The Looking Glass

The Looking Glass

Recording artists relfect on the music industry

Story by Gabriel Syed

Marcus Money strikes a confident pose to promote his brand (Photo courtesy of Marcus Money)

The rug-covered floor makes no sound as I walk into the studio. Lining the wall that looks into the “Box” is an entire recording setup. It seems like there is every knob and button ever on the console board as I scan the room. The entrance to the room is surrounded by comfortable chairs and bean bags for many people to watch the magic happen. Today though, I walk through this room and into the box because I’m the one they have come to watch. Growing up, almost every artist doesn’t have the opportunity to experience this feeling. Nowadays, many start-up artists are called “SoundCloud” artists because they use the app SoundCloud to show their music to others. Before Soundcloud, the only way to record for very cheap

was to buy a $20 microphone from the local Radio Shack and start recording through an audio software you downloaded on a computer. Marcus Money is one of those people who grew up with a $20 microphone, and started from his bedroom. He has been recording and producing music as a rap artist and producer since his teenage years in the late 90s. He is currently an artist and producer in the Houston area that has been able to bring his music to many parts of the country, and

even multiple other countries. He believes the most important thing to do in order to achieve your goals is to keep pushing, and not let anything distract you. “You really have to put in a lot of time and work,” Money said, “but it’s not rocket science.” Money grew up with multiple genres of music, and multiple perspectives he later added to his own. He went into his teenage years listening to hip-hop and other related music since it was very influential and popular during the ‘90’s. Music was a very important part of his life while he was growing up which caused him to begin understanding the emotions artists put into their music. Money developed a love for poetry which caused him to be very good at writing music with his “strong knack for words.” “I liked words, I liked all the arts, I liked drawing, I liked poetry,” Money said. This caused him to dive deeply into rap and hip-hop and use his talent with words and rhyming to develop remarkable lyrics and rhythmic beats in his songs. Mara Connor is a country and folk artist who “blends

seamlessly with ‘60’s and ‘60’s beach-pop.” Connor began understanding she wanted to make a career out of her music when she joined her first indie rock band after high school. She understands that the key to drawing people into her music is to be honest, and to say what’s on your mind. “I can’t speak for others, but as a listener myself, I tend to gravitate towards music that is emotionally honest,” Connor said. Connor began her career surprisingly at age three when she recorded her first original song. During her childhood, her parents raised her listening to classic albums from the ‘60’s and ‘70’s including Bob Dylan; she also started listening to British Invasion bands including The Beach Boys and The Beatles. She enjoys the “retro” style of music, and still constantly incorporates this into her music. “I definitely put that era of artists on a pedestal,” Connor said, “but as an artist, I think my ultimate goal is to create my own sound.”

On the other hand, Money grew up with a very different musical taste he got from his parents. “My dad was into rock and roll classical rock. He stuck back in between the ‘60’s to the ‘70’s rock era. It’s not metal, but it’s definitely not soft. It’s right when it came in with electric guitars,” Money said. “My mom was really heavy on pop music, but she definitely liked playing things that had a lot of rhythm in them,” Money said. “I think that’s where I developed my liking for it (hip-hop).” Money was able to develop his own taste and style when he started producing during his teenage years. He constructed

Mara Connor in her car for an album picture (Photo courtesy of Schuyler Howie) (Photo courtesy of Marcus Money)

Marcus Money looks to the horizon wondering what’s next in his career (Photo courtesy of Marcus Money)

file:///C:/Users/gabri/Downloads/Marcus Money (8)

his smooth and consistent hip-hop music, and learned to incorporate rapping and singing into his songs. “I started from the very bottom, and taught myself from the ground up. I tried in the process maybe five years into making music, and then 10 years, and then 15 years, giving it to somebody else who is deemed a professional.” Money said that, “In all cases, I was beating them out for what I could afford; I had better quality. So then at that point, I quit trying. it was what I needed to take seriously, and really develop my sound, and that’s when I learned all the hard stuff that most people are too lazy to learn.” Connor has brought her music to many parts of the country since she started her career, and has toured in many different regions. “I loved touring the West Coast before the pandemic. I really connected with the people and the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. I used to live in New York and have enjoyed playing around the city,” Connor said. As for Money, he has started expanding his reach across the country, and is working towards reaching regions including the West Coast. Even though his home base is Houston, and he has most of his listeners in Houston, Galveston, and surrounding areas, he also has small pockets with lots of listeners spread across the country. “I’ve got strong fan bases in Idaho, Florida [and] New Mexico,” Money said. “As far as countries, I actually get a lot of plays in Brazil. I don’t know why, but if it wasn’t so expensive to go reach out and develop a fanbase over there, I would have already been there.” Though the pandemic has significantly affected many artists’ abilities to reach out to their fans, and have concerts and other large events, it has given them time to regroup and develop a plan to spread their music to many areas. Money went from being a teenage boy with a $20 microphone setup in his bedroom to a highly sought after artist and producer. The pandemic caused Money to pivot instead of change his entire life since he was able to turn towards his producing career and help other artists stockpile their songs and video until they

1/1

Mara Connor has recorded multiple songs in this record year for her career (Photo courtesy of Schuyler Howie)

could be released. Though his artist career has been damaged, he is able to stay afloat because every artist has started using the internet more as a means of spreading their music. Connor has also come a long way from a young band member out of highschool to recently releasing her debut “No Fun” EP - a compilation of singles shorter than an album. She has recently co-produced several songs, and also co-produced music videos for her songs “Wildfire” and “Someone New,” a duet with Langhorne Slim. Her next singles have been recorded, and are set to release later this year as Connor comes off her biggest breakthrough year in her career.