Elijah Butterz Industry Talk

Industry Guest Talks at Dv8 Sussex

On Tuesday 30th January we welcomed Elijah, the Director of independent Record Label Butterz into our Brighton campus. Elijah swung by to give an honest insight into the world of music and to share his top tips for breaking into it and succeeding. 

Elijah and his friend / producer Skilliam set up Butterz officially back in 2010, and the label features genres of music from grime, reggae, drum and bass, bassline, garage and something in between all of that. 

One music student asked Elijah how Butterz came to be. He responded with when they were searching for a label that would want to sign the music they made, there weren’t any labels that seemed to fit. So instead they decided to set up their own label so that their was a place for their music to be seen and heard in a professional capacity. 

Elijah Butterz Industry Talk

What words of wisdom did Elijah have to share with our students?

  • Becoming a successful artist isn’t about the numbers of your fan base, it’s about ideas, your creativity and talent.
  • Everywhere you hear sounds and see visuals you are being exposed to creative inspiration – use it!
  • You don’t just need to listen to e.g. bassline to create a bassline track. Draw on other artforms.
  • You need to be able to manage your time effectively, meet standards and know when to say no.
  • It’s crazy fun to collaborate with people in the room, next door or across the world. Collaborate not just with music but other art forms – media and film, art and illustration. Create something new and amazing. Embrace all art forms!
  • When it comes to ideas, you can create the obvious or be bold and do the total opposite. It’s either not going to work out and you learn from the experience, or it will be totally original and fresh. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas and go outside your comfort zone!
  • You guys are in a great place, learning the creative skills at a young age. Experiment and learn as much as possible as it will be a lot easier to express your creativity as you get older. 
  • Elijah doesn’t play ten instruments but he has a good understanding and awareness of lots of other instruments, their importance and how they can be used effectively. 
  • Remember, music is fun to make and very fun to perform!
  • Something great about Brighton is that a lot of the venues established artists will perform on are venues you will also get your first gigs in. It’s a much fairer playing field. 
  • Strong branding is important. People remember the brand.

Elijah Butterz Industry Talk

  • Nobody can live your life so share your experience by putting that into your music and let people listen to a new perspective. It’s all about perspective.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask questions to help get you to where you want to be. Lots of people will be happy to help out someone who shares a passion for music and creativity.
  • Don’t just use social media to promote. Use it to interact with people and build up a rapport, it goes a long way. 
  • Be open to feedback.
  • A relaxed approach to the way you operate doesn’t mean a lack of care. 
  • Don’t worry if someone doesn’t like every track on your album. If one person likes one song out of a hundred that you’ve made, feel humbled. There’s a lot of music out there and they’re choosing to include you in their selection. 
  • It takes a long time to create a piece of art and to make it somewhere and that’s okay, you’ve got plenty of time. 
  • Some things will make you money and some won’t. That’s just how it is.
  • Playing live is everything, very important. When you’re listening to music online, you can choose to skip a track that isn’t grabbing you straight away. When you’re at a live performance you get to feel the atmosphere and you’re there to experience it in a real way. You can’t just ‘skip it’.

Big thanks to Elijah (@Eli1ah) for giving his time to come in and let our students know that hard word, creativity and an open mind can change their lives.

If you want to take your first steps to becoming a successful music producer, or want to learn the ropes so that you can put on your very own club night, apply to join us in September on our Music Production & Performance course or our Event Management course

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