Ep. 212: How Russ Built An Indie Empire: Business, Burnout & Self-Belief

And The Writer Is...with Ross Golan

And The Writer Is

Unknown, Music Interviews, Songwriting, Music, Songwriters, Education, Interviews, Music Creation, Artists

4.9 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2025

⏱️ 133 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week’s guest is one of the most successful independent artists in modern music.

He’s a rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer who built his career from the ground up—writing, recording, producing, mixing, mastering, and releasing everything himself.

But in this rare conversation, he opens up about the side of the journey we don’t usually hear:

The emotional weight of ownership, the mental toll of doing it all alone, and the belief system that kept him going when no one else did.

We get into:

Publishing, splits, and how he structured his business
Why he doesn’t co-write or chase features
The pressure of independence and learning to let go of control
Burnout, success, spirituality, fear of falling off, and more

This is more than a career breakdown—it's a blueprint for any creative who wants to build something real without losing their peace.

And The Writer Is... Russ!

Chapters

00:00:00 - Trailer: A Glimpse Inside

00:00:57 - Ad Break: NMPA and the Fight for Songwriter Pay

00:01:39 - Welcome to And The Writer Is… with Russ

00:02:14 - Meet Russ: The Unstoppable Indie Force

00:03:50 - From NJ to ATL: Russ’s Early Grind

00:06:40 - Atlanta’s Snap Era and Soulja Boy Influence

00:07:53 - Homegrown Sounds: 70s Rock and Dad’s Secret Talent

00:10:11 - First Guitar: The Genesis of a Songwriter

00:11:08 - GarageBand Dreams: Crafting Early Beats

00:12:09 - Musical Influences: Lil Wayne and Pop-Punk

00:13:30 - Defining the Russ Sound

00:15:29 - Drum Programmers vs. Songwriters

00:18:23 - Publishing Game: Russ’s 50/50 Split Strategy

00:25:56 - Masters vs. Publishing: Where the Money Is

00:27:06 - Losin Control: The $850K Sample Mistake

00:28:28 - Building an Independent Empire

00:30:38 - Own Your Business: Russ’s Wake-Up Call

00:33:18 - Inspiration Is a Lie: Show Up and Work

00:34:28 - Weekly Releases: Discipline Over Inspiration

00:37:14 - Creative Sparks: Shower, Planes, and Life

00:47:26 - Cherry Hill: The Hunt for the Perfect Word

00:51:09 - Live First, Write Later

00:53:10 - The Power of Delusional Belief

01:03:11 - Russ’s Blueprint: 2 Songs a Month

01:06:57 - Respect Your Audience’s Ear

01:09:18 - The Pressure of Success and Family

01:13:55 - Therapy and Acceptance

01:14:37 - Breaking Into Acting and Hollywood

01:25:26 - Ad Break: Powered by peermusic

01:47:10 - Growth Through Vulnerability

01:48:46 - Why Russ Stays Independent

01:53:27 - Fair Pay for Songwriters

02:00:22 - The “Good Problems” of Success

02:07:38 - Chloe, Otto, and Life Lessons

02:08:57 - Outro: And The Writer Is...

02:11:42 - Why Not Me? Russ’s Final Word

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Transcript

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0:00.0	I think I've gotten really far off of just delusion.
0:07.0	What's a song that just came off the cuff?
0:09.4	All of the big ones.
0:10.4	All of them.
0:11.3	315 was an hour.
0:13.3	What they want was 45 minutes.
0:15.4	I did a song a week for 96 weeks, something like that.
0:18.9	It blew up.
0:19.8	This is kind of why I did my approach of a song a week.
0:22.6	The people pick the hits.
0:24.6	Like, you could think it's this one.
0:25.6	Just put the music out, and the people will tell you it's this one.
0:28.6	Put your shit out.
0:29.6	Are you ever afraid that you'll run out of creativity?
0:33.6	Every day.
0:34.6	That comes with being an artist, you know.
0:36.6	I take care of my whole family off of music,
0:39.4	so it has to keep working.
0:41.4	I mean,
0:41.8	if you were to start from zero
0:42.9	with everything you know now,
0:44.7	how would you do it?
	...

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