April 23, 2019

Meet Cody Jay

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cody Jay.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Cody. So, let’s start at the beginning, and we can move on from there.
I’ve been involved in music my entire life, but it was only about six years ago that I decided to start writing my own music. I grew up performing in musical theater productions, show choir, etc. – and actually studied Opera in college… I know lol. I’ve always been interested in a variety of genres, but I never really knew which one I wanted to choose for my career. It actually took me a while, through a lot of trial and error, to decide which style I wanted to pursue.

Sometimes I go back and listen to music I made in the beginning, and it’s hard to believe how different it sounds from what I’m making today. However, I believe that the influence of all of the genres, styles, and musical experiences that I’ve had in my life have helped shape the artist I am today… and I hope they continue to do so as my influences grow and expand.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Oh man, it has DEFINITELY not been a smooth road haha… Some say that I’ve chosen one of the hardest careers you can choose… and I agree. In a nutshell, one is constantly asking others for acceptance. With every new release, I’m asking for the approval of those listening… and constantly asking myself what will achieve that.

I spent all of my money… and I mean ALL of it, trying to build a brand around myself that would be successful – I paid marketing companies, ad agencies, spent thousands on music videos, went to artist conventions, etc. I spent so much of my time & effort on my career that I think I lost touch of the reason I was doing it in the first place. After all that, I ended up single-handedly creating the entirety of my first three albums.

Now, that’s a cool thing to say… but I exhausted myself. I reached a breaking point of burning the candle at both ends, and sort of dropped off the face of social media, and the music scene. I went on a hiatus in a way, and I’m only just now starting to come out of it – with a different approach, and a different outlook on the reason I began this journey – for the love of music.

We’d love to hear more about what you do.
Having gone through the struggles of creating/writing/producing my own music, I decided that I wanted to help others who didn’t necessarily have the means to do so themselves. I have so many talented friends who write incredible music but don’t have the means to record it or produce it. Because of this, I decided to open up a home studio and create a place where people can have their music come to life.

I called it Gateway Music Studios because I believe it’s a place that can help lead artists into the next phase of their musical journey. I’ve been producing myself and others out of the studio for six years, and it’s my dream to see it grow into a full-blown recording studio where artists and producers can come together from all over the world to make music.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
This answer has changed over the years… but now, being 29 years old I think I’ve settled on the one that’s true – at least for me.

In my opinion, success is defined by what makes you happy. I used to want to be “famous” and thought that if I had worldwide recognition that I would be happy. But I was overlooking what was right in front of my face – the ability to write/produce my own music and help others see their dreams come to fruition as well.

I can confidently say that as an independent artist, performer, producer, videographer/editor, and audio technician… that I AM successful. And for the first time in my life – I actually believe that.

Pricing:

$60/hour studio rate
$50/hour with a 3-hour session booked

Contact Info:

Website: www.codyjaymusic.com
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: instagram.com/codyjaymusic_
Facebook: facebook.com/codyjayfans
Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gX20MyDxX7e6Fjwr5qT2H?si=9kBJ47BbQRGtjs-cNfW5dw

Image Credit:
Ali Sayago, Jesse Ashton Rhodus

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