Music producer David Xavier Sanchez, known in the industry as David Daxsen, started creating music at age 15 with only a heavy Toshiba laptop, a $60 MIDI keyboard, music production software, and his ingenuity to make his way into the music industry.
Thirteen years later, the entrepreneur who was born into a hardworking middle-class family in Ecuador now owns 52 record labels, collectively known as Daxsen Music Group, and has collaborated with renowned figures such as Snoop Dogg, Flo Rida, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Hardwell, Alesso, and more.
Moreover, the 27-year-old has amassed a fortune of approximately $400 million and made a strong impact in other areas such as media, luxury lifestyle, real estate, and philanthropy.
In an exclusive interview with Benzinga about the music industry, Daxsen outlined what he believes are the key steps in album production.
First and foremost, the entrepreneur emphasizes the importance of the idea.
“First, you have to create the concept — what you’re going to do,” Daxsen said. “Usually, you’re in the studio, jamming, generating ideas, and thinking about what you want to convey.”
Next, it’s crucial to select which songs from the initial creations align with the artist’s chosen concept for their album.
Another fundamental step is the actual recording, followed by optional steps that are typically undertaken in professional production, such as mixing (the process of balancing and equalizing the relative volume and sound sources) and mastering (the final step of post-production, when the sound is optimized for playback on all systems and formats), as well as designing the album cover.
Here Daxsen considers the most important step, which musicians and producers often overlook: distribution and promotion.
“Once you have the product, the most important thing — more important than having a good cover, a good video, or running the best social media marketing campaign — is having a good distribution campaign. It’s the way your song will generate royalties, reach platforms, be in the right places in the right way, and be properly compensated,” explained Daxsen.
As for promotion, he advises it should be anchored in a solid strategy on digital platforms like Spotify Technology S.A. (NYSE: SPOT) and Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOGL) YouTube, which are the ones that will generate royalties.
“You can have the best content, but if no one sees it, what’s the point?” Daxsen said.
“That’s one of the biggest mistakes artists make. I see artists worldwide who have incredible mastery, incredible recordings. They’ve made music videos investing thousands and thousands of dollars, but in the end, there’s no promotion. Nobody listens to them; they don’t get anywhere,” Daxsen concluded.
Produced in association with Benzinga
Edited by Judy Marie Sansom and Sterling Creighton Beard
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