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.

Transcript Generated by Riverside

00:00
Hey, thank you for tuning in to Instrumental Intel. I am your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz. And I'm glad that you're here with me today. I got another show lined up for you that's got music industry news, beats produced by me, and later my special guest, Mic Lungz will be joining me. We'll talk a little bit about rhythm, routines and resilience, and health and fitness, and how beneficial it can be to independent artists. So I'm excited to be bringing this episode to you, but before I go ahead and drop that first beat, I gotta give a shout out to my home station.

00:30
Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And with that, let's go.

09:35
Hey, this is music producer Achickwitbeatz and you're listening to my podcast, Instrumental Intel.

14:19
Alright and I'm back with the music biz brief as promised. These first couple of stories have been buzzing around the internet. You may have heard them in between episodes. But first up, Spotify has won a five year legal battle against Eminem's publisher, 8 Mile Style. So they accused the platform of streaming Eminem's music without proper licensing. Now while the court found that Spotify didn't have a license for the tracks in question, it actually ruled that Spotify wasn't liable for lost royalties.

14:49
Kobalt Music Group, which collects royalties for Eminem, would have been responsible for compensation. So this case just kind of highlights the complexities of music rights in the streaming era and how misunderstandings between licensors can lead to legal battles. Alright, the next popular story. North Carolina musician Michael Smith has been arrested for allegedly using AI to create hundreds of thousands of songs.

15:13
and generate over $10 million in fraudulent royalties. Authorities say Smith set up thousands of accounts on streaming platforms, using bots to inflate streams of his AI-generated music since 2017. Boomy CEO Alex Mitchell was named as a co-writer on hundreds of these tracks but is not facing charges. Boomy has since partnered with fraud detection firm Beatdapp to combat fraud. Smith faces up to 60 years in prison, highlighting the growing issue of AI misuse in the music industry.

15:42
Next, new data reveals the UK live music sector surpassed £6 billion in 2023 thanks to major tours from artists like Beyonce and Coldplay with London leading in contributions. However, Grassroots venues are struggling with 125 shutting down and 36 festivals cancelled last year. Industry leaders are calling for government action including reduced ticket VAT to support smaller venues and festivals.

16:07
Additionally, UK music leaders are pressing the government to address post-Brexit touring barriers as EU officials are unwilling to change current regulations. These restrictions are impacting UK musicians with nearly half reporting reduced EU work. Immediate action is needed to support the £6.7 billion sector, and hopefully they get it. Also, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, the CMA, is investigating Ticketmaster over its handling of Oasis' 2025 UK tour tickets.

16:36
focusing on potential breaches of consumer protection laws and the controversial use of dynamic pricing. Meanwhile, the secondary ticketing platforms are facing scrutiny for exploiting fans by reselling tickets at inflated prices. Analysis shows over 4,500 tickets for the tour are listed on resale sites in violation of rules, with some touts reportedly making significant profits. The government is considering new measures to combat ticket reselling practices,

17:04
and Oasis has stated that tickets purchased through resale platforms will be canceled. Alright, more in the live events news. The National Independent Venue Association, or NIVA, and bands in town have introduced Live Independent. So it's a campaign to highlight the value of independent venues, promoters, and festivals across the US.

17:25
These venues are vital in launching the careers of many artists, including big names like Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift. And so now certified venues can receive benefits such as the live independence seal and dedicated placement on the Bands in Town platform. A new website will also help fans discover and support local independent venues. Next, Eventbrite is overhauling its service by offering unlimited event publishing and promotion at no cost.

17:49
so users can access its full suite of ticketing and marketing tools, including social ads, email campaigns, and daily marketing emails, all for free. However, ticketing fees still apply, which organizers can either cover or pass on to attendees. Additionally, Eventbrite is launching tools for timed ticketing and crowd management, initially for US organizers with plans to expand globally later. Now in music discovery news, the new app Equa.ls aims to reward fans for discovering and sharing

18:19
Initially available on iPhone, it lets users build a visual grid of purchased music others can browse and buy. If someone buys a track from your grid, you earn a 5% cut from the platform share, not the artist. Initially, payments will be made in credits to buy more music, but users will soon be able to convert these into cash. The app promotes buying music over streaming for free, offering a new way for fans to support artists while earning rewards.

18:43
Next, SoundCloud has officially launched its Ascending program, designed to support and promote emerging artists. The new initiative builds on a year-long pilot which demonstrated a significant increase in followers and streams for participating artists. The program aims to enhance artists' visibility and development, similar to Spotify's Radar and Apple Music's Up Next. Also, AudioShake and AIMS have teamed up to enhance how music catalogs are searched.

19:09
AudioShake will use its AI to transcribe lyrics, while the AIMS technology will enable catalog searches based on the lyrics' context and meaning. This partnership aims to help artists and companies uncover hidden tracks within their catalogs, making them easier to find and use. The CEO of AIMS says this expands catalog visibility by surfacing music that was previously unfindable.

19:31
And in a similar vein, Roblox is rolling out a now playing feature to enhance music discovery in its virtual world. But despite this development, the platform's benefits for independent artists are minimal. Roblox's partnership with DistroKid offers a music catalog to creators, but it does not involve royalties for artists, making it

19:49
It's clear the independent musicians will not receive direct financial compensation. While Roblox's focus is on integrating music into its platform, it does little to address the ongoing issue of fair pay for artists, leaving a significant gap in equitable opportunities within the metaverse. Alright, in mergers and acquisition news, Litmus Music has quietly acquired Opus Music Group which holds catalogs from artists like Juice WRLD, Ozuna, and more. Opus reportedly saw over $200 million earlier this year.

20:18
but the deal's value was undisclosed. Litmus financed the purchase through a $400 million credit facility arranged by Truist Securities. Litmus launched in 2022 and has been actively acquiring music rights, including catalogs from Keith Urban, Benny Blanco, and Katy Perry. This acquisition adds to the growing trend of music firms expanding their credit facilities to fuel catalog acquisitions. Also, SiriusXM Holdings has completed its merger with Liberty SiriusXM.

20:46
forming a unified company that will continue under the SiriusXM brand. Liberty Media, which previously held an 83% stake, now controls 81% of the new SiriusXM with shares trading on Nasdaq under the ticker SIRI. The CEO highlighted that the merger simplifies the ownership structure and is expected to enhance market position, trading liquidity, and access to a broader investor base. Guess we'll see what happens.

21:11
Ok, YouTube is introducing new AI detection tools to protect creators, including musicians, actors, and athletes from having their likeness, voice, or face copied using AI. This includes expanding the existing Content ID system to detect AI-simulated singing voices and facial manipulation.

21:29
YouTube is also working on solutions to address the use of creators' content to train AI models without consent. While compensation for creators whose work is used in AI-generated content is not fully addressed, YouTube is testing new tools with partners to identify and manage AI-generated content starting next year.

21:46
Audiomack has teamed up with Mogul, a royalty tracking platform to help independent artists better manage their earnings. With this partnership, Audiomack's artists can track royalties from their streams more accurately and explore other revenue streams using Mogul's tools. This integration aims to address common issues artists face in tracking and collecting the royalties they're owed, offering more transparency and control over their income.

22:09
This move follows AudioMax's recent efforts to support artists, such as the launch of sponsored songs in July, to promote music without relying on unethical practices. And ChartMetrics' latest report highlights that trigger cities, which are key urban centers, are essential for new artists aiming for global reach. Latin American cities like Mexico City and Santiago, along with Southeast Asian hubs such as Jakarta and Manila, are pivotal due to their active music sharing behaviors.

22:37
While Western cities have less impact, they still contribute through the diaspora communities. Australian cities like Melbourne and Sydney are also gaining significance as trigger cities. OK and Amuse, the Swedish-based distributor and record label, has launched an in-house sync department to help independent artists license their music for film, TV, and advertising.

22:57
Led by industry veteran Daniel Copleston, the department aims to expand sync opportunities for self-releasing artists, adding to Amuse's existing services like artist marketing, funding, and publishing. With a catalog of over 8,000 tracks from more than 300 artists, Amuse hopes this new move will create more revenue streams and exposure for its roster. This comes shortly after Amuse introduced StreamCheck, a tool to detect streaming fraud.

23:22
Okay, in major label news, Warner Music Group just received a BBB credit rating from Fitch, signaling confidence in their strong market position and growth potential. Meanwhile, Universal Music Group's stock was upgraded to outperform by BNP Paribas

23:43
driven by streaming. So while the US streaming market shows slower growth, emerging markets continue to expand rapidly offering opportunities for major labels like Warner and Universal.

23:53
Universal Music Group has expanded its licensing deal with Tuned Global, integrating UMG's catalog into Tuned Global's business-to-business music streaming services. This move simplifies the licensing process for clients in various industries, allowing them to access Universal's music more easily. Tuned Global's technology will now manage licensing and royalties, enhancing their offerings for sectors like gaming and fitness.

24:17
Alright, and finally to end the music biz brief with some trends we've been seeing. Major labels are increasingly entering the distribution space with companies like Sony, Universal, and Warner offering both traditional label and distribution services. While major labels provide extensive resources and services, these often come at high cost that the artists have to cover themselves. This shift towards distribution deals highlights a growing preference among artists for autonomy and a larger share of their revenue, contrasting with traditional label deals that, despite

24:47
their resources can be financially and creatively burdensome. Alright, so that does it for this week's music biz brief. I'm gonna take a quick pause for the cause and then I'll be back with my special guest, Mic Lungz, right after this.

30:04
Hey, I'm Achickwitbeatz, multi-genre music producer and strategist to indie artists and labels.

30:28
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.

Thank you so much for tuning in to Instrumental On Toe with Achickwithbeats. I'm so happy.

30:57
happy, thrilled, excited, and delighted to announce that I have in the virtual building with me, Mic Lungz, a man of many, many talents and resources. I mean, he's a rapper, a producer, an engineer, and he's a fitness coach, health guru, all that good stuff. I'm pretty sure I probably left something out too. But yeah, first of all, before we even get into it, I wanna thank you for taking the time out of your very busy schedule.

31:24
to come and share with us. And so, yeah, without any further ado, I bring you Mic Lungz, if you could, give a little bit of a background as to who you are and how you got started with everything that you're doing. All right, first of all, thank you for having me. It's a pleasure of mine. Mic Lungz, I started out as a rapper, probably late 90s, got into producing, got...

31:51
was tired of the having the regular, you know, going to studios and wasting time and paying someone else. So I was really early and it started starting my, I guess back then I didn't know what started my own business, but of getting my own studio, whether it was getting just the basic equipment of just getting like, I think I started like with ASR 10, like I just wanted to make my own beats. So I started like with that and then, you know, through the years and years and years, it grew to having my own recording studio that I was using. So I would say,

32:21
I was really grinding out early 2000s to about 2010, 2012 is where a lot of things were going good for me as far as trying to gain traction and all that before, you know, the way the technology is now it was still like in the streets foot the pavement. And I still do music now. I'm not as into it as far as being an artist now, but I still do production. Now it's more in the arm. The production goes into like, like the fitness.

32:50
fitness content I shoot or other things that are other other content creators who need music for their content. They don't want to license music out from other people to pay that they want something original like a lot of content creators if you listen they have the same music in the background and all that so yeah so so a lot on the music side that's more where my um

33:13
where my energy is going as far as the music more than just being an artist and that. But in between all that, I've always been a personal trainer, always had to have a job and pay my mortgage, you know, because at the time we're trying to be a rap artist. I didn't have any investors. I didn't have any big homies, any guys on the block who were doing whatever. I didn't have all that. So everything was getting financed by myself. So, but I still had to have a job to pay my bills and support my family and my children and all that. So I was always a personal trainer. And same thing.

33:41
I started early, I didn't like working for gyms or working for anybody so I had a personal training studio that I opened where I would train my clients at. Phased out of that and got more into online training is where I'm at now, what I do. So I mostly do online fitness training. I still do occasionally one-on-one training if you're in the DC area but it's more online training. I have an app where I...

34:06
where I deliver all my content to my online clients, whether it's the workouts, the nutrition, it's tons of other little bullet points that go along with it, but that's where my energy's at now, the online training and obviously the music that goes along with my fitness content and other people's fitness content. Okay, okay, so I mean, man, first of all, that's a lot. I think it's really cool that you got the app theme that you're doing.

34:31
I see a lot of your fitness reels and some stuff that, well, I should say, most of the stuff that you share is stuff that I would have thought that I kind of knew, but once you say it's like, oh no, I didn't know that, or I didn't realize it works this way. But just to kind of be completely transparent with the audience, there was one particular reel that you shared about somebody that was involved in hip hop very heavily, an executive that just wasn't doing too well lately.

35:00
And especially with a lot of the people that we've lost, some hip hop legends, you know, it's really important to kind of pay attention to a lot of the stuff that you bring attention to. So yeah, if you could talk a little bit about that, like even for somebody, I mean, you know, some of these people were a little bit older, but still too young to be suffering the way that they did. But even for like the young listener right now that's still getting it in the studio, what are some of the health benefits?

35:28
as a music creator, like to be able to stay healthy and, you know, I guess take it seriously. Yeah, well, like the real you were speaking of is with Irv Gotti when he, I guess maybe a few few months ago, he suffered a stroke due to his diabetes. And I'm pretty sure most people who are diabetic, they know they have diabetes for a long, for a long time. And they've gotten plenty of warnings when you started getting symptoms and things that are going wrong with

35:57
um uh you know water retention or you're urinating more and less so people have gotten for years and years and years and years have gotten these warning signs from their doctors about telling them hey you know whatever it's only you need to change your diet you change your lifestyle change something and then you know you factor that into you know Irv Gotti being you know who's living a rock star life and everything that comes along with that you know so when you're younger you can get away with those things because you got youth on your side you know in your 20s early 30s

36:23
You can get away with a lot of things, whether it's nutrition, whether it's lack of exercise, whether it's the way these rock stars and rappers and entertainers live with the drugs and everything that goes along with everything that they do. Youth, it can be on your side to an extent. Now, we've lost a lot of young entertainers that we've seen from a lot of things. But so it's around 35, 35 to 40 is when it starts hitting people. And I, especially men, obviously my man. So I'm speaking of

36:52
uh, from my point of view that that's when things start changing. That's when your body start changing. Now, I'm not saying you're slowing down to your old man, but that's when, you know, you can't get away with eating the pizza three nights a week. And you can't get whatever it may be because your metabolism slowing down. A lot of things are just slowing down. Your testosterone is getting lower. We're aging and there's nothing wrong with, um, there's nothing wrong with aging, but you won't be able to be in, you know, your forties and do the same things you did in your twenties and get away with it. And that's when the health.

37:21
All the health side that you were probably getting in your 20s and 30s when you want to get to your 40s That's when they start coming into effect like hey, you might want to change this you might want to change that but now that I now We're gonna be Have these symptoms whether it's heart disease whether it's diabetes whether it's overweight. It's a lot of things What once you get around the 40s? That's when like the physical signs that you have and actually start to take take effect on you. So being a Entertainment field especially, you know if you're

37:50
you know, say you're a rapper, say you're a singer, whoever it may be, anyone that's out in the road, obviously the diet, nutrition, all that's going to be pretty tough to do back when I was younger. But now, well, here we go again, we're talking about technology. So there's, there's ways you can budget things in there. I'm not saying that, you know, one in the morning you want something to eat and get a taco bill right there, but you know, plan ahead, especially, you know, if these people are making, you know, the money they claim to be making or having, you can budget food in. There's meal prep companies.

38:20
You know, people have shouts, there's ways to do it, but you have to start these habits now when you're younger. So when you do get older at my age, I'm 48. So when you get to my age, you won't have to be like people who are my age, a lot of my friends who ignored everything. And now they had to take extreme precautions. A lot of people have died. A lot of people have things going on. I had friends that were diabetes, had part of their foots amputated.

38:45
people have gone blind and other, you know, I have many friends that have passed away from heart attacks and all that because they're that age when you get 40 to 50 years old and the lifestyle never changed. And this is when everything takes effect. So the small habits of change, I'm not, I don't want to be the fun police and tell people don't have fun, enjoy your life, enjoy your youth, but you got to get these habits going now that way when you get older, you won't succumb to them that we see a lot of people doing now.

39:13
You know, one thing I was thinking, especially with like the last part that you just said about enjoying your youth, I think for, and I don't want to project on anybody who might be listening, but I think for myself and some of us, it's not really realizing like, okay, you're not in your 20s. Because there's been times, man, maybe like a month ago, celebration was with friends and, you know, we were pouring drinks, shots and everything. When I woke up the next day.

39:41
I didn't feel the way that I used to feel when I was younger. And I realized like, yeah, I'm kind of in that, that, that bracket to where I can't get by with the stuff that I used to. So yeah, it's like being in the moment, not really realizing it, but that stuff can sneak up on you for real. Yeah. Especially when it comes up to bounce back. Isn't real. Like I said, you, like I said, you go out and like, man, when I was in my twenties, I could take back four to five drinks, become in two, three in the morning and 7 a.m. Be able to go to work, try that when you get a little older, it doesn't work.

40:09
It doesn't work. There's no one that has ever beaten father time. Let's just say that. Yeah. Yeah, I think acceptance of that is really crucial, especially for artists. Because I mean, it's not that we don't take everything seriously, but I think we kind of see stuff a little bit differently than the rest of the world. And I'm wondering if that's part of the reason why, you know, most of our lifestyles aren't really that healthy. Like you say, the rock star going out partying.

40:37
doing whatever or the Taco Bell late night. Yeah, I don't know if there's actually like the acceptance of things changing as you grow. But I know me personally, as far as fitness goes, when I'm doing the right thing and I'm on track, it's even easier for me to be able to get my minds in faster. But I noticed, you know, especially during the pandemic, like once the gyms had closed, I really wasn't doing the home thing at all. But then I tried to get in there and spit some bars and I'm punching in like easy.

41:06
Like almost every line, because it's like, jeez. So yeah, even for the young folks, what kind of advice do you have? And then like, you know, decide to look in ahead or establishing those thoughts, but just to focus on the right now, how would it benefit them? Well, right now it's just about like, find things you enjoy to do. Like it's a little different now, because you know, when I was younger, like you'd go outside and basketball, of course, were full, fields were full, you know, people were doing everything. Kids were outside playing all the time. Now...

41:35
with technology it's a little bit different. So I'm not gonna say it's a little bit harder, but they're just in an era where it's not normal to them to go outside and actually move, you know, whatever that be. So, you know, let's say you are between 15 to 25 and all that like, like I said, enjoy your youth, take advantage of the technology. I'm not saying put your iPhone down, don't do this, but find something you enjoy to do. I mean, like no one likes to play no more. No one likes to swim. No one likes to play basketball. Like, like.

42:03
You know all these things I'm like, what do y'all like to do anymore? So and I'm not saying you gotta go out there and be LeBron James and dunk on someone and all that but you have to move. We're a species that are designed to move and we would just sit and sit and sit and we get now we have there's a syndrome called Tech Neck Syndrome. You know what doctors would tell you where we're so used to being hunched over holding a phone on a laptop. Even if you're in your bed with your.

42:28
with your spouse or whoever it may be, you're propped up with your laptop slumped over, everything is slumped over. Now the physical effects are coming into now, but we don't know what 20, 30, 40, 50 years of that will be and how people will be. So yeah, enjoy it, you'll be fun, but you definitely gotta take advantage of the technology and things that are around right now. I mean, I saw I interviewed with Lil Wayne when someone was asking him about some...

42:56
some fast food and he was like, I don't know. I've had a personal chef since I was like 17. You know, you think little Wayne, everything he's known for, the style, all that, but he took care of his nutrition. So it can be done if you want it to be done. I've been around plenty of famous rappers and I've been in the studio with him and I've seen catered food coming in, you know, when one of the spinners going from stop to stop, they make sure there's food, that they had their food there or they already planned out where they're gonna go to eat. So.

43:25
If the people want to actually eat right, it can be, but it really does come down to, you know, how they are personally. If personally, that's just not part of your lifestyle and all that, then no, you're not going to suddenly be on the road or on catching flights and going there and taking care of your health, because you would never like that anyway. But the ones that are, whether they're young, I know plenty of young young people that are in the entertainment field who still live that life, maybe out in the streets and rugged and all that, but they still take care of their health. You know what I mean? So.

43:52
It's going to be a personal choice. Here we go again. So whether you're an entertainer or whether you're a regular person punching a nine to five, it's going to be on you and how you want to do it. But definitely the youth, um, the, you, you have to take advantage of it now. Cause once you get your forties and fifties, you're going to wish. And I can tell you how many people I train from 40 to 70 to 80 years old from established regular people to like judges, lawyers, accountants, they all say the same thing. I wish I started 20 years ago.

44:20
I wish I started 20 years ago and I said I would never want to be that guy. So anyone who's coming up now, you will eventually say that some way, somehow. I wish I started 20 years ago, whatever that may be, whether it's your exercise, whether it's nutrition, whether it's your mindset, whether it's just the people you're around, the energy that you allow to come around you, you're going to be like, all right, because it's just maturity and age, but that's the small habits now. That way it's not a big, drastic change when things come to fruition.

44:50
Awesome. Yeah. You mentioned basketball a couple of times and my thoughts immediately went to in the 90s. It seemed like almost every music video had like the obligatory basketball court scene. I'm like, I wonder if that's why stamina was pretty, you know, high back then. It was still active. Like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The golden era. But yeah. So for yourself, how do you kind of...

45:17
balance all those roles that you're juggling? Like, yeah, how do you find a flow? Because it looks really fluid, you make it look easy. And I feel like that's a lot of work to be able to make it look easy. So how do you find a balance with all this? It really just starts with discipline. I've always, even though, like I said, from the many things that I've done throughout my life and, you know, from being in the streets to trying to make it as a rapper to...

45:42
to owning different businesses, to being in real estate, to what I am now in the fitness space, trying to expand that. It all just comes down to discipline. And first off, I'm Muslim, so our religion is discipline. We have to pray five times a day, no matter what, sometimes more, you know, if we gotta go through Ramadan and things we have to go through. So discipline is always where it starts. But I plan everything out. You know, I don't just, sometimes it's things that can be off the whim, but majority of the time I plan things out.

46:11
I plan my day out. I know what my schedule is. I make my schedule. I put it in my Google app calendar. So down to the minute, down to the, all right, I wake up, my first prayer this way. I got 15 minutes of meditation. I put that in. I try to plan my whole day out. You know, some things are gonna be repetitive when they happen, you know, all the time. But some things are sporadic, where like this, I had to put this meeting in my calendar and all that. So it all really, it really all starts with planning.

46:39
And once you can plan something, it makes how you can navigate it pretty quicker. Then you actually got to do the do whatever that is with whether I'm shooting content, whether I'm actually, if I'm in training someone one on one, what time I got to be there, organizing that, make sure everything is cool with that. My online clients, I got to factor out a couple hours throughout the day to check in on them, whether I got to update their nutrition plans or whatever it may be. So once again, it all starts with discipline, discipline and planning.

47:06
And if you don't have that as a foundation, everything else doesn't even really matter. What people can tell you about mindset and this and whatever it may be. Like you got to have the discipline and you got to have the planning and then you just put everything in the place. And I'm not perfect. I don't have it all in the way. So I still learn as I go. So, you know, but sometimes you got to go through a process to figure out what process didn't work. And like, all right, cool. Now I know to go that way. I'm not going to go that way. Yeah, yeah, excellent advice. I feel like that helped me. I'm pretty sure it's helped me.

47:35
people who are listening now. So yeah, if you could talk about some of your, I guess maybe future goals or plans, both in music and fitness, like how do you see these areas intersecting in the future as you go along? Yeah, even with music, like I still, even me being 48, I still, you know, I'm a rapper, MC, whatever you want to call it, too. I always be that, you know? So, and I still have music, like it's just about,

48:04
Adjusting to the way things release and you know, honestly, it really it really came down to like the return on investment when you to become an artist especially at my age and The stages and things I put into like I said, I had to fund everything so The return on investment wasn't great enough for me to put everything into being an artist to do that as far like alright cool I can but I still want to get into real estate. I still want to

48:29
I still want to be in this fitness space. And then there's like two or three other like major things that I want to do that I know that, all right, I'll get more out of that. As far as return on investment quicker than it would have, I just want to put everything into being an artist and am I really even going to make it? Not saying I've never told no one to chase their dream, but I'm also a realist and I still make music, I still do music. And there may be a time where the stars and moons align up where I can put actual like albums out that I do. But.

48:58
But everything that I did as far as that as far as even you know having a studio and engineering and all that it comes In the play of everything I'm doing now because like I said with my fitness content if I need to do voiceovers or whatever I have a studio booth. I can go in and do my any voiceover I want any any music any music that I need for my fitness content I can put on their original music not just like any other thing So I can like write scores to fit certain certain fitness content. I'm doing especially when it comes to like

49:25
My long-reformed YouTube content that I'm going to be doing where you can really paint the picture and be something original than just a guy talking about fitness and abs and all that. And other things too I'm doing, not just for me, there's other fitness content creators, there's other people in music that I still help and do things for music-wise. That's why I don't look at it as, oh, I'm a failed rapper, I didn't make it because everything that I did...

49:51
to get to where I am now, there's gonna be a purpose for all the things that I've learned. It's in the music side of things. That sometimes, and they cross over to business, whether it's knowing about contracts, knowing about attorneys, knowing about relationships, knowing all your network. A lot of the things that my foundation is now in other businesses that I do came from me trying to and make it in the music business too. So a lot of stuff does cross over. And when you talk about, I mean,

50:20
If you're an independent rapper, what's your biggest thing? Marketing and promotion. So that, but that, that, that, that crosses over to anything that, that you're in business with, whether it's a product or whether it's a service, whether it may be, so a lot of it crosses over. So it's good to me that I went through a lot of things I went through and learned what I learned, the good and the bad, what not to do and what to do. That's what a space I'm in right now. Wow. Yeah.

50:44
I mean, that was a lot of gems you just dropped in that short amount of time. Um, you know, especially like how you say all those things kind of intersect. Um, one thing that, I mean, some artists seem to kind of have it down pat. Others might need a little bit more assistance. So, you know, since you've been able to build a brand, um, that's kind of all encompassing of everything that you do, what do you have to kind of offer young artists that don't necessarily know about establishing themselves as a brand?

51:13
You have to really figure out first of all, like, who you are, what you are, what you're repre, trying to represent. And then like, who is your target market? Because especially if you're just talking about, let's just say we're saying rappers now, especially the young guys anywhere between 18 to 25, you know, like, because there's a million of y'all out there, it's probably 10 million of y'all out there to make the same exact music, same beats that sound all the same and all that. So.

51:39
It's you want to hear you go through experience and maturity. You get out of the point of I just want to make something either as the T-shirt or or whatever. It's the dopest T-shirt. That's cool. But that's but you like that T-shirt is the person you're trying to sell it to. Going to like that T-shirt or do they want that? So you said that. So that's when people always talk about brand. I didn't really know what it meant. I'm just going to put this is what I like. It's not about what I like. It's about what the person that I'm trying to monetize and make an exchange of currency. You know what I mean? So.

52:07
Whatever that is, but in these days now, what, like I said, with technology and social media, there's a lot of ways people can cross over so many things of not just you being an artist, you know, not saying you have to be a clothing designer, but there's ways that they can intersect and cross over. I don't run too many studio sessions now, but when I did maybe like two, three years ago, you know, I had a few younger guys, they were probably like 21, 22 at the time, talented artists and all that, but.

52:36
They just weren't telling them, like, what are y'all doing? Like, why aren't y'all like, these other young men are out hustling y'all like, like, you should be putting the songs out once a week, once every two weeks, or shooting videos on your iPhone and just making it look good, and everything that you guys can take advantage of. I mean, I'm quote unquote the old guy who just wears t-shirts and sweatpants and stuff. Like, y'all should be out there with your colorful shoes and whatever your hair is. Like, y'all should be out there right now, because it's so easy.

53:04
As far as getting eyes on you, you know what I mean? Then after that, here we go again, it's a lot with the planning and the business of it. But as far as putting it all together, there's really no rules right now for the younger people. So, if I was 20 again, man, I would be a monster right now, because I would take advantage of everything that's right out in front of you. Just like, I mean, me even running an online fitness company, I sit in my house, but I have clients in different countries, different states.

53:30
different time zones. That doesn't relate to me just being, all right, do you live in DC? And I can only see who's in DC. But I'm taking advantage of technology. I'm not gonna be the old stubborn guy that's like, oh, no, in the old days. Same thing with music and hip hop. I was discussing this with a friend of mine, and I love Rakim. Rakim's one of my favorite rappers, but I was hesitant to listen to his new album because I kinda knew what it was gonna be like. I'm like, ah, I already kinda know. And doing that, I was like, yeah.

53:58
I knew it was gonna be like that, but then you hear someone like Snoop Dogg or other people who evolve with technology other times. So you can still be original, be yourself and all that, but you do have to evolve and take advantage of everything that's in front of us right now. So yeah, but if I was a younger artist right now, man, you guys can grind so hard right now for virtually almost nothing. I mean, to make a studio, you got a laptop and a...

54:25
$100 mic the way what they got with technology and and even now with the AI Engineering and things that are going on now It's like man these guys like you guys are almost getting it for free when we had to do every I'm not come from the age of a das and real to reals and I'm aging myself but like things it really costs back then even when you got to like even the produce error and And getting in studios, I've been in plenty of studios were you know in different cities in New York and Vegas where's a?

54:53
$150 an hour and you need a six hour block and you got to and it's a lot of money that it took back then not saying it's any cheaper now but take advantage of all the free things. I mean, Instagram is free. Facebook is free. TikTok is free. You can shoot you can shoot stuff on your iPhone right now for free and make it look great. You know, so take advantage of everything right like

55:19
These guys should be grinding right now for dirt, nothing. You know what I mean? You can get clothes that look like real fashion wear, that the real stuff, whether it's real or not, you look like you got it going on. If we're just talking about the image and presentation of the final product, whether it's actual music video, whether it's clip, like dude, we know how people do with TikTok now where they take a song and break it up and just make a whole, like, you can really look the part now for a very, very low budget. You know what I mean?

55:49
That's so true. So, all right, like, since, you know, time's getting kind of or winding down on us, I said, but I want to make sure that everybody knows, especially after listening to all these gems that you just dropped, exactly what they can get from you since you're available to do this online. You've got the app. Yeah, if you could kind of break down, you know, where they can connect with you, you know, purchase your services, all that good stuff. Because I feel

56:18
Like this was already pretty motivational. So I'm sure somebody listening is like, man, I need to get on this. You know, where can they contact you and exactly what do you have to offer? Yeah. Well, I'm Mic Lungz on everything. Um, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, uh, Tik Tok, Mic Lungz, M I C L U N G Z. Um, Instagram is usually what most people see me at. They shoot me a DM. Um, I have an online, a private, a private, uh, training app.

56:46
And I say private because it's not anything that's public. This is strictly for my online clients. So I have a private training app that delivers everything that's personalized to each of my clients, meaning I'm on the phone with them for about an hour. And we're devoting a plan for that. That's personalized to them, to their schedule, to their liking, to their goals. So they get their workouts. What has video demonstrations of me showing them exactly how to do everything that sets the rest of time.

57:13
All you really got to do is hit start and the program is going to be there. Once I design the program that's for you. So they got to work out. They got to work out program. There's going to be a personalized nutrition plan for them, the meal plan that breaks everything down from the meals, the macros, all the stuff that people don't want to know, but it's in there, um, a lot of accountability tools that we got, we schedule everything out. I'll schedule your month out so people know exactly what they're doing. What when they're doing it. So.

57:35
And there's a lot that goes on with more than I'm just trying to get the bullet points real quick of what goes with my online training programs. So anyone who would interested in online training, they can reach out to me. Like I said, Mike Long's on any any social media network. Most people hit me out on.

57:49
on Instagram, even my Gmail, my email is MikeLungs at Gmail. If anyone wants to send me an email. So on the fitness side, that's where I do that. If you're in the Washington DC area, I don't do much one-on-one training, but if you live in DC and you want one-on-one training, I'm around here too, you can reach me out that way. On the music side, like I said, I'm more into production side now. So if you're someone who does fitness, any type of content, I don't have to say fitness content, but any type of content that you need, original music.

58:16
I do production for that, any kind, whatever it may be. It could be from yoga, it could be fitness, it could be someone doing photography. So that's mainly what I do now on the music side. But yeah, those are the two main things that I'm doing now. Okay, well, that's awesome. Again, I want to thank you for taking the time out to share all your wisdom and this information with us.

58:38
But I definitely want to make sure that I give you an opportunity at this time to do any shout outs that you want to, or if there are any lasting thoughts you want to leave with the listeners. Um, I just tell everybody, you got to really take care of yourself, respect your health. And because, like I said, father time will always catch up to you. So set those habits now. You don't have, I'm not saying anybody, they got to go out there and be a superstar. They ain't got to be muscle bounding, you know, women, man, or whoever.

59:07
but definitely take care of your health, read the ingredients on your food and make your own food at home because it will catch up to you, it is gonna catch up to you and you don't wanna be the one like I said, saying I wish I started 20 years ago. All right, well thank you so much. I really hope that this is only part one. I'd love to have you back again sometime soon if you down. Yeah, sure, it's my pleasure. Thank you for having me.

59:31
All right, thank you. All right, and that's a wrap for this episode of Instrumental Intel. I thank you so much for tuning in and listening. I thank my guest, Mic Lungz, for coming in and sharing his wisdom and experience with us. I also thank my home station, Grander Radio, out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And I'm already excited to come back to you next week with another great episode lined up filled with music industry news, beats, and of course, more artist insights. So till next time, you know where to find me. Tune in, tell a friend, I'll see you then. Peace.