HSAY 016 - Scott Isbell - Professional Pop Singer | Viral Social Media Sensation

The How Social Are You Podcast

HSAY 016 - Scott Isbell - Professional Pop Singer | Viral Social Media Sensation

Background:

“It was like my internet existence was completely erased"

At the age of 4, Isbell became enamored with the rhythm and soul portrayed by an Elvis impersonator. Inspired by the performance, he began to emulate his new-found hero, Elvis Presley through his songs. As he grew, he discovered another King of Pop, Michael Jackson, who fueled Isbell’s curiosity to performing arts, setting his sights high on music. At 12, Scott competed in USA’s Most Talented Kids. Influenced by his heroes and other legends such as James Brown, Isbell was seen as a natural on stage where his signature old Soul of new Pop style began to take shape.

Without an agent or managers and pushed by his desire to perform, Isbell also landed professional acting roles in both TV and film. However, singing became Isbell’s way to creatively channel the frustrations of living with ADHD. His passion for music helped him focus on developing his vocal intensity, fueling his soulful sound. Isbell has performed at venues across the United States, including The MGM Grand, Hard Rock Cafés, Disney World, and Foxwoods Resort and Casino. An avid fan of professional wrestling, Isbell also performs at professional wrestling events alongside WWE superstars. During the summer of 2014 and 2015, Isbell toured and opened for Wu-Tang Clan legend, Cappadonna, and other artists such as Spliff Star (Busta Rhymes), Ne-Yo, Inspectah Deck, Bricksquad, Young Dirty Bastard, and more.

Today, Scott Isbell is taking his musical ambitions to the next level, studying at the world-renowned Berklee College of Music and now at Emerson College. Scott Isbell’s most viral campaign to date has been his hit song Trumpified, which has surpassed 46 million plays and has reached number 2 in the world on the Soundcloud charts, number 1 on the Pop charts on Soundcloud, and reached number 97 on the iTunes Hot 100 charts.

Highlights:

• Lives in Boston
• 23 years old
• Professional Pop Singer
• Singing since 3 years old
• A few summers ago decided to put out a Pro-Trump presidential song
• Wanted to be the first to put out a Pro-Trump piece
• Created Trumpified song
• Has a pop/funk vibe
• Song eventually went viral
• Blew up on Soundcloud and YouTube
• Was hacked, though, by protesters
• A lot of his content was deleted when he was hacked on his social media accounts
• Never got his Youtube, Facebook, or Instagram back!
• Lost a lot of followers and subscribers
• Had to start all of his social media accounts again from scratch
• “Weather you like Trump or not, he got us to call out the media for their bias”
• This past year and a half has completely transformed our media according to Isbell
• How did he go about rebuilding his social media presence after hack?
• It was like his internet existence had been completely erased
• After he got hacked, started taking twitter more seriously
• Twitter was really responsive and helpful when he was hacked
• Has 1 million followers on twitter now
• Each social media site is its own puzzle
• Some sites he has a lot of engagement and many followers, and others aren’t so much his forte
• What works for one site probably won’t work for the other
• Hashtags aren’t the same on Instagram as they are on Twitter
• Pick one platform and really try to grow that platform, then you can try to grow the others
• Goes to Berklee for school-- prestigious music school
• No upcoming tours, but planning a few upcoming shows
• Is working on some new projects-- one with Howard Stern
• Also working on some solo songs
• Trying to find the balance between working on music as an artist and using/engaging with social media
• So many artists won’t get heard because they don’t put enough time into social media/don’t use social media
• Wants to learn more about Youtube and how to use it more effectively
• All social media platforms have their own community
• There is less face to face communication because of social media-- everyone tuned into their phones
• What’s incredible about social media is that you can meet some great people over the platforms
• Isbell has met some of his closest friends over social media
• As a society we need to learn how to use social media more wisely
• It is a good this for business purposes but everyone needs to learn when to shut it off
• Have to start learning how to step back a bit

Resources:

• Listen to Trumpified here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEJUTJ4mrXo
• Gary Vaynerchuk Crush It https://www.amazon.com/Crush-Time-Cash-Your-Passion/dp/0061914177
• Gary Vaynerchuk Jab Jab Right Hook: https://www.amazon.com/Jab-Right-Hook-Story-Social/dp/006227306X

Connect:

Website: http://scottisbellmusic.com

Twitter: scottisbell_

Gab: @scottisbell

Youtube: Scott Isbell Music

Soundcloud: Scott Isbell

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