Shows
Success AchesClayton Blaha - Head of Partnerships @ Audius (Part 1)On this episode, we have Clayton Blaha - Head of Partnerships at Audius. Audius is the leading decentralized music streaming platform. We dive into what “decentralized” means in relation to the current paradigm of “centralized” platforms. Clayton has a long background in music as a publicist at premiere PR firm Biz 3, a manager of the Grammy Nominated artist Matt Maeson and running partnerships at Audius where he’s secured some extremely important collaborations across the music industry in the spirit of pushing forward the adoption around decentralized music. We ran out of time and didn’t get to cover everything w...2022-01-2857 minSuccess AchesThe PivotWe wanted to take some time to talk about this professional shift that's been taking place amongst a lot of people. We keep reading about "The Great Resignation" and the ways that we as a society have reimagined how we work. When thinking about our own careers, we've faced major changes in our business forcing us to rethink and reconsider how we spend our time. In it all seems to be a combination of working from home, traveling less, breaking unhealthy routines and more.2022-01-0736 minSuccess AchesArtist Manager - Kate CudbertsonIn this video, we were lucky enough to talk to Artist Manager Kate Cudbertson. Dropping out of high school at 15 to pursue work in general, Kate’s journey into music couldn’t be more organic. While working at a pub frequently visited by local acts in London, Kate was able to get a feel for a world that she wanted to be a part of. Starting as an intern/festival runner/etc. Kate was able to spin one job into another with zero technical qualification through sheer determination to figure out how to accomplish tasks at hand. Now managing arti...2021-12-231h 12Success AchesPiff Marti - Artist & EntrepreneurOn this episode we have New York’s Best Kept Secret, Piff Marti. Piff is an Artist and Entrepreneur from New York, NY who’s had tremendous growth and success since the beginning of the pandemic. With a dedication to making an impact through the messaging around his music and content, Piff has created a series of DIY videos all shot and edited by himself on little to no budget that have seen real growth and engagement mainly through TikTok. We’ve been fans of what Piff has been building since we caught on. It’s very clear that he’s tak...2021-10-011h 28Success AchesJeremy Hills (President & Co-Founder of Kollective)In this episode, we talked to our good friend, Payne’s former teammate at UT, President & Co-Founder at the new premiere Austin fitness facility titled “Kollective” and private trainer and physical rehabilitation expert to some of the world’s leading athletes, Jeremy Hills. (aka JHills). JHills takes us through his upbringing in Houston where he watched his older Brother rise to being one of the top athletes in the country - receiving D1 offers from every major university, entertaining at-home visits from the world’s top coaches to almost losing it all due to injury to then bouncing back and beating...2021-09-241h 35Success AchesOur Mental Health StrugglesIn this episode, we wanted to dive in and talk to each other about our relationship with mental health. While this is a very "popular" topic, it is a positive one and after having this conversation, we both felt like it's one that everyone deserves to have. During this conversation, we learned about how we have each struggled mentally, give praise to the younger generation for being more open and vulnerable than we felt like ours was growing up and examine our unique patterns when it comes to our internal conflicts.0:00 – Intro 2:51 – Payne’s Background with Me...2021-08-3150 min
Success AchesDerick Okolie - Dreamville VP of Marketing & The Fiends Co-FounderOn this episode, we chat with Dreamville's VP of Marketing and Co-Owner of The Fiends Derick Okolie. Derick's a staple in the Dreamville DNA. Meeting his client, best friend, Dreamville Artist and unofficial Dreamville Mayor Bas at the age of 13 years old led Derick to meet some of the other early Dreamville founders like J. Cole and J. Cole's Manager Ibrahim "IB" Hamad. Over the years, Derick's had to fill a variety of roles outside his normal work scope while representing Bas career and helping build the Dreamville brand. These experiences, coupled with Derick's eccentric brain as a master...2021-08-181h 25Success AchesInventing Amber GrimesOn this episode, we weave through the long and exciting career path of Amber Grimes. In addition to building her own businesses as a promoter, brand marketer, workout instructor and more, Amber has also held positions (some simultaneously) with Reebok, Nick Cannon, DefJam, K CAMP, Mike WiLL Made-It and Spotify. Now as the SVP of Creative at Capitol Records, Amber has become a master at delivering value for the large network of people around her and doing everything in her power to never disappoint. Relying on hustle, determination, manifestation, education and her desire to empower Women, Amber's journey is...2021-07-221h 40Success AchesGoing on the RoadIn this episode, we talked about some experiences going on the road. Payne's done all different types of tours (RV's, sedans, sprinters, tour busses, flying city-to-city) and we took some time revisiting those experiences and the pro's and con's that come with being on the road. Overall it's a unique way to live & work. It can provide a lot of positives (seeing new city's, meeting people and establishing relationships, etc.) but it can also be taxing on mental and physical health.2021-07-151h 04Success AchesBrittany Lewis on Interviewing Kendrick Lamar, Building RapCaviar & Supporting Black Creators w. YouTubeOn this episode, Brittany Lewis takes us through her career path. From attending Howard University where she interned consistently with any company that caught her interest, landing a job with Russell Simmons & getting to interview Kendrick Lamar, J Cole, Lil Uzi Vert, The Migos, Chief Keef and many others, helping create & build Rap Caviar at Spotify and now working at YouTube Music and working actively on the #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund which is dedicated to spotlighting and growing Black creators and music on YouTube, Brittany has paved the way through a passionate commitment to culture....2021-07-091h 08Success AchesReinventing Yourself, Working with PARTYNEXTDOOR & Starting Your Own Label with Julian PeoplesIn this episode, we talk with our friend from Dallas and CEO of "Stay True", Julian Peoples. JP discusses having the confidence to reinvent yourself after already being established in another career, getting to witness special moments while doing Day-to-Day Management for PARTYNEXTDOOR and following his gut to start his own label "Stay True" where he can develop artists and build a brand from the ground up.2021-07-0251 minSuccess AchesFacing our Jealousy & EnvyIn this episode, we dive mainly into the topic of jealousy & envy. We discuss the difference between the two words, which are in fact quite different.Throughout our lives, we've handled these emotions differently. I myself (Troy), used to get extremely jealous. Now, after enough experience with jealousy, I think I've sort of learned how to not place enough value on the emotion. Yet, I suffer from envy.. Payne discusses his battles with himself and going after what he thinks he wants vs. what he wants and the contribution that those thoughts can have on his envy. 2021-06-1154 minSuccess AchesLYINGWe all probably lie in some fashion whether we know it or not. In this episode, we talk about ourselves as liars and our relationship with this slippery action.2021-05-2853 minSuccess AchesBuilding Surf Ghana with Sandy AliboOn our 7th episode we welcome the founder of Surf Ghana - Sandy Alibo. Surf Ghana is an incredible collective that uses the practice of extreme sports as a driver for diversity in education, social inclusion, and the empowerment of the youth. Sandy's been able to start this organization after identifying an opportunity within Ghana that she felt needed real attention and exposure. Through the work of her collective, she’s been able to galvanize creatives in Ghana around Skateboarding and Surfing. About 5 years in, they’ve accomplished skate tours throughout Ghana, occupy a Skate House where the collective has...2021-05-211h 16Success AchesLola PlakuWe had the pleasure of talking with Lola Plaku. Her journey in the music business is filled with diversity at its core. Lola was born and raised in Albania until she was 13 before moving to Toronto where she was able to dive into a multi-cultural city and find her footing within the music business by interviewing some of the biggest names in Hip-Hop. She's continued over and over again to scale her business by genuinely helping artists and their teams. Now living between Toronto - New York and running Lola Media Group (a project consultant/advisor agency) and Girl...2021-05-211h 28Success AchesEGOWelcome to the 5th episode of Success Aches. We were brainstorming some conversation topics and when I said we should talk about our “ego’s”, we realized immediately how little we understand the role that it plays in our lives. It’s scary to think about how often our biggest enemies can be our own selves yet we’re usually unaware that that is the case. In this episode, we examine how our ego’s have misguided us and try to figure out whether they are really necessary at all.2021-04-301h 06Success AchesNFL Alumni & Entrepreneur - Lamarr HoustonOn this week’s episode, former University of Texas and NFL Alumni Lamarr Houston joins us to talk about his journey. From growing up in Northern California where he was constantly moving in with other families, playing high school football in Colorado, getting recruited by the University of Texas, being drafted to the Oakland Raiders, signed by the Chicago Bears, tearing both of his ACL’s and now focusing on his entrepreneurial endeavors "League Venture" & "EZ Vending", it’s clear that Lamarr has had to overcome major obstacles and maintain a positive mindset to sustain his perseverance. It was o...2021-04-161h 08Success AchesRelationships & "Manliness"Welcome to the 4th episode of Success Aches. We’ve both been thinking a lot about who we are as “men” and how our ideas of masculinity and “manliness” have tried to define us and how we view our relationships. This is a topic that we plan on diving into more throughout the show as we continue to explore who we are and our experiences.2021-04-091h 02Success AchesOur Journey Managing Tory LanezWelcome to the 3rd episode of Success Aches where we cover our “Journey Managing Tory Lanez”. We wanted to discuss our personal and shared experiences during our time with Tory. Payne spent 10 years working for Tory and Troy spent 5. We were each responsible for a variety of roles in his career that helped teach us about the music business and what working with an artist is about. As that professional chapter has recently come to an end, we took this opportunity to look back on some memorable moments & lessons we’ve learned from it that we’ll carry into our next...2021-03-261h 04Success AchesThe Intro - Playing D1 Football, Meeting J. Cole, Managing Artists and MoreWelcome to the Intro episode of Success Aches. In this episode we dive into some topics including Payne’s football journey that started in Garland, Texas and continued on to the University of Texas, how meeting J. Cole got him started in the music business and some highlights from his journey managing Tory Lanez, including becoming a writer on the album Chixtape 5. We also dive into Troy’s career journey which includes fighting through rejection to get a job at the world’s largest talent agency – WME, his transition into managing Tory Lanez and now venturing into other music endeavor...2021-03-191h 09
Success AchesThe Origin“It’s cool to hear the come up stories, the dream big quotes - the motivational videos on youtube, but in actuality how does that relate to you? yes YOU listening right now.I know I don’t have all the answers, I’m honestly still trying to get where I wanna be.That’s why I started this podcast Success Aches, my goal is to equip us with the tools and advice to support each other through adversity while we accomplish our definition of “success”.I know my definition of success has changed throug...2021-02-0337 min