We got to chat today with Bulat from NELA Records. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. We are new to hearing about NELA RECORDS. Fill us in on how you started NELA and what it’s about?
As so many people, during the first few months of the pandemic I had a lot more time on my hands to dive into something new… So I decided I will make more music but I will actually market it properly! No half-assed instagram posts that my new single is coming out, I wanted to learn how to do it properly. This led me to Spotify playlist marketing first and then on to Facebook Ads and now also Google ads. In a matter of a few weeks I had way more of a fanbase than I did in a decade of prior music releases! So I thought there is definitely a service here that I can provide to fellow musicians, who may not have that much time on their hands and ad budget to spend to learn the ins and outs like I did, thus NELA Records was born!
How did you get the idea to start NELA records? What has been your biggest accomplishment but also your biggest win?
The idea was to help fellow artists to market their music but I also have a garage that I use to make music and video content, so why not combine them both under one roof? And seeing as I live in North East Los Angeles – NELA records seemed like an obvious name for the company.
I don’t have that many accomplishments with NELA records yet as it’s such a new company (I’m going to be launching fully in January). My biggest wins are always when musicians I am working with have something cool happen with their careers, whether that’s an algorithmic boost on their latest Youtube video that gets them 400k plays overnight or a sold out show that we set up a Facebook ad campaign for. While these things may seem insignificant for some, to see my fellow struggling artists get a win is my biggest win, I’m always delighted to see it!
It can be a tough world for a new artist out there. What advice can you share?
Be yourself, don’t try to copy anyone else and forget about the idea of being ‘discovered’, that’s a myth. Your pathway to success is not that someone is going to discover you and sign you up to a major record label… your success is building your own music business that has customers (a fanbase) and provides you with enough money to live. Once you’re at this stage labels, managers, promoters etc. are going to be calling you non-stop.
You are also an artist. How do you balance being a business owner and an artist?
Musicians are business owners if they are doing it correctly! Making music is all I wanted to do as a kid and I still have the drive to record music, it’s a very cathartic process for me as I’m sure it is for many musicians out there. The office of NELA Records is a fully equipped music studio and video content creation space, and so making music is always easily accessible.
Where can we find NELA records if we want to learn more?
www.nelarecords.net and @nelarecords on social media
End of Interview