Today we’d like to introduce you to Tony M Fountain.
Hi Tony, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I began as a rapper. It started in, I believe, the 8th grade when a friend of mine (Rico) handed me a rap song he had written and wanted my thoughts on it. Playfully I wrote a response diss song, and we continued back and forth this way for the next few years. Years later, I began entering showcases and things of that nature. Still, I had also started a family and felt I owed it to my kids to be around rather than being gone on the road all the time, so I let go of the idea of pursuing music any further. Not long afterward, let’s just say my ex-wife developed some issues and wasn’t in the picture anymore. As a single dad of two small kids, I didn’t have a lot of time on my hands to go out and hang with friends. Still, I needed an outlet to keep my mental health strong, so I immersed myself in studying how the music industry worked, bought some equipment, and began to help develop local artists. I realized most artists don’t really care to learn the business side of things and would rather focus solely on being an artist. Sometimes focusing on too much can kill an artist’s creative spirit.
I also met a good number of artists with talent above my own, which sparked the idea to start Now Entertainment and begin interviewing artists and offering various services such as production & recording, photo & video filming/editing, publicity, marketing, etc. I’ve worked with people from all over and from various walks of life. Entrepreneurs in India, Pakistan, Egypt, Asia, Canada, Australia, and so on. Country artists from Tennesee, Gangster rappers from Florida, and pop singers from California to New York. I love it, music has allowed me to see and experience a lot of things I might not have without it. By helping various artists like Shotgun Shane, Xpression the MC, Christian Vind, Coolazpapa, and Nino Brown, I realized that my real talent was artist management. However, I still wanted to help as many as possible, so I decided to write tips on Entrepreneur Magazine and Forbes while still maintaining & growing Now Entertainment. Soon I realized that there were some things artists and entrepreneurs needed to hear that I couldn’t say on these sites, so I started writing my first book, which will be released in February 2021. I also decided to get back into recording music myself and release a few songs this year of my own. Now that my kids are older and I’m remarried to a strong, beautiful woman, it doesn’t feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders anymore.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all in any way, shape, or form. I went from sleeping on the floor with no heat to where I am now. I blew a lot of money I worked my ass off for along the way and got scammed a few times, which is why I now can help others steer clear of the pitfalls in the business. I concluded that nobody would put me in a position to do this, it was all on me, and I hit the ground running, never looking back and letting the negativity of what others said go in one ear and out the other. I had to fall on my face a few good times to learn and make progress. I can’t bring myself to sympathize with men who say they don’t have it. It’s like, man, I raised two kids by my damn self with little help from family and no government assistance and still made it. Are you a man or a boy? Get up and go get it; there are no excuses. I worked long hours and multiple jobs to save up and invest in myself and was patient for years before I began to see an ROI. I wasted plenty of time on the wrong people, people that didn’t respect my time. There’s no easy way into this business or life in general. You can treat it like the lottery and hope for the best or go and take what it is your after. Before I built my company & personal brand, I found it hard to be taken seriously. But now, many people that I feel are even further along their journey than me reach out and want to work together. You’ve got to get over the self-doubt that’s limiting you. Your current situation doesn’t matter; you can change it with hard work.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Now Entertainment?
At Now Entertainment, we treat our clients like family and develop a lifelong bond by teaching them and helping them grow while helping them establish and elevate their digital footprint. We also learn a lot ourselves through interviewing some artists and entrepreneurs. We help people get the recognition they deserve for their achievements and the hard work they’ve put into building their careers. I’m most proud of the fact that we’re helping people achieve their dreams and change lives every day. It feels good to know that we’ve been a part of their success.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://nowentertainment.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonymarcusfountain
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonymfountain
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TonyMFountain
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonymfountain
