Earlier this week, we had the immense pleasure of sitting down with one of the most interesting figures of the entrepreneurial and marketing industry today – the CEO and founder of the Mayes Marketing Agency, Derrick Mayes Jr. himself.
The Mayes Marketing Agency caters to a wide array of small businesses from different sectors, but by far their biggest focus is helping new musicians who are just starting out in their field (though not only) make a name for themselves and achieve the success their talent warrants.
Derrick Mayes Jr has a long and impressive history in the industry, having worked as one of the Marketing managers for Billionaire Minds Build Brands Records in Chicago for many years now, working with various big names on the music scene, setting up campaigns, events and pretty much everything else those big names needed in order to survive and thrive in their respective line of business.
“Marketing was never my first mindset,” Mayes tells us, interestingly enough. “I actually wanted to get into politics growing up, I really wanted to become the president and change a lot of things. I still hope to change a lot of things but from a CEO role the is active in the community. My favorite hobby Is to listen to music and drive, this helps me clear my head especially with being a full time CEO that time away is definitely needed.”
So it was obviously this personal love of music that inspired Mayes on a professional level to actively pursue what he does today, and help musicians make it.
Another thing that has helped Mayes succeed and presumably relate to the musicians he works with is his own history and experience as a businessman. While music and marketing are clearly two different fields, there is no doubt that all professionals (regardless of their field) share some common misadventures, experiences, etc.
“I definitely wish I would have had a stronger branding for my name before I opened my agency. I had to go through a lot of trial and error that definitely could have been avoided by having a stronger name brand,” Mayes tells us. And it’s precisely this personal initial trial-and-error that ultimately helped him become a stronger businessman.
Naturally, anyone needs a strong brand, not just musicians. And as this quote attests, Mayes learned that first-hand, which allows him all that more insight into his clients’ present situation and permits him to work with them to create a lasting name.
His own experiences in the field allowed Mayes to note one or two things he’d change about the music industry and what he’d do to make things easier for the artist. Luckily for us, he was nice enough to share these thoughts with us.
“I wish I could change the fact that major labels thrive off of taking advantage of young talented artist. I know this has been a thing way before I entered the industry, but I hope to educate these young artists through different platforms about knowing they are the CEO of their own brands. All that means is treating your talent like it’s a business and look at label meetings as negations instead of this is my direct out, it’s not always as good as it seems.”
