Get to Know: Taylor Dall
A dream doesn't become reality through magic...it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
Taylor Dall is an entrepreneur who has made her dreams a reality. For the last five years, Taylor has organized and produced numerous music festivals, concerts, and local events. She is well-connected to the art world and well-versed in the art of communication.
Taylor is the founder of EMCEE Media Network and Co-Founder of DallRae Music, also managing and building the brands of a variety of artists in multiple genres—from jam bands to and electronic producers to rappers.
With her expertise in social media and marketing, Dall has helped numerous companies establish their image and online presence.
Taylor last managed Evan the Twerkgod who has performed for artists, such as OG Maco, Retch, Ugly God, Kap G, THEY, Robb Banks, Curren$y, Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert. She continues to work non-stop; however, she is certainly making her way up in the industry.
Learn more about Taylor Dall below.
INTERVIEW
Photo: @sxrreal
What is EMCEE all about?
"When I started EMCEE as a small blog over a year ago, my aim was to support the talented underground artists in Detroit and aid the revival of night life scene in Detroit. My vision for the brand continued to grow until it became a whole-ass online magazine. In addition to the normal media outlets that cover news and music releases, we’re also about shining a light on creatives… whatever the medium… musicians, artists, designers, entrepreneurs. We have quite a few writers, including myself, who offer advice and guidance to creatives who are finding their way in their industry. We’re also a conscious media platform so we prioritize social stories to bring awareness to world issues and anyone who are making an effort to solve those issues."
Where do you see your company in 5 years?
"I see EMCEE as a major media outlet in 5 years. I see us having part in events around the country— we’ve already had the honor of working with BET, the IMPACT Conference in Miami, and the XXXTentacion concerts in Detroit and Broward, among others. We also are planning a print magazine that’s focused on creatives and the creative culture. That’s in our 2 years plan."
How did you end up covering the XXXTentacion show?
"I have an amazing power player that rides for me in Miami. Her name is Shay Scene (@shayscenests) and she previously worked for X’s publicist, so I literally got confirmation the day before the show that we were covering it. That translated to the Broward show easily when they saw our article on the Detroit show. Shay also got us connected with the organizers of IMPACT who are interested in having us on the panel next year. She’s been an amazing supporter of EMCEE."
What was that night like for you?
"It was magical. Throughout my life, I’ve always gotten feelings or intuitions about things. For months before the show I just had a feeling I was going to meet X. That night I got pulled up on stage out of the blue and literally ran into several people that I knew up there. There was probably 30 people on the stage. It was exciting for me because I’ve been on that stage many times before as a performer and I was finally back.. and for a special occasion. After the show, I went back to the Members Only AirBnb.. which oddly enough was the same AirBnb I rented for Piranha Gang on New Years Eve. I sat through an hour long meeting, which was very eye-opening for me as a manager who works for an artist that has yet to go on tour. I got the chance to hear X’s Freshman Cypher bars before they dropped on the internet and talked with him one on one about the Universe and the world. It was a beautiful night."
What is unique about your company?
"One of the things that is unique about EMCEE is that it mixes the underground, or as I like to say groundbreaking, artists and entrepreneurs with the mainstream movers and shakers. We pair the two with the intention of shining more light on people who are getting their start in the industry."
How did you get into this business?
"Well that’s a long story. It’s been an evolution for me. I’ve been involved in the music scene for a decade. My place in that scene has shifted many times to form what it is today. Basically what it comes down to is I’m an organizer. That’s my strength. I’ve also been a writer for the same amount of time, so I started a blog on my personal website featuring underground artists and one day decided to expand it. I wanted it to have it’s own name. It took me months to figure out what to call it and then came up with plans, went hard branding the company on social media and created partnerships with other creators to offer something to our audience that was unique and interesting. Now I have over 30 writers that I manage and brought on a partner a few months back, Elly Kaya, who has expanded our company to the Miami area. September is/was (depending on when you release the interview) literally our one-year anniversary and when I started this company, I had no idea it would grow this fast."
Tell us about a couple of your experiences in regard to organizing and producing music festivals, concerts, and local events.
"Oh man, I got my start in a creative collective called Cirque Du Womp. We use to throw huge electronic concerts at the Majestic Theater and I was apart of the performance troupe, eating fire and fire-hooping and fun stuff like that. I got to see a lot of the inner workings of what it takes to throw a successful event. A few years later I met a guy named Scott Love and we became business partners and co-produced an annual music festival in Asheville, North Carolina together for a few years.
It was a ton of work. Waking up in the morning, coffee in hand, getting right to answering questions from musicians, workshop facilitators, vendors and attendees, creating the festival schedule, organizing the information of all contributors and attendees, and of course promoting the festival and managing its social media profiles. There’s so much that goes into creating a music festival… food, water, toilets, lighting, sound, staging, how to manage hundreds of people trying to check into the festival all at once. It was up to us to figure out all of that for thousands of people.
Day in and day out that was my life for 6 months at a time until the big day.. or days.. 3 days to be exact. Then when you’re on-site, you’re solving one problem after the other from 6am till 2am. Producing festivals is a year-round full time job, especially when you have a small team, and it was great experience. I’ll probably do it again."
If you had one piece of advice to someone just starting out, what would it be?
"Figure out your short-term and long-term goals and then figure out what you need to get done in order to achieve those goals. Use all of your free time checking off tasks from your to-do list. I swear, people can have a ton of passion and drive but without a plan and a corresponding to-do lists, people become aimless. Building a successful business is really about how organized you can be, how on top of your next move you are and how well you can manage your time."
To what do you attribute your success?
"Coffee. Lots of coffee and to-do lists. Paired with persistence and constant hustle. A simple strategy."
What key mistakes did you make along the way?
"One of the major mistakes I made is letting relationships and personal drama get in the way of focusing on my work. I learned that, for my path, I need to put myself and my future first. That’s what’s most important and is as loyal to you as you are to it."
Who motivates and/or inspires you to keep going? Why?
"Gary Vee is a huge motivator and inspires me but what really keeps me going is the people who believe in me, and the mission that I believe in for myself. I don’t want to let them down, or myself down."
One of the artists you managed and established is Evan the Twerkgod. How did that begin? How has the experience with him been?
"When Evan and I met, I was managing another artist. That artist ended up not being very manageable and when Evan’s manager failed to do his job, I stepped up. We became a power team.
Our journey together has been very exciting. In the past year, he’s performed for and we’ve hung out with power players like Pouya, OG Maco, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Retch, Ugly God, Kap G, THEY, Robb Banks, Night Lovell, Curren$y, Lil Yachty and Lil Uzi Vert. We’ve had some wild nights after the work is done and we’ve gained the eyes and ears of people doing big things. Evan is such an outgoing character and all the opportunities that have opened up for us have continued to fuel his buzz. This past summer we were together when we heard ‘Lean Cuisine’ on the local radio for the first time. That was an amazing feeling. I have no doubt about his continued success."
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