Swizz Beatz: Young Creatives Can't Forget the 'Business' in Art Business
*By Chloe Aiello*
Even for Kasseem Dean ー a.k.a accomplished producer, rapper, and art enthusiast "Swizz Beatz" ー the hustle never stops.
And after more than two decades in the music industry, Dean's best advice for young creatives is to never forget the "business" part of the art industry.
"Understand the business that you're in. We devote so much time to the creative that we miss out on the business. So it's the music business, fashion business, art business ー and a lot of creatives miss the business part and they waste their time," Dean told Cheddar on Thursday.
The music mogul released "Poison" earlier this month. The studio album, his second, is his first release since since 2007, and features collaborations with Nas, Lil Wayne, and Kendrick Lamar, among other industry heavyweights.
Dean may be thriving, but he experienced struggles during his early days in the business ー and he more than understands how unforgiving it can be, especially in the age of streaming platforms like Spotify ($SPOT), [which famously pays artists very little to stream their music.](https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2018/01/16/streaming-music-services-pay-2018/).
"There is no perfect way" to achieve success in the music industry, Dean said, whether an artist is signed to a major label and on Spotify, or independent and on YouTube. It's about the business plan ー and monetizing everything from merchandise to touring.
"That's why I left the music industry for so long, to diversify my portfolio and get into designing cars, watches, fashion ー just different things so I don't have that much pressure on me when I'm doing music. It's a thing that's fun," he added.
Beyond the music industry, Dean has a passion for the arts.
Along with Keys, he founded The Dean Collection, an organization that aims to support aspiring artists and democratize art, often through grants and "No Commission" art fairs, which return all proceeds to the artists. [The Dean Collection's next event](https://dean-collection.com/#mainRoom) is scheduled for Dec. 6 and 7 during Miami Art Week.
New details surrounding the deadly shooting that took place on the production set of "Rust" have now emerged. According to sources close to the matter, hours before the set several crew members walked off set over safety concerns. Senior Editor at Variety and host of the "Just for Variety" podcast Marc Malkin along with Certified Firearms Instructor and Founder of The Reload Stephen Gutowski, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Jill and Carlo cover the news out of Facebook's latest earnings, Tesla's monumental day, Dave Chappelle addresses controversy and the tragedy of the climate emergency.
Edtech startup ENTITY Academy raised $100 million in its latest round of funding. The company's platform offers tech training to women via online courses, in areas like data science and software development. The courses include mentoring and career coaching from people working in the tech industry. ENTITY Academy's founder and CEO Jennifer Schwab joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to talk more about the company and the funding.
LendingTree's latest survey found that parents and Gen Zers are the most likely to overspend on Halloween this year. Brianna Wright, a senior consumer research specialist at LendingTree, joined Cheddar to discuss what exactly consumers are splurging on this spooky season and how to carve out room in your budget to celebrate.
Connor Franta, YouTube star and author of 'House Fires,' joins Cheddar News to discuss his latest book which is a collection of essays, photos, and poems about dating, sex, relationships, mental health, and so much more.
Zaire Wade and Jalen Newsome, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of 'YNG DNA' join us to talk about their new NFT collection available Oct. 25 on WAX NFT blockchain.
According to new research by Twitter, the social media platform algorithm amplifies content from the "political right" rather than those on the left. The company says this data comes as the platform has been taking the time to research the implications of its algorithm and whether or not it has caused any "unknown harm". President and CEO of Media Matters for America Angelo Carusone, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
The tragedy on the set of the movie "Rust" is sparking calls for safer Hollywood film sets. Actor Alec Baldwin accidentally killed the film's director of photography and injured the director when he fired a prop gun while rehearsing a scene last week, unaware the weapon was loaded with live rounds. Tom Murray, entertainment editor of Insider, joined Cheddar to discuss how prop guns can still be very dangerous and why Hollywood has prioritized realism over safety, despite several on-set accidents over the decades.
Jill and Carlo cover the latest developments in the Alec Baldwin prop gun shooting, when vaccines for kids as young as 5 should be approved, new reporting on Facebook and more.
