We had the good fortune of connecting with Marc Baldwin and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marc, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I remember when I was 18 years old I decided I wanted to be a full time musician. I was seeing a girl at the time and I remember her saying, “how are you going to have a family if you are a musician?”. I told her, “that is my goal to support a family while pursuing and living with the job of my choice.” As I have gotten, lets say, marinated in the music business, the work/life balance has gotten more intense. Being in the music industry is a twenty-four hour a day job. You are never done creating, building and perfecting your craft. When you are younger and single and have no kids, time for the most part is not a problem. The issue when you are younger is time management and for me at least, making enough money. When you have too much time it can be a task to manage because it is easy to be distracted. I am older now (42) with a wife and two kids. I run my company Musical Mindz productions, play in several bands, teach at two schools, am constantly creating content, marketing and pursuing opportunities for my company. Not only that but I am almost done with my Master Degree in Music Technology. I say this because I am able to get all of this accomplished for a few reasons. First, my wife and kids support me and they understand that work is never done and that I have to step away from them at odd times. Second, I understand that I have to get work done so I can support and earn for them. It’s a cycle of trust that everyone helps with. I am a living testament that pursuing your dreams and having a loving family is possible. There are sacrifices but it’s worth it!

What should our readers know about your business?
My company is called Musical Mindz LLC. from Atlanta, GA. I started this company about five years ago and really sat on the name for a few years because I was busy as a musician and educator. As I have grown and progressed the name Musical Mindz has become a part of me. I use this company/name for my band name, production name and I plan on using it for books and education endeavors as well. Musical Mindz is a creative music production company that creates high quality music for tv, film, artist and multimedia concepts. I feel like I am just starting this company and have a lot of challenges ahead of me. Hopefully I can grow Musical Mindz into more of a brand and eventually have employees and support myself and others with the income. I don’t have any specific expectations except following the path that God and the music industry leads me.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I have done this before with out of town friends and this is one of the reasons why I love Atlanta. First off you go get some food. I used to live on Ponce de Leon so heading the Ponce city market, Eats, Camelli’s Pizza and Taqueria del Sol to name a few. It’s always fun to see how people react to hanging out in Little Five Points and East Atlanta has the best nightlife. During the days there are tons of sporting events to check out, the Atlanta Zoo,  neighborhood parks are everywhere and festivals too.  I know Atlanta will come back stronger than ever from the challenges of 2020.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my family because without their support being a musician would be impossible. My parents supported my education pursuits even when they didn’t understand how a musician is supposed to sustain income. My family supports me everyday by giving me time and patients to complete tasks. I want to thank God and the church I have been playing at for over ten years, Hope and Life Fellowship. Allen and Renee Pullum are the kindest worship leaders and I have learned more than they know from them. My music mentors who kept it real with me, Lloyd Weinberg, Tim Haden, Matt Battle,  John James WIllikes, Richard Johnson, Delly Pranata to name a few. There countless musicians who I never knew that influenced me from Miles Davis to the Allman Bros to A Tribe Called Quest to The Roots to John Scofield. I could go on and on with that.

Website: musicalmindz.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicalmindz_/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbaldwin/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/musicalmindz_/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/musicalmindz2/
Youtube: https://youtube.com/musicalmindz
Other: https://soundcloud.com/musicalmindzproductions

Image Credits
Hollywood Kid for ‪Hollywood Kid Entertainment Group‬

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