Oprah's Drummer Madame Gandhi on Feminism, Activism, Music Video Budgets as an Indie Artist
Explicit content warning
05/13/20 • 63 min
Today's guest is with Madame Gandhi (birth name Kiran Gandhi). She's an incredibly inspiring person, an activist, and feminist. She started her career drumming for M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, and embarked on Oprah Winfrey's Vision 2020 tour before the COVID-19 pandemic. Gandhi is also a recording artist and speaker. She also holds an MBA from Harvard University.
We talk about release strategy, how she creates her music and high production value music videos as an independent artist.
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2:25 - Madame Gandhi's tour with Oprah Winfrey
7:00 - Kiran getting her MBA and how she did it with her touring schedule
8:50 - Kiran's Indian heritage and culture
15:12 - When Kiran Gandhi came up with the name and project Madame Gandhi
18:04 - What Madame Gandhi thinks an activist is
19:30 - How Kiran chooses which companies/brands to work with
27:15 - Switching sides: Going from employee to employer and what the responsibilities are like
31:10 - How often Madame Gandhi does high production music videos
31:46 - Staying healthy on the road and when you're away from home
33:28 - Madame Gandhi's viral moment running the London Marathon
36:27 - The 'Visions' EP's story
38:04 - Madame Gandhi's creation process - is there a lot of collaboration? What DAW Madame Gandhi uses
41:50 - Maintaining Gandhi's sound and why her drumming skills are vital when writing music
43:33 - Gandhi's independent career and why she hasn't signed to a major label
47:20 - How many shows Gandhi has performed as Madame Gandhi
48:20 - The independent musician hustle - Gandhi's Instagram strategy and understanding your brand
56:40 - The release strategy for Madame Gandhi and the thought process behind her methods
59:30 - Remaining close to the original message of the song when creating music videos and visuals
1:01:38 - What it means to Madame Gandhi to make it in the new music business
---
Connect with Ari’s Take:
Website: https://aristake.com
Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.take
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Connect with Ari Herstand:
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstand
YouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ariherstand
Connect with Madame Gandhi:
Website: https://www.madamegandhi.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Today's guest is with Madame Gandhi (birth name Kiran Gandhi). She's an incredibly inspiring person, an activist, and feminist. She started her career drumming for M.I.A., Thievery Corporation, and embarked on Oprah Winfrey's Vision 2020 tour before the COVID-19 pandemic. Gandhi is also a recording artist and speaker. She also holds an MBA from Harvard University.
We talk about release strategy, how she creates her music and high production value music videos as an independent artist.
---
2:25 - Madame Gandhi's tour with Oprah Winfrey
7:00 - Kiran getting her MBA and how she did it with her touring schedule
8:50 - Kiran's Indian heritage and culture
15:12 - When Kiran Gandhi came up with the name and project Madame Gandhi
18:04 - What Madame Gandhi thinks an activist is
19:30 - How Kiran chooses which companies/brands to work with
27:15 - Switching sides: Going from employee to employer and what the responsibilities are like
31:10 - How often Madame Gandhi does high production music videos
31:46 - Staying healthy on the road and when you're away from home
33:28 - Madame Gandhi's viral moment running the London Marathon
36:27 - The 'Visions' EP's story
38:04 - Madame Gandhi's creation process - is there a lot of collaboration? What DAW Madame Gandhi uses
41:50 - Maintaining Gandhi's sound and why her drumming skills are vital when writing music
43:33 - Gandhi's independent career and why she hasn't signed to a major label
47:20 - How many shows Gandhi has performed as Madame Gandhi
48:20 - The independent musician hustle - Gandhi's Instagram strategy and understanding your brand
56:40 - The release strategy for Madame Gandhi and the thought process behind her methods
59:30 - Remaining close to the original message of the song when creating music videos and visuals
1:01:38 - What it means to Madame Gandhi to make it in the new music business
---
Connect with Ari’s Take:
Website: https://aristake.com
Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.take
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTake
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/
Connect with Ari Herstand:
Website: https://ariherstand.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstand
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstand
YouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ariherstand
Connect with Madame Gandhi:
Website: https://www.madamegandhi.com/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Previous Episode
Sexual Harassment, Sexism and Life as a Female DJ in a Male Dominated Field with Dani Deahl
Today's guest is Dani Deahl. She's the music and technology writer for The Verge. In addition to being a journalist, she's a DJ and the Vice President of the Recording Academy, Chicago Division.
Dani and I dig into what it's like being a woman in a male-dominated industry. She also gives some tips on how to break in and become a professional DJ. We also discuss artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry.
---
Quick links:
2:27 - Getting started as a DJ and how the industry has evolved
4:40 - Growing up in Chicago and realizing there weren't many role models
6:11 - Having a lot of male peers
8:20 - Who Dani went to when these derogatory actions happened
11:38 - How to be an ally to women in the music + advice to guys to know when they're crossing the line
19:06 - Is harassment becoming less prevalent? How has it changed over the years? Has your treatment being a DJ changed?
24:40 - How often Dani DJs
25:20 - Tips and tricks on breaking into the DJ/producer world
27:32 - Is there a digital calling card to send to promoters for DJs?
28:53 - The importance of Instagram
33:38 - Artificial Intelligence (AI) in music
43:50 - Will AI take over the live DJ space?
49:15 - "Context listening"
54:22 - Spotify playlist editors too powerful
1:06:55 - What is the Recording Academy? Dani's role as Vice President, Chicago Division
1:11:53 - How to get into the Recording Academy
1:19:10 - Who owns the copyright in a co-created song with artificial intelligence?
1:34:15 - How Dani defines making it in the new music business
---
Playlist Push review: https://aristake.com/post/playlist-push-review
150+ Female Producers You Need to Know: https://aristake.com/post/150-female-producers-you-need-to-know
---
Connect with Ari’s Take:
Website: https://aristake.com
Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.take
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTake
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/
Connect with Ari Herstand:
Website: https://ariherstand.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstand
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstand
YouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ariherstand
Connect with Dani Deahl:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Next Episode
Red Light Manager on When and How to Get Management with Andrew Leib
Today's guest is my good friend, Andrew Leib. He's an artist manager at Red Light Management. He's worked on the teams of Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Counting Crows, Three Doors Down, Emily King, Lecrae, Luke James, Cory Henry, Victoria Canal, Nu Deco Ensemble. He's worked with a lot of artists.
Andrew and I get into his story and what he looks for in artists that he wants to work with and how artists can reach out to managers. We dig into artist branding and his process on how to put a package together.
This was a fun episode for me to be able to catch up with one of my best friends.
---
Quick links:
2:04 - Andrew going to China for a nine city tour
7:20 - Being a hands-on manager and 'being in the band without being on stage with them.'
9:30 - Things Andrew's learned about being a manager from his years of experience in the music business
17:05 - Creating an authentic artist brand so fans can connect to them
25:51 - The Nu Deco Ensemble project, an orchestra for the 21st century
37:12 - Do you need a manager? What Andrew looks for in clients before bringing them onboard.
44:30 - Getting a manger doesn't happen from the first meeting. It takes time.
55:00 - How do you reach out to a manager after you've built up your business?
1:00:31 - How Andrew defines making it in the new music business
---
Connect with Ari’s Take:
Website: https://aristake.com
Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.take
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTake
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/
Connect with Ari Herstand:
Website: https://ariherstand.com
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstand
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstand
YouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ariherstand
Connect with Andrew Leib:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leib/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/grandwazoo4u
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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