Chapter 4

The first event I attended as an Intern for Finessed Media was an interview and Q&A with Sean Paine, the head engineer of Gucci Mane’s “Brick Factory” Studios. At first I thought this event would be only for producers, and audio engineers but Alexi assured me that it was going to be worth my time, and as always, she was right.

Sean Paine has a wealth of knowledge, and like everybody I’ve met because of Finessed Media, he was happy to share. Sean talked to us about his humble beginnings, from going to school for finance to becoming Gucci’s right-hand engineer.

Of course, Sean talked about a lot of technical stuff, that I won’t mention in this post, like an NLS Bus and the CLA3A plug-in, and although they weren’t necessarily for me, I know how valuable that could be for our aspiring producers and engineers. For those people, Sean also recommended finding a “recording template” that helps you lock in and work with artists as quickly as possible.

For those of you who are interested in hearing the gems from Sean directly, be sure to check out the Event Replay that we uploaded to our YouTube page. Pay close attention to not only upbringing, but also his reminders about being prepared, and knowing what you’re getting yourself into. Being ready to take advantage of the opportunity is why he’s been able to find success.

For people like me, who are involved in the industry, but are removed from the creation of music, I found his best lessons were about life and the people you meet. Sean reminded us that although getting out there might be hard, getting help is easy. He said:

“Remember, these artists were just like you before they were famous”.

Which really stuck with me. He assured me, and the rest of the audience, that musicians, artists, and industry professionals, are more often than not, excited about giving good people the opportunity to do what they love. So when the stars align, and you meet that artist outside a studio, feel confident in approaching them, because “more often than not”, they’re gonna want to hear what you have to say.

The event with Sean was dope because he also made sure to talk to us about branding and marketing. Even though he was never the one to help push artists, he’s been in the industry long enough to know what to do. He just recently started working with King Cravoo, an artist who was persistent, and adamant about working with him, so he gave him a shot. Now, he’s reminding Cravoo, and us, that keeping an audience engaged is important. He recommends dropping content often enough that people are expecting to hear from you, but not often enough that they lose excitement.

If you feel like this advice is applicable to you, it’s probably because it is.

Sean is the reason I know Finessed Media Events are the best out there. Sean is the reason I’m confident enough to reach out and build relationships with you all. Sean is the reason I’ll be back again next week, and the weeks after that.

Talk to you soon,