Jason Davis — Podcast — Making It with Chris G.

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Jason Davis is a serial entrepreneur, A&R, and expert in artist development. He’s a co-founder and president of multiple companies including One One 7, Radar Label Group, and Awaken Records. He has worked with artists such as P. Diddy, Boyz II Men, Jay-Z, Dolly Parton, Lonestar, and many more. He wrote his first Billboard #1 single at 23 years old, which was a song called “Captured,” performed by Aaron Benward. In this episode, we talk about Jason’s journey in the music business and what it takes to be a songwriter at the highest level. From this journey, someone can learn many valuable lessons on how to get started as an artist, to have an amazing work ethic, how much you should be writing, and much more.

To learn more about Jason Davis check out https://oneone7.com/, https://www.awakenrecordings.com/, https://www.radarlabelgroup.com/, and http://fcmgt.com/.

Highlights from this Episode
[3:08] Time in Delray Beach, FL
[4:25] Advantages and Disadvantages of living in a major music market
[7:29] Current Projects Jason Davis is involved in
[13:20] Narrowing your focus when first starting out
[20:25] Where Jason’s journey began as a musician
[27:27] Process for Booking Shows
[30:28] Writing the #1 Song “Captured” with Aaron Benward
[41:33] The journey after writing a #1 song
[45:50] Pitching a song to an A&R
[49:30] Time management and working on your craft for Songwriters
[54:37] Sharing a story from your perspective
[55:52] Getting to writing with artists on a bigger scale
[1:03:44] Defining your WHY and purpose to your music
[1:10:18] Finding the right people that don’t give up on you
[1:19:15] Working and getting involved with Care for Kids
[1:22:04] Getting to know Jason Davis

Quotes from Jason Davis
“We have a habit of looking at someone that’s become very successful and not processing it’s taken them 20 to 30 years to get to where they are.”
“It’s about having a very concentrated laser beam focus on one thing at a time.”
“Focus on one thing to become great at.”
“When music is done at the highest level, and only the highest level...it’s a glimpse of how good the music in heaven is.”
“It was more about growing and the journey, than getting people’s approval.”
“The door just cracked open, and I’m not going backwards.”
“The only thing I can do is work to have a relationship with you, and then I have permission to play you a song.”
“(You) should be writing a little bit every single day.”
“Challenge yourself to write and finish at least one song a week.”
“Dare to be crazy creative.”
“You should be studying the Top 20 to 50 songs.”
“You should be studying the song titles and song content.”
“Anyone on the other side of a 10 to 11 year journey to success, will tell you the 10 to 11 years didn’t really take that long.”
“If you play your cards right, and work hard, you can sustain that success for a lifetime.”
“How do we make the best possible music here on earth?”
“Usually once an artist meets the right people, it’s still a 2, 3, 4 year journey.”

Links to people, places, and things mentioned
Awaken Records
Austin French
Rising Star (TV Show)
First Company Management
Newsboys
Ryan Stevenson
7eventh Time Down
Radar Label Group
Jimmy Eat World
Neon Trees
Plain White T’s
Unlikely Candidates
Ariana Grande
Justin Bieber
Michael Jackson
CTK Management
Dolly Parton
Will Smith
Paradigm Agency
Aaron Benward
Mandy Moore
And the Writers Is… (Podcast)
[BOOK]
Your Love Pursues by Jason Davis
The Bible
All You Need to Know About the Music Business by Donald Passman
The Operator by David Geffen
To Be Loved by Berry Gordy
Virgin King by Richard Branson
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Piero Melograni