Jason Harris
Michael Mastecki is setting out to make his mark as one of the hardest working and creative entrepreneurs in the entertainment industry. A creative/artistic studio head with over 15 years of experience, Mastecki is the founder of Mastecki Records – an independent record label that produces high-quality Hip-Hop and R&B music collaboratively created by anonymous vocalists from all over the world for the sole purpose of producing the best music possible.
A true artistic man, Mastecki is a highly regarded creative/artistic studio head who’s sole focus is on finding great music and bringing the best quality Hip-Hop and R&B music to the rest of the world. He is known for creating an amazing new environment for all the artists that he works with. He has helped several artists tap into their present moment by creating a space where they feel free to explore and get in-tune with their talent, giving them the confidence to own any recording space. With an unwavering passion, skill, and imagination for music, Mastecki is becoming a pioneering creative force who is creating an empire via his independent record label. His mission is to inspire, spread love, and change the world through his passion for creating amazing Hip-Hop and R&B music that shifts the everyday narrative. At Mastecki Records, creativity is greatly encouraged – no creative obstacles, just artists expressing themselves utilising their amazing talents. This is how Mastecki Records continues to present the world with the best music available; no boundaries, no creative obstacles, and no names – just great music.
As a former rapper, his artistry, skill, and attention to detail opened many doors for him and was, in fact, the key to establishing his own record label. It was in this position that he gained first-hand knowledge of the importance of creativity, leadership, organization, and persistence. As a studio head, Mastecki is recognized for his creative and expressive insight. His sharp vision and innovative decision-making are what make Mastecki Records a force to be reckoned with in the music industry.
StarCentral Magazine recently caught up with Michael to discuss his journey in the entertainment industry and here’s what went down:
Could you please tell our readers a brief background about yourself and how you started your business?
My name is Michael Mastecki, I am currently 30 years old and I’m the founder of Mastecki Records. It all started in 2005 in Sweden in the city of Malmö, I was 16 years old at the time. Back then, making music was quite popular. I myself started in the music industry by rapping with 2 other friends who pulled me into the music world. We became a band and we started creating music via a computer microphone. As amateurs, we didn’t really understand how mixing songs worked, we just found beats and rapped to them. So the quality wasn’t honestly the best.
But then again I also had other prominent friends from a neighborhood called Lindängen located in the city of Malmö, who were into underground music and who were actually at the elite level. I really wanted to record with them, but unfortunately, my level wasn’t the best at the time.
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Time passed and I still wanted to be an amazing rapper, so I started writing and practicing and I even bought myself a better microphone – I eventually got better. I also decided to become a solo performer instead of being part of a group.
There were many rap battles at the time. I was challenged a few times and I won! From that day on I became known as “Mihu Man.”
Eventually, I started recording with my friends who were really good at making music. They accepted me in their circle and even acknowledged that I could finally rap. My friend who started the rap group was quite famous at the time in the underground music scene which was a big help to my rapping career.
It was much harder back then to succeed in the music industry. As time passed by, we all somehow ended up immersing ourselves in hip-hop music. We formed families and distanced ourselves from each other. That’s how I earned my stage name “Mihu Man” and how my career also ended.
Nowadays, it’s quite easy to use social media as well as other different platforms to help you succeed – you don’t need to be part of a record label anymore. That’s where I got the idea of producing music via Mastecki Records instead of through “mihuman” and let talented vocalists be my voice. So instead of producing artists, we produce music together with me as the founder and a whole team of people who mix the track, record, and so on. We really work hard on every track that we produce. We currently have 3 tracks available on all streaming platforms and the latest is called “Priceless” which was released on the 4th of September 2020.
What are you currently doing to maintain/grow your business?
What has helped me so far has been to connect with various curators – that is, owners of various playlists on Spotify, among other things. I have also sent many emails to various record labels and blogs which in turn have led to good feedback and results. Through this, my brand awareness has increased in a short time period of time as well as my network in music – even my fanbase is growing every day.
What social media platforms do you usually use to increase your brand’s awareness?
For starters, I have many accounts when it comes to social media but out of those accounts, I’m most active in are Instagram (mastecki_records) and Twitter (MMastecki). On Instagram where my account is growing every day since I started releasing music, I usually spend the most time with my fans where I update them when new music is coming. What I can say is that I am so grateful that I have my fans because without them this would not have been possible. They motivate me to continue with what I do through warm comments and I have received such good feedback on my songs, which pleases me and makes me proud.
What made you want to get into the music industry?
My whole family is musical, my grandfather who unfortunately passed away last year and didn’t get the chance to see what I started with has been into music when he was really young. We are from Poland and at that time it was difficult in Poland when my grandfather was young. When he was studying to be a doctor, he had a side gig as an opera singer in a theater and began to earn extra money there and finished his studies while he had to take care of his mother and the rest of the family. He really enjoyed singing and I remember since I was a kid how he sang to me so I think that’s where I started to love music and started thinking “music.” My loved ones know that I have a good ear when it comes to the quality of music. I never release a song unless it sounds 200% good.
Have you always known you wanted to run a music studio?
If I’m going to be completely honest with you. All this came out of nowhere, I just woke up one day and got this idea about producing music. As I said before, I was into music when I was 16 years old but with the years I stopped and now that we live in such a modern time where almost anyone can create music and put it on the internet and even make money from it, then I thought to myself, that it is a lot easier today especially with social media to help promote yourself and your music. If we go back 15 years ago, it was almost impossible to succeed on your own in a music industry without the help of a record label.
Can you remember the first time you recorded music for someone?
No, because it never happened. When I was 16 years old and I was starting to get into hip hop music, I did it only for myself. If I recorded, I did it with someone but as I said before, it has never happened where I have recorded music for someone.
What form of marketing has worked well for your business throughout the years?
Well, I’ve only been doing this for 5 months and I’ve already seen good results. What helped me grow in such a short period of time was marketing via various playlists that I myself contacted, sending out many emails where I introduced myself. The first song that I made was “After Party” is now up to over 200 thousand streams. Social media also helped me a lot to be discovered by others. And of course, I must not forget my family and friends who have spread the word to others.
What is the toughest decision you had to make in the last few months?
The hardest part was for me to start with what I do. I initially thought where should I start? How will it end? Is anyone even going to listen to this? There were so many questions and no answers. I had to find the answers for myself and take the risk, then came the second thought; should I produce an entire album or should I only produce single songs first? I eventually chose to produce singles instead but now I work on growing my brand in this business, I can afterward reveal that an album will be released.
Which artists would you love to work with in the future?
It’s hard to say now, I am a humble guy so I’m open to suggestions but certainly it would have been awesome if a great famous artist made contact with me and wanted a feature with one of my vocalists that I offer ahead of a collaboration. I can already reveal that I have received a good offer with my latest produced song “Priceless” but it is too early to tell anything with this information, your readers have to wait with great patience and when the time comes I will release the information on my social media channels. Everyone is more than welcome to contact me but keep in mind that I don’t accept low-quality projects. Unfortunately, if I notice that a person does not have it in him/herself to produce quality music, I cannot start working with this person.
Are there any acts out there that you can recommend the public should listen to?
Yes, since your readers now a better picture of me, they need to take and listen to my songs and judge for themselves whether they are good enough to collaborate with me. You can find me anywhere, just search for my name Mastecki Records and I’ll be there. I’m also on all music streaming platforms where I have 2 R&B songs and 1 Hip-Hop song. The songs are called: After Party, Dark Lanes, and Priceless.
Do you think streaming is damaging the music industry?
The good thing about streaming is that you can be heard and discovered if you market it well the way I did, but if I do think it does destroy the music industry! Imagine if you release an entire album that sells about 10$ to 15$, this album, a user for example on Spotify can listen for free with a few small commercials in between. I have mixed feelings when it comes to streaming, clearly, from my point of view it destroys the industry itself but on second thought, I would not have been discovered in the same way as I am now if not for streaming.
What inspires you and what makes you want to keep doing what you are doing?
What inspires me and allows me to do what I’m doing right now is something similar to what DJ Khaled did before he became famous. Dj Khaled started to help artists before they made a big impact, he like me have a musical family and the cool thing is that Khaled released an album that reached the top 20 on Billboard, he started his own record label and became president of Def Jam South. You wonder what inspires me? There you have it.
What are the most important marketing and business lessons you have learned in your experience?
What I have learned from all the marketing that I have done and do is firstly social media – where I am mostly active. I have promoted myself both via Facebook and Instagram with ads that have caught the attention of listeners and Radio as well as talked to bloggers who have written about me and my music. That’s how I started and I think I’ve had enough good reactions since the month of May, this year when I started with it. Now it’s been 5 months since the first single was released and I’ve already got over 400,000 combined streams together and that’s just on Spotify, so I think I’ve handled the marketing side pretty well.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
It is better to be a warrior in a garden than to be a gardener in a war.
What advice would you give to a newbie Entrepreneur setting up their first business?
My advice is that whatever you’re going to start doing, you need to give it 200% effort and take the risk. It doesn’t matter whether it works or your private life. You always have to do the best you can. Even if you tell yourself you can’t do it, you have to give that work your all. Make it great, find your way to start making it more efficient and interesting and improve on it! Take advantage of it even if it is just a small actions performed in your journey. The truth is that many people these days would rather go unnoticed than do something that is remarkable. It’s better to do something remarkable than go unnoticed because getting unnoticed will be a by-product.
Jason Harris
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