Recap: For the Students Tour with Dre London
Post Malone’s manager Dre London took a day to visit UT Austin and hosted a panel in which he offered his unique insight into the music business and offered advice on making it in the industry.
Written by Cat Pozos
Photos courtesy of Isaac Haze
On October 29, the “For the Students” tour made a stop in our very own Texas Union, in which Dre London held an hour-long panel and Q&A session. He talked about his career, meaningful experiences in the music business, and advice he could offer to those who want to be involved in music business.
London took us back to his early days when his start was that of any other: a love for music. He tells the age-old tale of how buying records and 7-inches with pocket money as a young boy spurred his passion for music. His stage experience can be summed up in one memory: performing with a rap group at a music competition back in high school. A self-proclaimed hustler from the start, London says he always had an entrepreneurial background and found a better fit for himself behind the scenes. His rise to success was a bit informal, as he was kicked out of high school for being an “instigator.” Later, however, London used this same knack for instigating to succeed in the highly competitive field of music.
At the beginning of his career, before streaming services made music easily accessible for creators and consumers alike, London lived in both New York and LA, seeking out the biggest hip-hop scenes in each. At this time, in 2014, someone London knew introduced him to a friend that was living in LA, making a living off of playing Minecraft. This person's best friend, an 18-year-old Austin Post, then flew out to LA to continue his music dreams, thus beginning the story of Post Malone.
“His energy, his humbleness, his whole different character” were what drew London to Post in the first place. London talks about how, when living in a house with Post Malone, Post would change outfits three times a day. This led him to think “that kid was definitely weird,” but the chemistry between them was undeniable. Seeing Post at night drinking 40s and playing his guitar, London was immediately drawn to him, making up his mind to get him the audience his talent deserved.
After this short anecdote, London took the audience through the basics of spotting talent, especially in today’s oversaturated music scene where anyone can become a rapper or produce beats in their bedroom.
“Whatever your dream is, whether its acting, music… no matter what the background even if it's not entertainment, you have to look around the world and see where the major spots [are], where most talent is coming from in that field.”
Local folk singer/songwriter Caelinn Anne attended this panel and shared some of her thoughts.
“The coolest part of it was when he was talking about monetizing your art as a musician, singer, rapper, etc. That's definitely the hardest thing to do in the industry because there is such an influx of content constantly being thrown at everyone all the time,” Anne said.
True to these words, one brave young man in the audience came prepared to do just that. During the Q&A session, he asked Dre London, in front of the entire theatre, if he would listen to his beats. But hey, you can’t make the shot if you don’t shoot it.
Third-year public relations major and aspiring AR Estefania Monrrez saw this panel as an opportunity to learn about the Artists and Repertoire business. “I’ve thought of the possibility of being an AR so I wanted to hear what he had to say about the career and what he did to become successful.” Upon being asked if London’s words did help, her reply made it clear they did. “The whole thing itself was helpful, but one thing that really stuck with me was how he said there’s already a lot of content out in the world and that makes it hard for someone to be successful.”
Other students who may not have already planned on a music career saw this as an opportunity to expand their knowledge of the world and just to take advantage of the free learning experience. Third-year public relations student Abby Goertz was one of them. “I know very little about the music industry, and frankly I just thought it’d be cool to see Post Malone’s manager. E&E has a lot of really cool events that are free and conveniently located, so I make an effort to attend them frequently.”
A common theme London stressed both during the panel and the Q&A sessions was the importance of making connections in the business. Abby Goertz particularly took that advice to heart.
“It really showed me how important connections are. Dre met Post Malone through a mutual friend and because of this casual friendly networking the both entered the professional, highly sought after playing field.”
One of the last questions asked was what London would go back and tell his twenty-year-old self. “I’d tell myself that time is worth more than money and to invest your time in the right way. With friends, relationships, the things you do in your spare time. If you have a goal on who you really wanna be or do something, do it. You put those ten thousand hours in. Make sure it’s in every day of your life, just like eating and sleeping.”
Above all, Dre stressed the idea of pushing through anything to make your way in an industry that doesn’t have rules. There is no “how-to” on making it big in music, since everyone’s journey takes different turns and circumstances. The one piece of advice London could give was that everyone who truly wants to make it absolutely needs to devote themselves fully without hesitations or doubts. His final piece of advice was not to hold back or look at opportunities with doubt, but to go forward believing your goal is possible and within reach.
“It’s not if, it’s when. If you say ‘if’ you're leaving a doubt in your mind. There’s no doubt.”