REC Philly music incubator helps local musicians succeed—and stay in Philly

Meet the Disruptors: Dave Silver and Will Toms

An innovative music incubator helps local musicians succeed—and stay in Philly

Dec. 30, 2015

If you're non causing trouble equally an independent music promoter, chances are you won't brand it. At least, you lot won't make it big. Not in Philadelphia. The track record of all-star music promoters suggests so: At that place was Larry Magid of the Electric Mill—who prevailed over Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo and his continuous attempts to close downward the venue. Then, more than recently, Sean Agnew of Union Transfer—who saw orangish License & Inspections notices in his sleep. Pissing people off is practically a prerequisite to the trade.

Now, along come 2 newcomers who share the pedigree and, at the ripe age of 24, already take their eyes ready on something bigger, much bigger in Philadelphia's music scene.

In 2012, Dave Silver was filling his Temple University frat-house basement with crowds ("5 bands, college students, free pizza," he says) and getting shut down past L&I for operating without a business license. Undeterred, he went to the nearest hookah lounge/bar and promised to bring in lxxx people if he could throw a show in that location on a dead-of-night Monday. Sure, why not?, the possessor replied. One prove led to two, which eventually, led to more venues and the guise of legitimacy. But soon enough, Argent, with his longtime cohort Will Toms—the two went to Bucks County's William Tennent High School—formed the Broad Street Music Group , a booking/promotion company specializing in up-and-coming acts. At commencement, they worked with artists from a wide array of genres, like the hip-hop trio Ground Up and pianist Matt Wade. They're at present focused on soul, R&B and rap.

"The music industry can be a slimy place to exist and there are a lot of people that are trying to exploit people for the wrong reasons," says Silverish. Taking a cue from the tech earth, REC Philly hopes to be a community resource for the city.

Working behind the scenes is nothing new for the duo. Dorsum in high school, Toms and Silverish bonded while running the school'south TV studio and afternoon announcements. They were such agog techies, the school made them get tech-less for 10 days—an experiment featured in a spot on NBC10 . ("At the fourth dimension, I was sending 17,000 texts a month," Toms says over the phone.) But musicians they are not. "We e'er knew that we were going to try to do something together, once we could both identify what our talents were," adds Argent. Nothing similar a frat-house basement to exercise the play a joke on.

Fast forward 200-plus shows later and the duo is gear up for a second human activity. Something more than merely booking $10-a-head concerts at World Cafe Live. "Will and I were meant to do more pregnant things than just be show promoters," says Silver. "A lot of these musicians were having issues besides getting booked for low-quality events." Many of the fresh faces they've been working with take no idea how to take their careers to the next level or how to brand a sustainable career, in large part because there was no manufacture to support them beingness a musician in Philly . "They idea the best thing to do for their career was to get out the metropolis and find a major label."

Taking a cue from the tech earth, Silver and Toms are creating what they believe will be a version of a startup accelerator, but one drumming to a dissimilar beat: REC Philly , a "music incubator." On the career paths of music artists, it lies somewhere between a friend'south jam-band garage and the confines of a major label, helping them get from handing out EPs on the street to becoming a music-festival article. Because throwing videos on YouTube and hoping they get viral is not a real strategy for success. "I think 1 of the biggest things that we're doing for these artists is helping them empathise that they're a business and non just an fine art creator," says Toms.

Inside a former window mill in N Philly, non far from Temple's campus, REC Philly will soon be outfitted with two recording studios (and so that sessions can occur simultaneously); a visual lab for promo photos and videos; a creative-writing space; a kitchenette lounge and office space for other entrepreneurs. (Concerning to their condition as new kids on the music-promotion block, the pair spoke to me from their current function at 8th and Callowhill, inside earshot of both the Electric Factory and Union Transfer.)

Additionally—and perhaps most importantly to the brand—REC Philly is securing strategic partnerships with local service providers, to offer musicians everything from talent coaches to legal consultations with the law firm Offit Kurman. Put simply, Silver and Toms aspire to be a one-end store—rather, a collective— for a nything an emerging musician might need. Though the full listing of partnerships is still beingness flushed out, the duo says it will include industry-specific cognition (think DJs, photographers and public relations managers) and life resources for contained artists, such equally health-insurance education and task opportunities. For example, Saxby's has agreed to be function of REC Philly and give musicians first-look access to sure jobs at their Philly area locations.

Music incubators are underway in Chicago, Austin and elsewhere. But Philly is crying out for one more than those other cities. The rub nearly this city's music scene has never been the talent or energy, only the sorely lacking construction to nurse musicians forth and go on them from migrating elsewhere.

Musicians will buy a membership for a packet of services with the incubator. The most express membership might cost $40 per month, while premium admission might go as high as $375 per month, according to Toms. Merely making coin is beside the point, which is why REC Philly has filed to become a 501c3. "The music industry can exist a slimy place to be and in that location are a lot of people that are trying to exploit people for the wrong reasons," says Silver. REC Philly, on the other hand, hopes to be a community resource for the urban center.

The model is new to Philly, only not unique. Music incubators are underway in Chicago , Austin and elsewhere. But Philly is crying out for a music incubator much more than those other cities. For years—perhaps, generations—the rub most this city's music scene has never been the talent or energy, but the sorely lacking structure to nurse musicians along and keep them from migrating elsewhere. Things have gotten so bad, even City Council is getting involved . A proposal to create the Philadelphia Commission on the Music Manufacture—a grouping that will be tasked with evaluating the music scene in the urban center and developing a strategic plan—cleared a council commission in November.

Need more than proof?  According to a 2022 study by Richard Florida, author of "The Rise of the Creative Class," the Philly surface area ranked 45th (behind not only Chicago and Austin, but also Pittsburgh, Detroit and Orlando) for the concentration of musicians and music business, amidst metros with a million-plus people. Philly is oft a tour cease, but rarely a abode base of operations, for recording artists.

And in the mail service-Napster era, pumping life back into the business of a urban center does not start with luring tape companies—information technology's near retaining a critical mass of musicians showtime and foremost. "I recollect we're past the age of getting big label deals," says Toms. "I really experience strongly that the model we're edifice here is going to be the adjacent norm for the industry."

Indeed, REC Philly'due south collaborative, membership model seems uniform with an manufacture where ability has been decentralized. REC Philly is non a label, so artists are not signing away any contractual rights to their content and Silverish and Toms are giving them the space and tools instead. Plus, they withal know how to throw a show. Last yr, they organized the first-ever Philly-only showcase of talent at the South By Southwest festival in Texas, which included a operation by Due west Philly native and rising star Chill Moody. They're going to exercise information technology again, but bigger, in 2016.

With renovations wrapping upwards on the infinite, the membership model is set to launch in the spring. "The space is only half the battle. One time you get the space, then you can build a community," says Toms.

Header Photo: Flickr/jeffrey montes

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Source: https://thephiladelphiacitizen.org/recphilly-dave-silver-will-toms/

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