Today we’d like to introduce you to Tamia Wells.
Hi Tamia, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
As a child, I always wanted to be a lawyer. I always visualized myself with a nice suit, a briefcase, and a nice cool office. I always knew that I possessed executive qualities, and it also helped that I was ambitious and smart. I remember watching the Bill Cosby show and seeing Clair Huxtable and saying to myself, ” I want to be like her when I grow up.” She was pretty, fly, educated, family-oriented, classy, bossy, and (in my opinion) the matriarch. She was everything I dreamed of being, but, in reality, I felt that I would never achieve.
A couple of years later (at 12) I found my hustle and that’s when life started to take a turn. I shortly realized that I had a knack for cosmetology and doing hair was like second nature to me. While other children my age were focused on riding bikes and playing outside, I was focused on collecting cash. It didn’t get me any steps closer to my dream of being a lawyer wearing a fly suit and my family with a white picket fence, but it was the start of a different kind of success. It was fast money; it was a hustle, and I became addicted to the chase.
For years and years and years, I became married to the money. I had children, I started businesses, I won awards, I met affluential people, but still, my true dreams lingered in the back of my mind. It wasn’t until I got an opportunity to manage an artist, start a record label, and move to California during the pandemic. I saw this opportunity as a chance to restart my life over. Not the life that I had already created but the life that I always wanted.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nothing in live is ever smooth, but that’s the beauty in living a life worth having. There will be good days, but there will also be bad. It’s the inevitable. The important thing is to persevere in the face of adversity. To be successful, you have to have faith, courage, and stamina. These attributes will prepare you and ground you for when troubles arise.
I have been talked about, lied to, lied on, backstabbed, illegally evicted, betrayed, depressed, I’ve been let down, I’ve been told no constantly, I’ve been blocked, I’ve had people steal from me, switch up on me for no reason, I’ve had people pretend to love me and care for me but with conditions; and despite all of this, I still prevail.
I made up my mind a long time ago that even if the road gets bumpy, I’ll still enjoy the ride.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Cruzn Cozy Records is a boutique record label, and I am the co-founder and artist manager. I manage 1 artist and 1 producer on the label. She is a Theatrical Jazz Soul singer-songwriter. Cruzn Cozy Records is a record label and management company that was founded on tenacity, perseverance, integrity, and determination. Here at CCR, we negotiate contracts, manage artists, examine legal obligations, arrange performances, and oversee payouts for artists. Aside from that, we monitor distribution and royalty payouts. We also oversee physical products and promotional merchandise for tours and drop-shipping. Along with marketing, advertising, and distributing artist music on all streaming platforms. Most recently, we added CDs and Vinyls to my artist store.
Very soon, I will be transitioning my expertise to the legal side of entertainment. I have a BS in Entertainment Business from The Los Angeles Film School, I will be transitioning from a music executive to an entertainment attorney. I haven’t decided if I would like to work with a firm or open my own firm, but either way, when I know, you’ll be the first to know.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
Absolutely. I feel that every era repeats itself when a new generation is born. The music industry has gone through many phases, and that’s the great part about evolution. Constantly evolving. I believe the pandemic era of music was the worst transition, and I can foresee it soon being over. During the pandemic, everyone was in the house and on the internet constantly, which caused everyone to explore more with hobbies and go viral easily. Most of the pandemic artists were untalented, and that trend caused a surge of uncertainty. Labels weren’t signing artists the same, and analytics became the only standard.
I can see the music industry transitioning back to making the number one criteria talent. They also need to bring back artist development.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cruzncozyrecords/
