Really? Yeah, for sure. For sure. Even younger than that, which is crazy to think about it because the 10 year old that I'm talking about, she performed at the first one in 2021, which she was eight there. And, the news came through to that to that one.

So we've done six. The news has been to five of the six. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah.

It's been great feedback. So at the first ever one, the news came through, you know, kind of surprised us, did interviews with us and stuff. But within that clip, they said that her name is Ivella. They said that she stole the show and truly she did. And she did a cover of a Lauryn Hill song and she blew the crowd away.

So, yeah. So eight years old, 10, 13. We've had 15, 16 year old old perform, 18, all the way up to my guy, Doc Horton, man, who, we're gonna be doing a a more music less violence collab soon at Procter's Theater. Doc is 65, and you would have no idea he's 65. He does, like, he does Motown covers, and he just Mhmm.

He blows the crowd away. He, he actually opened up our gala, our first annual gala at, the Capital Rep in Albany, this past January, at the top of the year for Martin Luther King weekend. And, yeah, he, sees him and his band. So it's Doc Horton in the J Street band. And they set the tone and they, you know, they they set the roof on fire.

And And it was, you know, it's a pleasure. But, yeah, it'll definitely allows me to connect with youth because I try to push, you know, positive music and just, you know, self expression without the use of cursing. So that's another thing with the shows. It's almost a standard for people. I tell people not to curse.

And if or if you have a song that has cursing in it, I tell them to clean it up, you know, but to also have a message within your music as well. So, yeah, I love that it allows, you know, me to share my platform and, you know, share with other talent of of all age levels. So we're talking about the importance of the influence of music. How important how important do you think music is, period? That's a great question.

I think music is super important because we we we take for granted, you know, how much we listen to music. You know? It's in commercials. It's, you know, it's, it's in, you know, we're on Instagram and TikTok and YouTube and all that every day, you know? And, you know, music is something that, you know, Bob Marley said it.

He said one thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain, you know? And, something like that is just so it's it's universal. You know? It's it's it's something that a person could never, you know, hear a song before and, you know, kind of and two people just meet and, you know, kind of enjoy a moment with a song they both never heard of before, you know? And, yeah, it's just so much to it, you know, and it's so powerful.

And, you know, my YouTube, my YouTube channel is it's more than music, because for a while I kind of wanted to frame that as the business. The business is more than music, LLC, but I wanted it to be specifically, it's more than music, because legit, it's, you know, it's more than music. It's it's healing. It's emotions. It's, you know, therapy.

And, you know, it's it's amazing thing what what music can truly do for, you know, for everyone, all ages as well. So music brings people together. That's definitely true. Music is is one of the the few mediums that can bring people together who just otherwise might not be together. But does music do things for people on a deeper level?

Yeah. I think so. I think so. I think, you know, even when, I've I've I forgot what's the exact scenario, but they say, you know, like when a woman's pregnant and you, you know, you put, like, headphones or, like, you play music around the kids, you know, in the womb, they'll, like, move around and stuff and you'll get some type of feedback from that, you know? So it's crazy that even a unborn child can feel, you know, the energy and the frequencies of music.

And at the same time, you know, it it before, you know, it was like rap or, like, singing, you know, there was there was poetry, you know, which rap and singing is almost, poetry with a beat behind it. You know? Right. And, yeah. Yeah.

I think it's it's definitely something that, you know, we kind of underplay just because we have it. We have music. You know, we have the access to music, but it's almost like like back to, like, the pandemic. It's almost like someone taking away from you the opportunity to go outside and be around your loved ones. You're like, oh, crap.

You know, like, I didn't realize how much I actually enjoy, you know, being around, like, my family. So Mhmm. You know, if if someone and I and I I ask this to people sometimes too. I'm like, what would you what would you do? Would you take away your sight, or would you take away your hearing?

And people are like, oh, man. Like, you know, like yeah. Right? And and people are like, man. Like, I couldn't imagine not being mono.

And it's funny because most people bring up music. You know, they're like, I can't picture not being able to hear music. And then some people are like, you know, people put sight into the play and they're like, Yo, I'd rather, you know, see where I'm going. But, yeah, it's something that, you know, it's a very deep music is a very deep thing that I feel, doesn't get the full recognition it does. But I feel like at the same time, if if you know, you know.

I think music also affects our emotions, and that's not a minor detail in in in my opinion because we can listen to a song that sends us into a rage. The song didn't create the rage, but it woke up the rage that was there. Right. Right. Right.

Listen to music that makes us cry. The song didn't make you cry, but it woke up tears that were already needed to come out. Right. You know, there's there's music can make you inspired to do what you need to do because the inspiration was already sitting there. It just needed a boost.

So for the I'm saying that for those who are listening, who think that you that your music program doesn't have an effect on your students. You're wrong. Because a lot of times when budgets get cut, music programs and other, you know, what some would consider artistic programs get cut, and they shouldn't be. They are extremely important, and they have effects that we can't necessarily see through a test on paper. But they definitely have an effect in people's mindset.

And I just wanted to point that out, you know, as well. Now, I wanna dive into this, and this is not really a segue. It's just changing the subject because it's because it's necessary. So I wanna point something out. So you work full time right now.

Correct? Yeah. Yes. Seven seven years. Seven years.

And what do you do full time? I'm a full time entrepreneur. So, and that like I said, it goes back to, like, what I said in the intro. It's a very long winded answer. But, you know, in regards to the entrepreneurship, you know, there's, me being a full time DJ, professional DJ.

I also do content creation, so I, you know, make my own flyers. I'm, you know, doing my own design work. You know, I create my business cards, all that stuff. Then it goes into, you know, me sometimes doing content for other people. Along with that, there's, me doing interviews for, you know, my YouTube channel even though, you know, it's not monetized as yet.

You know, it's something that has to be built upon. I've gotten paid to do interviews before. Typically, I don't, charge people to do interviews because I know I'm still in the building phase. Along with that, I do showcases as well. So I curate, you know, shows and, you know, different events for people to attend to.

And then my newest, you know, baby in business is my photo booth. So I also own a photo booth as well, which is a good combo for when I do, you know, private events, you know, it's holiday season. So holiday parties, and specifically weddings as well. You know, that's that's a big one. So, yeah, you know, everything kinda falls under all the above.

I also teach kids how to DJ as well. So that's another, you know, avenue and maybe something I'm I'm forgetting. But, yeah, that's kinda like, you know, just a different, avenues and of of revenue. And, it's cool that it's, you know, basically all based music and the arts. So I love it.

Okay. Now I wanna break down some of what you just said. So are so most of the things that you just mentioned, are you making money at most of them? Yeah. Yeah.

So I would yeah. Literally, majority, I would say 85, 90 percent of what I said. Yeah. There's there's some type of, reimbursement of time involved. So the reason I'm pointing that out is we have a lot of, teenagers listening to to us right now who, want to get into entrepreneurship.

And I think it's important to point out different fact about entrepreneurship and not just say, yay. Own your own business. Be your own boss. Make your own money. Whoo.

And leave it there. I wanna point out the fact that you're you're listening to a man who has his own business, but he does many things within that business to make all of the financial ends meet. Correct? That is that is very, very true. So he doesn't just DJ.

Everything is related to to the DJing as it should be, but he's doing more than one thing. So if you're looking to to start a business of your own, just know that you you might have to do several things with under one umbrella. I do that as well as the mind shifter. This podcast is just one branch of what what I do. And, you know, and I'm also a dual entrepreneur.

So Mhmm. So I have a different business that I I do as well. So now you also have your your, more music, less violence. That is, soon to be a nonprofit. Correct?

Yep. Yeah. Yeah. We're in the final stages of forming it into a nonprofit. Thought about it for a while in regards to what what, you know, how I wanted to form that part of the, you know, of the umbrella.

And, yeah, it felt right to go into the not for profit space, because I know we could connect with a lot more organizations who have a similar, you know, purpose and mission statement as we do. I think it's beautiful that you're taking your business skills and and using it, to also run a nonprofit. Thank you. And what I also wanna point out is the fact that, you're listening to DJ Hollywood. He has, his own business in addition to the nonprofit.

He's not trying to live off of his nonprofit. And I'm saying that because not just teenagers, but a lot of people will have a big dream, and they jump too high, too hard, too fast, and they jump into something without using any wisdom or planning. Agreed. Agreed. What advice do you have for those who are looking to start their own business, not just DJing, but start their own business, maybe related to your field because every field has different nuances.

What advice do you have for any youth that are looking to start, to become an entrepreneur like you? Initially, I would say that, you so I have I have a thing called the, the PPP, which is, you know, find your passion, you know, find your purpose, and then figure out how you could, you know, turn it into a paycheck. So that's the PPP. But what I will say is that, you have to understand that, you know, basically, you are your own boss as an entrepreneur, which there's pros and cons to that. So Mhmm.

You know, I can, like this past weekend, you know, I made the executive decision to, you know, do three gigs in a day. You know, initially, it was just only gonna be two. But, meanwhile, the gig number two was happening. I got the opportunity to, you know, for the offer for gig number three. You know?

So I had to make that that, decision for myself. You know? There was no person to say, you know, hey, go here or, you know, don't go here. That decision was solely, you know, dependent on me. And, granted, I was I was tired, you know, but I knew the benefits of going to event three and what that could do for, you know, the business.

And in the same breath, you know, now I know. Okay. Well, you know, if the event ends at 2AM, now I have to pack up and go home. Now I'm probably going to sleep around 3AM, and now I gotta think about what do I have to do the next day. You know?

Now the pros of being, you know, a entrepreneur, I could wake up whatever time I want, but that's also a con in regards of I could wake up anytime I want. So if I wanna have a lazy day, okay, cool. So I go to bed at two or I go to bed at three. Excuse me. I wake up at eleven, let's just say, or twelve.

And now I gotta, you know, get up and motivate myself to figure out, okay, you know, whether it's a list of things I gotta do or, you know, me scheduling stuff in my calendar. But, you know, things gotta get done, you know, nonetheless. You know, there's no, there's nobody kind of micromanaging you. There's no, you know, boss that's telling you, you know, what time to clock in, what time to clock out. You know, it's almost a twenty four hour shift in regards of, you know, being an entrepreneur.

And then there's other things, you know, money management. You got taxes that you also have to take into to, consideration. Yuck. But yes. Yeah.

Yeah. Beyond that, you know, it's it's just you gotta really be able to lock in and and, especially if you wanna be successful as a as a business owner, you know, for for a while. Even my mom, you know, she was like, are you really surviving off of, you know, DJing? And I was like, yeah. I actually am.

And it took her a while to you know, it took a while for her to, you know, for her to sit in, you know. But one time she called me, and she called me up, and she was like, hey, DJ Hollywood. And that was the first time I ever heard her call me DJ Hollywood. Oh, really? Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. And, from there because she has me on Facebook. So that's what it is. So she see she sees more and more and more people kinda gravitating towards the movement and the brand.

So she's just like, oh, wow. You know, she sees me drop, like, you know, some merch. And she's like, yo, like, I want a hoodie. You know, just little stuff like that. And, you know, me just realizing, you know, okay.

You know, basically like that that, that moment for your parents, you know, where they're like, oh, okay. Like, you're doing something you love. You're making money. Like, I'm not. I don't ask her for money anymore.

Rarely do I, you know, unless I'm, like, really in a pickle. But, you know, I'm like, you know, I get the opportunity to, you know, give her some money sometimes, you know? So that's, you know, a super blessing on on the entrepreneur tip. But, yeah, it's definitely not for the week. It's definitely not for the, you know, And that's the thing too.

Another thing is, it's okay to also be to to not be a boss. You get what I'm saying? Because more or less, bosses need workers as well. You know? Like, peep there needs to be there's more there's elements to a team.

Granted, there's only one, quote, unquote, boss, but at the same time, a boss is nothing without his workers, if that makes sense. You know? Mhmm. Or a boss is as good as his workers Right. Are.

So, that's just something to keep in mind, you know, like, you don't have to go into entrepreneurship. But, you know, even recently I just, you know, accepted, having an assistant, you know, something like that is so key because now if the assistant is out of tune now that kind of like I have to tweak stuff on my level because I got to get the stuff done that she was supposed to get done, you know? And, yeah, there's there's a job for everyone. I tell that to, you know, everybody when especially when it comes to entrepreneurship, you know, when you see movies, you know, there's multiple when when the credits roll, there's at least 50 plus people in the credits, you know, and everybody plays a pivotal role within that movie. So, yeah, life's a movie, man.

Go, go be your superstar. I wanna back up to what you said a moment ago. What I when I asked you about the, entrepreneurship and, you know, what advice you have for the youth, and one of the first parts that you said, to reword it, I would say you you have to plan and use wisdom. Mhmm. Mhmm.

So you were talking about the fact that you took on a third gig, for the day. You said, I can fit this in. Okay. I can do it. So then you did it, and you were able to six you know, you were able to succeed with that.

Right. But even when it came but in order for you to make that decision, you had to plan what the elements were around that decision. Mhmm. And I'm pointing that out because sometimes and not just teenagers. Sometimes we we get all excited.

We we wanna go, yay. I like that idea. Let's do it. But then we don't think about the aftermath of that decision. Okay.

What does that mean if I take on this element, if I take on this assignment, if I take on this task, if I take on this whatever? I think in business, a lot of times, we don't not just in business, but sometimes in planning our lives. And and as a teenager, you could be taking on too many clubs in the school, taking on too many extracurricular activities. You can overwhelm yourself. And we have to be wise in in in the decisions that we make.

And that's what I that's what I heard from what you were just explaining about, you know, what you went through yesterday. Yeah. Not yesterday, but Saturday. Yeah. Yeah.

I agree. I agree. You definitely have to, you know, especially within entrepreneurship, things have to be well thought out, you know? And, you know, the planning is definitely a key thing because even with, you know, the event Saturday specifically, I had to, you know, nothing was ready. So at the moment that he the the person reached out to me, nothing was ready.

So I actually had to, so crazy enough. Let me explain this too. So the wedding wanted me to stay for an extra hour, but I already accepted the third gig from the person. So I was like, well, I can't push back the time there because it's just gonna mess things up. Granted, I was getting more money on the third gig than I would have made in the extra hour, which is why I made that decision as well.

But, Yes. So I had to basically rush home now to because it was a photo booth event. I had to rush home design, some type of template, because it was like a theme party. So I had to just come home design. This happened in probably about twenty minutes, and then I was out the door again, which means I had to bring the photo booth come and the photo booth is not not light at all.

So I had to bring the photo booth upstairs, get out the photos from the last event while editing the graphic for the third event, then export that to a USB and then, set up the design, basically set up the graphics. So event call it set up the event in the photo booth and then get the photo booth back in the car and then drive about twenty minutes to get to that event and then quickly set up. So I was good to go for twelve to two. So in other words, you just made it sound like it was a real easy decision, but it was some work. No.

For sure. For sure. And and I I was very close to saying no. But like I said, I knew the benefits of you know, that was the space that I wanted to be in because I knew, you know, future clientele was also there, but also the person that reached out to me was a good friend of mine. So I was like, you know what?

You're you're hitting me up at 7PM for a event that's at ten, but I'll do you one favor, and I'll yeah. And I'll get there at twelve for you. And we could just do a two hour time frame, and, you know, people will get their pictures and everybody's happy. So So you negotiated when when given the offer? Yeah.

For sure. For sure. That's definitely a thing with an entrepreneurship. You you know, in general, you know, you should always negotiate your worth. But specifically with entrepreneurship, you know, Fat Joe said it best.

He said, set your price and live your life, you know, and, let people see the value in it. The people see the value in it. They'll pay it and then some. And the people who don't, you know, start charging charging double when they come back. They're just taking up your time and energy anyway.

Let them walk away. But what I also hear is that you didn't sacrifice quality in your delivery. And I think that's so important because sometimes people say, oh, yeah. I can do this. I can rush and do this, but then they get they give rushed quality.

And from what I just heard and what in the details you just gave, you didn't do that. You made sure that you had a theme set up. You made sure you took the old stuff out and that you still gave a professional presentation. Yes? Right.

No. And it's funny you say that because that's exactly the thoughts in my head. I was like, because the photo booth has default, like, templates, you know, for, like, the home screen and stuff like that. But one of the things that I'm I'm super big on with the photo booth is I tell people I can customize it to your event, you know, and that comes with the pricing. That comes with the pricing.

I say I can I can customize it? You send me a logo, whatever it is. I'm a tailor it to your event. And, yeah. Yeah.

And I knew at that moment in my head, I was thinking I was like, Is there any, like, default? Because it was like it was a pink theme. So I was like, Is there any default photo booth images that are is pink? And I was like, You know what? And crazy enough, I have, the app on my phone that I edit the, the photo booth templates with and legit while the wedding's going on, I quickly, like, just, like, edit something in my phone real quick.

It was crazy. Oh, my goodness. You cannot make this up. I literally edited something real quick. And, and then by the time I got home, I got to the computer and then fine, like, fine tuned it.

But, yeah, it was it was crazy, man. It was crazy. But, yeah, so much sacrifice as an entrepreneur that you got to make. And, it comes with planning, preparation, and, of course, last but not least, execution. And discipline.

Because a lot of what you just said included discipline. And as for all y'all, I don't care how old you are. This is for teens. I don't care how old you are. I do not expect success without discipline.

They Right. They they're never separate. They are never ever separate. Well, DJ Hollywood, it has been awesome talking to you. And before we go, how could people find you?

Yes. A pleasure talking to you as well. People can check me out on Instagram. That's kinda like where I'm mainly at. I post a lot on there.

D j h o l l y w, the number eight d. So that's DJ Hollywood. Don't forget the eight. DJ h o l l y w eight d. You could check out more music, less violence as well on Instagram.

It's exactly how it sounds. More music, less violence. We also got a website as well, that were, you know, we launched earlier this year, moremusic,lessviolence.org. We'll be tweaking the website along, you know, the the upcoming months, you know, leading into next year because we have a lot of events that we're planning and a lot of collaborations we're planning. And, yeah, you could also my wife's my website as well, djhollywood.com, if you wanna hear any of my mixes and stuff.

And, on YouTube, if you wanna see any of my interviews or, you know, the content I post during my gigs and stuff, that is it's more than music. Alright? It's more than music. And, Fatima, I appreciate you. I appreciate you for asking.

No problem. The DJHollywood.com, is that spelled the normal way or with an eight? No. It's never normal. It's never normal.

It's DJ Hollywood. Don't forget the eight. Be special. Yes. Yes.

DJ Hollywood. Don't forget the eight, man. I literally looked it up on the Internet, and I see no other DJ Hollywood with the eight. And I think that was probably about 2016. I changed every single platform to reflect DJ Hollywood with the eight.

I like that because I'm like that. If everybody else is doing it, I gotta find a way to be different. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly.

So well, it's been a pleasure having you on, and I hope that, hopefully, we've inspired some young entrepreneurs and, some other used to get more into music. I I think we've hopefully, we've accomplished both. And it's been really, really great having you. Yes. I appreciate it as well.

And, yeah, good luck with the rest of the podcast, and enjoy the rest of your 2023. And now for a mind shifting moment. Entrepreneurship is a beautiful thing. I hope you were just inspired by the story of his journey for his way of work. If you're considering entrepreneurship, I want you to remember some of the key elements that you heard in today's session.

Solutions have to come from where you are. Don't expect everything to fit into a perfect little box because it never will, especially when it comes to entrepreneurship. But most importantly, take whatever skills you have, however, big and small and make a difference in your community. That's bigger than anything else you can do. Thank you for listening to mind shift power podcast.

Please like and subscribe to my YouTube channel at the mind shifter. If you have any comments, topic suggestions, or would like to be a guest on the show, please visit FatimaBay.com/podcast. Remember, there's power in shifting your thinking. Tune in for next week.