How do you grow in the music industry? Especially working independently or as a small brand? Mike from GoodTalks discusses how he kicked off his career in music digital marketing, and how he’s spearheading the growth and success of one of the biggest up-and-coming artists, That Mexican OT.
Mike didn’t initially begin his career in the music industry, starting in real estate as a marketing coordinator after graduating from college in 2012. He spent two years in this field but continued to try to find his way in the music industry. “I went and I bought a camera and I started filming shows, even though I had no idea how to film or how to even use a camera.”
Mike used the shows as an opportunity to network and create new connections as leverage to get into the industry. In 2014, he got the email address of Jonny Shipes, President and Founder of GoodTalk, formerly Cinematic Music Group, an American hip-hop label with artists like Pro Era and T-Pain. Through Snipes, Mike landed a position as a part-time team member.
Although Mike initially was supposed to be a tour manager, GoodTalk needed to expand its digital marketing efforts, thus allowing Mike to combine his marketing background and passion for music. He has now been working with GoodTalk for almost ten years leading the digital marketing team to efficiently promote artists and their music.
One artist Mike has the privilege of working with has been That Mexican OT. His music has made waves for his incredibly distinct style and genre, and how he “looks like a cowboy, sounds like a rapstar.” Mike notes just how special it has been to be able to work with him. “I think he’s incredibly unique. There are not many artists like him. I think his sound is very different, there’s very few people in the market right now making music like him.” He touches on how Mexican OT caught his attention, as he says OT is one of the best rappers he’s ever heard.
Mike has experienced and been a part of the rapid expansion of music marketing online, particularly with the growth of That Mexican OT. “Like any other record label faces, things are just happening so fast.” When OT’s song “Johnny Dang” was released, there was a huge pivot within the label to accommodate how rapidly the label was changing and growing. Mike, along with the marketing team, had to work to further their social media marketing strategies, making sure to stay up to date on trends and marketing their artists more online. One of Mike’s biggest responsibilities during this time was to strategize the successful promotion of OT’s album, with social media playing the biggest role in the exponential growth of the subsequent releases.
Mike speaks more on social media and the impact it had during this time. “TikTok is where OT first teased it, prior to that record coming out, and the clip just took off… Long story short, social media really drove everything.” OT released a short clip of “Jonny Dang” in May, just a few weeks before the single was released. It received over 15 million views and over two million likes. There are now over a thousand posts to his song, and it continues to trend as more challenges and campaigns are released. His most recent album, “Lonestar Luchador,” came out this summer with songs like “Hit List” and “Cowboy Killer,” both of which are continuing to trend. Now, OT has over 4 million listeners on Spotify and is currently on tour for 2023.
Mike used his passion for music and digital marketing to help grow GoodTalk into a more well-known and media-based record label. He emphasizes that social media drove everything and opened up a whole new world for the industry. He wants others to listen to their audience. “Scale. Try to figure out a way to scale. Figure out some sort of ecosystem where you can scale how you put out music and how you market and support that.” He uses OT as a perfect example of finding and scaling your audience. “I think the reason why OT is working is because he is super, super genuine to who he is… He might look like a cowboy, but that’s
