Q&A with Meikhel, Founder & CEO of M.E.I. Recordings
Tell us a bit about your business.
M.E.I. Recordings is a music management company that was founded in 2017. We focus on building an artist’s career and establishing a solid foundation, so that the artist can have more than fifteen minutes of fame. Aside from career longevity, we aim to ONLY work with artists that ONLY want to produce quality, awe-inspiring music. Our motto: Music from MEI to YOU that WE can enjoy.
Currently, our roster consists of the talented singer, songwriter, and producer, Cameron Dietz. Since signing with M.E.I. Recordings, Cameron Dietz has garnered attention from celebrities, been featured on various radio stations, and in countless magazines and media outlets including RESPECT, ThisIs50, Singersroom, and Highsnobiety.
We are a company that wears many hats and are currently looking for more talented individuals to work with. We have major news coming soon, so be on the lookout. 2019 and 2020 are going to be one for the books.
What gave you the idea for your company and how did it start?
Well, I’ve always wanted to be in the music industry. Since I was a kid, I wanted to be a rapper, but I also wanted to be a lawyer. Although, I could’ve been the innovator of the rapping lawyer (*laughs*), I figured it would be more beneficial to put the rapping career on indefinite hiatus and focus more on the business, behind the scenes role.
I didn’t know much about music management, but I took an entertainment law class where the music industry and its “branches” were broadly explained. After that, I started reading up on music management more, and realized it was the path God wanted me to walk. I started M.E.I. Recordings during my third year of law school, and a month after it started, I became Cameron Dietz’s official manager.
The M.E.I. in M.E.I. Recordings stands for: “Music. Entertainment. Imagination.” It also functions as a play on my name. I wanted to create something as unique as my name.
What’s your favorite thing about your job?
It is great to be able to connect and network with people that you looked up to growing up. It is also incredible to be able to assist someone else in achieving their dreams.
What are your keys to making yourself productive?
Make everyday count. Everyday you should be spending at least a few or several hours doing something productive. Whether that be exercising, reading, researching, etc., you must push or challenge yourself every single day. It helps to surround yourself with people who are like-minded and goal orientated as well.
Tell us one long-term goal in your career.
I plan to have a big roster of artists who specialize in various genres of music; although, I would also like to expand into different areas of entertainment like managing talent such as actors, comedians, models, etc.
What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned through the course of your career?
I am still learning daily, but probably the most valuable lesson would have to be to remember that it’s business, not personal. Especially when you are first getting started, you can take certain things to heart. Like when you contact someone and never hear back, or when you want to work with xyz and they can’t or aren’t as eager to work with you; it is easy to get mad or take it personal. You have to just be like no worries and move on. There is probably a better opportunity waiting for you to seize it.
What advice would you give to others aspiring to succeed in your field?
Be an optimist, but a realist. Go for it, but also taper your expectations as well. Just because you are 7 feet tall, doesn’t mean you are going to make it to the NBA if you don’t put that work in. Let’s say you do put the work in and still don’t make it to the NBA, maybe there are different opportunities to take like coaching or being an executive. My point is that you should believe in yourself and shoot your shot, but don’t be so blind that you miss out on other opportunities.
What are your favorite things to do outside of work?
Besides music, I like to exercise and play sports, hang out with my family and friends, indulge in video games, television, and movies.
Name a few influential books you’ve read and/or websites you keep up with that you’d recommend to readers.
Well, I’ve never been the biggest book reader for leisure (*laughs*); I’ve always been more of the person who says I’ll wait for the movie. But if I have to list a few books that I found inspiring or enthralling, I would say Buddha’s Brain, The Rose That Grew from Concrete, and All You Need to Know About the Music Business. Now, websites on the other hand are a different story (*laughs*). I follow so many music blogs and magazines, it is actually impossible to list them all. I will just mention a bunch off the top of my head: Billboard, The Fader, The Source, VIBE, Rolling Stone, Complex, XXL, Fuse TV, Revolt TV, Spin, Pitchfork, Hypebeast, Highsnobiety, Rollacoaster, Wonderland, MTV, Clash, Crack, BET, VICE, RESPECT, VladTV, Worldstar, Singersroom, ThisIs50, ELEVATOR, Earmilk, Stereogum, Uproxx, Noisey, Okayplayer, Ones to Watch, Dazed, Oyster, NME, Hunger, Popdust, Popjustice, HotNewHipHop, Tmrw, Notion, and MIEUX. The crazy thing is that is not even 1/3 of the media outlets that I readily keep up with.
Website: MEIRecordings.com
Instagram: @MEIRecordings
Twitter: @MEIRecordings
Facebook: @MEIRecordings
