Meet Matt Alcobia | Record Label Owner | Music Producer | Sound Engineer

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

Hi Matt, what is the most important factor behind your success?
There are many factors which, together, drive my business. Out of everything, I can break it down to 3 factors which are definitely necessary for the success of my business. First is Mindset. You have to believe to achieve! Running a business is no easy task, let alone being in the entertainment industry, theres never a dull moment and anything can happen. For instance, being open minded helps to relate and connect with people all around the world. Also being able to put myself in a creative space when I’m in the studio, or creating marketing material that’s effective and stands out. It really takes a strong mindset to keep a level head no matter what the situation. Mindset is something I developed, it took a lot of self development work and training, not to mention learning from mistakes. Second most important factor I think would have to be Passion. Goes hand in hand with mindset. I absolutely love what I do, music is my life and there’s nothing I would rather do! I’m passionate about my work and I care about the quality of work we deliver. It’s a lot easier to overcome all the challenges and struggles that you face as a business owner when your passionate about what you do. It’s also easier to inspire others and motivate your team, people can tell when your passionate about your work, everything in your business carries the energy that you put into it, what you put out there is what you can expect to get back! The last factor I’ll mention specifically for my business is that I Focus on others. I don’t do this for myself, I created this business for my kids, so they have something to get them through life and support their families. The whole purpose of this label is to look after the best interests of artists, so every decision I make I ensure the artist always benefits the most. If I didn’t run this business with always keeping the artists and my kids in mind, it would never have worked. All 3 of those factors are definitely the key components to what makes this business successful.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Noize Cartel Records exists to help independent artists with the resources and knowledge they need to have a professional career in the music industry. We are artist focused and lookout for the artists best interests while encouraging creative freedom. I’ll help anyone if they genuinely want the help and ask, weather they work with us or not, it’s about providing the right information so artists can make informed decisions for themselves. It’s lack of knowledge that’s the main reason so many artists never make it in this industry. There is a lot of incorrect information out there, and a lot of scammers who use that to make money off of artists who don’t know any better. I can tell you there’s no one size fits all solution that every artist can just pay for and magically become famous over night. Artists have specific target markets based on what they are all about. It takes a dedicated approach, and well crafted marketing, to reach the right people who will become lifelong supportive fans. Thanks to the technology available to us today, It’s literally never been easier to reach the exact target market worldwide on any budget. It’s more than just posting on your social media pages, it’s more than getting featured on a podcast, it’s definitely more than having your music on Spotify, it’s more than just playing shows, although those things might make us feel good, at the end of the day none of it matters if you don’t have any fans. I’m not talking about social media following, an artist can have tens of thousands of followers on social media and still not make any money. If you don’t own your database your risking the future of your business by relying on third parties. Most artists don’t know how to do this type of thing, and fair enough they are talented musicians and want to play music, which is what they should be doing, but most artists are natural marketers too, and if they use technology they can automate a system that grows their fanbase while they do what they are best at. These are the types of things we help our artists with. We want them to be independent, and give them the knowledge to do that. Our established artists don’t need us, some of them have gone totally independent, they choose to continue working with us and are involved with helping new artists increase their exposure. It’s awesome to see, and it’s led to new artists releasing their debut album and charting in the Top 100. For an artists first release to get in the charts it opens a lot of doors for them. We definitely aren’t your ordinary record label. I care about the future of the music industry, music is so important to people’s lives, it does a lot for people, it can change the way people think and how they act, so it’s important to deliver quality content with the right messages, it plays a part in shaping who we are as people. However it’s a hard industry for people to dedicate themselves too. It takes a lot of work and puts strains on relationships. I sacrifice a lot to work in this industry full time and to offer the service and resources to artists that need the help, but honestly there’s nothing I would rather do, I love what I do and am grateful to be able to have the ability to help artists and provide quality entertainment to the world. Support Independent Music!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I grew up in Pacific Beach, so I would definitely take them for a walk on the boardwalk and would probably ride the roller coaster at Belmont Park in Mission Beach just because it’s a bit iconic. I would take them into Pacific Beach Tattoo and try to talk them into getting a commemorative tattoo. I would have to take them downtown to check out a Padre game at the stadium, then out to check out the Gaslamp Area at night. I think a visit to the Maritime Museum and the Midway would be in store as well. Seaport Village is another great place to go, especially if they have kids they can go on the carousel, it’s probably the fastest carousel I’ve ever been on! A ferry ride over to Coronado for lunch is always fun too. I would take them to La Jolla to see the seals and the tide pools, maybe visit the Birch Aquarium as well. A ride on the Coaster would be fun, it’s a pretty amazing scenic train ride along the San Diego coastline. There are a bunch of great Breweries around San Diego to sample some of the local beers, as well as a lot of wineries in Ramona that produce some great local wine. There’s a winery out there called La Finquita Winery that has wine slushees which are really good! I would definitely have to take them out for dinner at Tio Leo’s, it’s a must visit for sure. They have been supporting the live music scene in San Diego for over 35 years, and host award winning bands, with some of the finest musicians in San Diego! The list of things to do in San Diego goes on, this is a destination city, people come here because there’s so many attractions and things to do, I’m really fortunate to be part of the entertainment scene here, and help some of the amazing talent get their music out to the world to enjoy!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The value of supporting one another’s business is priceless. We would not be where we are today without the support of others and people who have bent over backwards to help us when they didn’t have to. Noize Cartel Records is family owned and operated, we consider everyone we work with as part of our family and I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of my family. My uncle Eddie Alcobia has played a big part in helping me fit out a professional studio as well as building sound systems for festivals and events that we run live sound at. He has been working in the music industry in San Diego for as long as I can remember. My mom has been supportive of my career in the music industry, and helps me a lot with looking after one of my sons who lives in Australia, as I am away a lot. All of our artists are amazing people who help one another as well as grow the label, I definitely appreciate all the work they do and they extend the support to other artists which allows us to help a greater number of artists with their careers. We also wouldn’t be able to offer artists the resources they need without the help from people like Chelsea Scott from Second Story Studios, Jeff Forrest from Doubletime Studios, Ash Gay and his team at Xelon Entertainment, Jesse from J. Sutton Photo, and Felicia from Pic A Boo Photography. They all have done so much for us to help artists with what they need and I’m forever grateful for them. I have to also say thank you to both my sons Preston and Remi, without them this wouldn’t exist and no matter how much I’m away they always continue to motivate me to work hard, and they love getting involved with all of it! And thank you to everyone who supports independent music!

Website: www.noizecartelrecords.com

Instagram: @noizecartelrecords

Linkedin: LinkedIn.com/in/mattalcobia

Twitter: @NoizeCartelRec

Facebook: Facebook.com/noizecartelrecords

Image Credits
Jesse Sutton – J.Sutton Photo Felecia McGowian – Pic A Boo Photography