Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael James.
Hi Michael, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I relocated from New York to Santa Monica as a teenager in 1975. Periods of homelessness ensued as I excelled at school and earned a full scholarship to UCLA. At 19 years of age, I got my first record deal, and I heard my music being broadcast on KROQ two years later.
While hacking away at being a recording artist, I became an engineer, which gave me the opportunity to produce NY rockers Too Much Joy. My first major label release had a hit, with LL Cool J starring in the music video, so I became legitimately credible.
My work on subsequent records by SubPop artists Hole, L7 and Reverend Horton Heat contributed to becoming Head of A&R and staff producer at Warner Music Discovery, where I soaked up everything I could learn from Keith and Jac Holzman. After a corporate regime change, I returned to freelance work, mixing and playing guitar on the classic New Radicals album, which quickly sold a couple of million units.
Along the way, I founded Alternator Records, IndieProMix, and Vegan Vulcan Music. Although I continue to produce records and occasionally release solo albums of my own, I’m primarily known as a mix specialist across the past 20 years, mixing radio ready singles for various artists all around the world. I’ve been able to live-stream the music from my mixing console for approximately ten years, which allowed me to build an international clientele years before the pandemic forced everybody into working remotely. The transition was seamless for me because I was already doing it on a daily basis.
My newest album as a solo artist, titled Shelter In Place, is enjoying favorable critical reviews; my edutainment videos for Dangerous Music and Manley Labs are driving sales for those companies as well as bringing fresh blood into my world; and my label, Alternator Records, has a pipeline full of stylistically and culturally diverse artists with exciting new music for 2022.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’d like to say I’m the luckiest guy on the face of the earth, but as we all know, life can be complicated for anybody. I’ve had my share of financial ups and downs, but on a spiritual level, I’ve always been an optimist, and I find amusement during even the toughest challenges. Being in the music business requires thick skin because our success is often based on somebody’s whims rather than true merit. Just like virtually every professional musician I’ve ever known, there have been times when I had to sell a prized guitar or crash on a friend’s sofa.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Alternator Records is both my production company and a record label. The label is particularly exciting at the moment because I shifted the focus to “singles only“ during the Covid lockdown so that I could shine a spotlight on a greater number of worthy artists. While some people lament that new music is merely retreaded cookie-cutter crap, I could not disagree more strongly. If you know where to look, you can find terrific new music! Thanks to my international presence, I’m exposed to great stuff all the time.
Many of my artists are not positioned to attract the attention of major labels for various reasons, often socioeconomic–sometimes based on the color of their skin. My deals are simple and pragmatic. Each artist and I are partners in the music. I mentor them, we write a song together, and then I release it with major label distribution. Having said that, distribution means nothing without promotion, so my team helps the artists learn how to market themselves, leveraging social media as a means to promotion. Not only do we help artists learn how to use the tools to build a sustainable career, we also avoid cross-collateralization so that no artist will ever be in debt to us. The way I see it, many people helped me in my times of need, so I’m paying it forward while making strong friendships along the way.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is a combination of being happy during challenges, being comfortable in your own skin, and spending the hours of your life doing what you love, even if it doesn’t meet someone else’s expectations.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: michaeljamesproducer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaeljamesproducer/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaeljamesproducer/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MJ_mixer
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqMHgzNl5xHRUnR-dAPcCtw
Image Credits
Tim Roth. Micah Smith. Jason Davies.
