Headliner Mindset
The Headliner Mindset podcast explores what it truly takes to succeed as an artist in the EDM industry. Through interviews with some of the biggest DJs, artists and professionals in the game, we dig into not only the business strategies for success but also how to navigate the mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of the artist journey. For more info, go to www.nikcherwink.com.
Headliner Mindset
PROPPA - The Secret To Getting DJ Support
Proppa is a house music producer from Chicago whose recent remixes are lighting up DJ sets across the globe—from Dom Dolla to Cloonee to John Summit and many more.
But this didn’t happen overnight...
Proppa shares the real story behind his 15-year journey in music—starting out as a drummer, battling perfectionism, finding his sound through consistent remixing and figuring out his brand and identity as an artist.
In this episode we talk about:
- What it really takes to get noticed in today’s music industry
- The mindset shift that helped him finally let go of perfection
- Why knowing who you are is the key to building your brand
- How he turned his Patreon into a sustainable income stream
If you're trying to hit that next level in your artist career, this one will give you some great tips and guidance.
Follow Proppa here:
https://www.instagram.com/itsproppa
https://www.patreon.com/proppa
Follow Nik Cherwink here:
https://www.instagram.com/nikcherwink
And visit my site to join the mailing list or book a free coaching call:
https://www.nikcherwink.com
My philosophy has always been no outreach. I think as an artist, your art should speak for itself. If you wanna do outreach, that's totally okay. But I just personally, I want people to come to me. I want leverage. I think, a lot of people overvalue where they're at in their career and not saying that in a negative way. It's just they'll find you keep doing the work. They will find you, the labels, the management, the agencies everybody will find you when your art speaks for itself.
Nik Cherwink:What's up everybody? Welcome to the Headliner Mindset Podcast. This week's guest is a true rising star in the house music scene. He's been on fire putting out tons of remixes over the past few years, and is now getting support by huge artists like John Summit. Dom, Dala and Tiesto. In this episode, we talk about what it takes to get DJ support, how to find your authentic lane with social media and some of the mindset shifts that have helped him really break through to the next level of his career. This is proper.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0300:My man. Welcome to the show. I'm so stoked to have you here, and thank you for taking the time outta your day to be here and to, uh, you know, just, just be on the Headliner Mindset Podcast, man. I really appreciate it.
Proppa vid 1:Of course, dude, I'm, I'm really excited to be here, man. Thank you for having me.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0300:So it's super cool how we initially just got connected. I actually was talking to my group program, I run a community and a coaching group and I was like, you guys, I need some help. Who should I have on the podcast? Who are you guys fucking with right now? Who are you guys vibing with? gimme some suggestions. And yours was one of the names that popped up and they're like, yo, this guy's doing some cool shit in the scene. He's having his moment. So, um. Yeah, shout out to the, to the headliners. They, they love you and they're excited to have you on. But I also gotta say, just before we hopped on, I just had my mind fucking blown because I found out that you are Olivia from Elevated Frequencies. What I, what I call my sister podcast. If anyone is, has not discovered this podcast, go listen to it. If you like the headline or Mindset podcast, you're gonna love it. That's my sister podcast. She is actually your real sister.
Proppa vid 1:Yes, she is. Yeah.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0300:That is too wild, man. What a, what a small world. I was super excited to hear that. Um,
Proppa vid 1:it's, it's fun to blow people's mind with that for sure. yeah,
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0300:Yeah, no, she's, she's killing it. She's doing such a cool thing with that podcast. So yeah, like I said, if you guys like this one, definitely go check out, uh, elevated frequencies and she's doing a lot of really good stuff over there. but my man, I would love to dive in just to start off by hearing about your story. Um,'cause I, I know, I know you've been getting after this music thing for a minute and um, I'd love for you to just kind of like, take me back to the beginning. I was going through some of your. Instagram content and you were talking about how you, you used to be a rapper, like you started rapping and then you got into producing like when, take me back to when you got into music and I want to hear the journey.
Proppa vid 1:Yeah, I mean, like, I would first just draw the line between like rapper and someone who tried to rap, you know? Um, but I, I've, I've been really interested in just creative work in general since I was young. And, um, I picked up drums when I was like nine years old. Um, self-taught. And from there, just. It kind of trucked my way through different ventures and different interests in life until I landed on the, the on production, basically being what was able to keep my A DHD in check and able for me to be like the most expressive, and probably the most effective. So um, yeah, I kind of jumped through rock music and punk and metal and like hip hop and it's all things I still love today. But. Probably like 2013 or 12 when trap music was really getting popular and, and I was still really into hip hop. That's when I was sold on like the potential of electronic music. Because I feel like up until that point, there's a lot of that old school electronic music I do love. But up until that point, like it was very niche. Like it was all like, if you either liked electronic music or you didn't, and it was for the club. But, um, I feel like around that time it started branching out and you started getting different influences in electronic music, which is about the time I got hooked on. And since then, that's pretty much been my primary focus. So like almost 15 years now
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0300:So 15 years since you started producing.
Proppa vid 1:electronic music. I was doing hip hop before that for a little bit.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0300:Okay. So you've been in the, you've been in the D for a while though.
Proppa vid 1:Long time. Yeah. like 2008 probably is when I started working. yeah.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0300:got a shout out. Um, getting on the drums though, that was where it all started for me as well. I was a drummer in, you know, early days and, uh, yeah, into punk and metal and stuff as well. Still a huge metalhead. So, uh, I, I always love meeting producers that started on the drums.'cause I think that's such like a solid foundation of an instrument to, to come from. Yeah.
Proppa vid 1:for sure. And, and I feel like I, I didn't realize that it was playing an effect in my production until the last few years. People were kind of commenting on different things with my drums, and I didn't realize that as a drummer you pick up on such small, almost language like, tendencies and percussion that people who haven't developed that sense of like physical rhythm don't really understand, you know.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:So I really love to kind of highlight and point out that you didn't start producing two years ago. You didn't start producing three years ago. You know, I think a lot of people are like, they're in their second year of production, they're in their third year of production. They're like, oh God, I'm, I'm ready to blow up. Like, you know, why is this not working out yet? Like, I've, I've been making music for kind of a little while and now I'm trying to like, push it out and, you know, you've been working on your craft for, for a minute. Right. and I just think it's important to highlight that I feel like thEre's a trend where most people that I'm having on the podcast, I'm like, yo, it's like, it's like year 10. That shit starts popping off. It's usually not year two or three. And so for anyone that's in that, that early stage, you know, like, like be patient, I, I think, right.
Proppa vid 2:and it's different. I think, um, part of it too that we don't really realize is that a large factor of what we do, we're still artists like in in, in history. Historically, if you are trying to be a rapper and you don't. Dress the part, act the part, do the things that make people believe that you are who you are trying to be. Then it doesn't work. And some people naturally are just very outgoing, artistic, um, very, uh, what's the, the right word for charismatic? And they're able to step into the role of a, an artist public figure a lot easier. And that carries your music very far. I mean, there's no. But there's no timetable on it, right? Like there's nothing wrong with taking the time to focus on quality, focus on substance, and then, you know, develop a brand that like, is really, truly unapologetically you. Which I feel like is actually the most bulletproof way to do it. Um, but that just takes patience, you know?
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah. So tell me a little bit more about your story. Like, when did you start to get like, some real traction in your career?'cause you know, like I said, I feel like you're definitely having your moment right now. You know, you're, everybody's playing your remixes out and your tracks out and it's like, okay, we're, we're getting some attention now. When did you really start to shift from just being kind of, you know, a, a dude making beats in his bedroom to like really starting to get some traction and moving forward on the career side?
Proppa vid 2:I feel like right now is like the last six months is, is where things have started to actually show true returns and like, like where I'm gonna be making it to the next step of whatever this is. I've had. Probably three different, including this one, like three different moments in my career since like 2016, where I had so much in front of me that I could have capitalized on and I wasn't in the right mindset. I wasn't mentally ready, I wasn't mature enough to be able to capitalize on them. Like in the 20 sixteens, I was really big in the Hype machine game. Um, back then you could like print a hundred thousand streams in a SoundCloud track in a week if you got the right blog post. And, I was doing a lot of future based remixes and stuff and, and getting some traction, but I, I just wasn't there yet.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:what do you mean you weren't there? You said you weren't really in the right mindset. Tell me more about that.
Proppa vid 2:I think I wasn't. In a creative abundance mindset, first and foremost, like a lot of people are way too protective over their artistic expression and their music and whatnot, and it would take me months to finish songs, even remixes and. Um, I had to make sure they were quote unquote perfect, you know? And there was just this whole perfectionist mindset. And mind you, this was the transition. Like I feel like the 20 teens were such a transition period for the music industry in general because that's the time where the, the control was being taken out of the labels hands and being put into the artist's hands and like we were figuring out how to market ourselves. So I just never, ever figured out like what makes me special. You know, I can make good music, but like what makes me special? And it took me until really this past six months to like take a step back and be like, the music is always gonna be here. I can always create the music. Let me just put like 80% into like who I am, the marketing. Like making people trust me as an artist and a human. Not just like the beats, you know.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm hearing on the one hand there was some perfectionism that was kind of slowing down your creative process and also sort of this, this other side of it, which is, it is more than just the music, it's also about the brand, your identity as an artist. And I'd love, I'd love to talk about both. What helped you get over that perfectionism that you were being slowed down with?
Proppa vid 2:You know, I, I think like if you. If you have the confidence, because confidence is like number one, one of the biggest traits you need in this whole entire industry. You need to be confident in your art. If you have the confidence and then you're watching people pass you by, it kind of like gets you out, like it gets you out of your habits eventually. Right? Like I was holding onto So, many tracks and I wasn't releasing them and they were becoming a year old, two years old, and I was watching a lot of my peers release music, self-release, and like do all these things and I'm like, I. This is obviously I'm, I, I'm taking the wrong approach. Um, and it, it started with, I mean, it's a, it's like a whole long backstory, but when the pandemic hit, it was like a, a double punch for me because I had an injury that I got surgery for and I was outta commission for like eight months. And during that time, I just. Made remix after remix, after remix, after remix, and then started releasing those. And I kind of made this pledge to myself to release them every two weeks. And when I ran out of remixes to release, I had to just do'em, you know? And now I finish songs in like three days. I don't wanna work on them much after that,
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah,
Proppa vid 2:like one or two days of work.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:yeah, so you feel like that exercise of, kind of forcing yourself to put something out every other week probably just made you a lot better at producing and a lot faster at producing that now you can crank'em out pretty fast.
Proppa vid 2:sure. It, it helped the skills and like the, the workflow for sure, and like being able to work efficiently. But I think moreover, like I was able to just say like, I would do a million more things to this song, but it's good,
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah. Yeah.'cause when is art? When is art ever actually done? It can always, can it always be worked on more,
Proppa vid 2:Yeah. It's surrendered. Yeah.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:That perfectionism will really slow you down.'cause this is something I see. I literally just signed a client the other day. Um, I do, you know, I'm like a. Life coach, mindset coach for, for artists. And I help with strategy a little bit, but a lot of what I do with people is helping them with kind of the mindset and getting into what are the actual mental blocks and the limiting beliefs and the things that are stopping you from really accelerating in your career. And I just signed someone the other day and I see people struggling with this all the time where they're just not putting music out. They're making it right, but they're not necessarily releasing it. What was stopping you from releasing the music?
Proppa vid 2:At that time when I was sitting at a bunch of original music? and stuff, I wasn't getting bites from the labels that I wanted to sign to. And, and, and surely I could have sent to smaller labels and kind of built up like that. But with my previous experience in the industry, I just had this expectation, like 10 years in almost, that like, it's like I'm, you know, I wanna sign a confession. I wanna sign to bite this, and like that's, I'm not gonna take no for an answer. And I obviously took no for an answer. You kind of just have to do it. I think what broke me out of it was af like during the pandemic or right before it, I just decided to start self releasing. And by that point, a lot of those tracks were two years old, so I was already on like new songs and I realized I had trashed all this music that I spent like two years of my life working on and perfecting. It was truly a waste of time, so I never, again, um, it's so important that you learn from your mistakes more than anything in business, you know? And like that was one of the biggest mistakes I picked up Was. during that time
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah, so if you could go back, you would've just said, fuck it. Don't wait for the big labels. Just put the shit out. Release it. It's good enough. Like, let's share this art.
Proppa vid 2:Absolutely. And you know what it, I don't really have retrospect though, because like, where I'm at now is where I need to be. You know, like I, I, I feel like things didn't happen for me so many times because if they did, I would be burnt out by now. I wouldn't have capitalized correctly. I would've made a fool outta myself, made a mistake, And, I'm where I'm right now because I am supposed to be here. So
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:there's a big lesson in that, man. It's just, it's trusting the process. I trusting the universe, just knowing like, yo, everything happens in divine timing and, and I'm, and I'm, and I'm right where I need to be. So many of us think we're supposed to be somewhere else and, you know, we can kind of live with regret or we can be, you know, have all this, all this clunky mental stuff. But when we come into like, you know what, dude, everything is actually working out perfectly. I'm right where I need to be. You know, we have those when we can look. Back. It makes sense. It's like, oh yeah, that's why I was supposed to, get rejected and not get signed. Or I was supposed, you know, crazy shit happened and my life went in a different direction. It all makes sense later on. So there's a big lesson of like, okay, let me just trust that this is all gonna make sense at some point and I'm exactly where I need to be right now.
Proppa vid 2:And related to that, like with it being such a cutthroat industry, um, it's not about what you can't control. It's about what you can control. I feel like so many people focus on what they can't control. I wanna get booked on this festival. These are all things that you can like. Non tangibly control, right? Like so you can get yourself to a point where this label wants to sign you, where this festival wants to book. You like those types of things, but you can't immediately control those. No email you can send at a certain point to a festival where nobody knows you if your tracks aren't like not. You know what I mean? And I feel like people dwell on that stuff so much so. I guess the name of the game for me the last three years is like, I can release remixes consistently. Like I have a home label with hood politics. I can release with them when I want, like I have social media. I could post whenever I want. I can learn how to use Final Cut Pro and OBS and like how to edit this content. And like, when you focus on the things you can control, and you're putting a hundred percent of your efforts into it, then the process is gonna work. But so many people dwell on like, well, this happened to me and I did too. I mean, like, I've had so many things happen to me where I was like, oh, why me? You know, I've been working too hard for so long. Why me? But it's like, you dwell on that stuff and it's like, I couldn't control those situations to begin with. So, Yeah.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:beautifully said. And, and, and it is such a waste of energy. You know, it's like when, when we get caught up in Yeah. Like the industry's crazy. There's, there's so much shit. You know? I see. I just see a lot of people complaining and I'm getting fucking sick of it. And it's like the artists that are winning, you're, they're not complaining. They're taking action. Like you said, there's so much that's out of your control and every ounce of mental energy, every fucking moment of your time that you spend complaining about how you wish things were different, you wish that you didn't have to make content. You wish it, you know, the game was different. It's like, yo, you are. Getting passed up by a hundred miles an hour by somebody that's just sitting there doing what they can do. And like you said, it's like I can still send the emails out, I can still make the music, I can still put the content out. Like there's still so much you can do and that's the thing that you should be shifting on. And, I'm actually reading a, I'm, I'm doing a, a group around the artist's way. I don't know if you've ever read that book,
Proppa vid 2:I haven't.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:In this, this last chapter, uh, she's talking about creativity and, and the whole chapter was about like, you know, we're gonna experience losses, we're gonna experience like rejection, we're gonna experience these moments where the rug gets pulled out from under us. And it's like, okay, yeah, you get to mourn that for a minute. But the next question you should ask is. What can I do next? Right. And the, the longer we get caught up in, wishing that things were different or crying about how things didn't work out, it's like every minute of that is wasted when really we should be. It's like, get back in the studio, make another song,
Proppa vid 2:Someone else is not complaining about it right now. And, and they're putting in the work. And I mean, it brings me like, I've been talking about this a lot with people.'cause I, I have a Patreon, I've got a lot of students under me too that like, I kind of spread the same mindset with and I see online so much and I've actually been calling it out on threads too'cause I'm getting really tired of it. people are complaining so much about. Like the music industry nowadays versus back then and content. and virality and now it's just pay to play. It tells you what people actually know about the music industry, because if you've been around for a long time, you know that literally nothing's different. And in fact, speaking on control, we have more control now. You know, for the longest time people were complaining about how, Oh, the labels have control over everything. Thing, and they put out what they want of mine, blah, blah, blah. And now we have control, and that's the thing that people are online complaining about. So it kind of teaches you like, who's really meant to be doing this and who's not. Because if you're out there complaining about, you would be, 10 years ago, you would've been complaining about the labels controlling everything. So you can either shut up and do the work or you know. Yeah.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:let's go bro. Yo, I'm so glad you said that.'cause I, I, I know I've said this, I, I've made the same point on another podcast before, but it's like complainers are gonna complain. Because Exactly, exactly. Like you said, they were complaining about, oh, it's so hard to get signed to the label. The label has all the control. Right. And now it's like we have the control. And now, oh my God, I have to do too much because it's all on me. And it's like, okay. And, and this is where I like to bring it back to like the mindset where it's like. It's about what kind of person you are. A winner is gonna win. It doesn't matter what the game is. It doesn't matter what the rules are. I have a championship mindset. I have a fucking winning mindset. I have the mindset that I'm gonna do whatever it takes to achieve my goals, to bring my gift, and bring my art to the world. And it doesn't matter what fucking changes, like I'm gonna do it, you
Proppa vid 2:Yeah, and I, and I mean like I, I think I've always kind of been. This person deep down. But I will say it's not like, it's not like you're not born into that mindset. you kind of have to experience some things in life.'cause like I was a pretty Madonna before, I wanna say like, when I was first, before I really knew anything, like in the 20, early 20 teens when I had a few tracks hit a hundred thousand streams and stuff, I just thought I was, you know, and I was like, I don't have to do that and stuff. And it's like, you will experience that sort of, you know? um, anti-industry anti. Marketing, anti all this stuff, but you can get outta that mindset and it's, the faster you do, the better off you are. And it's, it's the gospel. It's like once you realize you're in total con creative control of, of your project in 2025, and you could be whoever you wanna be to like the world, because the label isn't gonna force you to be someone. It's like, it's So. liberating, you know?
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:On an even bigger macro view, you are in control of your life. I don't care what industry you're in, I don't care what path you're taking. You know, so many people are basically stuck in a victim mindset, right? Where it's like, Hey, so and so, happened to me, or everything is unfair. We're. Pointing the finger. We're blaming it on the industry. We're blaming it on other things outside of ourselves, our parents or the school system or like, you fucking name it, right? We are pointing the finger at something outside of you. But when you take ownership and recognize like, yo, like this is my life. I have the power to create whatever the fuck I want. Like, that's the moment of. The, in the matrix of taking the red pill or the blue pill, you know what I mean? Like, when you wake up to the, your own power that you are literally like an infinitely powerful human that can create anything that you want. But it requires us to also take full ownership, you
Proppa vid 2:Yeah, for sure.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:hard thing to do.
Proppa vid 2:But I also think like, you know, there's something I've realized recently while I've kind of, honed in my brand, is like your history and like the good and bad that you've been through are what make. You and your brand right now like it, if, if I didn't go through, like, I definitely had a hard time in high school socially. Like if I didn't go through that, I would be a finance bro right now. You know what I mean? I wouldn't be an artist. Like, and it's, it's those different things where I came from, what I went through, even in the music industry. Like I've had issues with remixes getting in trouble about those and stuff. And like, I've learned so many lessons from those bad things that have happened to me that, that are mistakes that I don't make anymore. And it's just, it's the, it's, it's. Glass, half empty, half full type things, you know? But
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:And you were mentioning earlier that, one of the things that was holding you back was that perfectionism, which, which, which you got over. But then also there was this, phase of really just figuring out your identity as an artist, figuring out your brand. Tell me a little bit about what helped you really just figure out who you are.
Proppa vid 2:I would hope that people would figure it out faster than me.'cause damn, it took me a long time. But, um, I mean, it's, it's really been just taking a hard look at myself because I'm, I'm turning 30 this year. I. I have been doing this for a long time, and when you are. still at that like square two of like 50 in like the music industry, it's like no one barely anyone gets it through square one. So that's great. But like square two is still like, you can do this stuff now, now you gotta learn how to like, actually make people want it and like getting through that like it. I finally got there and I was like, who am I? Like who the fuck am I? Like, why am I special? Like I'm complaining, complaining about no one's listening to me. Why am I special? Why the house? Should anyone listen to me? Why should anyone care about me? And I just started taking a look at like, I. My life, like what have I gone through? I'm a drummer. I love rock music. I specifically love hip hop music. And throughout my teenage years, in my early twenties, even when I was in electronic music, I idolized rappers. Big fan of Mac Miller, big fan of two chains, big fan of future like Lil Wayne. I always looked up to those guys, and like their style, but I was never, confident enough to try to like, emulate and, and build my own off of what I was seeing. And I kind of recognized, like I used to make hip hop beats. I used to rap. I still listen to rap music when I work out, if I'm in the car, like if I'm doing things around the house. I also recognized my strengths through all of my production, my base house. I love making base house. I love the remixes. I love working with hip hop and my remixes. So just recognizing those things and kind of like finding where they all match together has really been the name of the game, and it's been fun to explore for myself honestly, because I'm writing like lyrics and recording myself. I'm writing hip hop and I am making house music out of original hip hop music that I'm making, and I am shopping for my wardrobe, like making decisions informed by like my actual idols and stuff, and. The way that I'm presenting myself is based on like, the things that got me into artistic. Like, like, like Mac Miller used to put out, you know, these, these videos that were a peek into is behind the scenes life. And I thought they were so great. And now I'm sort of understanding like how that narrative, how people really trust you as an artist, and just all these things that, like, from my history, I'm like, I used to love all of these things. Why don't I just mash'em together with what I'm already good at, you know?
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah, yeah. I love that man. Really finding what parts of yourself do you wanna put into this project and you know, as I say, it's kind of like you kind of crank the volume up on it. Right. Like really, really highlight them. Uh, and I love that.'cause it's, it's, it's authentic. It's just, it's who you are. And obviously you're, you know, there's, there's so many different parts of who we are as humans, but when it comes to, I think, building kind of the brand, it's like, all right, what are the parts of myself I really want to, put into this and, and highlight? So it, it's, it's a. An important process that I think a lot of artists skip over. You know, I think when a lot of people are struggling with marketing and they're, complaining the complainers, right? Complaining about like, oh, content is so hard, marketing is so hard. Well, it's probably because you actually skipped over this really important step, which is like, figure out who you are. And what you care about. Like you said, what makes me special? What makes me unique? What, what makes me interesting? What's my fucking message right now when you figure that out, now you have a lot of shit to talk about. You have a
Proppa vid 2:Oh my God. It becomes like thoughtless. Like you don't even, I don't even have to think about like certain things about the brand anymore because it's just like, wow, this has been me my whole life. That's like where I find that the authenticity comes from.'cause like so many people are trying to like think like, how can I resonate with people? It's like, how do I resonate with me because there's so many people out there like me. So how do I make. An artist that I would be a big fan of that I like wanna idolize. And then obviously there's other people like me out there and I'm finding that's the case. So,
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah. Yeah. When, and I, I, I wanted to shout you out'cause I really loved, you know, as I was doing a little bit of research and, and getting to know you a bit more, it's funny, it's like you just, if you wanna learn about somebody, you go to their Instagram and you, and you scroll through and it's kind of your, it's your portfolio, it's your resume. It's, it's, it's a story that's being told and I really love you had a great post on there that. Told a bit about your story and I think it made me more of a fan. I'm like, oh, I, I, I know this guy's story a little bit more. I feel like I'm connected to him more. And it's like everybody has a story. All of y'all have a story, like share your story. It's interesting, like it's cool you got a new track. Fuck yeah. That's rad. You got a new track, everybody and their mom has a new track. I wanna know your story. Gimme a reason to like follow you and go a little bit deeper into your world.
Proppa vid 2:Yeah, I mean, and this actually like taps into like. A little bit of, like, I've, I've studied marketing trends over the years with music and this kind of taps into like what's hot right now too, and I appreciate that on that post. That was, I really felt good about that post. Um, we've seen this with every genre and electronic music being the youngest. We're seeing that transition that literally the hip hop went through in rock music, which is. When it started off with electronic music, it was so underground and whatever you discovered you were in love with. Like 2005, whoever was new and was being listened to, you loved it because it was just this new world that like, oh my god, electro house, like this is fucking amazing. So We went through that and you know, there was that same period of discovery with like hip hop too, right? Like it was new rap music, dude on the corner with a mix tape. Like, lemme check this out. Because discovery was huge. And then we got to a point, I wanna say in like the early 20 teens to the mid and the even late 20 teens where mystery and perfectionism was. On brand, like putting out a video per week that was like a recap of like, a big show or like, a serious kind of like talk about a song or something. But like, it was still very, everything was perfect, you know what I mean? There was no, you didn't see, you saw all the good and marketing was very like, my new track is out now, blah, blah, blah. And people would listen to it and. Now we're moving into a phase where people want narrative. There's way too many artists out there for discovery to be a thing. This is what every single genre went through this. But when you're scrolling on Instagram, you see a million new artists every single day. So you have to make like yourself more than just like, a song. Like you actually have to attach a narrative to what you're doing, I think. And like you said, you became more of a fan of me because you got to know some of my story. Like people wanna know who they're supporting now because there's so many good tracks coming out, but like, who's behind the good track and like what was their intent? Like why do they make it? Where do they come from? Can I get more from them and can I expect more of this? Or is this them following a trend? Like, you know what I mean? So it's, it's important to like clarify who you are. I feel like nowadays, and I think like we just saw that happen. We're seeing that happen with Justin Jay. We just saw that happen with Fred again. It's becoming increasingly obvious that people want to feel like they're in on the project, not like they're just watching it, you know?
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Totally. Yeah, it's, it's, it's funny'cause I've really been wrestling with this whole idea of, I don't know, just, just where the music industry is in terms of. The, just the content game where it's like, it almost feels like it's becoming less about the music and more about the content. And as a true advocate of like real art and real music, I don't love that. But also at the same time, it's, that's the music business. And it's the music industry. And if we want to succeed in the business, we, we gotta, we gotta run a business. I, I will say though, I just was. Scrolling on Instagram the other day. And you know, it's funny'cause I'm hearing a lot of people complain. It's so hard to get traction, it's so hard to get attention. Everybody's like, competing for attention with content. And then I was just in my little, explore page or whatever. And. I just saw like the fucking dopest artists popping up and, and you know, pieces of content that were getting hundreds of thousands of views and shares, and it was like three in a row. And I realized none of the content actually was like that. Amazing. And it wasn't, you know, even people like telling stories or anything. It was like just straight up music content. The common denominator. The fucking songs were bangers. That's what it was. And it's like, I just wanna circle it back also to the music also, where it's kinda like, if you make really good music, that shit's also gonna get noticed.'cause I was just looking, I'm, I'm like, this song is just some girl sitting on a fucking bed singing to the camera. But holy shit, that is a catchy song. And I just, I just like, I, I don't want people to lose sight of like, yo, it's, it's gotta still, it's gotta come from there,
Proppa vid 2:Of course. I mean, and from the opposite side, my, like my Waka Flocka remix has been super viral in the last few months and a lot of. People think that the, the video, I don't know if you saw, there's a video of me with a bunch of Snapchat filters showing, like showing the song. And that went super. That was like 35,000 likes. And a lot of people think that it's like, oh, that content style, like the content got the song out there. But I redid that content style with two other songs and it did not do well, and. Other content styles I did with the Waka Flocka remix. Thousand, 2000 likes. Do it with other songs, two 300 likes. So it's not, Yeah. you see it like a good song will live, but even before the internet, good songs still sometimes just lived on tapes until they were marketed, you know?
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah, yeah, for sure. it definitely is the balance. You know, it's, good music, good branding, good marketing. Like that's, that's when you can really hit the home runs. Um, I think for all the producers that are still in their second or third year of making music and they're like just scrambling to push it out and play the content game, like that's where I, I kind of want to like redirect like, yo. You've been producing for, what, 10 years, 15 years? Right. It's like, give the art maybe a little bit more time. Like get the music to a place that it's actually gonna have a chance to kind of survive,
Proppa vid 2:Gotta become undeniable.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah, dude.
Proppa vid 2:what I mean?
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah. I want to talk about these remixes, uh, because I was on your SoundCloud earlier and I saw you had, I think, like 58 remixes in a playlist on SoundCloud. So obviously, like the remix game, and I could even call it the remix strategy, has been, a big part of, your process. I love that you just set that goal and that intention to just like, make a track. Every other week make a remix every other week. You know, a, a lot of times when. I'm talking to artists about just like business strategy. Like that definitely is a strategy of like, hey, if you put out a good flip of a good song, especially in DJ culture, you can get DJ support and then that can really put you on the map. And it seems like that has happened for you. I would love to just kind of hear a little bit how that has unfolded. was that a really intentional strategy for you? Uh,'cause obviously like it's working and, and I think it's. I don't know. I think it's good to have kind of like a remix strategy for artists to a certain extent, but I don't know. It's, it's, it's also gotta still come from a place of genuine creativity and not just like chasing DJ support. Right.
Proppa vid 2:for sure. I mean, there was like a, a conscious decision for me. Just like, I love these old songs. I, you know, I'm, I'm remixing songs that generally like I resonate with since I was a kid, you know? Um.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Super important that like you actually fuck with the song that you're remixing.
Proppa vid 2:Of course, and I was releasing some of those, and a few of them started doing pretty well, like 50, 60, 70,000 views. And like, this was when the whole hyped it remix game was still like an infant and it. was a lot easier to chart and like get a number one on there. So like we were doing that every, every, I say week, I have a management, really amazing team with me. Kind of just like have, let me have the creative freedom to do this stuff And then. After a, like, I wanna say like five or six remixes where I was just kind of, doing it in the basement. Nobody else just, just throwing down. My team said, these look good. Let's do this as, as consistently as possible until you are getting signed. That was the goal. Like, because I wasn't signing tracks, it, was just until labels start knocking on the door, not like we are knocking on labels doors and they said, until they come knocking on my door is when we're gonna.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Got it. Got it.
Proppa vid 2:and we did that. And you know, I just made sure everything I was remixing was something I like really resonated with. it's always a song that I was jamming to when I was 14, 15 years old, driving around my old neighborhood, 16 years old, like stuff like that. And. It always does have to come from a genuine place. I won't just make a remix to make a remix. I hate when I see a song get popular or a TV show get popular, and like three days later the internet is littered with remixes that were very obviously already made and then just like the sample slapped on top of it
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:It's kind of the worst decision to make too. It's like, yo, there's 500 other remixes of that happening. Like you are really decreasing your chances of anybody hearing it because you're, you're just, it's, it's what I call, the Blue Ocean strategy. There's a really great marketing book called The Blue Ocean Strategy. It's like when a shark, finds a dolphin in the ocean and bites into it, the water becomes red, and then the blood is in the water and all the other sharks like flood to, to, to eat that same, piece of meat as opposed to the blue ocean strategy is like, yo, go, swim out into the, the untapped territory. Like that's where the, the, the,
Proppa vid 2:That's where the meat is. Yeah. I mean, the remixes they can really help you with kind of like establishing a presence online. The other thing is like, it, it creates constant content for you. So like, I was never short of things to talk about on the internet. Also, I think the thing that came, and we, you had kind of asked about this earlier and, and touched on it like. I learned so much about what works with those remixes. And if you listen from the first ones, like from 2020 all the way up to like the most recent ones I've released, you can hear like a developing sound that kind of lands on like what you know. Now. I, I would like to hope, if you hear one of my remixes, I get texted all the time when my remixes are played from people. Like, is this one of your remixes? And it's like, Yeah. I haven't released it yet, but so it's.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah. Yeah. You kind of found your sound in that process.
Proppa vid 2:Yeah. a hundred percent.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:it seems like it's been that, that walka Flocka, like that's, that's one of the big tracks that you've been getting a lot of, DJ support with.
Proppa vid 2:Yep.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:I imagine getting that DJ support is really starting to open up doors and just kind of put you on the map in a, in a new way for you.
Proppa vid 2:It's interesting, like it's honestly the the DJ support thing until you get connected with the DJ who's playing your music, which this has only happened once and we're working on developments of that, but nothing too crazy has come from it. Like it's mostly optics. And that's not to say optics are huge, like in this industry. Optics are huge. Being able to post Dom Dala, John Summit playing my track at Ultra main stage is super huge. Um, I'd. I guess I'm lying because all the DJ support, there's definitely good things happening to that track right now, But, I can't really talk about it.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:but it sounds like, you know, there's a difference between, you know, somebody playing your track out versus you like becoming homies with them and like really getting supported and like developing that relationship and really, yeah.
Proppa vid 2:I think the thing that people miss is like a lot of people are asking me, I. Like how do you get your tracks played by big DJs? But if I go to their social media, they hardly post or they don't have a content strategy. The thing is, when a DJ plays your song, that's 5% of it. Like it's up to you to capitalize on that attention because for years, DJs had been playing my tracks. If you look through big DJs, play the set list, I'm all over 1,001 track lists, but I never capitalized. There's videos of big DJs playing my tracks for years, but I never capitalized. I started taking those clips and capitalizing and finding a way to that, that was me. Like, that's my track. And that's like actually why it's working out that way now. So like getting DJs, playing your tracks is like 5% of the battle. What you do with that? Like, think about it. A DJ plays 50 songs in, in two hours, maybe less, but like, they're not gonna tap in with every. DJ whose song they play and you're not always gonna find out. So it's up to you to like really kind of like, be on top of that. Create Foot soldiers on social media.'cause they, they now show me showing the other DJs playing my stuff. So when they see videos of it, they tag me. You know, like it's, you have to create that ecosystem and you have to capitalize off of it.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah, totally. And so back to that question though, like how are these ZJs getting a hold of your tracks in the first place?
Proppa vid 2:Um. So from my understanding, Clooney straight up downloaded the Waka locker remix off of SoundCloud before I put it on private or before I took the downloads off. And'cause he downloaded that and like a couple other of my remixes all in like the same day. And I remember like freaking out like, oh, I wonder if he's gonna play'em. And ironically, the reason I know the way that other DJs have gotten it is because. There's a dubstep, like a halftime break for like four bars in the second drop. And he, not only did he cut that part off, but he also cut the second half of my first drop off and jumped right to the second buildup.'cause he wanted to play both drops. So he made his own cut, edit of it and whenever. Someone from that big Camp John Summit, Al Mal P, whenever any of them play it. It's that Clooney cut. I can tell because the halftime version's cut, so he's just sending
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:getting it from him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So you're not, you're not sliding in dms every day being like, Hey, ple, here's my new track. Play
Proppa vid 2:I have never done that. The only outreach that's ever been done was on our work remix. We did ant inflight push, but most of the big, like TTO didn't download it off of inflight.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Flight is like a hired DJ promo service.
Proppa vid 2:Yeah. There's PR services that have lists of bigger DJs that are subscribed to them, And, then they'll push out your track. I say this because I feel like so many people ask me the same question, How did you get Dom Dala to play your track? How did I made a good track? Like that's the only thing I could say. Literally like the.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:and this is, this is what I wanna point out is you made a good track after making, what was it? 58 tracks? 50, you know, like more,
Proppa vid 2:like, there's like at least a hundred of them, and most a lot are not in SoundCloud,
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:and so the first artist that I ever saw do this is was Zoo. Because I remember when Zoo Before Zoo was Zoo, like, he was just like Steven Zoo. He was a kid from USC, he was from la. He was in the scene, he was promoting himself all the time. He did a campaign called 52 to Zoo, and similarly, he put out a track a week, every single week
Proppa vid 2:I didn't even know he did that.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:an entire year. Yeah. And so he had probably made 50 tracks before that, probably another 50 after this guy made, you know, 150, 200 songs before anybody knew anything about him. And then he had a great management come in and they wiped his, his history clean. They totally scrubbed the internet and relaunched him, making it seem like he came outta nowhere. They launched with Faded, right? Faded. It just was a massive, massive hit with the right marketing behind it. But it's what I'm getting at is like he made 200 songs to get to the song that changed his fucking career.
Proppa vid 2:And on top of that too, like you said, management came in after that point. Like I feel like people are kind of also seeking, legitimacy in the music industry when they shouldn't. It will find you, it will always find you. My philosophy has always been no outreach. I'm a no outreach philosophy guy. I think as an artist, your art should speak for itself. If you wanna do outreach, that's totally okay. I'm not like, I don't. I don't like frown upon it, but I just personally, I want people to come to me. I want leverage. And in situations like that, he made those tracks. He obviously was making really good tracks. The Right. people who knew what to do with them, hit him up. And that will happen for anybody. So many people, I saw a, a thread post about it and someone was complaining about just like industry, people with money, they invest in people to blah, blah, blah, with who they invest in you when they know that you're worth it. When they know that you are an investment worth making, And I I think, a lot of people overvalue where they're at in their career and not saying that in a negative way. It's just they'll find you keep doing the work. They will find you, the labels, the management, the agencies that everybody will find you when your art speaks for itself.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:totally. Yeah. You gotta, you gotta make noise. You gotta make some noise yourself. You know, I think that, when it comes to management, especially, I mean, an agent is not gonna sign an act that is not gonna make them money, right? So don't even think about getting an agent. But even an agent is probably 99% of the time, not gonna sign an artist that doesn't have management first.
Proppa vid 2:Yep.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:A lot of people are wanting to get a manager, but a manager is not gonna come in when you're at ground zero and take you to a hundred. A manager is gonna come in when you're at 25 and take you to a hundred. Right. So you gotta get yourself from zero to 25. Like, how do I get myself, how do I generate some buzz? Exactly. Why do I actually make myself valuable enough that somebody is gonna come in, they're gonna invest their. Time, their money, their energy to help take me to the next level. But you gotta get yourself off the ground first. And it's that kind of like zero to 25, kinda like the, the rocket ship bursting out of the earth's stratosphere. That's a really hard thing to do, but that's, that's, that's the game. And either you're gonna complain about how hard it is, or you're gonna get to work and fucking make it happen.
Proppa vid 2:Of course. And there there's a distinction I think that people don't understand between like being a well-branded and, and and bankable artist versus having marketing, right? Like I've spent the last six months. Digging really deep in finding out what my brand is and how I could be bankable. My management didn't do that for me. It's not up to them to tell me who I am. That's up to me. They come in when I know who I am and they make it work. When they see that it's bankable. And that's what a lot of people don't like. No one's gonna give you your brand. You have to figure that out for yourself.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah. Powerful man. You know, I, my first job in the music industry was working at Capitol Records. I got super lucky and, and was like right away, you know, like, like, you know, an assistant for a big executive. But I worked for the woman that signed Katy Perry and I got to be around, like seeing that whole, seeing Katy Perry go from nobody to KA Perry. And I also got to see a lot of artists that were signed. To, you know, a, a major record label. Were investing a million dollars in this project. And you could see that there were some artists that came in that they knew who the fuck they were. And then there were other artists that they came in and they're like, let the label, they're like, we're going to create you. And none of the artists. That came in that didn't already have that figured out where it was like, you know, the label and the a and r and the publicist and everybody was like trying to manufacture this thing. It's like none of them lasted, but somebody that came in, a fucking Lady Gaga where she's like, yo, I have a vision. I know who I am. I know what I want and, and I'm so enrolled in myself that I'm enrolling everybody else to get on board to this thing. Those are the artists that like, they become the fucking A-list
Proppa vid 2:Yeah. Yeah. And that, that confidence is, is self-driven. That's not confidence that comes from having success and having a metric that you can look at and being like, oh, I guess I am pretty good at this. Those people come into these situations confident in themselves with that brand, knowing who they are and knowing they have a vision that'll work. Like, I, I had that mistake for so long. Like I knew I was a good producer. I knew I was a good DJ and, and, and an artist in general, but I wasn't confident in myself. And it's so funny when you, when you, like, if you're in a green room, you could, like, when you're around artists versus people that are just industry people, and I'm not like, if you're not trying to be an artist, you don't have that artistic. Some people have that artistic, charisma, charisma, but it's not really like a, a human requirement. But when someone is like a touring artist and they know who they are and they're very confident in their sound and their, their ability to be a personality and all this stuff, like you can sense it so much. And it took me a while to start like, oh, that's what sets them apart. It's not the songs he's made versus me, it's the way he's presenting himself.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Hmm. What do you think has helped you start to find that confidence within yourself?
Proppa vid 2:Oh, that's, you know, that's not even something that's, I, I think, should be exclusive to being an artist or anything. That's something that you, as a, any human, should, should, should take the journey to find that confidence in yourself? because that's what gets you to the next step in life in anything. And it just like me recognizing that I've gone through life. Not confident for so long. And the, the points in my life where I have been confident that's when I've benefited the most. And, like I said earlier, I'd hope people find the self-confidence in stuff sooner than I did because obviously I'm year 15 as an artist or whatever, and, and like, I'm finally like, wow, if I, if I had been this confident all this time. You know, God, where would I be now? But, it, it starts today. It doesn't matter if you're, if you have a bunch of tracks that are heavily streamed, or if you're a homeless person that doesn't have a job, like, get that confidence today, that's what's gonna get you to the next step. Like period, like self love, right?
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:yeah. And, and I think that to have confidence in myself. I need to know myself. Right? Like that really, I think is that missing link. Like when you started to really deep dive into like, wait a minute, like who am I? What do I like, what am I about? Like where is that, that authenticity, like where I am really? I really know who I am. I think that that's really where the competence comes
Proppa vid 2:I think you're right. A hundred percent.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:if I don't know who I am, then I'm kind of looking at what everybody else is doing. I'm trying to adjust, I'm trying to fit in, and that's kind of a wobbly, shaky foundation as opposed to like,'cause I, I can know the difference between who I am today versus, you know, 10 years ago, even five years ago. I'm like, yeah, I was still a. Didn't really know who I was, but now I'm like, yo, dude, I'm, this is me. Take it or leave it. Like I'm still learning, I'm still growing and I'm still exploring, but like I'm way more confident because I'm way more self-aware and just in tune with who I am and what I'm all about.
Proppa vid 2:Yeah, no, that's a hundred percent correct. Like, and, and I think that is kind of like the coinciding with being like, okay, like I'm gonna. Do this because like, this is literally the most authentic version of myself. Like I can definitely correlate that with like the, just the whole entire mentality shift with the way I, I, I look at myself and love myself and, and appreciate where I am in life and stuff. So, yeah, super important. I mean like like I said earlier, it's, it's actually a pretty thoughtless process if you let it be. If you're just truly honest with yourself, who am I? What has resonated with me my whole life? I actually, all of my students, I've been asking them this like. Like the ones that are at that point where they make good music and they're worried about social media content. When they ask me social media, I say, stop, let, let me ask you some questions. Like, who are you? Like what, what, what, what got you into music? Like, what excited you as a teenager? What was your hobbies like? What, you know, still excites you today? What do you do when you're not producing music? Like, all these things inform like who you are and, and how you could be incorporating that into your music.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Yeah, so, great, man. Tell me about the Patreon that you run and the students that you're teaching. What does that look like?
Proppa vid 2:Yeah, so I've been doing Patreon for about two years now. It's kind of a long story. I was in and out of freelance music production, audio engineering for the longest time, like working on podcasts and ghost production, and just doing anything I can to make money, which was always. Very small scraps, along with bartending and playing some local gigs, just like basically hustling and, um. there was a point where, I wanna say like? two or three years ago, where I started teaching music lessons, production lessons, like private one-on-ones. And I was like, if I do this and I'd find like one more piece of sustainable income, I could quit bartending and I could just kind of be in the studio full time. So I started Patreon and that took a while to get off the ground. Like I, I was pouring into it every day. I do. A serum preset pack a week. I try to, sometimes it's like, I'll miss a week, but you still get the value. I do a sample pack every month, and I do tutorials nearly every week. And now I do like proper YAPS where I just basically have these types of conversations just like alone, directly with my audience. I release remixes exclusively on there, and even originals I've done. Just all sorts of stuff like that and just behind the scenes stuff, like anything I can possibly give them. Um, I've done templates and I did it for like eight months while only making like three,$400 a month off of it. And, it was okay. You know, like it, I, it was. Okay to sustain, but it definitely grew over time. I opened up a lessons tier and I stopped teaching private one-on-ones and just started doing those directly through Patreon, which now I have to stop because I have too many people, which is a great problem to have.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Congrats. Yeah.
Proppa vid 2:Thank you. I'm, I'm gonna be switching to like, larger classes now because it's just, Yeah. But doing that, I have a general support, so I have like a$2, a$10 and a$80 tier, which we'll switch to a$2, a$10, or I think it's gonna be a two, a 15 and a$40 tier is what I'm gonna be moving on to here in May. But it's been so great because now at this point where I'm starting to book, like touring, like actually almost every weekend, what's allowing me to be a full, like full-time papa is Patreon. Like that's, that's what's completing my, my income. And it's, gosh, it's so fricking important For Everybody to figure out some form of passive income. Not, it doesn't have to be completely passive. This is semi passive. I still do work on it every week, but like it's always there for me. Like if I have a month off of touring, I have all of my bills in the form of Patreon paid. That's the most comforting thing in the world to me. So.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:for sure. Yeah.'cause there's that, window of like, okay, I'm, I'm making some money. Right? And it's like, it's almost enough, to quit the day job. But it's not quite, there's this, there's this transitionary period, like for me it was two years of coaching. I was coaching as a, as a side hustle for two years before I went full time with it. And so it's a, it's a, it's an interesting space. So definitely looking at, yeah, how can you supplement that income, ideally with something music related, right,
Proppa vid 2:Yeah, I have so many friends, like I, so many of my friends right now are at the same level as me. We're just starting to get those bookings pretty consistently and get those tracks out and signings and like, a lot of them are still in the day job. space and some of them, like intense, like they're, they're working for a company like taking care of large deals and stuff, and it's like, I don't envy the stress that they have to go through. And I, and I see. How me being able to pour a hundred percent of my work into my brand now because I have that passive income from it, is really helping my growth right now.
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Y. Yeah, totally, totally. Well, you guys go check out the Patreon. I'll put a link for it in the show notes. Go get some music production tutorials. Get some sample packs, go listen to proper talk about life and mindset advice. It sounds like a, an amazing Patreon to be a part of. this was such a great conversation man. Thank you so much for hopping on and, uh, I'm just really excited to share this one with everybody. So thank you all for tuning in. Thank you for coming through. And, um, yeah, let me know if you are coming to Austin anytime soon.'cause I would love to come out and catch a set.
Proppa vid 2:Ooh. I just played a South by Southwest party, but I'm working on a return,
riverside_nik_cherwink_raw-video-cfr_nik_cherwink's stud_0302:Ah, Ah, just missed you. All right, we'll ca we'll catch the next one.
Proppa vid 2:Yeah. I appreciate it so much, man. This was great. Thank you.
