Finding His Voice and Niche. The Artist’s Mindset

Cody defines himself as a producer but also very involved in the contractual and marketing side of the music business. In the beginning of Cody’s recording career, he produced for a lot of artists who were just starting out and learning the trade.

What I learned, though, was my passion—was helping others finding their voice, their sound. I was helping people make beats and helping them with recordings, engineering, mastering.

To find your voice you have to help understand the importance of recording, mixing, mastering and then working on the composition itself. Cody states that without those four components working together you cannot be successful. Your voice, he asserts, is the combination of all those principles, and that is why you have to be a good engineer to be a successful producer. Also, he posits that the best producers have the technical musical training required to help others develop their own style. According to Cody, every musical genre is a language, and we all speak a language to help us connect to those around us. Music is no different; every genre is it is own language, and you have to deeply immerse yourself to understand and make a difference.

Collaboration. For Cody, collaboration is one of the most essential elements of music-making. When he signs an artist, one of the things he looks for is their willingness to respond positively to critique. Furthermore, he states there is a direct correlation between inexperienced musicians and their inability to respond to feedback. The best artists, the ones with the most experience in the studio, seek out advice; they understand the need to get differing opinions. He further states, those kinds of artists walk into a studio with a strong sense of their abilities yet are willing to flex and push themselves to find the new.

My expertise is working with others to help them understand their brand and to help them find their niche. You have to help them find what works for them, what brings them energy and joy.

For Cody, he begins at the end. He helps artists design their own goals for distribution and performance then helps them identify the road map needed to achieve this goal. Sales and social media presence are of paramount importance to him and to his clients.

The Artist’s Mindset. One of the topics Cody spoke about with intensity was the need for music programs in schools. His reasoning for music education was slightly different than what I had heard before. For Cody, music is an emotional outlet and he believes that students need to be taught how to be artists, that music programs should focus on the mental preparation required to express oneself and subsequently the emotional ups and downs and that often follow the creative process.

Cody’s value of music education focused on providing an outlet for artistic expression, but more importantly emphasizing the sociological and psychological aspects of the creative process. Last, he stated that the best thing we can do for young people is to prepare them for the difficult moments in creating, to help students self-assess and diagnose their frustrations. Cody states that if he had been given these opportunities to be musical and express himself, much of the angst and difficulties he experienced as a teenager could have been avoided.