Behind the Beats: Learning from a Veteran Hip-Hop Music Executive

Steve Lobel tells you how it all started, how he hustled from a young age in Queens, New York doing paper rounds and shoveling snow to get what he wanted, to beginning to work in Hip-hop with Run DMC and Jam Master Jay.

Hear what work ethic meant to him from a young age, what it continues to mean for him today, and why it’s so important for anyone in the music business.

Hear Stevel Lobel’s thoughts about the importance of authenticity for artists, and why it’s vital to have your own lane, sound and style as an artist. The pitfalls of falling prey to trends, and why you should be a leader, not a follower. Artist development and why listening to artists is so important for longevity and legacy.

Hear why having a manager is important for an artist, what they should look for in a manager, and what to expect from them.

Learn how to build a real artist fan base step-by-step in your own community and grow it outwards, and hear the key differences between a real fan base as opposed to followers.

After building a fan base and defining who you are as an artist, it’s time to hit the road: learn why making sure you have a great show is so crucial, how to stay on top of all the details going into it, and what aspects to consider in terms of transportation, booking agents, riders, and more.

Come along to a Meet & Greet with Steve Lobel, Dave East and his manager AJ Schenbaum and learn about the importance of collaborating and building a brand when doing events like this.

Steve Lobel talks about the importance of looking after mental health in the music business, why it’s important to surround yourself with positive people, and recounts how he started an addiction treatment center with Scott Storch.

Steve Lobel guides you on how to manage a crisis: how to put out fires, learn how to respond by thinking through your response rather than reacting through feeling, how to handle media, and his go-to tactic for dealing with bad publicity, artists issues, and how to plan for success.

Steve stresses the importance of building relationships, knowing your artists, how to think out the box for beat placements, being innovative, and listening when people pitch you ideas, coming up with ideas yourself, knocking on doors and maximizing opportunities.

Get inspired by Steve’s thoughts on staying relevant, hear why you need to learn your history and educate yourself and put in the work hard before you can become a brand and artist. Hear why building relationships and community is key to creating who you want to be as a brand.

Grasp the importance of having a lawyer and knowing legal aspects, as Steve Lobel breaks down how a song is supposed to be split, how to know what percentage goes where, along with royalties and advances, publishing deals, and more.

Steve talks about contracts versus handshake deals, the importance of having contracts and a lawyer, the potential pitfalls of handshake deals, and what will be negotiated in a proper contract. He goes into record deals, publishing deals, brand deals, advances, shows and what the standards are for the percentages.

Learn how things have changed over the years in terms of sorting out rights and credits, and why you have to get them right in today’s digital landscape. How to get the correct credits, and how to use them as a resume for upcoming work. Learn about royalties, and what you need to know about music rights and credits before going into a studio session.

Steve Lobel breaks down royalties, how negotiating a deal works, from production fees, points to fight for, splits and publishing. Get important points about advances and recoups, backends, admin deals, co-pub deals, and publishing deals, his picks for the best deals for new artists, and which to stay away from. Learn about tights and costs surrounding sampling, merch deals and trademarking, and what companies you need to read up on.

How Steve Lobel helped Scott Storch build his career back, starting with building a relationship organically and eventually reigniting Storch’s career brick by brick. Learn about the decisions taken to get Storch working with up and coming artists like Russ, Post Malone, 8 Boogie, Trippie Redd, Chloe X Halle.

Why it’s crucial to not be a yes man and why being honest and telling the truth to your artist will get you both further. Learn how to have an open chain of command, knowing when to push to get the best out of your artist, and when to pull back. Hear why music management is about trust and communication and why interpersonal skills are vital.

Steve Lobel talks about getting Scott Storch back in the studio, getting him to understand the new sonics, setting up sessions, and building relationships with new artists on the rise. How he played to Scott’s strengths as a melody maker to get him making some of the hottest new tracks in Hip-hop.

Using social media to your advantage in the music business, and the part it played in rebuilding Scott Storch’s career.

Steve Lobel recounts his work with Nipsey Hussle, from getting rejected by labels through ten years of hard work got them to a place of success. Hear how they converted non-believers to believers, why Nipsey Hussle was the smartest artist Lobel ever worked with, and the importance of thinking long term and treating the process like a marathon, not a sprint.

Hear the story of how Steve Lobel met with Nipsey Hustle at a liquor store, wanting to work with him and how they started to build a relationship, ended up working together on a tour, and how they grew Nipsey’s fanbase and career.

Hear the story of Steve Lobel managing Fat Joe, and how Fat Joe’s fear of flying had them driving around the country to do promo shows, and how a determination to get the job done is crucial in situations like this.

Lessons from going on the road with Fat Joe and Big Pun, getting the job done while balancing what the record label wants and what an artist wants, why you have to be able to adapt to new situations, and prepare backup plans. How entourages can become a problem, and the importance for artists of keeping good ones.

Steve Lobel’s final advice for the next generation, where he shares his thoughts on why it’s all about passion, persistence and learning the business, as well as having loyalty and integrity.