Queen Level, Artist Development, and Who's Best in Vancouver

Two halves, two very different conversations. First, the business of being an artist. Jessaii of Queen Level Productions and industry veteran Deshawn — 25 years in, from church drums to the business side — get into why artist development disappeared and why you now have to do it yourself. Treating yourself as a business, three-month plans, leaving breadcrumbs before a release, why college radio and the Exclaim charts still matter, and the case for promoting your own website instead of the platforms. Deshawn's line on 3,000 subscribers being a career is the one worth writing down. Then Red Shirt Mike brings the Fully Reloaded card in, and it turns competitive. Mike Wiald and Shine 9 argue their co-main event to each other's faces — who is actually best in Vancouver, who belongs in the top five, storytelling versus overpowering defense, and how many BC names deserve a spot in Canada's top 10. Recorded at B-Side Radio, Vancouver BC. 0:00 Intro: tech trouble and the lineup 3:11 Welcoming Jessaii and Deshawn 3:57 Why Queen Level Productions exists 6:13 Upcoming: Calabash and Guilt & Co. 7:35 New single 'You Delight' 9:57 Deshawn's 25 years: drums to business 12:43 Why artist development disappeared 14:28 Work ethic over talent 15:42 A Google search to a consultation 17:43 The task list and three-month plans 20:48 Breadcrumbs and posting with purpose 23:51 College radio and Exclaim charts 25:21 Building a team after injury 26:29 Music as medicine 27:42 Press releases and local media 29:59 Burnout, parenting and music 34:36 Queen Level services 38:01 Promote your website, not the socials 42:48 Monetizing beyond streaming 46:10 Where to find Jessaii and Queen Level 48:51 Red Shirt Mike on Fully Reloaded 52:00 Mike Wiald vs Shine 9: who's best 56:58 Ranking Vancouver's top five 1:03:12 Storytelling vs overpowering defense 1:10:33 Clowning Red Shirt Mike 1:15:23 Canada's top 10: how many BC names? 1:17:17 Raising the standard: honest rankings 1:20:49 Card rundown and Ellipsis vs G-Show