Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicolas Tello.
Hi Nick, 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.
Well what first got me into music was the movie “School of Rock.” I started learning the songs in that movie by ear using a toy guitar believe it or not. Afterwards my mom decided it was time to get me a real guitar. I then started a pop punk band in high school, where I got into writing my own songs. I wanted to be able to record our music, so I decided to go to NYU for their music technology program. I made the decision to come back home to Boston to pursue my band. At the same time I learned everything else I needed to know about audio engineering and music production by working at a local recording studio, The Record Co., and self-producing my band’s first EP there as well. That studio shut down for an expansion, but we needed a place to record our artists and own band, so we opened our OWN studio. Covid happened, and we were forced to shut it down sadly. At that point, I started sharing tips on Instagram and TikTok and grew a following of people who wanted to learn music production. I used that to leverage starting a coaching program that taught people how to mix and produce their own music. I used the money I made there to fund my move to LA. Now I’m in LA, teaching, producing, mixing, and coaching full time, but everything that I’ve done has been in the pursuit of my own music project and just having the time and financial freedom to be able to pursue that to the best of my ability.
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 say the biggest struggle was actually remaining consistent in doing music production, mixing, and even the coaching full time. As an entrepreneur you quickly learn that you are fully responsible for your next pay check. And just because you have a good month doesn’t mean you might not have 3 bad months immediately after. Aside from that, trying to pivot more into the artistic side of being a music artist versus just teaching people after building up that entirely separate audience was challenging, especially after being known for one thing already.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
One of my superpowers is definitely the fact that I’ve been through the journey of being a self-producing artist and being able to take what I’ve learned and teach that to other people. Usually, that comes in the form of teaching them to make songs, mainly in mixing and producing them. But oftentimes, my own journey comes into play, and I’m able to help give them perspective on their own creative career.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
This is a hard one, despite how easy it might seem. But my biggest takeaway from everything is to be honest with yourself about what you want to do, and to truly go after that 100%. I spent so long playing into the side of me that dabbled in mixing when in reality I wanted to write and record my own songs.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @nicktellomusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/nicktellomusic
- Twitter: twitter.com/nicktellomusic
- Youtube: youtube.com/nicktellomusic
Image Credits
Flasch World
