Jastin Artis

Why artists must begin seeing themselves as leaders, not just creators.

For years, we've been teaching artists how to make music, distribute music, promote music, and monetize music.

But there's a question I believe we haven't spent nearly enough time asking:

What are you actually building with your music?

Not what are you releasing next.

Not how many streams you're getting.

Not even how many people know your name.

What are you building?

Because those are very different conversations.

And a few years ago, I began…

Why I'm interested in the employee side of workplace learning.

I've been thinking about something as I continue working with U-Music.

We spend a lot of time talking about what organizations need employees to learn.

But how often do we ask employees how they actually want to learn?

Think about starting a new job.

You're motivated. You want to make a good impression. You want to understand what you're doing.

And then you're handed hours of training materials.

Slides. Videos. Quizzes. More slides.

You complete…

What music, creative leadership, and instructional design are teaching me about how we learn.

I've spent more than two decades working in music.

Writing it. Producing it. Engineering it. Developing artists. Building strategies around it.

And one thing I've learned is that music has a remarkable ability to stay with us.

Think about it.

You might forget what someone said in a meeting last Tuesday, but somehow remember every word to a song you haven't heard in fifteen years. 😂

A melody can bring back a memory. A…

The story behind ARTIS OS, creative leadership, and learning that independence doesn't have to mean figuring everything out alone.

There's something strange about spending more than two decades in the music industry and still occasionally asking yourself:

Am I doing this right?

Not because I don't know what I'm doing.

But because there's always something else to learn, another decision to make, another responsibility to manage, and another opportunity that requires figuring out what comes next.

I've been an…

Confidence sounds different.

One of the biggest conversations I have with artists before they step on stage has nothing to do with their outfit, choreography, or even their setlist.

It's about what's on their performance track.

Specifically…

Are you performing over your lead vocals?

Now before everybody jumps in the comments…

Yes, I know many major artists perform with lead vocals in their tracks. Stadium tours. Award shows. Festivals. Some of the biggest names in the world do it.

But here's the thing:

Popularity…

It's been a tough week thinking about America's 250th Independence Day.

If I attended a Fourth of July party, I'd probably be the guy standing quietly off to the side.

Wanting to celebrate.

Wanting to smile.

But carrying a heavy heart.

After reading my dear friend Damaris Juanita Johnson reflections, I realized I've been wrestling with the same tension all week.

Part of me says…

"Yeah, America!" 🇺🇸

Another part asks…

"America?" 🤨

What exactly are we celebrating?

A nation built on extraordinary courage…

...but also on…