Today we’d like to introduce you to Douglas Young.
Hi Douglas, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
This music thing kind of landed in my lap. My nephew Renzy808, who is my producer started it all. He was making beats from his laptop and working with a few artists in Hawaii. He called me one day to talk about what was going on with him and his beat-making progression and during the conversation, he stated that people were offering to pay him for his beats. I told him to start his own business so that he could set his prices and make some real money from his beats. Needless to say, he didn’t and continued to work as a producer. About a year later, Renzy808 moved to Atlanta and started attending the Atlanta Art Institute. While in one of his classes, he was playing around with a beat he made and another student who was a rapper, Vincent Maddox aka SnapKooln, started vibing to it. They started working in the school’s studio together and made a song. Renzy calls me and tells me how they made a hit. He plays it for me and I was really impressed with the song and its quality. I told him that since he wasn’t going to start his business, I’d go ahead and start it so that he can be official with everything. Myself, Renzy and Snap ended up starting a music label Got Ta Know (GTK) Enterprizes LLC. This was back in 2015 and since then, we’ve signed four artists to the label and built our own studio, FlyHi 808 Studio, in Atlanta.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a very rocky road with ups and downs. Unfortunately for me, I’ve had to learn a few hard lessons that cost me some nice change. There are a lot of sharks out there and everyone is “connected” in this industry and looking to make money off of you no matter what. People always overpromise and underdeliver when it comes to what they can do or who they can connect you to. Nothing is free and you have to pay for everything. It’s really a dirty game and I’ve learned why they call it the “game”.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
So my background is in the corporate world. I have a BA in Mathematics with a minor in Physics and a Master in System Engineering. I’ve been doing Systems Engineering and working with computers for over 20 years. I’ve now been in the music industry going on seven years now.
For my label GTK, I handle all of the business and growth aspects and I do most of the management when it comes to our artists. In the seven years we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with and land placements featuring Chris Brown, Tre Songz, Ne-Yo, Ty Dolla $ign, Yell Beezy, etc… And we’ve now worked our way into landing Sync placements. Although we’re still small and independent, we’re keeping our noses to the ground and continuing to grind through it all.
What matters most to you?
The success of my artists and my business are my top priorities. Ensuring my artists aren’t being taken advantage of and building a company that truly has the “employees'” best interest and working to have a company that is established as a major label and corporation that also sets up its artists for success outside of them making money. My goal is to have a music label that offers benefits for its artists, 401k, health insurance, and a plan that allows them to either continue working in the industry as a manager or even an exec for GTK.
This is important to me because having a corporate background, I see how employees are viewed as expendable and decisions are usually made to solely benefit the company with no regard for the employee. I also hate seeing how artists are used and then thrown to the streets when they are viewed as no longer valuable or a moneymaker for the company.
Pricing:
- $65/hr for recording
Contact Info:
- Email: douglas.young@gtkenterprizes.com
- Website: http://gtkenterprizes.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gtk_enterprizes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GTKEnterprizes
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/gtk_enterprizes/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GTKEnterprizesLLC
