Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Buck.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was born and raised in Memphis, TN with a mother and father who both came from Baptist Christian backgrounds in Mississippi. During the summers my sister and I would spend time in Mississippi with my grandparents including grandfather who was a Pastor, so naturally gospel was my introduction to music. Everything that I do on stage now with my energy and even my vocal style all take root in the church. My mother while not musically inclined would always expose me to different genres of music including punk rock, funk, reggae, country, blues, jazz and the list goes on and on. Eventually I began singing in the choir at church and at school. I began writing songs at 15 and my friends and I would try to form singing groups that we thought could rival the B2Ks and Pretty Rickys of the world who at that time were on fire. Going into my final semester in college I joined a group Mocha Latte and was able to develop as a songwriter and as an onstage performer and we gained a lot of traction throughout Nashville and Murfreesboro Tennessee. When the time came for the group to part ways, I still had so much that I felt I needed to say as an artist. The passing of my grandfather shortly after gave me the extra push I needed to go solo. One day I had a conversation with Kim Ortiz who was a member of Mocha Latte also begging her to manage me. Eventually she agreed and with my own money I was able to release my first E.P. ‘The J.Buck Experience’ and I have not looked back since.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I would say that there are no smooth roads when it comes to the music industry because life continues to happen while you’re in pursuit of success. One of the biggest struggles early on was being able to find opportunities to perform. My manager and I would have to book venues ourselves to have shown and promote on our own to put to build buzz and sell merchandise and CDs. Another struggle was just being naive early on to a lot of tactics that promoters or labels use to exploit artists to where they convince artist to pay hundreds of dollars to perform for the “opportunity” to be signed by a major label. Looking back, I wish I would have taken that money I used to pay to play and just invested in my own marketing team. The biggest struggle as an independent artist is and will always be MONEY. The budget you have available often times dictates how big you are able to go with promotion and even with the production of the music and managing travel when touring. Perhaps the biggest struggle I faced was our European Tour. Having to transport 6 other souls with luggage and equipment overseas and cover the flight costs and lodging was no small feat. With outpouring support of our fans through our GoFundMe, a couple of grants from the city and some maxed out credit cards we were able to pull it off successfully. Even with the struggles that we’ve faced I choose to surrender to the will of God, and when I do that everything comes together as it should. Tough times don’t last, tough artists do.
Tell us about your work – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
J. Buck Music is a music production company that specializes in producing soulful and powerful music. Currently, we have a couple songs that are played on the radio throughout the south ‘Love Me Back’ and ‘L.O.V.E’. What I am most proud of is that I have been able to write and produce three solo projects and release them all independently. And what sets us apart is that we have been able to create content that is both fun to listen to and speaks to the vulnerable side of humanity that the whole family can listen to and enjoy.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me as an artist I define success as being able to say that I have said all that I needed to say with a particular record and being able to hear someone say “listening to this record changed my life”. As a business man I define success as being able to say that we have done all that we could to promote effectively, produce quality product and connect with the people in a positive way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jbuckmusic.com
- Email: prospectivemediamgmt@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram/j.buckmusic_
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/j.buckmusic
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/jbuckmusic
Image Credit:
Jonathan Ford.
Anthony Ferrell.
Clarence Randolph.
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