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UNDER THE WIRE
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Under the Wire: Meron
By Anthony Porter, Jr.
There’s an independent movement taking place among Philly’s fresh, up
and coming stars. Many over look Philadelphia—a place most artists
call Music Mecca. Philadelphia has become the stomping ground for a new
wave of independent musicians with a “Do for Self” attitude. Amongst
those on the front line of this newly found movement stands one of
Philly’s finest, Meron. He’s become an inspiring singer/guitarist
There’s an independent movement taking place among Philly’s fresh, up
and coming stars. Many over look Philadelphia—a place most artists
call Music Mecca. Philadelphia has become the stomping ground for a new
wave of independent musicians with a “Do for Self” attitude. Amongst
those on the front line of this newly found movement stands one of
Philly’s finest, Meron. He’s become an inspiring singer/guitarist
who has gained a high level of popularity within Philly’s underground
market. Falling into the industry backwards, Meron had begun his musical
journey by helping with promotional and managerial work for unknown
talent. While using this opportunity to learn his way around the
business, he secretly had a desire to pursue his own musical career.
Meron, who felt the industry suffered from the lack of individuality, knew his
fresh, new sound would quench the thirst of those eager to hear something
organic. Currently preparing his first tour, Meron plans to connect with
music lovers ranging as far as Canada and Europe. In-between setting up
tour dates and adding minor adjustments to his debut album, Suavv
magazine had a chance to catch up with the rising star.
Suavv: How are you able to juggle the creative and the business side
of the industry?
Meron: I don’t like to look at myself as just an artist because a lot of
artists seem to just focus only on the music and they give no regards to
the business side of what goes on. And a lot of times their the ones that
get into trouble, so I feel like I want to be well rounded. It’s tricky to balance,
but I’m working on it. But to be truthful, it’s very hard.
A lot of artist that I run into believe Philadelphia is the next big
musical empire, like New York and LA, what are your thoughts on
that?
I think Philly is the next fashion capital, and the next entertainment capital.
It’s a great place to develop music, package it and take it else where to
sell, but to bring music here and sell it, I just can’t see it there yet. But don’t
get me wrong, that’s not a bad thing, now I’m not sure of all the facts
and figures, but when you think about Detroit and Motown, not all Motown
records were sold in Detroit. They were sold in other parts of the country,
so I think Philly is a development and creation city.
So how hard is it for you to stand out since there’s so much talent
in Philly?
This is what a lot of artist in Philly do wrong. You shouldn’t be trying to
stand out in Philly, because there’s so much talent, you have so many
other people trying to do the same thing. Your work shouldn’t be put
together so you can standout; you should be using the resources around
you to develop relationships and net work so you can standout somewhere
else. There are cities around the country that have kids who don’t have
anything to do but go listen to live music. I think it’s more important to go
play in those places. I think as an artist you’ll be gratified, and delivering
music to people who really want to hear live music. Philly is a hard market, I
wouldn’t put to much effort to standout for that reason.
market. Falling into the industry backwards, Meron had begun his musical
journey by helping with promotional and managerial work for unknown
talent. While using this opportunity to learn his way around the
business, he secretly had a desire to pursue his own musical career.
Meron, who felt the industry suffered from the lack of individuality, knew his
fresh, new sound would quench the thirst of those eager to hear something
organic. Currently preparing his first tour, Meron plans to connect with
music lovers ranging as far as Canada and Europe. In-between setting up
tour dates and adding minor adjustments to his debut album, Suavv
magazine had a chance to catch up with the rising star.
Suavv: How are you able to juggle the creative and the business side
of the industry?
Meron: I don’t like to look at myself as just an artist because a lot of
artists seem to just focus only on the music and they give no regards to
the business side of what goes on. And a lot of times their the ones that
get into trouble, so I feel like I want to be well rounded. It’s tricky to balance,
but I’m working on it. But to be truthful, it’s very hard.
A lot of artist that I run into believe Philadelphia is the next big
musical empire, like New York and LA, what are your thoughts on
that?
I think Philly is the next fashion capital, and the next entertainment capital.
It’s a great place to develop music, package it and take it else where to
sell, but to bring music here and sell it, I just can’t see it there yet. But don’t
get me wrong, that’s not a bad thing, now I’m not sure of all the facts
and figures, but when you think about Detroit and Motown, not all Motown
records were sold in Detroit. They were sold in other parts of the country,
so I think Philly is a development and creation city.
So how hard is it for you to stand out since there’s so much talent
in Philly?
This is what a lot of artist in Philly do wrong. You shouldn’t be trying to
stand out in Philly, because there’s so much talent, you have so many
other people trying to do the same thing. Your work shouldn’t be put
together so you can standout; you should be using the resources around
you to develop relationships and net work so you can standout somewhere
else. There are cities around the country that have kids who don’t have
anything to do but go listen to live music. I think it’s more important to go
play in those places. I think as an artist you’ll be gratified, and delivering
music to people who really want to hear live music. Philly is a hard market, I
wouldn’t put to much effort to standout for that reason.
TM
