Instrumental Intel - Ep 2 Exploring Authenticity in DJing with DJ Milk D (5-11-24)

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Achickwitbeatz presents ⁠the Instrumental Intel podcast⁠, bringing you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news & tips, insights & interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm EST on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠.
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Instrumental Intel Podcast

Achickwitbeatz brings you information instrumental to your artistic career including music industry news, insights, interviews, and beats for your inspiration. Listen on Saturdays at 7 pm ET on ⁠⁠⁠Grander Radio,⁠⁠⁠ Achickwitbeatz.com⁠⁠⁠, and your favorite podcast platform.

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Transcript Generated by Riverside

00:03

Yo, I am music producer Achickwitbeatz, and thank you for tapping into instrumental intel where I bring you music industry news, beats, and artist insights and interviews, all the stuff that's instrumental to your music career. I'm really excited for today's episode. Later DJ Milk D will be joining me to discuss authenticity and DJing. I'm really excited about that. Of course, I've got some music industry news tidbits, and I'll be bringing the beats as always.

00:33

So make sure that you keep it locked in. And before I even get too deep into it, I gotta slow down to say thank you and send a huge shout out to the home station for instrumental Intel, which is Grand Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Thank you for sharing this with your audience. And without any further ado, let's go.

18:25

Welcome back fellow independent music creators. I'm excited to go ahead and get into the music biz brief. We've got some industry news that could impact our careers, whether it's directly or indirectly. So let's start with TikTok. Sir Lucian Grange from Universal Music Group confirmed a new licensing deal, promising better pay for Universal artists. So this also means that the catalog will be returning to TikTok soon, addressing attribution issues and AI-generated music concerns.

18:54

On the flip side of that though, the National Music Publishers Association deal with TikTok has ended, which could potentially affect indie publishers. So the NMPA is urging fair compensation and they're offering legal support if it's needed, so it's a crucial time for indie creators to try to navigate these changes. Speaking of legal battles, TikTok is suing the US government over the separation laws, which kind of raises concerns about its future.

19:21

We're gonna have to wait to see how that plays out, but I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that this was coming. They actually have a strong case, but yeah, we gotta see how it goes. Now onto audio quality. Spotify is actually testing the lossless streaming that they've been talking about for a few years, kind of joining the ranks of Apple Music and Tidal. This could mean, well, Amazon too for that matter, but this could mean better sound for our music on streaming platforms, depending on if you want to participate.

19:50

Of course that kind of comes with its own issues as well, but yeah once again, you know as more information comes out, I'll make sure that I get that to you too. Alright, Shifting Gears Universal Music Group is facing shareholder scrutiny due to CEO pay concerns. There's an advisory firm that has been advising to reject Lucian Grange's 119th

20:12

million pound pay offer, which is roughly 149 million US dollars, setting the stage for a potential clash. But it's not all bad for Universal. Their first quarter results show a significant revenue growth, which is a positive sign for the industry. Over at Warner Music Group, they've seen a rise in subscription streaming revenues and overall revenue in the first quarter as well. CEO Robert Kinkle and CFO Brian Castellani highlight their focus on artist development and growth.

20:42

which I'll definitely be glad to see. I hope that you agree with me as well. But mainstream music could definitely use a bit more artist development and growth. So that's a very promising thing to hear. Alright, Live Nation's first quarter brought in strong revenue despite operational losses. And they say that that's kind of attributed to the legal contingencies, part of which even include the settlement for the Astral World tragedies.

21:09

So yeah, they're still feeling pretty bullish, even though some people do have some doubts. But once again, that's another one of those things that we gotta kinda wait and see if people are gonna keep shelling out major books for some of these really, really expensive concerts and live music events that have been going on lately. And SoundCloud is stepping up with Buzzing Playlist, which offers exposures to emerging artists. This initiative could be a game changer.

21:34

for our visibility, so that's always a great thing. It's kind of like the equivalent to Spotify's playlist and what they've been doing for major artists, but now this particular effort by SoundCloud could help indie artists quite a bit. Bandcamp has always continues to be a beacon for artists with millions earned on Bandcamp Fridays and fan contributions. So it's a reminder of how important the power of community support is to your career.

22:02

If you do not have your music on Bandcamp, definitely recommend that you take care of that right away because you don't know how many actually want to make sure that most of those dollars get into your pocket. And even if they don't buy it on a Bandcamp Friday, they take a 15% cut, which isn't really bad for what they're offering. So definitely make sure that your music is anywhere that people who want to support you can.

22:28

So yeah, that's always a recommendation for me. I've been a fan of Bandcamp for a long time, even though it's changed ownership quite a bit. They still seem to keep artists at the forefront. Right, and lastly, music startup Mogul has hit a hundred million dollars in track royalties, which empowers artists to manage their finances better, which is definitely a promising tool for every evolving industry. So again, this isn't an endorsement.

22:51

But anytime there's something out there like that that you might be able to take advantage of to make sure that you're getting all the money that you deserve and have earned on your hard work, definitely recommend that you check that out and just kind of scrutinize any details that you come across to see if it's a good fit for what you're trying to do with your career.

23:11

All right, now it's time for a quick pause for the cause, and then I'll be back with my special guest, DJ Milk D. We're going to talk a little bit about exploring authenticity in DJing. Keep it locked.

33:35

Hey, I'm Achickwitbeatz, multi-genre music producer and strategist to indie artists and labels. Visit achickwitbeatz.com for resources for artists and instrumentals in various genres available for songs, blogs, blogs, podcasts, themes, TV, film, commercials, and more. Once again, that's achickwitbeatz.com. That's A-C-H-I-C-K-W-I-T-B-E-A-T-Z.com Let's make something happen.

34:04

Thank you for joining us for instrumental Intel. I'm here in the virtual building with the one, the only DJ Milk D. Now had the pleasure of having you on the previous show, Music Marvels, but now that you're here, if you could, just give a little bit of a background of who you are and how you got into music the way that you are now. Awesome, well, thank you.

34:31

for having me back first and foremost. Well, of course I'm DJ Milk D. I live in Richmond, Virginia, originally from South Jersey. So once was a northerner, now a southerner. Fell in love with music at a very young age thanks to my big brother, Derek, who I call Double D.

35:00

first introduced me to music as far as DJing that is. I always had an ear for music, but the DJing is what changed it all, as well as break dancing, because I was also big into break dancing, because I liked to dance. And I think that's what kind of is cool, because those who know me.

35:27

I just stand there as a DJ. I'm always dancing and moving as I'm DJing. So that all comes from when I was younger, break dancing and thinking I was Michael Jackson mixed with Prince. Started actually my own company in 2018 called Bourgeois

35:57

Entertainment, LLC. My last name is Bourgeois. So I said, hey, you know, it has a good twist, even though it's hard to spell or pronounce, I should say. Maybe when I was younger, it was hard to spell, but the pronunciation is always a conversation piece. And I said, hey, I'm going to make this the name for my traveling DJ company. So back in 2018, I got my LLC.

36:27

and I've had my foot on the gas ever since. Started DJing when I was 11. Of course, life happens and you kinda stray away from it, but I picked it back up in 2018 and like I said, I haven't stopped. When the pandemic hit, I was DJing online with another radio station

36:57

And that's when my brother and sister-in-law was like, hey, Darrell, you know, we can do this or you can do this. And we started your radio, which is why you three hours and a P radio dot com. Our radio station, in my opinion, is very unique. There's so many Internet radio stations out there.

37:26

but I feel like we're different because of the wide variety of music that we have. It's a 24-7 radio station. The genres is so wide. It's not just, you know, R&B or rock and roll or Hip Hop. It's everything. And

37:55

I feel like music you just don't hear anymore, you would hear on my radio station. So for the listeners out there, if you've not tuned in to Yurrrp Radio, I hate to say it, you're missing out, but you have an opportunity now to go and check it out. As a matter of fact, you know...

38:19

took with Beats, you tuned into the radio station. Yes. I'm going to interview you now. What do you think of YurrrpRadio.com? I love it, mainly for the reasons that you express. One of my favorite things though, one I love also when you, you know, have a chime in and talk feel like I'm actually there with you and not just like tune in online. But yeah, one of my favorite things is, I guess, the way that you blend.

38:50

songs, like you can see the connection and your transitions make sense. So it's not like, it's different enough to be unpredictable. But then, you know, like, as soon as you get into it, I'm like, ah, I see what he did there. Like, okay, that's connected because of this. And this person used to work with this person. So yeah, like you have an art to it. And yeah, that's my favorite thing about tuning in. So yeah, I love how eclectic it is.

39:19

And you can tell that you know your stuff by how you blend. Oh, thank you so much. Means a lot to me. I try my best to reach every listener, you know, because there's an option for people to message me or us to the studio. And I try to, you know, accommodate everyone who's tuned in. I do have my favorite genres.

39:48

But I try to relate to everyone. So thank you for sharing. Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, with that being said, could you talk a little bit about, and I don't mean like give away your trade secrets or anything like that. You can keep that tucked away, but you know, a little bit to the art and how you approach what you're going to play. Besides the audience, which...

40:17

You know, I can't see, you know, like when I'm DJing, you know, a corporate event or wedding, or even when I'm on Carnival Cruise Line in the studio, I can't see one, of course. So, you know, when people hit me up and say, hey, this is so and so from Louisiana, you know, I'm like, okay, I gotta play some, you know, music from down south. It might be Lil Wayne, or,

40:45

It might be some Soca, you know, something like that. If somebody says, oh, I'm from Miami, you know, I'm thinking, you know, like Khaled and, you know, things like that, you know, some Reggaeton. But off of that, I go about how I'm feeling. So, you know, even going to work in the morning or coming home in the evening,

41:15

however I'm feeling at that moment is what I play in the car. So it's the same when it comes to the radio station. I will create a playlist even for like a wedding you know I go through the the regular routine traditional formalities of a wedding but then when reception takes place

41:45

I also kind of play like how I'm feeling. So, yeah, maybe that's a bad example about a wedding reception on how I'm feeling. So I read the crowd. So I'm gonna go back to the car and things like that because for a wedding reception you do have to read the crowd to see who's out there. But how do you do that?

42:13

Like you like Hip Hop, I like Hip Hop too. That was my first love. I'll say, okay, you hear the same stuff on the radio. No knock. Drakes and those artists out there or even R&B, nothing against Beyonce or whoever. I try to play something you just don't hear anymore.

42:42

And then I try to balance it out, if that makes sense. I might play some Run-DMC, but then I may come back with like some, um, you know, like Drake, like I mentioned, or, uh, I may play, um, a little Jill Scott, you know, and then I may come with, um,

43:05

some J Cole or some Beyonce or something. I just try to be different, but also I balance it on how I'm feeling when I'm DJing or when I'm in the car. So yeah, just the vibe I'm feeling. Now today's show was about Prince.

43:30

So Prince has so much music. Yes. But I was feeling, you know, in the beginning, just like some mellow Prince. And then I picked it up with some Erotic City and things like that, you know. Just on what I'm feeling, you know? Yeah. And so, you know, I think, can't help but wonder if that's why.

43:59

your sets resonate with so many people because you're playing how you're feeling. So you've still got this authenticity about what you're doing. Even playing the mainstream stuff and knowing when to do it and then to balance it out with something else. So yeah, I gotta say, I imagine that that's why your sets resonate so well.

44:22

Thank you. Yes, balance is so important. When you're playing music, you don't want to go way left and not bring it back to the middle before you get to the right, for example. I know a couple weeks ago, I played a lot of Hip Hop, but I tried to play some 70s, you know, some Sugar Hill. I went into some 80s, you know, Beastie Boys and

44:52

You know, and I went into like some biggie in the 90s. But I stayed Hip Hop for a while. Then I went back to age. I think people were on one time. I played like Lyte. I'm a big MC Lyte fan. Um, you know, so it might've been the same. Oh yeah. Some Boogie Down. Yeah. I'm a big KRS-One, um, fan, you know, oh my gosh, Criminal Minded. And, oh man.

45:22

And then recently, you know, I'm just thinking about DJ Red Alert. He was following him on Instagram and, you know, stuff like that. He was talking and it just made me go back and I'm thinking about, you know, DJ Red Alert when he was young, you know, he was, he was bad, man.

45:46

Yeah, you got me thinking about those classic Hip Hop tunes. Oh my gosh. They just don't make music like that anymore. They don't. I confess recently that people are like, oh, what do you think about this new stuff? And I do check it out from time to time because I got to be aware. You got to see what people vibe into and whatnot. But 90% of the time, it's...

46:13

either in the 80s or 90s in my car. Like that's just, that's what I gravitate towards. You know, I will check out some new stuff, sometimes a little early 2000s or whatnot. But yeah, that era is definitely something special. And one thing that I really appreciate about it now is because, you know, I was so young coming up through some of that stuff that I knew it and I liked it. But listening back on it now with a

46:42

better awareness of the world, you know, and kind of getting to relive that stuff, but have a deeper understanding now that I'm older and, you know, like, man, yeah, that era was just something else. I'm partial to it too. Fire. Yes. And see, yeah, I have, I have a daughter that's, um, 26 and a son that's 23. And, you know, they can't relate. Um,

47:08

I'd be telling them, I'd say, guys, man, this is X, Y, and Z. And they're like, OK, dad. You know, but man, it wouldn't, this generation wouldn't be where it's at if it wasn't those pioneers. You know, they sound nothing alike. You know, you know, sort of stuff gives me a headache. But, you know, as a DJ, I mentioned earlier, you have to reach a crowd.

47:35

Which means for those who don't know, that means is, you know, your crowd. Um, you can't play your favorites and expect to, um, be actually DJ again, you know, this word of mouth can make you or break you. So, you know, you gotta, you gotta read the crowd, know your crowd. Yeah, for sure. Um, yeah, I've actually been to events where, and I don't remember the specific songs.

48:02

but I mean, he was playing something that had the dance floor just packed, you know, like one of those hustle type songs, I can't remember what was popular at that time, and immediately went to a slow song. I've never seen the dance floor clear out so quickly. And it's like, yeah, that's a good song, but maybe everybody doesn't wanna hear that right now. So yeah, that's a really interesting- Bad timing. Yeah. Yeah.

48:32

And yeah, I did remember who that DJ was and I started avoiding events. Yeah, because it can put a bad taste in your mouth, you know. And I have a wedding to DJ June 1st. And how I got this job is, you know, the person, the father, you know, knew me from a previous job. But he contacted me not just because he knew me.

49:02

but he knew of my style. And he said when he got married, the DJ was lousy. He said he was like a robot. He had no energy, no life. He says, Milk, I see your videos and how you're bringing all this energy and your variety of music. And he said, I told my wife, we gotta hire Milk D for our daughter's wedding. So here we are, you know, on June 1st.

49:32

I'm doing that wedding and I'm hoping to, uh, you know, rock it because whomever is there can possibly ask you down the road to do their event. It might not be a wedding. It could be an anniversary or corporate party or something. So, you know, word of mouth, like I said, is crucial to kill you or make you. Yeah. So, you know, with that being said.

50:01

He's witnessed you seeing your videos and all that. And was like, yes, we have to hire him. What, I guess, maybe tidbit of information would you give to anybody listening that might be getting ready to be a DJ or just starting off, but I guess about being brave enough to be your true self and let your light shine when you're doing what you do? Well, you just said something really key.

50:32

Um, you're trying to be a DJ or you are a DJ because you love music or you love to entertain. So why not try to give your best shot on both of those? Meaning, you know, show your energy, show your love for the music and for your craft. And.

50:59

Don't be afraid to be yourself. First and foremost, when you look in the mirror, you see you. Don't look in the mirror and pretend you're someone else. I stay in my lane, so be the best version of yourself. I get messages, you know, private messages.

51:27

saying oh you're trying too hard you know you're jumping around and you know this that and the third people are always going to have something to say but if you know you're giving it your best you're doing your best that's all that matters and a lot of times people who say things like that you're trying too hard and this and that they're jealous they're jealous because maybe

51:56

They can't do what you do or they're not getting the attention like they're getting. But again, if you're giving it your best and being true to yourself, that's all that matters. Yeah. I mean, calling someone a try-hard was like an 80s insult. So yeah, this shows how out of touch with things they are.

52:23

Like, yeah, how could you ever actually be trying too hard? Like, you know, and your videos bring happiness. How could that ever be a bad thing? So, yeah, you're right. But no matter what you do, because I can't remember who the quote was from, but, you know, the only way to avoid criticism is to say nothing, do nothing, and be nothing. Because there will always be somebody that will have something to say. Like, yeah, if you're doing anything in life.

52:49

You know, basically that's a good way to let you know that you're on the right track. Really. I agree. And you know, some people love to try to push your button, you know, don't stoop to their level, just be you. Like you said, just ignore it. Yeah. Cause I mean, you know, we're all unique. We're all individual, but that's the point. Like when you get a chance to be yourself.

53:17

That's how you actually find your people and the people who are like you. And yeah, so it's definitely an important thing. And, um, I just want to say without beating on, you know, the Coachella events too much, but, you know, just kind of, uh, I think a tidbit or a highlight from some of those unfortunate technical events for a certain DJ.

53:45

kind of highlighted the importance of actually respecting the craft and knowing how to do what you do. So to anybody that might be thinking about that, do you have any advice for them like as far as technical skills that they should probably learn before doing, you know, large events like that? Well, you want to know your music. So if you're going to say play a set, whatever it may be,

54:15

Know your music prior to the set. Also, make sure you know the equipment that you're using. For example, I just had a house music event to celebrate my record deal and five DJs used Pioneer. It's called an XZ. I'm not very familiar with

54:45

I need to because most clubs, most venues use Pioneer. I use Rain and it's like a turntable, it's a 12-inch except it's digital. Well it would have been easier if we all could just use that one XZ controller by Pioneer.

55:12

But I didn't want to risk failing by using a controller that I'm not used to. So to the DJs out there, know your music and know your equipment. That will help. And when I say know your music, get a selection of music that you're familiar with.

55:42

put the BPMs and the keys in the same ballpark. You don't want to have, you know, I'm thinking old school, so I'm sorry. You don't want to play Piper by Run DMC and play, whatchamacallit,

56:06

Happy by Pharrell, it's just a new work. You know, you've got to be able to be in the same realm, same spectrum. So create your playlists or grab your music and kind of have them all in the same area of speed, which you know, BPMs and the keys because it's important.

56:36

So I've seen some, I've heard some mixes and I'd be like, whoa. Um, yeah. And it's just because they didn't know what they were doing with the, with the music. So know your music and know your equipment and you'll be fine. And of course, you know, Pitch in to the crowd, you know, but most importantly for something like that, like Coachella, you know, big, large event, um, make sure you know your equipment, know your music.

57:05

so you won't fail. Yeah, all right. Well, those are some awesome gems. Thank you for sharing that. And yeah, as we get ready to wind down before we head out, do you wanna let people know where they can follow you? Keep up with all the good stuff that you've got going on. You've got a lot going. I wanna make sure that everybody knows what you've got in the coming up pipeline.

57:34

Oh absolutely, thank you. Yes, I noticed so much, but everything that's going on is a blessing so I'm very thankful. You can find me on Instagram which is DJ, the letter D and then J, underscore Milk. Like to drink, underscore letter D for Darryl. And I just released a song yesterday called Babe Let's Shake.

58:03

And that's dedicated to my wife. Uh, it is Jackin House, you know, house music. It's out on all platforms, you know, like iTunes and Spotify, Amazon, Deezer, stuff like that. Um, the biggest site for house music is Traxsource. So my record label has been pushing Traxsource, but it is available on all platforms. Um, search me DJ Milk, letter D.

58:33

on those platforms. I do have a Facebook page, DJ Milk D, I have a TikTok, same thing. YouTube same thing, DJ Milk D. My radio station, you can Google DJ Milk D and my radio station Yurrrp Radio. That is yurrrpradio.com. I am...

58:59

I throw in a show, a travel DJ, but I'm also a house music producer. Uh, so stay tuned for more music. Um, this thing's in the lab. I'm working on as we speak. Great. Excellent. Well, you heard it here. Please make sure that you check him out and everything that he's got going. Phenomenal person, phenomenal DJ, phenomenal producer. And, uh, yeah, thank you for taking the time out to come and chat. And I hope you come back again.

59:29

anytime you ask I'm there and I'm waiting on you we're gonna do some music together. Yes I got you, I got you for sure. All right and that does it for this week's edition of Instrumental Intel with Achickwitbeatz. I'd like to thank my home station Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan and I'm already looking forward to next week. I already got another great show lined up for you that I hope that you will tap back into once again. So till next time you know where to find me, tune in, tell a friend, and I'll see you then.

59:59

Peace.