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.
Nick Bailey, president, and CEO at Re/Max, LLC joined Cheddar News to talk about the company's strong Q4 earnings results and the tight real estate market overall. "Real estate has continued to be a very strong sector, and coming into '22, we're already seeing the spring selling season be accelerated because of such high buyer demand," he said. "Buyers thinking that interest rates could fluctuate and go up even more are wanting to be in the market sooner than later."
Nicole Borders, Co-owner of Pound Bizness, joins ChedHER to discuss the story behind her business and the support it's received, along with advice for other 'couplepreneurs' out there.
Emily Dalton Smith, Vice President of Product Management and Social Impact at Meta, joins ChedHER to discuss how she's leading the way for social impact in the Metaverse.
Jadee Hanson, CIO and CISO at Code42, joins ChedHER to discuss what to look out for in the world of cybersecurity in 2022, and why a diverse workforce is so critical in this industry.
A still-unidentified attacker was able to steal 254 tokens from 17 traders who held their NFTs on the OpenSea marketplace. Cheddar's Alex Vuocolo takes a close look at how the crypto community is responding.
DNA evidence now shows that the 500-pound black bear the public had nicknamed “Hank the Tank” is, in fact, three not-so-little bears who have damaged more than 30 properties around Lake Tahoe in recent months.
As we celebrate Black History Month, Cheddar is highlighting prominent Black Americans who are carving their own historic paths and trailblazing in their fields. Today we feature billionaire philanthropist Robert Smith.
Physical education classes are declared compulsory in 97% of the world’s countries. Here in the U.S, it employs over 20,000 people. It’s a standard part of schooling that, when you think about it, feels out of place. But just over 100 years ago, gym class was a rarity. So what changed? And should we have it at all?
romantic scams have hit a record high, according to the FTC. Last year alone, victims lost an estimated $547 million, which is six times more than the recorded total from 2017. Debbie Montgomery- Johnson, a victim of romantic scams and the author of the 'Woman Behind the Smile,' joined Cheddar to discuss more.
