When Timbaland first started developing Beatclub alongside his longtime manager and business partner Gary Marella, the pair had dreams of creating a platform that would usher change into the music industry. Fast forward to now, Beatclub is doing exactly that – providing opportunities, community, mentorship, and more to music creators of all pursuits. With the technological landscape for producers and artists to virtually collaborate, brands and organizations to shop for music directly from the source, and artists of all identities to obtain the opportunity of a lifetime, Beatclub is empowering everyone from bedroom producers to household names. Daniel Glogower, a longtime music professional with experience on all sides of the industry, is the Chief Business Officer of Beatclub, and has seen firsthand how the platform has grown over the years. We caught up with Daniel recently, and learned some more about what the future of the platform holds, the origins of Beatclub, and the qualities that all great artists share.

How did you begin your career within the music industry?

Daniel: I’ve always been into music, I was one of the fortunate few who knew what they wanted to be at a very, very young age. I’d say my first official foray in music was getting signed to a record deal to a label named Ruffhouse Records. They went on to sign Cypress Hill, The Fugees, Kriss Kross, but this was very early, as the label had just started. Me and two other guys from high school had started a rap group. I used to do the beats and production. We got signed quickly, but we never came out and nothing ended up happening with us, but I knew that I wanted to be in music. I had it in the back of my head that even if I’m not making music, managing artists is something I could do. After college, I took a job initially with Macy’s and then later Lord & Taylor as a Buyer and Planner, and hated my life. I just wanted to be in music, and couldn’t really figure out how to get there. Eventually, I quit, and took a job in Hoboken, for a food delivery service. One day while I was doing that, someone ordered food and it sounded like a party was going on in the background. It ended up being a record label, and they were having a release party. I asked if I could fax over my resume, and after two and a half weeks of calling every single day to follow-up, I got a job where I was sweeping floors and packing boxes in the warehouse. I did that for a few weeks, and then finally the boss told me to come to his office, and listen to him sell CDs and tapes over the phone to different music and party stores. He wanted me to learn how to sell. I sat there every day for at least a month and a half, and finally one day he had me start selling. I was pretty good at it. I did over a million dollars in sales in my first year, which allowed me to have a voice at the company. I ultimately ended up becoming the VP of A&R, and was at the company for five years.

Throughout your lengthy tenure in music, you’ve worked alongside some of the greats, including Pharrell Williams, Jay Z, J Balvin, Frank Ocean, and so many more. In your experience working with such legendary artists as the ones I’ve just mentioned, what are some common qualities that you would say all “great” artists share?

Everyone talks about the “je ne sais quoi” or the certain thing that people have. I remember  meeting Coi Leray, and when you walked in the room you immediately knew that she was going to be a superstar. That’s one side of the fence. Then there’s the other side of the fence. I remember talking to Talib Kweli about Mos Def, and he said “for me, I have to work really hard for me to be able to do what I do. I have to practice and work, and it doesn’t come as naturally as it does for Mos.” I’ve heard Rick Rubin say “consistency and hard work will outlive talent any day of the week.” Especially in this day and age where the barrier to entry is lower and you have all of these resources at your disposal, you can hustle past those who are just resting on the laurels of their talent. I’d say that consistency and hard work are important. Some other things are being able to connect with people, and being a respectful and good person. Whenever Pharell walks into the studio, he walks up to everyone and introduces himself as though no one knows who he is. That humility speaks volumes, and makes people want to engage with you. The common thread amongst the people who succeed is that they’re consistent in their work, they work hard, and they treat people right.

When did Timbaland first come up with the idea for Beatclub?

I spent a year trying to convince Timbaland to create a soundpack for Splice when I worked there. After moving on to Native Instruments, both Timbaland and Garry Marella approached me with the idea for Beatclub in late January of 2020. They told me their vision, and though they were inspired by the previous Splice deal, they recognized that Timbaland would lose out on publishing, royalties, and credits if he followed through with it. They wanted to make something with more creative empowerment, and the idea would be a centralized hub that would give music creators of all levels the resources, community, education, and mentorship that they need, with of course the ability to monetize the assets that they create.

Have you been involved with Beatclub since the very beginning? If not, when were you first brought on board as Chief Business Officer?

I was employee number one at Beatclub.  

One of Beatclub’s major value points is enabling artists and producers to monetize their creations. What tools and features does Beatclub have that helps facilitate these connections?

We do this through two ways. One is our opportunities portal, which is a place where members can get exclusive access to placement opportunities for their music. At any given time, you’ll see around 70 - 100 opportunities listed. Some examples of these opportunities are the NHL needing music for the Stanley Cup, Dreamworks needing music for a theme song, Netflix has a children’s series that needs background music for episodes, Peloton needs music for a commercial, Cordae is working on a new album and needs certain beats. All of these are types of opportunities that exist in our platform, and we update this list weekly. Through this system, you’re able to seamlessly submit your beat or song for that opportunity. From there it goes to our A&R team where we pick the best of the best, and then filter the selections down to the company, stakeholder, or A&R. In just a few months, we’ve gotten over 850 tracks placed in different opportunities and put millions of dollars in creators pockets. The second way we’re able to do this is through our two-sided marketplace. This is a place where any creator can customize their profile page, upload their social links, upload their content, and then sell the basic building blocks of music. They can upload their beats, soundpacks, acapellas, demos, and more, and then customize the licenses in which they’re selling these assets. This is empowering for creators, and we believe this will eventually be viewed as the LinkedIn of the music business.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen the emergence of a variety of organizations who hope to operate in a space that is similar to the one that Beatclub is in. What gives Beatclub the advantage over its competitors?

Our company is for creators, by creators, and that’s what gives us the ultimate advantage. We have an intimate knowledge of this community that many others don’t have, and we look at it from a very holistic lens. Some of the competition that’s out there may just be championing the bedroom producer and saying “fuck the industry”, and aren’t facilitating major industry connections. We’re here for everyone, and want to help creators make money and be exposed so that people can see and hear them. We also have a system of feedback with our opportunities where we help teach our creators about what they could do to improve and become better. Timbaland has always been known for finding new talent and blowing them up, and this is a way for him to do that at scale for thousands of people as opposed to a handful. On top of that, we look to cover the entire creator journey rather than just pieces of it. A lot of other companies only focus on one thing, but we’re a centralized hub for all of it.

Why is it important that platforms such as Beatclub exist, especially for younger artists trying to get their name out there?

Beatclub helps level the playing field. We are the intermediary between this world of people who are trying to be seen, and those who’ve been looked at as the gatekeepers at the top. We’re able to leverage Timbaland’s reputation as someone who mentors creators to help bridge the gap between those two worlds. Our ultimate goal is to help creators monetize. We feel that the most important thing to keep any music creator on their journey is to put some money in their pocket. Overall, that’s the reason why music creators should want to work with Beatclub.

This past February, it was announced that Hipgnosis, a major song management company, invested in and partnered with Beatclub. What does this news mean for the creators on the platform?

A popular practice in music is looking back at hit records from the past, and sampling them to turn them into the hits of the future. Our partnership with Hipgnosis and these other catalogs will allow for a list of songs that these rights holders have to be easily clearable. That way, creators know in advance that there will be less friction when getting these samples cleared. This is going to be advantageous to all levels of our community.

What is your favorite aspect of Beatclub’s platform?

Currently what I’m most excited about are the opportunities that we’re able to give to the community. It just feels good. There was one placement that we got for a young woman from the Caribbean who was able to buy her grandmother a new house after it had been destroyed. There was a guy who got a $20,000 placement after being on the platform for a week. Those stories are amazing to me, and are probably my favorite thing about Beatclub.

What does the future of Beatclub look like? 

Our two-sided marketplace is set to launch in a couple of weeks. We envision that developing into the music industry version of LinkedIn, where every music creator will have all of their tools, assets, services, and content on their profile page. That’s going to be the center, the heartbeat, of our platform. We’re looking very soon to put our transactions on blockchain, so if you’re going to buy a beat off of someone, all of it will be on the blockchain through smart contracts. We believe that this technology will be the great equalizer of the music industry, so we want to get ahead of that and guarantee fair payments to anyone who’s participating in our platform. Ultimately, we want our platform to be a huge place for discovery. We want it to be a pre-DSP, or an option to a DSP, where the music that’s being created will be showcased here as well. We’re also looking towards technology where creators can go live and sell beats as well, similar to something like QVC.

In addition to your current role at Beatclub, you also serve on the Advisory Board for Girls Make Beats – a nonprofit organization that aims to empower girls and expand the presence of women in the music industry as producers, DJs, and audio engineers. From your perspective, why is it important to foster an environment of inclusivity on all sides of the music industry?

When Beatclub was only a year old, we had a Clubhouse where we had Timbaland, Swizz Beatz, and all the heavy hitters on there. Right before we went live, someone who was working with me said “isn’t it sad that there aren’t any women here?”. This stuck in my head, and since then has been something that I’ve keenly been aware of. I’ve just been trying to do my part to level that playing field, because it’s a terrible, astounding fact to realize. This industry exists at the level in which it does, and there are little to no women that are able to participate in it at this level. When you look at the Top 50 songs on the charts right now, the female participation on production is less than one percent. It’s horrible. Being associated with Tiffany and Girls Make Beats is me trying to do what I can to help and open doors. To make sure that I can provide as many seats to the table as possible, because it’s not fair and there are super talented people who are out there. With Girls Make Beats, we want to foster an environment where girls are interested in this space, and believe that they can be a part of it.

What would you say to the younger version of yourself who was so desperately trying to land a role in the music industry?

I would say the biggest piece of advice for my career would’ve been, stay very close to your peers that are also trying to make it. Those peers are ultimately going to become the SVP’s and the CEO’s and the Founders of a lot of different companies. Also, you don’t have to become a part of the machine, but become your own machine. And do it young so you have plenty of time to mess up and learn how to do things right.

What’s one album that you’d take wherever you go?

Stevie Wonder - ‘Innervisions’

What does the phrase “big ass kid” mean to you?

I see it as someone who looks at the world through fresh eyes, as opposed to jaded and tainted eyes. They find inspiration from what they see as opposed to looking at the negative and harping on that.