Kevin Calabro — Podcast — Making It with Chris G.

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The music industry is not a career, it’s a lifestyle. Kevin Calabro is a veteran of the business, whose passion for music connects everything he touches from the way he treats and works with his artists, to how fans experience listening to records. Along with Marco Benevento, he’s the co-founder of Independent Record Label, Royal Potato Family, and also runs the Artist Management and PR company, Calabro Music Media. He works with many amazing artists such as Living Colour, Marco Benevento, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, and many more. In this episode, we talk about the day to day of running an independent label, songwriting, advice for DIY musicians, his philosophy on touring, and much more.

To learn more about Kevin Calabro, visit https://calabromusicmedia.com/ and http://royalpotatofamily.com/.

Highlights from this Episode
[3:38] Early Record Collections
[6:02] The energy behind the music versus the math
[8:15] Current Projects and Background
[10:32] Standing out in a niche market
[15:48] Songwriting for artists in other genres
[20:51] Writing better songs
[23:35] Best practices for social media
[27:22] Creating consistent content
[29:25] Philosophy on releasing more singles
[30:24] Touring strategies for artists
[35:28] Creating a culture and a vibe for a label
[38:23] Choosing to work with artists as a label versus management or publicist
[39:37] The album release process
[43:16] Kevin Calabro’s team
[48:48] Process of filtering through emails
[52:40] Sending emails and getting more responses
[54:45] Getting to know Kevin Calabro
[59:32] Artist Stories

Quotes from Kevin Calabro
“It comes down to being able to stick around and staying in the game.”
“Real artists rise to the top over time.”
“Bob Marley was Jamin’!”
“A good solo in the middle of a generic song, is not going to do a whole lot for anyone.”
“It’s important to keep singles coming out, and dropping little things without having huge gaps in between projects.”
“Content is really important right now, more so than ever.”
“Every artist has their own trajectory of how it’s going to happen, and you just have to be tuned into it.”
“I’m envisioning everybody who buys our records, listening to records the same way I do.”
“Be freaking smart about what you send.”

Links to people, places, and things mentioned
Journey
Styx
Joan Jett
Neil Young
The Allman Brothers
Grateful Dead
Muddy Waters
Howlin’ Wolf
Royal Potato Family
Calabro Music Media
Oliver Wood
Tinsley Ellis
Marco Benevento
Chris Robinson
Grayson Capps
Larry Coryell
Willis Alan Ramsey
The New Yorker
The Office (TV Show)
Corey Glover from Living Colour
Leslie Mendelson
Eric Krasno
Phil Lesh
Marcus King
Aaron Neville
Soulive
Stanton Moore
Galactic
Tipitina’s
New Orleans Jazz Fest