Every week, members of the Dark Label Music community ship work, sign artists, and close deals. These are their stories — unfiltered, shared in their own words.
This song I produced for one of my best friends just passed the 1,000,000 mark on Spotify! Excited to see where things go from here and really proud of her success with this record 👏https://open.spotify.com/track/5PT996RGwH4wDp6Ui92yDz?si=06255f3164004fd7
May '23@Imad Salhi Thank you!!
May '23Congrats, that's amazing! The song is sick
May '23@Fraser McKnight Thanks for checking it out!
May '23@Aaron Ferrucci Hey thanks Aaron!!
May '23Congrats John!
May '23@Kevin Michel Thanks Kevin!
May '23@Zach Zube Really appreciate it Zach!
May '23@Marissa Moore Thank you Marissa!
May '23Congratulation brother!
May '23@Jeremy Cornellier Appreciate it man!
May '23@Jeff Thompson Thanks Jeffrey I appreciate that!
May '23Major congrats
May '23@Hänz Nobe Thanks Hänz!!
May '23Huge win man!! So dope. Cool tune as well. Love your use of space and layers.
May '23@James Littier Much appreciated James, thanks for checking it out!
May '23Congrats John! That’s an awesome milestone.
May '23Ayyyeee!! Big congrats John!!
May '23@Chris Georgiou Thanks Chris, appreciate you listening as well!
May '23Frickin NAILED IT
May '23DUDE!!! DUUUUUUUUUDE!!!!!! Go Johnny Go!!!!!! Gimmie Moa Dis!!!
May '23@Matt LeSueur YOOO thanks Matt!
May '23Song is a banger too!! Love it
May '23Huge congrats!! Excited to have a listen ☺️
May '23That's huge! Congrats!
May '23@Nick Honchar Appreciate it Nick!!
May '23Congrats my guy that's huge!
May '23@Philip Davidson Thanks man!
May ' 🤩 congrats! 👏
May '23@Kensaye Russell Appreciate that!
May '23@Daniel Grimmett Thanks Dan! This was a fun one haha
May '23@Yann Marchadour Thanks Yann!
I started doing outreach just over 3 weeks ago and have managed to connect with a bunch of cool artists and land 3 proof sessions so far! I'm actually finding it really enjoyable just talking to people in the music world. I've never really sent voice messages for anything haha but I feel like they are really fun when meeting new people and are far more engaging for both the artist and myself. Grateful for everyone in this group as seeing all the posts really helps motivate me, so cheers!
May '23@Konner Scott Thanks Konner!
May '23Dude, well done! That's no small potatoes- you have a knack for this!
May '23You smashed it man, great work
May '23Congrats, Chris! Keep going 😎
May '23@Kensaye Russell Thanks Kensaye!
May '23@Nick Honchar Cheers Nick!
#wins Just locked in a brand new client. We had been following each other on socials for a few months. I reached out the other day and the timing worked out perfect! We're starting with one song to see how it goes. She sounds like she wants to do multiple this year if everything goes well.
May '23@Jesse Shirts Good to hear!
May '23Awesome Jesse! Building this thing brick by brick...
May '23Big ups bro 📈
May '23👏 Congrats my guy!
May '23Les Go!
May '23@Daniel Grimmett I actually used a few things we had talked about on our last call! Was super beneficial!
Following up on the other days win, I sent over a demo for a remix to the artist and they liked it and they even wanted to do 2 remixes! I offered $600 for both and they were down! This is the first money that I have made from online producing so definitely a huge step since starting Dark Label! Thanks for all the advice, help, and encouragement from this community!
May '23Congrats Luke, well deserved!
May '23@Daniel Grimmett Hey first one with producing!
May '23Huge win man!! Up and Up!
May '23My man got his first music paycheck. Nice one Luke! Way to follow through. Now it's just redundancy and tweaking.
May '23This win is probably the most important one ;) Congrats!
May '! my man!
May '23Dude this is so sick !!
May '23Lets acronyms speak where professionals meet.
May '23Let's go bro! I just got to the Outreach part of the library today and I can't wait to get started with putting it into action
May '23Awesome, Luke! Huge win!!!
May '23Congrats, Luke! This is incredible, I remember how my first sale felt like 💥
May '23Awesome work Luke!!
May '23Well maybe not first ever music paycheck but you know what I mean :)
Yo! Great news! I've been working with Dark Label since about November, and after months of learning and working on my business, I just got my first deposit from a client. Thanks to Dan, James, and everyone in the community who's helped me so far. This is my first full production job ever (mainly worked as a musician before this), and this is probably the best, fairest rate for my services that I've ever received. The client is also a badass who's super talented and business-savvy, basically my b... See more
May '23First one of many! Hats off to you for sticking to the process and trusting in yourself. Now it's just a game of repetition. You know that you can do it once so you can do it 10-12 more times and have a killer business. Congrats John!
May '23Amazing news! The first of many :)
May '23Amazing work man. Congrats :)
May '23Congrats, John! Keep going!
May '23Heck yeah! Let's go!
May '23amazing! Great job!
May '23Congrats, John! That's amazing!
May '23Congrats man!
May '23Way to go, dude! This is great news 🗞️
May '23Big congrats @John Bochnowski stoked for you man!
May '23Congratulations, this is sick!
May '23Sickkk thanks for sharing this win!!
May '23Congrats! 🎉 This is super inspiring.
May '23Congrats!!
May '23So stoked for you john!!
May '23Let’s go baby!!!!!!!
Today I just had my first casual call with a band! Since beginning Dark Label I have had a lot of anxiety about putting myself out there on the internet and reaching out to people! I didn't think they would take me seriously or pay for my services. Thanks to @James Littier I put myself out there to offer a casual call to some people and just got off zoom from my first one. Seems like nothing crazy but it was a huge win for me and mindset win! They were interested in what I do and seemed most int... See more
May '23YES SIR!!!! That's what we love to hear. Regardless of the outcome of this particular situation the mindset is the biggest takeaway here I think. People are absolutely going to take you seriously and are more then down to chat about what you do and they will without a doubt pay for your offer!!! Keep it up and keep goin! Huge win man. Thanks so much for sharing! You're killin it @Luke Kondak
May 'essss.... huge mindset win for sure. I feel you bro
May '23Hell yeah, keep going!
May '23Amazing! Congrats man
May '23My man, that's awesome!!! That's a huge win for sure!
May '23Luke for the win!!!! Gimmie mo wins and mo winnnnnnnns!!!!!
May '23Love it Luke! Nice job. That's a big big step in the right direction dude!
Hey guys, I've been giving outreach a proper stab this last month and it was quite challenging. I did however try different approaches, types of artists (how many followers, genre, etc...) and narrowed down to something that worked for me. I managed to get 3 proof sessions towards the end of this week (finally!) and these were really organic, and I genuinely feel excited to work with these artists. 2 of those dudes I didn't even have to offer anything as they checked my profile and liked my vibe... See more
May '23Congrats man, that's great!
May '23Congrats man, that's huge progress! Been struggling with consistency a bit for the past week too, just gotta come back to it again and again!
May '23So you’re saying @Nick Honchar helped you @Kensaye Russell ?? I just knew Nick was a solid bro. Not surprised at all. Proud of you Kensaye!!!
May '23@Nick Honchar Yeah man, it's a numbers game. Not just in terms of getting somewhere but also for the mindset and rejection etc...
May '23Congrats my guy. I’m almost there, just gotta secure the dates with people for proofs.
May '23@Philip Davidson Nice one Phil.
May '23@Daniel Grimmett Thanks Dan! Getting there, slowly but surely
May '23@Chris Sutherland Just making a beat, not working longer than an hour on it. One has sent me a voice note with a melody, the other has sent me a few references of tracks he likes. I'm still working out how to go from there and move to an SSF... This is my next challenge. I'll update you on how this goes 😊
May '23Nice progress Kensaye!
The past week I had 7 proof sessions plus 1 returning client that went straight to the proposal stage. For me, some have been true proof sessions and some "proofs" have just been studio meet and greet with a little studio tour. 5 of the 7 proof sessions lead to sending them a proposal already. The other 2 went well and will probably move forward soon. So here's where those 8 clients and I are at right now 2 proposals have already been turned into a signed contract, each for singles. The returning ... See more
Apr '23Dude!!!! That’s so dope!!! That’s what I’m talkin’bout!!!
Apr '23@Matt LeSueur
Apr '23Fantastic results, Nick! You inspire me!
Apr '23@Nick Honchar thanks dude! but i must say thanks to @Daniel Grimmett with these techniques! game changer
Apr '23That's amazing! Congrats man
Apr '23@Fraser McKnight thanks!!
Apr '23Amazing results, Nick! Keep up the incredible work, this really inspired me to grind harder 🤘Out of curiosity, what kind of proof sessions did you have with the clients who you'll work with remotely? With those who didn't have a chance to visit your studio? Some sort of mix or collab?
Apr '23@Denys Rybchenko One of them I was able to just use my past work and talking with them to sign on. Another one sent me a session file for a demo they made in logic and i did a quick hour or two of production just focusing on the first verse and chorus. Another one had their current producer send me stems and i did the same kind of thing
Apr 'eck yeah! 🔥
Apr '23Congrats brother!
Apr '23The potential 5th win was just signed!
Apr '23@Nick Warner
Apr '23Happy for you bro! What was your swipe to qualified client ratio lol give or take
Apr '23First week or so was around 30% of those who I reach out to turn into qualified conversations. Been getting a little better each week 40-50% now. - that’s out of the people I reach out to. I probably swipe “no” on half to begin with though
Apr '23@Nick Warner Gotchu thanks
Apr '23 (edited)Dude that’s awesome 😎 motivation for us all to continue to sharpen our skills and push beyond our perceived limitations! Also, I’ll have to check out vampr that’s the first time I’ve heard of it
Apr '23Incredible! You smashed it. I guess hat answers my previous question about Vampr. Well done man
Apr '23Nice work Nick and thanks for sharing!
Apr '23@Aaron Ferrucci thanks man!
Found my confidence going into my calls with potential clients. It's been a journey but thanks to James, Aaron, and Dan I have a completely different mindset with how I approach my offer. It's the small things that build up over time that lead to success. Mindset is everything so highly suggest doing an audit on what's working and what's not working internally.
Apr '23Glad you have this experience man, keep going! 👾
Apr '23Glad it's paying off!
Apr '23100% Yep. And we've noticed the shift in ya man. It's funny, mindset is one of those things that ya don't realize it until you realize it and then you realize it's 90% of everything lol. How we think about something determines how we act on it. Best 'business hack' in the world.
Apr '23Love to hear it man! Mindset is so so important.
I just have had the most surprising follow-up call! During the sales call, the artist was very hard to convince, so I was expecting the follow-up call to be just as tough. But surprisingly, the artist said right away that he had made the playlist I asked for. I reminded him that we were supposed to discuss whether or not we would continue working together, and then he quickly confirmed that he was okay with it. It was so easy that it felt like a dream! And get this - we didn't even talk about the price!
Apr '23Right on! What's the project?
Apr '23@Daniel Grimmett Music production for a disco/pop track!
Apr '23Awesome, congrats man! Moments like that makes you want to keep going even more. 🤠
Yesterday locked in my first "Momentum Model" client. I thought I wasn't ready to pitch it, but I just went for it, and this process seems like a game-changer both for me and the client. Main takeaway: just go for it even if you don't feel confident.
Apr '23👏
Apr '
Apr '23Heyyyy that's a big one - nice job Nick! Consistent income ftw.
Just got hired to produce a 7-song album!! It's for a singer who's trying to transition from the a cappella space into the pop singer-songwriter space. This is my first full-length project, so riding the high of a big win this morning!
Apr '23So happy for you !!1 Congrats and may more to come your way!!!
Apr '23Right on Konner!
Apr '23Such a huge win! Congrats!
Apr '23amazing congrats Konner!
Apr '23So exciting! Nice man.
Apr '23Thank you everyone!! 🙏
Apr '23Amazing! 👏
Apr '23Congrats on the full length album!! To the first of many!
Apr '23Heck yeah 🔥
Just won a project for a one-track production and mixing, for double my usual rate, It's with an ex-student in my music tech classes. Funny because I went through the process regardless but I subconsciously assumed he wouldn't have the money (being young and a student and all) and it wouldn't work out in the end. I was so wrong! He didn't bat an eyelid when I mentioned the fee and we're going ahead with it. The moral of the story: make no assumptions!
May '23@Imad Salhi Let's get it!
May '23@James Littier thanks @James Littier 🙏
Apr '23@Chris Sutherland Thanks Chris
Apr '23Assumptions kill the process! People who really want it can often surprise us.
Apr '23@Jeremy Cornellier indeed!
Apr '23Thanks for sharing thats a great reminder
Apr '23Nailed it! Keep going
Apr '23@Nick Honchar Thanks mate!
Apr '23So good man! Way to get after it!
Apr '23Nice one Kensaye! Important lesson for sure.
May '23@Fraser McKnight Thanks mate
May '23Congrats!
May '23@Philip Davidson Cheers Phil!
May '23Great going Kensaye!
Just had a little virtual "plaque party" with @Mark Eckert so give him some kudos. Nice work bud!
Apr '23So dope!!!!
Apr '23🥳 🎉
Apr '23@Daniel Grimmett you ain’t gonna do this to me.Mark, dog, lead by example, please! 🤦🏼♂️
Apr '23Making big moves over there! Lol nicely done @Mark Eckert
Apr '23 (edited)Congrats Mark!!! I’m tryna get like you!
ok this has been a huge breakthrough for me mentally. up until now, i've dreaded doing outbound. it was emotionally exhausting and opened me up to rejection (something i have a hard time handling). last week, i had a major discovery: subconsciously, i didn't really want to help the artists i was reaching out to. i didn't want to tell the stories they were telling, and i didn't truly believe in them; most of their songs were antithetical to my faith, which is the core of my identity, so i wasn't ... See more
Apr '23@Daniel Grimmett i agree. and if i don't wholeheartedly want to help you tell your story, i'm not going to give you the best that i could, and that's doing both of us a disservice
Apr '23Happy for you dude!
Apr '23@Denys Rybchenko I can relate to that. I can't relate to songs about violence and negativity, not judging, it just isn't my experience/vibe. So it's been tough being genuine and really supportive without being inauthentic with certain artists
Apr '23That's incredible, man! I can 100% relate to that as I faced the same issue when reaching out to rappers whose music and lyrical content didn't resonate with me at all. I couldn't understand what was wrong and why every reach-out felt like I'm battling with myself lol. Although, approaching people whose music resonates with you is HUGE!Thanks for bringing this up!
Apr '23@Matt LeSueur thanks man! this is a big one for me
Apr '23@Isaiah English For sure and there's someone for everyone.
Apr '23 (edited)This is HUGE and something that is rarely talked about in the music business. And knowing you personally, I know that there is no judgement of anybody on your side. But yeah man, we gotta resonate with the people we work with as music professionals (ideally). That'll look a little different for each producer in here (we all have our own unique values, beliefs, etc.) and I think it's a cool topic to discuss.
Hey guys, yesterday I did my first Sales call with a previous client who reached out about some work. I didn't go through all of it because I was nervous this artist would be weirded out by this new approach, which hasn't been the way we interacted like so far. But by the end of the conversation she sounded super grateful and keen to get started, almost felt like she had a new found respect for me. It was magical! I also managed to propose other services (that I felt she needed!) on top of what she requested. So all in all a great experience. You just have to dive in basically!
Mar '23@Kensaye Russell Glad to hear it! How did it go?
Mar '23@Imad Salhi 🙏
Mar '23@Aaron Ferrucci Thanks Aaron!
Mar '23@Symeon Shawn Thanks Symeon
Mar '23Thanks my guy! It used to be always via messages. Very transactional. I realised even though I had worked with her on a few things, I didn't know her and her goals in music that well at all. This was an eye-opener. It was far from perfect but got me excited for the next calls!
Mar '23Congrats, brother 😁Can't wait to test out this new approach as well!How did you interact with her earlier though?
Mar '23Dominate 🔥
Mar '23Ayeee nice bro keep it up!
Mar '23@Tyson Porter Means a lot man, thank you
Mar '23congrats dude! this is something i'm working at too. it's encouraging to see you overcoming that obstacle
Mar '23@Isaiah English Dive in! As I said, it wasn't perfect and I still feel I need to overcome some mental blockages but it's work in progress. Let me know how it goes for you
Mar '23Congrats, man! Had a similar experience yesterday, I just love when the artists lights up and becomes excited to work after you take the leadership role, figure out what kind of problem he/she faces, and outline the proccess of solving those problems. Keep it up!
Mar '23@Nick Honchar Yeah man, it's exactly that! Congrats to you too bro. Exciting times!
Mar '23Amazing, congrats man!
Mar '23@Fraser McKnight Thanks bro, and thank you so much for helping me yesterday, I did another one today and used all your tips. Super helpful!
Mar '23Nice work man!
Mar '23Heck yeah!
Mar '23@Jesse Shirts Following your footsteps bro!
Mar '23@Cerandon Emanuel 🙏 that's the plan
Just locked in a new client (work of mouth) for a single at double my previous rate. Potential for more songs in the future as well.
Mar '23@Tyson Porter Thanks!
Mar '23Big ups 📈
Mar '23@Guhan Aravinthan Thank you!
Mar '23@Daniel Grimmett Exactly!
Mar '23You're an inspiration!
Mar '23@Kensaye Russell glad I can inspire. I have a long ways to go till I'm where I want to be. One step at a time though
Mar '23Love to see it bro!
Mar '23Awesome!!! 👏🏻
Mar '23@Matt Cordasco 🙏
Mar '23Gotta love some word of mouth! You're also going to love these double rate projects... Same/more money but with half the work.
Just locked in a 15 song deal with a previous client. Charging double what I had previously charged him before.
Mar '23@Jesse Shirts Right on!
Mar '23@Fraser McKnight Thanks!
Mar '23That's huge! Well played man
Mar '23@Daniel Grimmett song by song worked best for them in their current situation. So that's what we agreed to!
Mar '23@Jesse Shirts Absolutely smashed it.
Mar '23@Kensaye Russell Thanks man! This is the biggest deal I've done to date. I've been in Dark Label literally one month today 🎉
Mar 'amn, you're killing it
Mar '23Big one! How are ya structuring the payments? Song-by-song? Momentum model?
Hey y'all! Just wanted to share a big win... as of this morning, I've officially locked in a project I'm super excited about. I get to produce a single for a dope singer-songwriter (at twice the rate I've ever charged before!), with an album to follow if all goes well. Do the work... it works!!
Mar '23Congrats man!
Mar '23@Nick Honchar Thanks Nick, I appreciate it! 🙏
Mar '23@Daniel Grimmett Thanks Dan.. and thanks for all your support! 🙏
Mar '23@Aaron Ferrucci Thank you! 🙏
Mar '23Nice work!
Mar '23Nice work @Konner Scott! And thanks for sharing!
Watching through the live stream you guys did with Aaron last Sunday before I post the reply. Man... You all are a talented bunch. Pumped to see everybody grow even further!
Mar '23It was a good one! Nice to see some faces and to hear the dope productions!
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