Today we’d like to introduce you to #Zammy.
Hi #Zammy, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I’d like to say my music career starts from the day I was born. I wasn’t raised in a household that made music a focus as most other artists may have been; But I was born with a hearing disability (lack of hearing in my right ear) that I believe gave me a unique take on sounds and music throughout my life. I’ve been making music since the first Apple computer that my family put in the house; I was playing with Logic Pro (Apple’s recording software) and would create songs from that day forward. Not the best songs ever, but songs nonetheless; with no musical background other than playing saxophone in my school band.
I never thought of creating music as a career and always seen it as one of my favorite hobbies. But throughout life, since that first computer in my house, music creation has followed me and inserted itself in my life without me actively pursuing it. & and an age around 20-22, I started to pick up on that pattern and embrace it.
Fast forward to today, I’ve fully embraced my musical acumen and allowed my version of music creation to guide me through life almost on an everyday basis. Getting me to a point where now I’ve created an ecosystem of artists/managers/producers/entrepreneurs/ engineers/musicians etc. I work with on a daily basis who allow me to create and promote my music in the unique way that I do today.
I shoot the majority of my own content, which led to me owning and operating my own MultiMedia business shooting and editing content for other creators. I still record a lot of my songs in my bedroom alone to this day (Just like how I started). & I continue to add to my list of creative and business skills so that I can do as much work as possible in-house so my art doesn’t get lost in translation when in the creating process.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road, and when I think of some of the struggles, these things come to mind. I’ve willingly spent 10s of thousands of my own dollars on my “hobby” of making music starting back from my first music video I shot when I was 16. I would literally spend my last dollar in order to create the best music and content I possibly could and still invest in myself in that way to this day. (over 10 years of spending my last dime on the art that is music, & I couldn’t explain it in any way except for the fact that it gives me an unexplainable joy when I create new songs and share them with the world)
Another struggle would be the aspect of me not being a classically trained musician or artist while working with many classically trained musicians and/or artists. Many years of my creative vision not being respected because of my lack of knowledge & years in the field. I’ve learned to always trust my creative vision and to control the outcome in order to create the art that I envision. Music much like most art forms deals with thinking outside of the box and me not being classically trained I feel I do that better than a lot of my musically educated peers. (Making my music unique)
In the process of pursuing music in a serious matter, I’ve chosen to live in places like Los Angeles & New York moving far away from my family, with the understanding that this is lost family time I will never be able to get back, but the way I see it, it’s for a good cause, the opportunity to change my family lineage and leave a lasting impact on this earth for forever. My family not understanding at first, but recently they have started to see the vision.
& the most recent struggle I’ve been through is willingly quitting a 6 figure job in order to spend 100% of my time elevating my music career at a faster pace than ever before while living in Los Angeles. I’ve chosen to give my all to music and the entertainment industry. Leaving me no money or time to spend with family or friends. Only music. & I don’t regret that decision. Although it has resulted in losing some people close to me due to them not understanding my choices. I know the path I’m on at this point of my life, and I’m 100% sure of where I’m headed.
We’ve been impressed with DukeTV Media, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
DukeTV Media is my MultiMedia business ran by me and my roommate Dom. This business was created solely from my love of creating content (Videos and Photos) for my own music. I would write, produce, direct, & edit all of my music videos and social media content, which lead to others asking me to eventually do their content to. This is when I realized I can create a business around my love of creating art.
I trained myself via Youtube University much like many people these days; something I’m very proud. From the conception of this business, I’ve added multiple employees (Directors, & Camera operators that are very talented in their own right) Thus making me a recording artist with my own media outlet, setting me apart from the rest of the up-and-coming artists of the industry. I like to compare myself to the artist “Da Baby” and his media partner “Reel Goats” the only difference being I partner with the company I started myself, not a third party.
DukeTV Media offers everything from
– Social media content
– Live performance videos
– Interviews
– Documentaries
– Commercials
– Wedding photography
– Special Occasion photography
– Set design
– Directing
– Video Editing services
– & All around brand design from conception to execution
We are different from other MultiMedia businesses because we don’t just hold a camera, we will conceptualize your idea from start to finish. Most people know what they want as a final product but don’t understand what’s necessary to create that. DukeTV Media is there every step of the way to make sure that the final product is as close to your initial idea as possible based on your budget and time frame. We can make anything possible with the proper planning. Most other videographers for hire will just show up point the camera and add very little to no input. Not Us and that’s what makes us a MultiMedia Empire and not just a videographer team for hire.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I feel as if my industry will not drastically change in the next 5-10 years but the amount of players in our industry will drastically increase as quality camera equipment and editing software becomes more and more accessible to the general public.
DukeTV has a master plan to create an outlet for consumers to find talented & quality media partners with ease. With that being said, all I can say is you will see and hear more about our expansion in the near future and beyond. DukeTV Media looks to set a standard for content & art creation that is unmatched.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.duketv.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zammyzamuel/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC172tNDTs_ufkgZMJ-vCiHA
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/hashtagzammy
Image Credits
DukeTV Media Joyce Charat (@Joycevisuals)
