SPOTLIGHT
DeShaun Jones
Music Industry Consultant/A&R/Curator
Hamilton Arts Week 2021 is a city-wide celebration aimed to showcase the resilience and resonance of Hamilton’s creative community with an array of digital presentations.tttt
As part of this year’s celebration, the Hamilton Arts Council will launch the first BIPOC hART MUSIC SERIES which will feature 4 signature presentations with the goal of supporting the featured artists in audience development and networking.
DeShaun Jones is heading up the BIPOC hART Music Series as the series Host and Curator. Jones has over 16 years of experience in music management, curation, and consulting and most recently worked with TD Niagara Jazz Festival and Hamilton Winterfest.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Jones at his office at CoWork at The Cotton Factory. When asked about his career Jones said, “I have worked in many aspects of the industry. My passion is assisting with artist development and the execution of an artist’s business plan.”
When the Hamilton Arts Council approached Jones about the series, he was more than happy to join the team. With 18 artist submissions for the first BIPOC series in Hamilton, Jones took his time assessing each applicant and over a few days he was able to select four artists for the series.
Jones explained the call for submission was specifically targeting emerging artists. “We didn’t want new or established artists, we were looking for artists who were standing someplace in the middle who have had some motion in their careers.”
When asked about the criteria, Jones shared, “A song on college radio and on streaming sites with some exposure in print media. The artists we were looking for needed an understanding of what is required to be in the industry and have at least a 30 minute set of music to showcase. We were looking at artists who appeared to have a larger plan in place and who have been physically working on their business.”
Additional requirements included self identifying as BIPOC, having Canadian citizenship and living in Hamilton, the Greater Hamilton Region or Six Nations.
Grant money from the Ontario Arts Council will provide each of the selected artists $1,000 to spend on expanding their artistic presentation through the creation of a professionally filmed/produced presentation. Artists will also have an opportunity to build an audience and receive professional development assistance.
“I hope the artists see this as an opportunity to create a professional video for themselves which can later be used to promote their practice. We were looking to give people an opportunity to beef up their profile and use this as a launch pad.” said Jones.
The four artists chosen for the series are Gambian born artist, Aisha Barrow, Mohawk/French Canadian Singer-Songwriter from Six Nations, James Wilson, Egyptian Canadian Rapper Omar Badawi aka MER and virtuoso sitarist, Neeraj Prem.
When asked about how he sees his role in the industry, Jones identifies himself as a facilitator. “I want people to have a good understanding of what the industry is about. Some artists have no business savvy, which I am hoping to assist with. It’s a long game, not short term. Things can happen quicker because of the internet, but it is still a long game.”
When asked what are the basic things all artists need in their tool kit to succeed, Jones replied, “All artists need a well designed web page, many professional photos, and creative content such as a performance/ music videos, a one song performance video, an electronic press kit (EPK), stage plot, rider, MP3s, a one sheet and a booking contract. Artists need to have the ability to be their own booking agent until they can get signed on to one.”
Jones cautioned, “ Nothing should happen verbally.”
“These are just the basics, artists should be able to send these out electronically.”
In Jones’s opinion, “Social media is great, however it is better to bring people to your website, invite them to your house. Allow people to know your story.”
You can find out more information about the Hamilton Arts Week presentations on the Hamilton Arts Council’s website https://www.hamiltonartscouncil.ca