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.
Follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube Audiomack & SoundCloud, and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Download the Grander Media app to listen to Grander Radio on the go.

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

00:01
Hey, thank you so much for tuning in to Instrumental Intel. I am your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz, and I'm glad that you've joined me. Today's episode has music industry news, instrumentals by me for your inspiration. And later I'll be joined by my special guest, Zillo. We're gonna talk about anime as a musical blueprint and creating outside the industry box and so much more. So I'm very excited to be bringing this episode to you. Before I go ahead and drop that first beat,

00:28
I gotta give a shout out to my home station, Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. And with that, let's go.

[BEAT BREAK]

08:29
Hey, I'm back with the Music Biz Brief. First up, Spotify shares fell over 11%, their worst single-day drop in two years after the company missed revenue targets and issued weak guidance for the next quarter. Despite a 12% year-over-year increase in paying subscribers and total monthly users nearing 700 million, Spotify reported a net loss of 86 million euros, which is roughly $97.5 million.

08:54
Ad supported revenue dipped slightly and its Q3 forecast came in below expectations, citing currency setbacks. CEO Daniel Ek called it an execution challenge and emphasized confidence in the company's strategy, pointing to growth in AI DJ engagement and audiobooks as bright spots. Deezer, on the other hand, reported strong direct subscriber growth and positive financial results for the first half of 2025, driven by momentum in France,

09:22
and expansion of white label services. The platform achieved its second consecutive half of positive adjusted earnings and generated in free cash flow with 60 million euros in cash reserves. Deezer's also launched several initiatives, including Deezer Business for commercial music streaming, new personalization features, and the world's first AI tagging system for music streaming. With stable revenue and disciplined spending, the company reaffirmed its full-year guidance for 2025. Next,

09:52
Direct-to-fan platform Even has partnered with Secretly Distribution, giving independent artists and labels seamless access to tools that help monetize super fans. Artists can now sell music, merch, and exclusive experiences directly to fans before tracks even hit streaming platforms, with all eligible sales counting toward Billboard charts. Even says fans are spending over $20 per release on average, and some artists are earning two to three times their annual streaming revenue from a single drop.

10:21
The partnership aims to deepen fan relationships and create more sustainable income streams for indie acts. Also, TikTok and iHeartRadio have launched NextUp Live Music, a live streaming singing competition for unsigned artists with at least 50,000 TikTok followers. Running through September, the contest offers rising talent a shot at wider exposure with finalists performing live at the iHeartRadio theater in Burbank. Artists advance through a mix of fan engagement and judges' scores.

10:49
The initiative builds on TikTok's growing push into music discovery, offering tools, visibility, and live performance opportunities for independent creators. Auditions are open now through August 11th. TikTok has also added YouTube music to its growing list of platforms where users can save songs they hear in videos. The add song button now lets fans instantly add tracks to a YouTube music playlist alongside existing options like Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

11:16
TikTok says the feature is driving billions of streams across platforms, making it a powerful tool for music discovery and exposure for artists worldwide. Speaking of artists worldwide, Germany's recorded music market slowed down significantly in the first half of 2025, growing just 1.4% year over year, a big drop from 7.6 during the same period last year. Adjusted for inflation, sales likely declined slightly.

11:42
Digital music rose 3.9%, but physical sales, especially CDs, took a hit. Still, Germany's music trade group sees growth potential ahead, especially with the EU's new AI regulations beginning in August, which could shape how music is used and licensed in AI training. Meanwhile, Italy's live music sector hit a record €989 million, about $1.02 billion, in 2024 with concert numbers and overall attendance both up.

12:11
but attendance and spending at large-scale events decline, showing a potential fatigue with bigger shows. Notably, concerts are becoming more geographically diverse, expanding beyond the country's northern hubs. Next, a growing coalition led by the nonprofit Free Our Art is pushing federal and state legislation to stop rap lyrics from being used as evidence in court. The proposed Restoring Artistic Protection, RAP Act, reintroduced in Congress,

12:39
aims to limit the use of creative expression in federal cases. Similar bipartisan bills are in motion in states like New York, Missouri, and Georgia, with laws already passed in California and Louisiana. Advocates argue that rap is being unfairly targeted, with over 800 known cases where lyrics were used against defendants. Backed by industry groups like the Recording Academy and the RIAA, the movement calls for equal protection and artistic freedom. The FTC is cracking down on ticket scalpers,

13:09
seeking tens of millions in penalties from resellers like Key Investment Group for allegedly violating the BOTS Act. The agency says KIG used hundreds of fake accounts and tech tricks to bypass ticket limits and resell passes on platforms like StubHub and SeatGeek. While KIG argues it didn't use BOTS, critics say the tactics still exploit fans. The case could set a major precedent and increase pressure on platforms like Ticketmaster to curb shady resale practices. Next,

13:37
A Reddit user claims they're earning over $5,000 a month from AI-generated music, all without singing, producing, or signing with a label. Using ChatGPT for lyrics, Suno for tracks, and platforms like DistroKid to distribute, they pair their songs with viral clips on faceless YouTube shorts and Reels channels, boosted by cheap Facebook ads. While critics question the creativity and ethics, the Redditor says it's just a matter of scale and persistence, not going viral, but posting consistently.

14:07
Yikes if that person is telling the truth. Also, Netflix's K-Pop Demon Hunters is now driving virtual music acts up the charts. The animated film features fictional K-Pop groups in, I do not know how to pronounce this, but HUNTR/X and Saja Boys, whose tracks are dominating Spotify's U.S. Top 50, including the number one and the number two spots.

14:32
In total, 7 songs from the movie have landed in the top 25 with millions of streams. While the voices behind the characters are real artists, the rise of virtual acts and their chart-topping success kinda adds to the growing conversation around non-human performers and their impact on the music industry. If you have thoughts on that, feel free to hit me up on social media and share them. Also,

14:55
Stability AI says it's developing a licensing marketplace that would let creators opt in and get paid when their work is used to train AI models. The company's new CEO recently hinted at the project while discussing compensation and consent in generative AI. The announcement follows the departure of its former audio VP over initial tensions around the company's stance on fair use and training data. Sounds like there's a deep backstory there, but that'll be for another time.

15:24
Up next, former Spotify exec Jeremy Erlich, I believe it's pronounced, has launched ALTA Music Group, a new full-service music company based in Los Angeles, with K-pop star Jennie as its first major signing. The company spans recorded music, publishing, and artist management, and is distributed through the Orchard. Alta also partnered with SoulBass label, The Black Label, and signed additional acts including Cat Matthews, WHATMORE, and Bodhi Bleu.

15:51
Backed by a leadership team with experience at Interscope, Universal, and STEM, ALTA says it's focused on long-term global success for artists. Also, Primary Wave and the Bob Marley Estate have launched Hope Road, a new immersive show in Las Vegas that combines Marley's music with a high-tech, non-traditional theater experience. With up to nine shows per day and ticket prices ranging $69 to $99, the production could generate over

16:18
$30 million annually before even including merch. It's a major move in the growing trend of leveraging artists' name, image, and likeness rights, or NILs for short, to create fan experiences beyond streaming. If successful, Hope World could be a model for monetizing legacy catalogs as the music industry evolves.

16:37
And you may have heard by now, but Beyoncé's company, Parkwood Entertainment, is facing a copyright lawsuit over the intro to Alien Superstar, a track from her 2022 Renaissance album. Indie label Soundmen on Wax claims Beyoncé licensed the sample Moonraker from house artist Foremost Poets, but that he didn't actually own the rights. The label says it purchased full rights to the track in 1998 and was never approached for clearance.

17:03
The suit seeks royalties and alleges both copyright infringement and breach of contract. But it's important to note that Beyoncé herself was not named in the case. And finally, a new interactive music TV channel called ROXi, and that's capital R-O-X, small i, has launched in 31 U.S. markets through Sinclair, offering free access to 100 million licensed tracks from major labels and Merlin.

17:28
Built for next-gen TV-enabled sets, the service mimics TikTok-style browsing. No apps or subscriptions needed. Backed by YouTube's Adam Clayton, empowered by Faststream Interactive, ROXi blends music videos with AI-driven playlists and curated channels. Pearl TV will support the rollout in non-Sinclair markets, aiming to make music viewing more personalized, accessible, and TV-native for households across the country.

17:53
Alright, that's a wrap for the music biz brief. I'm gonna take a quick pause for the cause and then I'll be back with my special guest Zillo right after this. Keep it locked.

[BEAT BREAK]

21:45
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, vlogs, 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.

22:16
Hey, thank you so much for tuning in to Instrumental Intel. I am your host, music producer, Achickwitbeatz. And I'm glad to say that I have in the virtual building with me today Zillo, who happens to be the brother of my brother, but he's also a multi-talented artist, producer, all this other stuff. You know what? I'm not even going to try to label everything. I'm going let him turn it over to him to let him tell us a little bit about who he is,

22:43
how he got started in music, and all that good stuff. So yeah, before you even get into that, thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to come on and share. And yeah, if you could just give people a little bit of background as to who you are and what you do. Yep. Born in Michigan and raised everywhere except there. We moved around a lot before we finally came to Memphis and we was in Atlanta. We was in a few spots.

23:12
and me and my brothers and my sister and we, bunch of stuff with that. My parents, they separated at a young, young age. So basically they didn't, I didn't really get to meet my dad until I became a full adult, you know. And that was something, you know, that was something. And

23:37
My brothers, they were always doing music. My big brother and my little brother and then my nephew too, my big brother. He trained my nephew and my brother at a young age all the way to, he really grinded them and trained them to be good rappers. They were performing and everything at like 11, 10 years old and good songs, really good stuff. And it was lovely to watch the evolution of them growing up.

24:06
And it was so fun to watch it, it made you want to jump in, you know? It makes you want to jump in. So I basically jumped in at some point and...

24:18
I was like, let me try to rap and I tried to rap and I wasn't good at that. But I did have rappers that I liked like, Lil Wayne was one of my favorites. Like still today, like I'll listen to him every once in a while, know, every Blue Moon, you know. And then Eminem was one of them. Nicki Minaj was pretty dope. And

24:43
You know, the standard rappers, even Ice Cube. Ice Cube is dope too. So I listen to that stuff growing up too. So, you know, I know y'all know about that. You know? But surprisingly though, with the change as I got older, I was always doing like entrepreneur stuff all the time, know, art. I do a lot of art. I do a lot of writing too. I drew since I was a little kid.

25:11
And I was doing a lot of Japanese-style art like Dragon Ball Z, just different things. So basically, the cool part about that was my stepdad came up to me and I think this was kind of like my own evolution as well. He said, hey son, if you ever get tired of drawing all the time like that, he said, why don't you just write?

25:37
And then he said they make the most money and he wasn't lying about that. And so I tried it and I liked it. And slowly I didn't draw as much but I figured that if I could write one of the greatest stories ever told, you know, maybe I could have my own version of everything, you know? And then that was great. So flashback to today.

26:08
While I was doing entrepreneurial things, I still was a writer. I stuck with that for years. And then I created a small comic book company. was a manga company I created on my own. and the crazy part was I didn't think I would do all that. just, I changed it into a, it started as a Facebook group. And I said, let me just see what's gonna happen with this. And I started inviting like the community in Asia and stuff like that.

26:36
A lot of people came in there, a lot of people, like over hundreds of people came in there and I didn't expect that because I woke up one morning and it was just a bunch of people I didn't know in there and they was like, you know, hey, check this out, check this out, I was like, whoa, what did I create? like, everything from Asia, it was just crazy. And I was like, okay, why don't I try to like outsource some people, know, work with some of them and do some stuff. And I did some projects and

27:05
Did a lot of comics, did a lot. And wrote a lot, basically. Got some good artists with me and just did a lot of stuff. I even got people now that still work with me to this day. And here and there and stuff. And so basically, and with that, with the writing, I kept going with that with the comics and stuff. And I still do that today as well. I actually have some projects coming up in some months.

27:34
I was watching some Japanese music and stuff. They were singing and everything. One of my favorite top five singers in Japan has to be Yutada Hikaru. She's one of my biggest inspirations. She's very versatile. She's English. She speaks English, Japanese, and other languages as well. And she made a song at 15 years old. Like crazy. She wrote a song and she sung it and it was just amazing.

28:02
And she just redid that song recently this year as a grown-up, and it was like, to hear it like that changed. It was great. And I decided, I said, you know what? I should try to make beats again, and I should like totally try to write a Japanese song. So I worked really hard. I wrote a lot, and I wrote it just like poetry and stuff. And then I found me a really dope beat maker.

28:30
All I did was literally I was like, yo, I want the boom, bam, bop and piano stuff and guitar riffs and this and that. The way I explained it was so funny, like everybody would laugh at me to do that. It was so funny. Understood it though. And then when he made it, he had to revise it maybe once or twice, but he got it right though. And then the song was beautiful. And then I found a singer from Japan, straight from Japan, both of these people.

28:57
And I was like, yo, I need a singer, female singer. I said, you know, and I said, everybody else is kind of high right now. I'm just kind of, you know? And I was like, I've got you. So she did it and took about two takes and she got it right. And the song was amazing. And I let my brother hear it. And he was like, dude, I thought this was an anime song. I said, no, this is my stuff. he was like,

29:26
Ooh, he was like, that's crazy. I said, I know. So after that response from different people and stuff, you know, everybody was liking it. I said, obviously, I should keep doing this, you know. So I continued to do that. I still work with my singer and everything. I still work with her.

29:45
I have not rapped or anything in Japanese yet because of translation stuff with my translator But once I get down with that, I will be trying to rap in Japanese. Definitely, I might actually surprise everybody with a track and you know, see what they think and everything. It'd nice, you know and I'm gonna work with a bunch of you know, as many people as I can. But now the goal is gonna sound crazy for everybody. I just so different

30:15
Once I got that stuff out for my first song, I decided to make a record label. And that's crazy. know my family, they don't even know this yet, but they're going to be tripping. But I actually decided to make a record label for my Japanese songs and things like that. And I didn't want anybody but two or three people with me with them. Like my rock, my singer.

30:43
and my beat maker basically and stuff like that and that's about it. I didn't even want to publish anybody else. was like, I just want to put my stuff out as record label and just kind of go from there. And I said, I know that's a big goal because it's a lot of paperwork. But I was like, I'm going to do that this year and I'm going to put that out. So I began diving into music, diving into stuff people don't like, paperwork.

31:10
copyrights, music copyright, music law. Then I found this really cool lawyer on YouTube and she actually owns her law firm and she owns her band as well, her rock band. So I kept hitting her up and I actually joined her stream yesterday and she was talking to me and stuff, giving me a lot of info and for free, didn't even charge me anything, you know? And I was like, you know, I said, know who to call when I need like

31:37
help with like music stuff. I said, I'm just calling you because you got like everything. Like she covers everything. She covers the rappers and stuff today when they have lawsuits. Like I think Tyler The Creator, I think he has a lawsuit thing going on with somebody. And he was talking about a little bit of that and you know, and everything. It was just crazy, you know, and I was just like, you know, I asked her about my record label. said, look, I'm kind of by myself doing my record label and blah, blah.

32:04
And she said, you are in the right path. She said, you need to go ahead and do that. And she said, make sure you do your contracts and things and all of that and stuff like that. So I even went far as to learn how to write up my own contracts from her. And she has a whole video on that. So I was like, all right, I'm going to write my own contracts and stuff like that. So now when I'm working with people, it's crazy because even my friends that I was going to work with, they're like,

32:32
bro, why are you trying to give me a contract? I'm like, yo, I was like, I mean, I'm sorry, I've been talking to this lawyer and by law I said, I have to give you this, right? This for both of us on up, it's mad at each other. You know? how you keep the friendship. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And I was like, I said, we can make it where both of us are good. I don't care about the, you know, stuff is just, I said, I just want you to, you know, make sure you know what's what, you know? Collaboration contracts, featured artists, there is so many different contracts that I didn't know existed.

33:02
And I was just like, wow. So now I know what the record label does to people, which definitely is unfair. And then I knew what I wanted to do. And since I don't want to sign anybody, I don't have to worry about the stuff that everybody else worries about, you know? Right. And yeah, I know, right? And so I was like, OK. I was like, since I'm not signing anybody, I'm good. I'm just featuring people a lot. And that's cool. That's easy to do. Right. And so downloaded some collaboration contracts and stuff.

33:32
editing them and everything. And then I'm also writing my own and, you know, just getting ready to, you know, get some people on and see what happens and stuff. And hopefully my EP when I'm making an EP as well. And hopefully it's going to be really, really good, I'm hoping. And I'm going to be putting it out. But first things first, I have to get paperwork in order. and then then also I've decided because I'm

34:00
Kind of business savvy now than I was before. I'm to be teaching people about some of this stuff. Like kind of like what the lawyer did for me. I'm going to give people information for free. I'm not going to charge them anything. I'm not going to say, Oh, join my master class and you can get this news. And I get that that's a thing, but I feel like our people, for lack of knowledge, you know, I feel like not that many people giving out free stuff like that, know? Yeah. And the moment you think about it, like how many

34:28
by Apix do we need to see where they'd assign these horrible contracts and then deal with the fallout later. I mean, this has been a story that's been going on forever. That's right. That's right. It's still happening because people still aren't aware. And when you were talking about like telling your friends about the contract, made me think of a quote from Ghostface. It was on one of the Wu-Tang documentaries, but he was like, if you homeboy business, you get stuck with the homeboy outcome.

34:56
And I'm like, you know what, there's no better way to put it. Like you kind of get it together. And yeah, it's a lot that people don't know and don't understand. So with that education, it keeps those situations from being less awkward. I mean, like, hey, you know, this is to protect both of us. This is so we stay friends. This is so we, you know, make sure we get all the points and stuff we supposed to get. So yeah, I commend you on that. a lot of people learn and they hoard the information and they don't share it. See, and I don't want my brothers

35:25
The reason I haven't told my family yet necessarily, they're gonna see this anyway but if they do see it and they look at it, I just want them to know that when they watch this, I want them to know that if I tell you guys the contract, it's to protect everybody. It's not to get over or nothing like that. It's literally making money together. It's not to do any crazy stuff.

35:53
I'm only featuring people, so it's not like I'm going to be like, oh, yo, you don't get hardly nothing. No, I'm not doing that. I'm literally like, we can let everything. I don't care about that. Family is family, you know? And you know, because you make my track sound good. You know what I'm saying? With, you know, with what you bring to the table, you know? So I want them to know that they see this, know? Yeah, it's important too. It's important. Yes. Yes. And the lawyer talks heavily about that.

36:21
Matter of I need to give her a shout out. It's a top music attorney on YouTube. Yep, definitely. Everybody check that out. She has a ton of free videos on music stuff, making your record label, becoming indie and stuff. She inspired the mess out of me to go ahead and do that and, you know, fully. And I was scared to do it. I promised I was, you know, but I'm slowly taking the steps to do that.

36:49
I was so afraid. I was like, man, like I wouldn't even like I didn't even put music out. I didn't I didn't I didn't like share it with people like, not too many people heard my stuff. You know, but I've let a few people hear it. But after I learned, you know, about music and why not to do you know, because she does this sale before you stream thing where you kind of show off your music a little bit little snippets and stuff to where your music don't get taken. She makes sure that she has this

37:17
way of doing it where your music doesn't get stolen. You keep your music safe with you, know, things like that. And I followed that, you know, that out, that path that she has because it's very simple. It's direct. It's not too crazy. And it's like, it's like you're giving your people, your fans direct, you know, direct sales. No, no iTunes and stuff and all that. I don't want to use that stuff. It's crazy, right? But I decided to not doing it. It's not crazy at all.

37:46
You know, especially nowadays, I think people are getting really frustrated with the payment system. And recently I've had some executives from some music companies who are actually stepping in to try to, you know, fix that situation so that way artists still get equity. So the thing is, you work so hard on your music, you put it out, and then these streaming companies are the middleman spilling all that data that you don't have. You don't get to know who your fans are. That's right. Every year.

38:15
I mean, people complain all year long, as soon as those Spotify stats drop, what do you see? An artist bragging on, but like, you don't know who any of those people are. I mean, you know, it's cool to be able to share those vanity metrics, but yeah, it's much better to own it and have it. So no, I don't think it's crazy to not want to participate in that and do you want to know who really taught me how to own everything? The people, some of the people anyway, like right now? The dead people, of course, Michael Jackson.

38:44
I paid attention to that. Prince, Prince, I paid attention to him. Oh, I love his example. Oh my gosh. I've actually, I actually felt like they're trying to hide the information on that too. I hope, I hope that's not, I'm kind of actually afraid to say it like that, but hope they don't look for me, but you know, but, but he, he, him and Michael, they were geniuses. know, he's Michael worked hard for others and then he did his own thing and then bam, you know, and then he bought Sony.

39:13
bought his own rights and stuff. And Taylor Swift actually, the lawyer just covered that. She just did that. And she was like, you know what? I'm going sing on my own. I'm going re-sing everything. And she was like, I'm going to redo all my stuff my way and go from there. And when her contract's up, she's supposed to be doing that now. And I think everything worked out for her, I think. Yeah, it did. So now she actually gets the rights for both the original takes and the remasters. So I'm like, yeah, she did her thing. Jonah's brothers.

39:42
just sold a stake of their catalog to their company. So yeah, exactly. They about to do some stuff. Yeah. Yeah. And that's crazy because you got to do that. And I watch, I've started watching the people that are alive, my bad, the people that are alive that I look at now too. Now besides Prince Michael Jackson who are deceased,

40:05
Man, I wish they were here to help me out. man, I watch Russ now, Russ the rapper. I just found out about this guy like this year. You know Russ, right? The rapper. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I just started looking at him. I went to his website the other day. went, I looked a lot of stuff up. I looked at his interviews. They're hiding this man. This man is giving away free info. Some of his interviews, I promise you, if you look carefully, they've cut them short.

40:33
and they don't want you to see all that. And I've seen like the long interviews, he's got that dirty eye and stuff. But the ones that I know he was giving away free info, they cut it short. Like I can't find his, I can't even find the ones where he was like in the radio station with the, they won't let me find it. It's like they took it all. And I was like, oh, so y'all don't want me to know what he knows and continue my path. know, and yeah, and I said, that's crazy.

41:03
So what I'm gonna do with this is gonna be crazy too. I'm gonna reach out to him personally and I'm gonna see if I can get like a business trip with him, you know, sometime in the future, you know, learn more from him and just tell him I'm trying to learn. I got my own label and he was one of my inspirations, you know, as far as today's, you know, people and stuff. And just kind of go from there with him and see what he says. I hope, hope that works out for me, you know? He is somebody that definitely I need to be around.

41:31
That's the kind of person that would really push me, know, motivate me. Just being myself, you know? His website was very simple to the point. He had all this merch on there, his music and stuff. lot of his stuff was sold out. I was tripping. And it was a simple, simple one-pager website. And I was like, yeah, I'm in the right direction. So I'm like right now, I'm doing the same thing. I'm working on somebody getting me a website done. I've been talking to a few developers and stuff.

41:59
for like, you know, good prices, not too high or nothing. So I can start selling my merch and stuff on there and all my label stuff and everything and stuff like that. And speaking of with that, a lot of people don't even know all the musicians that make music like beats, whether you're doing beats, vocals, a lot of people don't even know that you have to register your music every like

42:28
You can register all of it at once, but you have to pay and register your music with like BMI, ASCAP and stuff. A lot of people don't know that. You have to do that so you can get paid if they play it like in certain places. And if you just put your music out, you're risking yourself, you know? And then, you know, and then if your music isn't copyrighted as well, it's like, dude, I gotta do all that, you know?

42:51
And BMI, they don't, I think they charge one, 150. That's not bad because you can do the whole, all your music, you know, the whole time. And I think it's a one-time fee. So it's like, that's not bad for saving yourself on music fees and you get paid, you know? Right. And that's specifically for publishers. So like even for artists, you can go ahead and do it. Yep. I decided to keep my publishing and keep my masters and the publishing part was easy to keep.

43:20
It was the masters that, that I was kind of tripping about, like with the vocals and all that, the instruments and stuff. had to really delve deep into that and I was like, okay, so that's masters and here's this is what publishing is. And there's definitely two separate things. I was like, okay, one is easier than the other, but it can be done. You know, it can be done. Um, so yeah, you shared so much information and I can't believe how quickly this time has gone by. know we only got a few minutes left.

43:50
But before we actually hit that timeline, I'd like to know if you could maybe your top five anime shows that have actually like where you love the music that kind of drew you into what you're doing. Oh, wow. Yeah, I know. Yeah. OK, so specifically music. Yeah. Yeah. So I a lot of people won't probably watch this after I say that there's one anime called

44:22
And everybody needs to just watch the intro. They ain't even got to watch the show. It's amazing and it's great. And the intro's got a good rock jam to it. That's also one of my inspirations for writing too. And I was like, yo, I need something like that. It's jammin'. And then another one would be, I want to say, oh yeah, Inuyasha. Inuyasha has seven.

44:47
tracks on there. From back in the day though, though, and I'm talking about the original group, Do Is Infinity is the group and they are amazing. People need to listen to them. They don't, don't think they sing anymore, but they still, people still listen to that music today. And that was like, I know over 10 years ago or so. And the Hell's Paradise, that's, I think the artist is Sheena Ringo. She's really good. She's an old singer and she's still doing it today and she's doing her thing, know, props to her for

45:17
And it's around people like me, you know, if it wasn't for people like that, I probably wouldn't be here today, you know? Wow. And let me see. One of the songs. Kingdom Hearts, the video game again. Yutada Hikaru. Yeah, that intro to the game. Not even trying to play the game. It's amazing. Like that stuff right there. That shows her skill. I know that's not an anime, but you know. It counts. I'll allow it. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

45:45
And then let me see, two more, two more. There's another one. Trying to think of the name right quick. Oh, even Yu-Gi-Oh, Yu-Gi-Oh, the old school Yu-Gi-Oh. It has a dope vibe to it. It has like an Egyptian vibe to it though, with the music, but it's the old Yu-Gi-Oh, but it's like really good though. It's nice. like, even though it don't have a lot of vocals in it necessarily,

46:15
The music itself is really nice and it's like the blend of it. was just like tripping. said, man, these guys like took their time on this beat and they, guilty, you know? So I was like, that is dope.

46:32
So, and then on the last one, I would have to say... Oh, what is that girl's name? She sings this song? Oh, yes. Promise Neverlands. That's a good... They have an ending theme that's really good. It's Zetsu something. The group is called Coshunie. That's C-O-S-H-U-N-I-E. Check them out. It's a female singer. She is dope.

47:01
The rock songs that they have, oh man, they're crazy. I think, I actually think they're on tour right now too in Japan. I'm waiting for them to come here so I can like jump in their concert and scream and shout. But they're really good and she's really dedicated to her craft. Like she did that song for Promised Neverland, Telling you, dope. Gotta definitely jam that a few times. They're really good though.

47:29
All right, that's what's up. Yeah, one that kind of tripped me out and it's not like for the anime itself, but I actually came across it I think on maybe TikTok. Yeah. Where the Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, I didn't know that their ending song was ‘Freaking You’ and I was like, what am I looking at? Oh wow. I was like, I never saw that coming. Right. it just goes to say, you know, the cultural exchange.

47:57
Yeah, that's a Japan is really, really phenomenal. So yeah, dope what you're doing. And yeah, before we close out, I want to make sure that everybody knows where they can find you, follow you and keep up with what you got going on. yes, definitely. They can find me on Instagram right now, actually. And make sure I get this right. Galaxy Manga underscore eighty-four. OK.

48:26
Yep, it's funny the name is representing my comic book company, so that's the funny part. And I think it's just funny to me. And then they can reach me on Zillo84 for my Twitter as well. on Facebook I have a page called Galaxy Manga, that's for my comics and stuff. I also have an old music page that I created called Zillo.

48:52
And it's got an anime character on it. It's pretty distinctive because she has like a spiderweb on her as well. It's really cool. It's some cool stuff. it was a creative character that I looked at and I created in some AI stuff I was using, but it was dope. But I use that as like my like little music symbol thing for right now. But yeah, it's Zillo on Facebook. Zillo is a music page. I'mma update it, definitely. And then...

49:19
Galaxy Manga on Facebook as well. That's my regular page for my own art and stuff as well. support me, appreciate it, everybody. Definitely trying to do something different for the community and still doing stuff for everybody. I definitely, the people that I know, I know you didn't get to ask me, but some of the people that I know that are out there, I don't know if you heard of CoffeeBlack? Yeah. Shout out to them. That's a good friend of me and my brothers. We've known them since they were young and good friends of ours, actually.

49:49
And he don't know it yet, but I'd definitely be trying to hit him up for some tracks. But yeah, definitely he's going to be shocked at that. But that is definitely going to be a nice collab because he's his rap is dope. should, y'all should definitely hit him up, Koffee Black on Instagram. Man, his rapping skills, man, it's something else I'm telling you. He's like one of the few people that I'd be like, yo, I'll work with him, you know, before almost anybody, you know.

50:17
He's really good. He's really good. And another artist I want to say that I forgot to mention is that I'm heavily wrapped. If I had to say with Hip Hop is Don Tripp. Don Tripp is one of my favorite rappers. I'd even say more than Lil Wayne even, you know? He's really good. That man right there, I've been contacting that man recently, like trying to get a track with that man. It's hard to get him right now because he on tour, but as soon as he answer, we get some stuff. It's on and popping, right?

50:47
Right, Because they be asking me though, my friends be like, bro, but you could get like Lil Wayne or something. I was like, yeah, maybe, but the truth though. He ain't no sellout. So I like that about him. You know, and that's the main thing. support what you say. Yeah. Yeah. He ain't. I would get him before anybody. I'm like, I appreciate that.

51:15
Thanks for the interview. loved it. Hope to actually come on again eventually when maybe after my EP. Yeah, after that and update people on what I got going, you know, that that would be nice. Definitely. And what are you seeing timeline-wise as far as the EP? Don't worry. I'm not holding you to anything. Oh, yeah, I know. Right. Yeah. Right. Right. So like, OK, so I'm thinking he's about to go to school. So I'm thinking, let me see.

51:46
I wanna say around my birthday, my October, around my birthday the 25th, I wanna say around then, my whole EP should be definitely done. And it's gonna be three tracks, it's supposed to be three tracks, but I might have a special final track. This track that I have is gonna be, I'm gonna go ahead and say what it is, but I won't.

52:13
Spoiler, the track itself, but I'm gonna say what it's about. The track is about my deceased sister. She's a big sister that I had and she was deceased. She's deceased now and she passed away before we could meet. But because of that, it pushed me to do things, be more quicker about certain things in life and shout out to her. Her name was Ingrid and one of the special songs is definitely gonna be about her.

52:44
And the perspective is so dope, I don't even want to say it, I just want people to see it. Like when it comes out, I want people to hear that. And I'm actually working on that. And it's gonna be so amazing. But taking my time with that, and I hope people understand that don't wait to do things, go ahead and do it if you can. Because if you don't do it, I promise you'll regret it. I regret this to that day.

53:12
that I didn't get to see her before she passed away. And I only got to go to the wake and I had to travel for that. Everybody was looking at me crazy, why you going to see a relative you haven't met yet? I'm like, she's gone now, I didn't get to meet her. So, you know, and that's real, you know? She called me every day. She called me every day. She did and when that day came that she didn't call, I knew that something was wrong. So I just want people to know that, you know, definitely do.

53:41
what you can in life, you go ahead and do it. Don't wait. have any regrets about stuff like that, you know, because it'd be sometimes it'd be the family that's far away that really, you know, help you in life and stuff, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. Well, definitely can't wait to listen. Thank you for sharing. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. As well. Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah, that every time I and I barely talk about that, but

54:10
Ever since that, you know, that I decided to do that. I decided to do that because it touches me every time I think about that because I'm like, man, I missed that. I missed the phone calls and stuff, you know? So it's crazy. That's interesting. You were able to take that experience and turn it into something that other people can benefit from and, you kind of learn from. Oh, yeah. Yeah, definitely.

54:37
And I hope people, uh, I hope people definitely get the message that I want to put out to them. Definitely with that. Well, yeah, I want to thank you once again for taking time to come on and share your story, your journey with me and the listeners. And so, yeah, you already mentioned that you open to coming back. So your door is open for you. I'm looking forward to part two and, um, is there anything else you kind of want to leave the audience with? I love the excitement.

55:05
Yeah, definitely. I'll say this definitely too, because I'm learning as well. Also, I didn't even mention this. I'm just sort of audience of not trying to throw in any fields, but too many fields. But I'm also a disabled person as well. Not super disabled or nothing, but it's enough. But you wouldn't be able to tell though, really though. But I say that because

55:34
Just my birth alone, like if I explain my story, I might actually tell that story in part two, but my birth alone, like I promise you wouldn't believe that I'm here today, you know? It's so crazy, you know, the fact that I'm still walking and talking, you know? Yeah. And in creating. Yeah, I know, right? Yeah. The fact that I'm still here, I want to let people know like you can overcome a lot of things, you can overcome anything.

56:01
Just, you know, do your thing and believe in yourself and definitely be open-minded. Don't be one of those people that's like, oh, I only do drawing and stuff. You know, if I hadn't opened my mind, I wouldn't be here today. I wouldn't be here doing this today. You know, I wouldn't be making a song about my family and things like that. I wouldn't be doing that, you know, and definitely keep your minds open, my people, because...

56:28
You know, it's a lot we can learn from anybody, from everyone. And you're never, never too old to learn something new, you know, and definitely never too, uh, it's too late either, you know? And, uh, you know, I'd be thinking about that, like people spend all the time at college and things like that and all these years. And I'm like, but if we spent that time educating ourselves, you know, on anything, just anything, you know, something, you know, profound for us, man, we do so much more.

56:58
You know, and I just, you know, one thing I'm gonna be big on definitely for the people in general is community. Community, that's one of my big things. I want to show people that the people that don't know our people, you know, like they're like, oh, there are people that's like this and this and that. I wanna show them that we're not always the same. I'm a good example of that.

57:24
Cause if you look at me versus some of my family members, I'm completely the opposite. Like our likes and dislikes and stuff. It's way different, but we all get along, you know? And it has to be that way. If you can do that with the world, no matter how different we are from each other, man, I'm telling you, the collabs will be insane on everything. I'm talking about music, business, everything, you know? I'm big on all that. So I say, if you got a buddy you want to hit up today,

57:54
you know, do something with it you got some ideas for your friend or something, know, business stuff-wise or whatever. Educate yourself first and then bring something to them, you know. I had to learn and do that. And, you know, when I finally figured out that I wanted to work with, you know, specific people, know, and specific types of people, that was the best way for me. You might have some people already around you. If you do, then that's props, you know, go ahead and hit them up and do some stuff with them. Yeah, you might make some good money together, you know.

58:24
It's nothing wrong with that. You know, just don't just don't knock anybody down on the way, you know, yeah, definitely We can we yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And and and also with the music we can do anything we want guys You do not need these third-party companies these uh Distrokid and all these companies. I promise you like I promise you doubt sons. There are videos on that where you'll be tripping if you buy the today terms and agreements I promise you'll be tripping

58:52
And the stuff I've seen, I know that I'm on the right track and I definitely, I'm not knocking them or nothing. This is not a knock. This is just, hey, if you don't want to deal with all that, do it yourself, you know, and do your thing. You know, it's okay to hire a few people, but they don't have to be one of the people that you have to latch onto.

59:10
Yeah, you just got your polite Suge on right there. Right, right. Rust is a good example of that, know, right? The producer…dancing, all in the videos. I'm you. Rust is a good example of that. That's why I say do that stuff, you know? Yup, definitely. All right. Well, thank you. And like I said, looking forward to next time. Appreciate you.

59:33
Definitely, you too and be safe. All right and that's a wrap for this episode of Instrumental Intel. I want to thank you once again for tuning in. I'd like to thank my special guest Zillo for coming through and sharing his journey with us. And I also want to thank my home station Grander Radio out of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Make sure you come back next week. I've already got more goodness lined up for you. So till next time you know where to find me. Tune in, tell a friend and I'll see you then. Peace.