In this interview spotlight, I chat with singer/songwriter/producer/DJ Jesse Neo about his new service Gemtracks (a service to find exclusive backing tracks and instrumentals for your projects).
Find the full Q&A with links below.
What motivated our inspired you to launch Gemtracks? Are you an artist and/or producer?
Before I was an artist and a producer, I was a computer programmer. However, after getting interested in EDM, I decided to enroll myself into a music production course and then realized the technicality involved in engineering music was very similar to computer programming. So that’s when I decided to be an artist and a producer. Now that I have establishes myself as an artist, I want to go back to my roots as a programmer, and that inspired me to launch Gemtracks. This way I can combine both of my love into one thing.
How did you get started in music? When did you decide a life in the music biz was something you wanted to pursue?
I started music when I was very young. I think I was around 7 or 8 when my parents enrolled me into music classes after school. As I grew up, not only did I listened to classical music, I also fell in love with pop and dance music. At first, I wanted to work in IT, but seeing the similarities between music production and programming, I decided to do the latter. And that’s how I got into the music biz.
You also offer informative guides through Gemtracks.com. What led you to offer insight and advice to others?
I want to make Gemtracks be an educational resource and support hub for those new to the entertainment business, which is why I published the advice. The aim of Gemtracks is to not only offer artists with exclusive beats and instrumentals, but also educate them too so that they can skyrocket their chances to success.
What has been the biggest challenge(s) launching and building your own instrumental marketplace?
The biggest challenges was having to do everything from scratch. After programming the website, I had to spent maybe a year creating the beats so that customers would have something to buy. Usually the developer and the artist are two separate people, but in my case, it was the same – me. Then afterwards, I had to learn how to do marketing and outreach. It was such hard work but I’m glad everything coming out great!
What was the last song you listened to?
The last song I listened to… wait, let me check my YouTube history. It was Emmy Rossum’s Slow Me Down. It’s such an experimental and calming song. I love it!
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I prefer CDs because of all three formats, CD has the highest quality. and with a CD, I can then create the other formats. Ha!
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I prefer Spotify and Apple Music. I read somewhere that the music market is growing mostly because of these two streaming platforms. Twenty years ago, it was uncommon for someone over 30 to purchase music. However today you have moms, dads, grandfathers and pretty much everyone subscribing to online streaming platform. As you can guess, music is slowly becoming profitable due to increased spending on such platforms, which I think is a great thing.
Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?
My Instagram – jesseneoofficial
Anything else before we sign off?
I have been told that a lot of artists are making it tough during the pandemic with all their gigs and live shows cancelled. For the first time, my music platform, Gemtracks, is finally coming into use. If you are an artist looking to create some music, make sure you head over to buy beats.
