This was initially going to be a piece on the American musician of Ecuadorian descent, Helado Negro. At the last minute, I changed course. Given the timing, I thought it would be better to fall in line and give a recap of sorts on this dynamic year (for me at least) that ends in a couple of weeks.

It has been a year of supreme challenges and tremendous growth in all parts of my life, but especially my professional life. In a way, I expected this, but it was still surprising the shape that it took. Deciding to take my professional growth into the public sphere was the single biggest, and best decision I made about nine months ago.

I was sitting in my living room one Sunday afternoon in March when I finally resolved to make a real attempt to use social media as a tool to help achieve my professional goals. This post below is the first one after I made this decision -

Prior to this decision, I was known for being an audio engineer (mainly mastering, mixing and audio post-production,) and in smaller circles, for having my independent music publishing company. Since this decision, there has been an expansion of knowledge into other areas, which all support each other.

Figuring out a clear offer has been the most challenging, but through my writing I've realized that this will always be in some state of flux. Initially, I expanded into artist consulting (if interested, you can book a free initial consultation HERE), but then this quickly expanded into the newsletter you're currently reading. The latest iteration is still under construction, and since it ideally will wrap everything together nicely, this one will take me well into the next year.

I keep reminding myself that this was a result of the decision to go beyond my fear of public scrutiny, and into a space where I am creating stronger connections around the subjects I'm most knowledgeable about, and that thankfully I also find the most interesting.

In a general sense, I write about creativity and how to use it to improve your life. More specifically, I speak to musicians and those using creativity in and for what they create. Even more specifically, I speak about music, the business of music, artist development, and how to create a more direct path from art to audience.

Sharing publicly has also allowed me to continually strengthen and define the broader vision that guides my every step. It's a vision that has been shared in pieces because it trickles down into everything that I share online and every project that I work on.

Some important professional milestones from this past year are:

• Signing two new songwriters/artists to Lucesca Publishing: Josh Money and Rookie Move.

• Facilitating a collaboration between Lucesca songwriter/artist, partywatcher and Mexican DJ/producer, Bial Hclap. "Una Vez Más" is the result of this collab.

• Publishing three articles with The Tonearm - Here's my latest about Rubén Blades' iconic song, "Desapariciones."

• Attending the Latin Music Hub Conference in Orlando, Florida.

• Launching my newsletter, Recoveco (along with a free creative guide upon signup.)

• Writing approximately 80 to 90 original posts specifically for LinkedIn, but also adapted to other social media platforms. If interested, you can add me on LinkedIn.

• Doubling (possibly tripling) my community on LinkedIn. I'm not a big follower of social numbers, but this growth in network has really allowed me to connect with some top notch individuals on the platform.

• Submitting a workshop for SXSW London 2025 with one of my publishing clients, Montañera. You can find out more details HERE and register/vote HERE (the last day is today!).

• Falling in love with writing again, doing it almost daily, and learning how to do it effectively.
  
  When I review this list, I can say with certainty that ONLY three out of this list would've still occurred had I not decided to grow in public. Suffice it to say, there would've been many missed opportunities!
  
  It's only now that the importance of sharing your goals with someone, with a friend, family member, or even a small community, begins to make sense. There was no one ever really waiting to read one of my posts, but it imposed a structure and expectation on my time and mind that allowed me to create with intention, and with much more consistency. It does work!

The Future Is Being Written (and Micro-offered)

While many are probably winding down for the holidays (no shame in that!) I feel like I'm filled with ideas to work on for the new year.

I'm already prepping a new artist interview for The Tonearm for early 2025, this one will take me to the tropical lands of Brazil. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

If our SXSW London workshop gets chosen, then I'll officially be prepping for a trip to London in the summer to act as host for this wonderful sonic exercise that Montañera created. The prospect of traveling across the Atlantic, stepping ground in the UK, meeting Montañera in person, and speaking to a crowd of SXSW attendees (all firsts for me) has me thrilled and anxious all at the same time.

There will also be a heavy focus on strengthening the infrastructure that holds Lucesca Publishing together. I'm working on a few different ideas related to the website (which is now functional, but still has to be updated,) synchronization, and the accounting backend. To be continued...

As of late, I've been getting many phone calls from friends and colleagues related to publishing and the organization of their catalogs. It's made me realize that there is space for a micro-offer that helps interested parties organize their publishing catalogs through short video consultations, and video content that simplifies the most important processes and frequently asked questions. I'll be working on this throughout the year.

Another micro-offer that I'll be putting together rather shortly (if it doesn't prove to be too heavy a load) is to compile all of my yearly social posts into one, nicely-designed, digital package that separates them into helpful categories for artists and creatives in search of inspiration and clarity.

Lastly, as mentioned earlier, I'm building on an idea that will bring many of these previous ideas under one roof. It'll all be with the sole goal of creating a community that allows various types of creative projects to thrive. All with a strong emphasis on unique ways that shorten the path from the artist to their audience.

This'll mean that a reliable and knowledgeable team will have to come together that can support the artists from earlier on in the process, and possibly throughout an extended part of the life of the project. This is all in the works already, but it'll surely take time to see some tangible results. I'll be sure to keep you updated in future editions of the newsletter.

Oh yeah, almost forgot… I’ll also be building out my personal website in 2025. 😉

Some Finds, Some Gems, Some Updates

Let’s get right to it! This edition is already longer than expected. I’ll start with a couple of updates from Lucesca Publishing:

• partywatcher, Chicago-based Latin Pop artist is about to hit the stage this Fri, Dec 20th in his hometown at República Brewing in the Dominican Republic. I have no doubt it’s gonna be a dancefloor pleaser.

• Le Montro, the Dominican rockers bringing their positive darkness, will be presenting the second installment to their grand tribute to the late Argentine musician, Gustavo Cerati, at Chao Cafe Teatro on Sat, Dec 21st in Santo Domingo. The first installment was a sold-out success, which is why they had to bring the fans a second experience.

Lastly, a few finds from these past weeks that I’m excited about:

• “Eno" the generative documentary film on Brian Eno will stream for 24 hours at the end of January 2025.

• “Titane” by French director, Julia Ducournau, is possibly one of the crazier movies I’ve seen in a long time.

• “SOLTASBRUXA” by Francisco, el Hombre

• “Nada Tropical” by Glue Trip

If you’re interested in my creative consulting, music publishing, or audio engineering services, or just want to speak further about anything I wrote about in this edition, you can book a FREE initial consultation HERE or just reach out wherever we follow each and we can work something out.

‘til next year! Happy Holidays!