Today we’d like to introduce you to Durell Peart.
Hi Durell, 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?
I got started in the entertainment industry when I was 19 years old in 2004. I grew up in Orlando and I was attending Valencia Community College when my best friend at the time was a part of a local dance crew called H.Y.P.E. (Hottest Young People’s Entertainment) he invited me to come spend time with him at the dance practices. I got the opportunity to perform with the crew during Classic Weekend at the high school battle of the bands in front of 18,000 people. I was born with Cerebral Palsy and I walk with crutches and I love to dance so the opportunity to do something like that was an incredible experience for me.
I knew immediately after that I wanted to be in the entertainment industry as a career but more specifically I wanted to be involved in music because I knew I loved music. I knew that in order for me to affect and help creatives I knew that learning the business side was going to be the way I could make a difference. I was very fortunate to meet my big brother and mentor Lashon “TS” Jones and he was kind enough to take me under his wing and teach me the basics of the music business. I always say how blessed I am to have one of the most forward thinking people to learn from everyday. Lashon and I became partners when I started my first company an indie record label “Brothers For Life Music Group” in 2006. We had a nice group of artists and a solid production team. We all worked together for about two years and then in 2008 Lashon took a job opportunity that would relocate him to Raleigh North Carolina. After Lashon left most of the artists decided to pursue other things except for one named D.Cody. D.Cody decided to stick around and give me a shot to work with him solo and that really began my journey into artist management. D.Cody and I began working on his debut indie album entitled “Us Against The World” which we released in 2010. It felt really good to have an independent release under my belt. D.Cody and I worked together until 2012 when we decided to part ways due to different philosophies on the direction of where he should go next.
In January 2013, I decided to go back to school and embark on the journey of earning a bachelor’s Degree. I decided that the best place for me to attend was Full Sail University. I love Full Sail University because it’s a university with students of like minds who want to pursue a career within the entertainment industry. I ultimately earned a Bachelors Of Science Degree in Entertainment Business. I was also awarded the Valedictorian and Advanced Achiever for my graduating class. Upon graduating from Full Sail I knew that I wasn’t going to be able to move to any of the industry cities where the music business jobs were prevalent due to me having a disability so staying in Orlando was the best option for me. I knew that I wanted to start a company that was more focused on me and the value I could personally bring to new independent artists so that birthed my new company called “Double N Management & Marketing Group in 2015. The Double N stands for N’Courage & N’Spire, I named my company that because I wanted a name that personified who I am and what I stand for both personally and professionally.
Once I launched my company I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with 4 artists (Eella Kane(Pop & R&B Artist, Perth Australia) Mardy Price (R&B Artist-Kissimmee FL), Deli Rowe (R&B, Soul Artist Richmond, VA), & Jean-Dominique (Pop Artist, Nashville TN) to set the foundation and show what I could do in offering certain services via my professional industry network to help each of them expand and build out their music careers. As each of them began to see success I became even more confident that I could continue to do this for more artists around the world. In August 2015, I received an email from a R&B artist named Xavier Keyz from Chicago IL who was looking for artist management and I initially said no because I believe in artist management being all about trust and seeing each other as family. I instead asked Xavier to work with me in a different role so that we could build rapport and trust with each other. I helped him with the release of his indie debut album that he released on December 4th, 2015 called “Monday Thru Sunday”. Xavier sold 300 albums within two days of his release which immediately caught my attention and I then knew I wanted to get behind his career and embark on the journey of helping him build a successful music career.
In 2016 is when I was able to begin establishing my global professional network by attending the largest international B2B conference in the music industry in Cannes France called Midem. I was first introduced to Midem by one of my mentors Allen Johnston. Allen had been attending Midem for 25 years and really encouraged me to go especially with me having the ability to build quality relationships within the industry. During my 2nd year at the conference in 2017, I was able to first connect with my now business partner Ashish Manchanda along with his wife Ujjla Manchanda where they extended my artists and I an opportunity to go to his home country India to participate in their music festival called “Totem Pole” & “The Road To Excellence” music conference. In 2018 I had the opportunity to help curate an independent international music tour spanning several European countries. The tour began in Rotterdam Netherlands which is the host of the largest International Urban Music Conference & Festival called “New Skool Rules. The tour continued with stops in Groningen Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium, & Valencia Spain.
In 2019 I began my relationship with my business partners Sound Republica Inc. in Seoul Korea where I have an international digital distribution deal to release music from independent artists on the Korean DSPs. I also have a distribution deal with my business partners, Tune Afrique in Lagos Nigeria where I release music from independent artists on the African DSPs. I also began my official partnership with New Skool Rules in 2020 where I serve as a festival curator by bringing independent artists based in the United States over to Rotterdam Netherlands to perform on their first global stage.
I have been featured in several magazines for the work that I have done in helping independent artists navigate within the new music industry:
-Brash Magazine “Brash Inspiration Spotlight”
-Urban Grandstand Digital Magazine- “The Power Issue: Cover Story Durell Peart: “Reign Of Independence”
-Urban Magazine-“The Executive Power Segment Presents: Durell Peart”.
-We Are Jersey Magazine Presents Spotlight Feature: Durell Peart, Founder/CEO Of Double N Management & Marketing Group
-Let Us Live Magazine Issue #2: Love Is Power Issue Presents “Let Us Live In Truth” Spotlight Feature: Durell Peart
-Indie Art Magazine Presents: Durell Peart Feature
-Ford Entertainment Magazine Presents: Durell Peart Feature
-IBA Success Magazine- “Men With A Billionaire Mindset” Presents: Durell Peart
-Grinda Magazine Vol. 3 Presents “Durell Peart
I am an advocate for the special needs community being born with Spastic Diplesia Cerebral Palsy. I want to show that people with special needs have a voice and we are productive members of society. I know there aren’t many people in the music industry that are like me and I want to be a trailblazer for those coming after me who want to be in the music industry. I’ve carved out my own path and I’m pushing through no matter what obstacles come in front of me because my passion is what drives me.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road definitely hasn’t been easy. When you are born with a disability there are obviously going to be obstacles that are naturally going to be there and present themselves. One of the obstacles that I’ve had to overcome is the inability of not being able to drive. This has affected me because it isn’t as easy to transport and get myself around to certain places. Also having a physical disability that affects my legs I can’t live in certain places that have snow and a lot of stairs to climb which is a big reason in why I knew I couldn’t live in places like Los Angeles, Atlanta, & Nashville which are big industry cities that have a lot of the business related jobs within the music industry. Even though the road hasn’t been easy I have fully embraced what is in front of me and have always made it my business to make the best out of the cards that I was dealt in life,
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My business is an independent artist management, marketing, and consulting agency, The Double N stands for N’Courage & N’Spire. I believe that Double N is the epitome of who I am both personally and professionally. I also love the name because it’s often a conversation starter for people who have an interest in what I do. I specialize in music promotion, artist/brand development coaching, and international digital distribution.
I feel that I am known for providing knowledge that helps independent artists navigate their way through today’s music ecosystem. The core of my brand message is that I believe indie artists should focus on building a core audience that can develop into becoming a micro economy that allows them to make a living without the need of a record deal because I believe not every artist is best suited to be on a commercial record label especially if they don’t make commercially viable music.
What sets me apart from others is that I have a genuine heart to help creatives. I’m often told by my industry colleagues that there aren’t people like me in the music industry because this industry is a cut throat where no one really cares about seeing people succeed and I most definitely want to see the artists that I’m fortunate enough to work with be very successful especially on their own terms.
I am most proud that I have built a brand of integrity and that I have a brand that is respected by those who know me. The key to knowing if you have a brand that is solid all the way around is that when people connect with you online the experience is the same when they connect and meet with you offline.
I want your readers to know that my brand is one that you can trust to deliver what I say I’m going to deliver. I always tell my consulting clients that I will never guarantee that you will be successful but that I will give you the tools to be successful if they put in the work. I absolutely love coaching artists because I feel that education is often the missing link for those who really want to be successful in the music business. I often tell indie artists that there is a difference between the music industry, the music business, and the business of music. I see so many artists chasing the music industry and not understanding that they don’t need the music industry to be successful in the music business as long as they understand the business of music.
I want those who work with me to know that I value each one of them. I build relationships with the intention of building with them for the long term. I like to say I don’t like to do any deals that are just one time opportunities instead I care about having the ability to be call people that I’ve known for 20 years and still make things happen because of the trust that has been built.
For those who want to connect with me directly to inquire about working with me can shoot me a text message @ (407)326-2352.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
I definitely see the music industry continuing to evolve. What I think most industry professionals will tell you is that our industry changes so quickly and often. One big shift that I see happening is what the traditional record deal looks like when it comes to major record companies. For the longest time most record deals were focused on how many albums that an artist was required to deliver over the duration of the record contract. I see labels moving in the direction more of how many “masters” must be turned into the label. The reason for this is because artists now will drop a bunch of EPs before they drop an official full length album.
I work with majority indie artists who will never sign to an indie or major label. There are over 8 million independent artists around the world that consider themselves to be professional and there are less than 10 thousand people signed to some kind of label. When I analyze that information what that tells me is that the only way for most independent artists to survive they must make it a priority to build a core audience that will provide them a “micro economy” that will consistently consume and purchase their offers. This is also important because it will allow many independent artists to achieve success on their own terms which I believe is extremely important when it comes to staying confident and continuing to pursue their dreams and goals.
Contact Info:
- Email: durell@durellpeart.com
- Website: https://durellpeart.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/durellpeart/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/durell.peart.am
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/durellpeart
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1o2lIwYpVuMNUs_c2yRZg
Image Credits
Jhonn De La Puente
Joshua D. Guiles
