Meet Steve Stoute, founder of UnitedMasters

Steve Stoute helped launch the music career of Will Smith, was former manager to Mary J. Blige and Nas, and runs Translation – the marketing agency he founded in 2004. Now the music industry vet is shaking things up with UnitedMasters, a platform designed to help independent artists thrive – no record label needed. We talked to Stoute about his inspiration, motivation, and advice for budding artists.

Steve Stoute: Technology has transformed music for consumers. Now it’s time for technology to change the economics for artists. We’re empowering artists to build their careers on their own terms.

On our platform, artists retain full ownership of their work, connect directly with their fans, and can earn money through new revenue streams that we broker through our creative agency. Ultimately, we help artists distribute their music while providing tools and support to help them maximize their creative and economic potential.

Don’t give up on your craft. If your first tracks don’t break, try and try again. I’ve known some of the biggest stars in the world. They work extremely hard. They don’t rely on the record company to make them stars.

You need to manage every touchpoint of your brand, whether it be your music, the content you create, or what you publish on social media platforms. Social media is the new MTV; how you approach it is extremely important. It’s the most authentic way to engage your fans. That’s what’s going to connect.

We have a ton of exciting artists on our platform right now, who I can’t stop listening to: Tobe Nwigwe has built his business independently with his family and just released the music video for “FYE FYE,” which is brilliant. We’re also developing rising artists like Mavi, Gavn!, Lesane, Ekkstacy – who was recently featured in the Spotify Fresh Finds campaign – and Alex Quin, who is our first Latin artist, signing from Colombia.

This summer we’re launching new offerings including song mastering in partnership with Dolby, Split Pay – which enables artists to share streaming revenue with producers and collaborators – and merch integrations that enable artists to offer products to their fans, all within our app. These new services are just the beginning.

It all comes back to the artists and being on the side of independence. Every day I wake up excited about the opportunity to level the playing field and distribute opportunities more equitably to creators around the country and, soon, the world.

Equitable. Empowered. Independent.