Meet Drew Taffe of NoSpace Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Drew Taffe.

Drew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
NoSpace Productions started as a name I would sketch in my notepads during class in 2017 while I was studying audio production at Temple University in Philadelphia. I didn’t know what it meant or what I wanted it to be but I became obsessed with writing the same phrase over and over again until I realized that I wanted to start a music production company. I began recruiting people to build a team at the end of 2018 but nothing was really sticking until I met a Philadelphia writing/producing duo called Rubber. The duo was looking for an engineer to help record their first two EP’s so I started working with them in the studio every weekend. What started out as an engineering job turned into me managing and assisting them with booking shows, writing press releases, sending emails and more.

NoSpace transformed from simply a music production company to an events, management, and consulting firm over the first half of 2019 as we threw DIY shows across the city and began to build a community of independent artists in Philly. Our focus has always been providing creators of all kinds with the tools and opportunity to not only share their art with the world but profit off of it without having to lose ownership or creative control. We build the team so they can focus on their craft.

As the company grew it became obvious that I had to have a talented team around me so I split the company up with my four friends. Gianni Brown is our lead engineer and tech wizard, Andrew Loper is our head of operations and digital strategist, John Della Franco is our lead producer and production specialist, and Teejay Moore is our head designer and creative director for the brand. I’m the CEO and I describe my job as being the oil that keeps the machine turning.

After splitting the company up NoSpace started catching its stride with numerous sold out shows across the city featuring over thirty artists, a couple of east coast tours with Rubber and continued to expand our community of creators into 2020. Pre-Covid, we had landed our first residency’s in multiple venues as well as a tour to SXSW and back for Rubber but all of that was unfortunately canceled. After coming to the realization that Covid isn’t going away anytime soon, we had to shift our focus to digital strategy and content creation while developing the brand of NoSpace. Our time in quarantine helped us build a solid foundation for our business and we spent a lot of time developing new skills in the digital strategy world that we are excited to use to help independent artists expand their network and land brand partnership deals in the near future.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I definitely would not describe the journey as a smooth road. The main struggle along the way was the constant no’s we would receive from venues, companies, publications, and everyone else we wanted to work with due to the fact that we had no track record. This ended up teaching us how to be resilient and work with what we have but with every win we’ve had there were so many roadblocks that we had to deal with to get there. Not to mention the grueling schedule of working seven days a week as many hours as possible on building NoSpace while also working 30 plus hours a week at restaurant to barely pay the bills.

Having your own company comes with a lot of stress and sacrifices of your time but I believe that enjoying what I do and owning my labor is worth it all.

Please tell us about NoSpace Productions.
NoSpace Productions at its core is a music production, events, and creative consulting firm that specializes in providing artists with a team to help them facilitate the process of turning their ideas into something tangible and releasing it to the world. In its current state, due to the effects of COVID, we specialize in creating and executing digital release strategies for artists as well as working with them on legitimizing their operation. We still are providing music production services but no events for now.

We specialize in recording, mixing, and mastering music as well as throwing release shows for artists. Now we don’t just put together a flyer and post it on IG and call it a day. We are on the streets putting up posters in hot spots, we create a whole digital campaign with the artists involved, and provide these artists with a special focusing event that activates their fan base. We’ve seen this help artists connect with their fan base and expand their community while also seeing increases in social media and streaming numbers.

What I’m most proud of as a company is the opportunity to give people of all walks of life a voice that they may not have had before working with us. Seeing the change in demeanor of these artists after they play a sold-out show celebrating a piece of art that they’ve put their heart and soul into is a special moment. Also, being able to work with artists on music is an intimate experience that I really enjoy.

What sets us apart is the work we put into activating our artist’s fan bases to reinforce that people care and cherish the art that they make. Experience building is also something that sets us apart in live events as well as the content we create for artists for their releases. We create a special moment that is meant to be a celebration of all their hard work and something that helps them connect with current and potential fans.

Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
Some of my favorite memories from childhood were going with my Dad, who’s a drummer, to his band practices and shows. I was so fascinated with the creation and sound of music from an early age which played a big part in my current career path.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://nospaceproductions.wixsite.com/home, https://nospace.biglink.to/dMgX
• Phone: 6107178067
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @nospaceprod
• Facebook: @nospaceprod
• Twitter: @nospaceprod

Image Credit:
Isa Zapata IG: @isa.zapata Website: isazapata.co/

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