TALENT IS NOT ENOUGH. DISCIPLINE WINS

Skillionaires Podcast - Epsiode 22

Tarek Majdalani

[Tarek Majdalani]

I still am very passionate about that. So I studied business by playing music with bands. And then all the while, I started producing.

I started producing really early on, like around 2000 or something like that, as a music producer. I was also in radio, of music and media, which just felt like home. They're the largest organizations.

I don't know if I can pinpoint an exact moment in time. When you get that deep into any topic, your interest is flared by other things, this development. So that's the role the label plays.

Pick and choose what I work on, because you have to really want it. Long journey of exploring who you are, what you want, and the confidence that they might lack at some point because something happened. More about how we construct a system that is usable over time for you.

Introduce these artists, Atomic Habits.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Welcome to Skillionaires, the podcast where stories stick and strategies scale. We explore the real stories behind success, identity, and reinvention. Today's guest started his journey in the world driven by rhythm, creativity, and emotions, music.

Over the time, the path involved a lot of research, a lot of research, and into entrepreneurship, leadership, and building something far beyond the stage. Tarek Mashtalani is actually an entrepreneur whose background is rooted in the music industry. And he shaped how he actually thinks from these roots and creates today.

In this episode, we talk about transition, discipline, and inner resistance, and what happened when creativity, identity, meets business reality. Tarek, welcome to the podcast of Skillionaires. I'm happy to have you here.

[Tarek Majdalani]

Thank you so much for having me, it's a pleasure.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Yes, so tell us how you actually entered in this early stages in the music industry. And I wanted to pick a bit of your brain, what did you actually do, where we can find, can we even find all of your music today, and tell us a little bit about that.

[Tarek Majdalani]

Yeah, so I started really early as a kid who was just learning music, and I was very, still am very passionate about that. And so that's what I wanted to do. I had an education on the side, just because I kind of had to.

So I studied business, but yeah, I started early on playing music with bands, and then transitioned to DJing, which I did for a very long while. All the while, I started producing, because I was interested in creating, more than just performing, or playing other people's creations. So I started producing really early on, like around 2000, or something like that, then I got a few opportunities to work professionally in the industry as a music producer.

I was also in radio throughout that time, so from 2002 onwards. And so I was at the intersection of music and media, which just felt like home. I produced a lot of artists since, produced a lot of original music, under different names, and acts, and things like that.

Yeah, and held different positions across multiple organizations in the region, be it music or media, some of the largest organizations. Stayed for a while, held leadership positions, because basically that's what I love doing. It's all I want to do, so.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Oh, okay.

[Tarek Majdalani]

Yeah, and back in October, I just decided to just start my own company, to actually provide the service that I think is missing in our region.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Ah, we're gonna come to this a little later, but before I wanted to ask, when did you feel that there is something beyond music in your doings together? So Tarek, tell us please, where did you feel the first time that there is something more to the music business, or somehow your activities around music, when did you realize that there must be something more kind of entrepreneurial?

[Tarek Majdalani]

Yeah, I don't know if I can pinpoint an exact moment in time, but I think just by the fact of how I was involved in this industry from a very young age, and having naturally gone through different phases, and held different roles and responsibilities, I was interested in all of it, and it was always a question that was in my mind of how can I create value, basically, besides being part of an organization, or employed by someone.

And so that seed was there, I think, for a long, long time. I did a few things here and there along the way. I was producing music for full time for a while, which felt like being an entrepreneur, except slightly different.

But yeah, it was always there, I think it was just about the right time to actually pull the trigger, as they say, because it is a big step, it is scary, and it takes quite a bit of reflection before you actually do something like that.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

I know a lot, and that's why we actually also chose you to be here, because I know a lot of people, and no offense, but to be a musician has always a connection to a certain lifestyle, partying, late get-ups, or early getting into the bed at the day, so yeah, an upside-down daily life, and to have you actually in this job, let's say, put it as an activity or as a job first, in your first doings, has to have a connection with a lot of discipline, and yeah, continuously working on the same direction of your development. How and when did you realize that you are a little bit apart from maybe the mainstream musician that you might know?

[Tarek Majdalani]

Well, that's a great question. I think with age and maturity, kind of, when I was younger, I could do both the day job and the night job, DJing at night and sleeping very little, and just having that. I think at some point, I just wanted a different kind of rhythm.

Yeah, it was the natural progression of things, I feel, with experience, with age, with understanding that you're interested by different things also, because you could be focused on one thing, but anything you get really deep into becomes really fascinating. This is true of anything, really, of music, of woodworking, any topic. And so, when you get that deep into any topic, your interest is flared by other things within that realm, but potentially a different approach to it or a different position in it.

And so, that's kind of what I think made the shift for me from pursuing the artist-performer route versus having something bigger, because that's also a much bigger gamble, even though it works. I don't know, I just, I follow my instinct, basically, as much as I possibly can.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Following your instinct is something that leads me to a next question. In preparation of this interview, I thought to myself, is there not a big identity loss involved when somebody transitions from being an artist, basically, to what's an entrepreneur? I mean, for a lot of musicians that we know they have already their career, might be also something involved like that.

How it was for you, or how it is still for you, because you are still in the process, aren't you?

[Tarek Majdalani]

Yeah, I mean, I don't consider myself to be pursuing the arts right now. I've produced successfully, I definitely have that in me. And I think, for me at least, it kind of helps the approach to business, especially because I do speak the language of artists that I deal with, of producers and all kinds of professionals in this industry.

I kind of speak their language, because I've been on both sides of the fence. I'm an artist, but I've worked for labels. I'm a producer, but also I'm an entrepreneur.

So I think that always kind of gives me an edge, at least in terms of the industry I'm in, and being able to navigate both sides of it, the art and the music, and the technical side of that, but also the business side, and navigating all the understanding of the layers of things you need to understand to be able to successfully launch a company and do all of that in this realm. So discipline is a big part of it as well, yeah, of course.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Yeah, but it impresses me a lot when you say you could actually take on all of your identity as an artist for these artists onwards to your new role as an entrepreneur. Now, tell us a little bit about this today, Tarek. Who is helping with what exactly?

You said you have something that is helping or was missing in the industry. Let us a little bit more, much more put the magnifier on that one.

[Tarek Majdalani]

Yeah, I'd love to talk about that, because it's something I'm extremely passionate about. So I think, I'll give you a bit of context. So having been in this industry this long, and having worked with local and international companies and artists and on different types of campaigns and things like that, you name it, basically, I feel like the industry today, because of everything else in the landscape and how people consume music and the change of format and mediums and all of that, and due to the fact that music as a whole is something that's very dynamic, I feel like there's something that's missing, which used to be done back in the day a lot more prominently, at least.

I'm sure, I mean, I can tell you, a lot of people are still doing it, but not in the same capacity or in the same intensity it used to, which is artist development. So that's, historically, that's a role that's been taken on by the labels, but because of all of those changes that I just mentioned of the industry itself, the role the label plays has become different. The role the artist needs to play has become different.

Artists now have to be a lot more than just an artist. They need to be savvy in many, many domains, whether it's marketing or social media or storytelling, any of that. So that kind of got lost in the middle, that development piece, where an artist can have guidance in terms of actually developing their voice and their career so that it's sustainable.

And that's particularly something I'm very interested in and I enjoy doing. It's very explorative, it's spending a lot of time with an artist, kind of figuring out who they are, how they want to tell the world, what's their message, what do they want to say, why are they making music, and how that trickles down into a finished product, or whether it's a single or an album or any of that is a very interesting process. It's fascinating, actually.

And so because I felt that was missing, and representation in terms of artist management is also kind of missing in our region, yeah, I naturally gravitated towards it because I've been in those shoes. I've led A&R for record labels, I've done producer work on many, many successful singles. So having that understanding and the business component, kind of, and coming from a marketing background, kind of puts me in a unique position of being able to accurately guide or even consult, even if it's not full management, even if it's just consulting an artist on how to make a next step or how to plan for something, is very fulfilling because I get to put my experience to use but also give those artists the space to actually figure out how to put themselves out into the world in a landscape that's very, very competitive, that's filled with noise and how to cut through that noise, basically.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

It is a red ocean, as I'm calling it, yeah, isn't it? So, yeah, you help others to scale, basically, their music career, is that right? But let us a little bit put the magnifier onto how you scale helping others.

Do you have a platform or do you have one-to-many or one-to-one, how is it going?

[Tarek Majdalani]

So the agency still is in its infancy. So I started the company back in October and I kind of really launched in November. But having been in this industry long enough, the word kind of spread quickly, it's a small industry.

So I've been very fortunate of having a ton of conversations with a lot of different artists. And I do have kind of the luxury, I would say, to pick and choose what I work on because it's something that I'm passionate about. I am picking and choosing very carefully just because as well as you can help someone, you can also affect their career negatively if you're not doing what you're supposed to do or if you're not as dedicated as you need to be and all of that.

So for now, it's a core team that I have because I am still involved in every single step of the way with everybody that I'm working with. And I do have different artists in different capacities, whether I represent them fully or whether I just consult for them on specific things or whether I'm helping with marketing or any of that. It's on a case-by-case basis because there's no umbrella thing that works for everybody.

Everybody's different, everybody's in a different stage of their career. And so I have to tailor those solutions and those services to what their needs are. And that's the challenge, but also that's kind of why I think it's worth building this business.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

I think that is a challenge everybody has when starting off a business or being in the business. On one side, you wanted to scale and optimize processes, also lead processes to somebody else, delegate them. But in the end, it is always important to stick to your client, basically, to find out what are the questions of the clients, what are the needs of the clients.

I think this is something very, very important for a founder in any kind of stage of their business to keep the contact to the client base. It doesn't matter how much it feels like kind of micromanagement, you can do everything else, but to have the detachment of your client or towards the client is something that never benefits your business. And I find this is felt on a timeframe of four to six months being actually mirrored in the revenue that you have.

You miss out on customer relation, you miss out on customer retention. Having this not solved and having the client not being picked up right, nurtured right, it always will affect your revenue chain. So that's something very good, I think, that you do.

[Tarek Majdalani]

Yeah, you're absolutely right. And even more so, I think, with artists, because it's a very, it's a bit more personal than dealing with products sometimes or what I assume is the case for faster moving things. And so there's like, artists are trying to put themselves out there, and it's a very personal and intimate thing.

And so contributing to it or participating in it is something that needs to be done with a lot of care and responsibility.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

I have a very controversial question for you, because I'm also a mother, and my son, 25, he's also an artist. He raps, he writes his own beats, texts, and so on. And I wanted to know how you help, actually, your artists when something kicks in that I know very well from the behavior of my son that you have to have a long breath along the way of getting actually to that one meeting, that one deal, or this one breakthrough connection that brings you a step forward.

How you help those artists to stick into their direction? Because on my son, I often fear he's losing it, and he's losing the trust in the moment. And sometimes I even see that he puts his instruments away to tackle normal life.

And I think this is nothing that only happens with one, but it's something like a disease within the artist industry, isn't it? So a lot of artists are basically having great talents, but they don't have the intention to hold on the direction.

[Tarek Majdalani]

I think, yeah, I mean, I wouldn't call it a sickness, per se, but it's something that I think is a natural filter to the industry, in a way, because you have to really want it. I think it's true of anything you kind of wanna be great at. If you wanna be great at something, it's gonna take a lot of you.

You have to put in a lot of it, a lot of yourself into it. And so I think that is a natural filter, in a way, and whoever is able to stick to it and develop is gonna end up having that edge at the end. It's also because it's a very particular thing with artists, but there's something that happens generally, which is that development from the day you start or you think you wanna be an artist until you actually consider yourself having become one is a long journey of exploring who you are, what you wanna say, how you wanna say it.

And then once you get there, a lot of people kind of feel that they've arrived or that the work is done, although that's really when things start, because that's when you're actually on the map and that's where you know who you are, you know all of these different components, and now it's time to kind of push them into the world.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Very good. So you mean you can support them as well on the emotional or mental side to stick into the game?

[Tarek Majdalani]

A lot of this is, yeah, it is that, it is a lot of mental support, a lot of, I don't wanna call it cuddling, but it is kind of surrounding the artist with- Mindset. Mindset and the confidence that they might lack at some point because something happened or whatever, because they poured their heart and soul into a song that didn't really work and they tend to get discouraged. They have to have that voice of reason that they trust telling them, you know, it's okay, we keep pushing, this happens every day, we just need to keep doing it, we need to, you know, giving them that kind of comfort and confidence in the process and in the fact that, you know, they just need to feel supported throughout that journey as opposed to being on their own doing, you know, something without really knowing what or how.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Exactly, one match is broken easy and a whole bunch of matches, if you have a community around somebody who's strengthened your back is something wonderful. Thank you for supporting those young talents or even any age, I think. I wanted to know, Tarek, in the time that we are, in the era that we are with AI, with technology, I bet, I don't even have to ask you, but I bet that it is a big beneficial factor to make some artists that you are scaling, that you are helping into visibility visible.

So what are the main things that you help these artists with as well when it comes to technology?

[Tarek Majdalani]

So I don't know if it's really, I mean, we use technology, obviously we use all available technologies. I don't know if it's really leveraging technology. So I don't think it's technology per se, we do use all technologies that are available to us, but it's more about how we construct a system that is usable over time for these artists, leveraging those technologies into something that benefits them.

So if they're lacking a certain thing in a certain area, then technology would fill the gaps in a much easier way today than it did 10 years ago, even 20 years ago. At the same time, how we use these technologies can be beneficial, but also can have its drawbacks. There's a lot of hype around AI, and while it facilitates a lot of things in the music realm, it is becoming kind of a crutch for certain people that haven't gone through the process and are just relying on that.

So it's about carefully curating a set of technologies that really function to elevate and emphasize and highlight the things that we want to highlight, versus just using technology randomly because it's available. So I think that curation piece, that being able to say, okay, here's what we're gonna do with this technology, here's where we're gonna use AI, here's where we're gonna do so-and-so, is kind of the endgame in terms of setting up an artist for success so that they have that repeatable system that just helps them with the extra responsibilities that they have, be it putting out content or writing or any of the above.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

But all of these technologies that are available are, on some extent, also something that makes the artist maybe suffer and loses out on his rights on his own work, on his own art. And how do you help them to actually find the right platform, maybe, that they can launch their products, their work on, but also then protect them from being duplicated, for example, without even knowing it? In this kind of world, it is almost impossible, I think.

[Tarek Majdalani]

I mean, there are a lot of organizations that deal with rights, specifically. So part of what I do is introduce these artists to these organizations if they don't already know them, if they're not already registered to them. Other than that, it's very, very difficult.

I mean, people replicate things whenever they feel like it. Now, because of everything being digitized and copyright being something that's a bit more straightforward to control, I don't wanna say easy, because it's not really, but there's a lot of underlying technology now that helps you flag things that have been replicated or stolen or whatever that may be. But so it's more about setting expectations, telling them what all of these things mean, a bit of education on all the different rights that they're entitled to, the things they need to understand and how those function and why it's important to set themselves up properly from the get-go.

But I personally don't contribute in that area just because it's an underlying system of technology and organizations that look after this on a massive, massive scale. So it's just about the education on my side and explaining what those rights are and connecting the dots where they're not connected.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Very good. So as a pillar of all of these artists, you are actually taking care of, to motivate them in their actually work to come forward, then you make them visible, connect them with the right people and also educate them with all of the rights that they have around their work. Is that right?

[Tarek Majdalani]

Yeah, pretty much, yeah.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Very good. So on that note, I wanted to actually know a little bit about your own mindset. We have spoken about taking on your mindset from being your own artist, own musician in your own world, but now as an entrepreneur, you are a mentor, somebody who people look up to.

How do you actually bring your own mindset on that level that you are encouraged by yourself or get this strength out for the others? So sometimes when I mentor people, I always think I have to educate myself too, to even help those people. So where do you get this from and how do you deal with this?

[Tarek Majdalani]

So thank you for that question. I think I'm eternally curious. I teach myself all kinds of things all the time, sometimes useless, completely useless things.

I just like learning.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

What useless things?

[Tarek Majdalani]

I mean, let's not get into that.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

How to grow tomatoes.

[Tarek Majdalani]

I mean, all kinds of things, really. And I'm just like that by nature. Now, I do bring that curiosity into what I do just because that's who I am.

But I also think my mindset generally is I'm a competitive person. I like competition. I like pushing myself.

I like figuring out where the limits are. I enjoy those things. And so once you get yourself in that context, having to make a business work and feeling a responsibility towards your clients, who in this case, I don't, most of them are either acquaintances or friends.

So it puts me in a place where I feel responsible as if it's myself. So I always kind of bring all of that mindset into every conversation. Everything matters, every little detail, everything is important as if my life depends on it, and it kind of does.

But it's also because I think I do feel that responsibility and I do feel, with my experience, having seen all kinds of decisions being made growing up in that industry, I do understand the weight of those decisions and the importance of being in the right frame of mind to actually make certain decisions. And I think that's how I also am fair and competent, basically, by putting all of this on the table whenever there's anything to do with the artists I work with. So that's a big part of it.

And I have a family, so that's also motivation.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Yeah, that only speaks for you to be so connected to your clients, actually. And you mentioned to have a family is also something that brings in the motivation. It also can have some challenges as an entrepreneur.

So let me ask what I ask majority of my guests. I wanted to know, in some places, it is, as an entrepreneur, required that you are really giving some speed in your dignity. You maybe work 60 hours a week in the beginning, and despite all of these AI gadgets that you have, might be still a lot of drive required from your side.

How you make sure you take along your family towards this journey that you have for not growing apart? How do you basically do this?

[Tarek Majdalani]

So my wife is very supportive. We have a young toddler, so it's kind of...

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

How are the nights?

[Tarek Majdalani]

I mean, they're great, actually. I get to spend quite a bit of time with them. But having that support also helps a lot, just because there's no pressure.

And I try to be as present as possible, but there is a bigger goal in mind, and that's what really matters. Thinking of the future and of all the things I want to be able to achieve for them more than just for myself is very important. And having a child taught me a lot of patience, which helps with artists.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Yeah, that's true.

[Tarek Majdalani]

It's good to have that kind of patience. And teaching, spending time, not being triggered easily by certain things.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Very good. Tarek, if you had one book that you would... that you find actually very good, but you know, if you wanted to take your wife or your family members around you, who actually defines also your success, you wanted to take them along and you have to make sure that they know the knowledge of this book.

Which book would you make them to read that you have read?

[Tarek Majdalani]

Atomic Habits.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Ah, very good book, yeah. What was your highlight out of this?

[Tarek Majdalani]

Just the, you know, really what we miss understanding is that it's not about making huge efforts all the time. It's just about making small increments every day. Which kind of build up to something much, much bigger than you normally would.

It's a bit counterintuitive. And I read that book not very long ago, a couple of years ago maybe. And it's, yeah, it's fascinating how really it's all about those little things, those, you know, the persistence to do little things as often as possible, as opposed to, you know, thinking in those huge terms of, I need to change so and so and so, I have to spend six months.

It's not about that. It's about the little things that you do daily. So that's my takeaway.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Thank you for letting pick your brain here and to give guidance to some of the artists where we can find you, if some artists wanted to look out of you. I felt like this half hour was just like, boom.

[Tarek Majdalani]

Same, thank you for having me.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

Very quickly, but yeah, tell us where we can find you.

[Tarek Majdalani]

So on Instagram as 251ME or Majdanani Tarek and the website 251.ME. We're gonna make sure that we're gonna put everything in the show notes in the info box here.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

If you see this video, make sure you show and share it with somebody who is in the music industry maybe in a need of having a breakthrough. So thank you Tarek for being here and being a guest. And it was a really good joy to find out a little bit of your path.

Thank you. That was good. Yeah.

[Tarek Majdalani]

Did you like it? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dr. Angela Thomas]

You're good. All right. All right.

Can I pop in? Finish? Finish, hello.