Today we’d like to introduce you to Raj Will.
Hi Raj, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I embarked on a lifelong mission to learn and work in every aspect of audio and music production. At the age of 12, I started learning how to engineer, produce, and song write. Music became a passion upon joining the high school drum line until graduating in 2009. My first paid gig within the entertainment industry was playing in a drum line with Enrique Iglesias at the 2010 American Music Awards. This opportunity opened my eyes to the many roles within live music productions, leading me on a path of various drumming gigs while bouncing around recording studios all throughout LA. Simultaneously, I worked part-time as a live sound engineer at my church, as a drum line instructor at various high schools, and freelance anywhere I could music-related.
After graduating from the Los Angeles Recording School in 2013, I managed to get an internship with Grammy Award Winning Singer/Songwriter Ne-Yo at his recording studio and subsidiary record label Compound Entertainment, going from intern to assistant engineer, assistant producer, and eventually studio manager over span three years. Being in a learning environment with someone like Ne-Yo and his team was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They taught me everything from artist development, music & vocal production, recording techniques, mixing, record label business, music for sync placements, and studio management.
Upon the closing of the studio, I was able to transition into an independent recording engineer, producer, and writer, starting my own production company called Beyond Average Sound. I was successfully able to land contracts with major labels such as Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group. At this point in my career, I needed a place of my own to operate out of, as I was getting a lot of clients who needed studio time. In 2017, I was introduced to Q of 1500 or Nothin’ who allowed me to share a room at their iconic Labren Studios in Inglewood, CA. During this time, I was honored to be in the same studio the late great Nipsey Hussle and many others recorded their early material. Sharing this room allowed me opportunities to learn more about live sound mixing, musical direction, and stage management for artists’ shows.
Flashing forward to 2020, I was able to transition my sole proprietorship Beyond Average Sound into an LLC with the help of three business partners. We then opened up one of the biggest studios in Hollywood. This is where the real work began, as I was now president of my own production company operating out of my own major facility. We had three recording studios, a podcast studio, photography studio, multimedia room and live event space. We were essentially the first black-owned studio of that nature in Hollywood with a subscription-based business model coining the slogan I created as a foundation for us to stand on, “For Artists, By Artists”. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit, and all the plans that we intended for artists in the community did not financially pan out the way it should’ve, forcing us to close the building after two years of operation.
From 2022 to now, I’ve been able to apply all that I’ve learned within these 10+ years in the industry to continue furthering my business and creative endeavors. I was blessed with opportunities to travel the world as a live sound engineer with artists such as The Isley Bros, Babyface, JPEGMafia, Bankrol Hayden, Mario, Chxrry22, Tinashe, and more. In between touring, I continue to engineer, produce, and collaborate with my core team, Beyond Average Sound, which you can check out all of our music and video content online at http://beyondaverage.la/artists
Additionally, I’m an Audio Production Instructor and Program Coordinator for Compton Unified School District’s new high school program, pushing forward career technical education through teaching studio & live sound, music production, and entertainment business.
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?
It has not been a smooth road, but I wouldn’t change the path I had to take for anything in the world. The biggest challenge was the pursuit of independence in the knowledge of every position needed to build the pillars of my company and career projects.
This route forced me to take the long way to success because in order to learn, you must sacrifice time. With that sacrifice of time in the real world, that means money for stability. With that, a lot of times I chose my long term goals over short term financial stability. There was a period of time where I slept in studios and slept in my car just to stay close enough to the gig to be the first one there and the last one out. I knew that to reach the level of mastery learning I desired, it wouldn’t be an overnight story of success but rather a never-ending journey of seeking knowledge in my field, building creative ideas, applying it to my career opportunities, and eventually, my company. It’s not always about the journey but more so your willingness to continue to pursue the journey that makes or breaks you.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Beyond Average Sound is an independent record label and multimedia audio/music production company based out of Los Angeles, California. Unlike most labels who offer management, 360 deals, and contracts that doesn’t give artists the freedom to financially grow, I created a business model that is for artists by artists giving them an opportunity to have ownership in their masters while we provide the collaborative services of audio engineering, music production, creative direction, songwriting, video content production, live events and studio engagement.
A few of our sound artists aside from Raj Will are Ana E. La Muñeca, Britt Love and TurnThePayge in which we all represent the Beyond Average Sound quality on our sleeves through in-house audio, music, video, and event productions. We are currently producing four of their debut projects with two new artists in development.
We are most proud of producing the grand opening event reality show at the Beyond Average Sound headquarters, in which we visually showcased and live-streamed our entire facility before shutting down, as well as the music from our artists that is still soon to come.
Aside from our core artists, we also offer all of these services to independent artists, production, TV, and film companies in which we can develop original songs for sync placements, artist singles/albums, and live event experiences.
What’s next?
Our biggest plan is to take Beyond Average Sound and our artists to a level in which we can use all our gifts to provide the world with an experience that feeds the soul. We look forward to creating partnerships with more brands, artists, and film companies for us to provide the musical landscape, sound quality, and creative production that leaves audiences with an experience beyond the surface.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://beyondaverage.la
- Instagram: @rajwillbeyond
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@BeyondAverage?si=jgP72LZtXfTs-Oq0
- SoundCloud: http://soundcloud.com/beyondaveragesound
- Other: http://rajwill.com
Image Credits
@VenekoMedia @TheTashEffect @Six_TheDirector
