Brian Thompson was constantly creating music his younger years, practicing rapping in dorm rooms and on school campuses. When he found his life going down the wrong path, his response was always to focus on music.
Brian is better known by his artist name Stealing Oceans. He is an alternative hip-hop artist and a prime example of how to organically grow a following. Brian was once signed to a major label, but the control and freedom he needed for his career could only be found by going independent.
Brian joins us this week to talk about what how he’s grown a fanbase as an independent artist and why he decided to take the leap on this episode of The Big Break.
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Check out Stealing Oceans Website
Show Notes
1:32Growing up in Andover, MA.
3:40Late night rapping in boarding school
4:40Putting together a boarding school music tour with Dylan McDonald
6:19The first album titled “Graduation”
7:11Going to school in Colorado
8:38Getting an offer to go to Denver to do music, but at a cost
10:32Having a wake-up call and recentering around music
12:50Traveling in Sweden
14:11What inspired your move to Nashville?
16:30Did moving to Nashville really help with your understanding of how the Music Industry works?
17:01Connecting with Trey Bruce
18:15Getting a random email from Starstruck Entertainment
20:15Getting signed to Starstruck’s artist development
20:49Did you feel like you were bugging Starstruck when you were emailing them every week?
22:15“Someone is going to get lucky and make the choice to pick you up”
24:41What was that moment like when you got that call from Starstruck about getting signed?
25:46So you got signed after 3 years in Nashville, how were you sustaining yourself before signing?
28:00Did you ever have doubts while you were in Nashville?
29:35So once you got signed, how did life change?
31:48Parting ways with Starstruck
33:12Making the decision to move to Los Angeles
35:17As an independent artist, what are your main ways for generating opportunities?
39:27“Ego is your worst enemy”
41:23What are some of the ways that work best for you for networking?
43:50“You can’t compare yourself to other artists”
47:00So what do you have planned for the future and what’s next?
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