RYAN LESLIE MADE $2 MILLION OFF AN ALBUM THAT SOLD 17,000 COPIES

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

0:31a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting? Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts, then add supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora. And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. Learn how podcasting can help your business. Call 844-844-iHeart. This show contains information subject to, but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not so accurate stats, and plenty more.

1:06What's up, man? This your boy, Nav Green from the Broken Play Podcast. Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs. They're chief. It's time to rebuild. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I actually drop better when I'm high. It heightens my senses, calms me down. If anything, I'm more careful.

1:39Honestly, it just helps me focus. That's probably what the driver who killed a four-year-old told himself. And now he's in prison. You see, no matter what you tell yourself, if you feel different, you drive different. So if you're high, just don't drive. Brought to you by NHTSA and the Ad Council. You know, we always say New Year, new me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals. Hey, everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of Checking In on the Black Effect Podcast Network. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth, and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered.

2:26New Year, Real You. Listen to Checking In with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode is brought to you by PNC Bank. A lot of people think podcasts about work are boring. And sure, they definitely can be. But understanding a professional's routine shows us how they achieve their success little by little, day after day. It's like banking with PNC Bank. It might seem boring to save, plan, and make calculated decisions with your bank, but keeping your money boring is what helps you live a more happily fulfilled life.

3:06PNC Bank, brilliantly boring since 1865. Brilliantly boring since 1865 is a service mark of the PNC Financial Service Group, Inc. PNC Bank, National Association, member FDIC. I know you have this pyramid of the pyramid of intimacy relationships I'm interested because in the pyramid you start with obviously at the bottom of the social media why is that? I would say that social media is almost like a virtual representation of walking around the streets of New York so anyone that you see on the streets of New York or riding the trains or however you're walking around New York you actually do have the option of speaking to them right okay so you could be in times square and you know this is 10 20 000 people in times square as long as they're standing there and walking the same street with you you have the option of speaking with them whether they're going to speak to you is up to them you have you you have the you have the option right same on the internet right social media twitter linkedin instagram whatever social platform you're on as long as they're there and they're sharing you also have the option of reaching out and speaking to them whether it's through a direct message whether it's in a comment whether it's in a retweet or reply whatever it is they obviously have the option of whether they would like to respond the connectivity is there so uh i would say the expected response and that's why you just say oh in new york because there's already built it's already built in the expected response time so once you start on social media and you're basically and that's basically a uh a virtual representation of what's happening in the world if you're just walking around the expected response time or the expectation for a response is very low right once you can move up and you actually can get an email address yeah that expectation for a response goes up a little bit So you went social media, I think you said DMs, and then now we got email.

5:16Right. So you get from DMs to email. The beauty of email as well is the fact that nine times out of ten, when you get someone's email, you've been introduced by someone. So you say, like just how I say, hey, put me in touch with your guy from the R &B, and he's doing texting. I'm going to get a warm introduction. So it's not just me reaching out. Randomly. Yeah. I'm getting a warm introduction on email, right? That can also happen on text. What I like about text, though, is the fact that text allows you to turn up from texting to a phone conversation very quickly. And when you have that kind of rapport, you're really going to see who wants to work with you when you can take stock of who actually answers your phone call, especially in 2020.

6:03Who's actually going to answer the phone call, right? And then that continues up the pyramid. Okay, yo, we had a phone call. oh, hey, look, why don't you pull up at this time? You got that in person, and then you continue moving up the pyramid from there. So I want to talk about Super Phon, but before that, I wanted to go back to that. You said you made$2 million after off that album when you took it off. So can you detail, like, how did you do that? Was it through your merch? Was it through live shows, a combination of everything? Live made up the majority. Live shows? Yeah, so when I put my number on Twitter and say, hey, everybody shoot me a text, there were 35 ,000 people that texted in the first response that everyone got and whether you're texting me for the first time or you see any of these other celebs, I mean now 6-7 years later everybody finally caught on you know what I'm saying?

6:55The first response is it needs to be automated for you to be able to manage the scale and that first response is always thanks for texting I would love to know who you are so please put your information in my phone, right? Because I'm not going to type everybody's information. So here's a form you can actually put your information in my phone so I know who's even texting me. At that point, the... What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings.

7:34Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. NLP, aka Neuro Linguistic Programming, is a blend of hypnosis, linguistics, and psychology. Fans say it's like finally getting a user manual for your brain. It's about engineering consciousness. Mind Games is the story of NLP. its crazy cast of disciples, and the fake doctor who invented it at a New Age commune and sold it to guys in suits. He stood trial for murder and got acquitted. The biggest mind game of all?

8:14NLP might actually work. This is wild. Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's up, y 'all? This is Questlove. Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with A$AP Rocky ahead of his album release, Don't Be Dumb. He reflects on his journey from his Harlem roots to global icon status, discovering the hip-hop origin of his name. The ledge was on the TV. Rakim had the bucket hat Kangol doing it. Pops was like, that's Rakim. That's who you named after. I just was like, damn, that f***er got swag. Rocky offers a window into not only a boundary-breaking artist, but as a man committed to fusing creative ideas, community and remaining unapologetically himself.

9:00Have you ever gotten roasted for any of your outfits? For sure. Some people don't be getting the vision. Look, they can roast me, they can cook me, they can deep fry me, they can saute whatever they want. There's nobody who can f*** with my fashion sense and my taste is impeccable. I'm just like, I impress myself a lot. It's an amazing conversation. One you definitely don't want to miss. So listen to the Questlove show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

9:33This season on Dear Chelsea with me, Chelsea Handler, we've got some incredible guests like Kumail Nanjiani. Let's start with your cat. How is she? She is not with us. Okay, great, great, great way to start. So this is a great beginning and hopefully you'll be able to, I don't know, maybe you will cry. Amanda Seyfried. Life is so short. If you feel something like that, you have that fire in you for this experience. It's not for a guy. It's for the experience of being in love. And like, it's bigger than a guy. Elizabeth Olsen. I love swimming naked so much. And I know you love taking pictures of yourself naked.

10:09Yes. I love to be naked. I just want to be in my brown underwear all the time. Ross Matthews. You know what kids always say to me? Are you a boy or a girl? Oh my God. All the time. That's so funny. I know. So I'm always like, hi. I try to butch it up for kids, you know, so they're not confused. Yeah, but you're butching it up. It's basically like Dora's Day. No, I turn into Bea Arthur. Listen to these episodes of Dear Chelsea on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Run a business and not thinking about podcasting? Think again. More Americans listen to podcasts than ad-supported streaming music from Spotify and Pandora.

10:46And as the number one podcaster, iHeart's twice as large as the next two combined. So whatever your customers listen to, they'll hear your message. Plus, only iHeart can extend your message to audiences across broadcast radio. Think podcasting can help your business? Think iHeart. Streaming, radio, and podcasting. Let us show you at iHeartAdvertising.com. That's iHeartAdvertising.com. A new year doesn't mean erasing who you were. It means honoring what you've survived and choosing how you want to grow. It means giving ourselves permission to feel what we've been holding and knowing that it's okay to ask for help.

11:22I'm Mike Dallarocha, host of Sacred Lessons. This podcast is a space for men to talk openly about mental health, grief, relationships, and the patterns we inherit, but don't have to repeat. Here, we slow down. We listen. We learn how vulnerability becomes strength and how healing happens in community. not in isolation if you're ready to let go of what no longer serves you and step into the year with clarity compassion and purpose sacred lessons is your companion on your healing journey listen to sacred lessons with mike de la rocha on america's number one podcast network iheart follow sacred lessons with mike de la rocha and start listening on the free iheart radio app today The difference I would say between my 2013 campaign and the campaigns that I'm seeing now is that there was a very specific intent captured at the initiation of the conversation.

12:23So I didn't just say, hey, here's my number, shoot me a text, what's up? I said, look, shoot me a text to get my new album. So they shot me a text. I already know the reason they're texting is to get my new album. the product what's your information once i have the information here's a link to get the album once that intent is captured then you have an incredibly high conversion rate so one out of every two about 17 000 people actually bought that record they bought it for ten dollars that's 170 000 right the difference though is that i now have a rolodex a record a ledger of every single person that's willing to actually spend money with me directly so now not only do i have names not only to have emails not only to have telephone numbers i have city and state and country information so now i'm going on tour got the real goal you're going on tour people go to concerts because it is a social experience so yeah you might go to the concert if none of your friends want to go you still figure out a way you go by yourself but you're still in a room with a bunch of people you guys are connected by the fact that you appreciate the artist that's on stage for me in that situation even though only 17 000 people in my phone actually bought my record they all brought a friend or two or three or five to the concerts when i announced them we sold 40 000 tickets at 60 euros a ticket you could do the math that's like five albums right there voila you know and so it's really just and like i said you know there's obviously ancillary income that happens from that there's publishing revenue and merchandise etc for me you know i i really prefer digital goods um because you know there's a cost of goods you know when you have merchandise and there's a cost of inventory there's a cost of shipping and so digital goods for me have always been my preference just because they have unlimited scale and as long as you're delivering value hopefully your content is going to be evergreen and so that's why I always I always remind an artist that even though you may feel like your music is is outdated to you it's actually brand new for the person who's hearing it for the first time and the reality is that even if you went platinum there is still a large number of people around the world who have yet to have even heard your record one time so you have the ability uh in music which is always why i say look just create the best music you possibly can because great music is evergreen you know and so you know i'm i'm doing some real estate uh development um uh and investments in in brooklyn and so you know Sometimes you'll walk into some of the, whether it's the mom and pop stores or just the bodegas or wherever, and they'll be playing some great old school music.

15:30I'd never heard the record before. I'm putting my Shazam up because for me, it's still that experience of discovering that music for the first time. It's 30, 40 years old. I love what you said as far as how many people don't know you because that happened. I realized that now with the podcast, it's become very popular, especially in our community. And we went to an event, Curl Fest. I don't know if you've heard of it But yeah One of our guests on the podcast A friend of ours She does it So we at Curl Fest this year And it's like 20 ,000 women And not a lot of men And like at least probably like 20 people came up to us Like yo we love your podcast So at first I'm like This is dope Like we feel like You know we made it But then I'm thinking Alright 20 people recognized us Which is dope But there's 20 ,000 people here Like how many people We still got so much more To penetrate I tell people every day Like, my life is so much duality.

16:21Like, I go to work. Most of my coworkers don't even know I do a podcast. I walk down the street. Most people don't even know I'm a teacher. But, like, there are rare cases. Like, we're in Houston, Ian. Somebody will say, oh, y 'all love your podcast. It's like, all right, this is cool. But, like, no, we got so much further to go. It just shows you the penetration. You can never get caught thinking that you, like, made it. Because there's always a bunch of people that don't know who you are. Have no clue who you are. Yeah, and also, just to keep it 100, you still can be ridiculously wealthy just from a niche audience you know um i would say that you know that there there exists a number of gen zers that may not even know who oprah is right that's a fact the audience though that she's created that's her niche audience and that's a that's a loyal audience and that audience is not just limited to the viewers it's also limited to the television executives that love her content and want to syndicate it right and so i think that you know the i would say the conundrum of scale or the dilemma if you will of scale is unless you really have the technological infrastructure to have a direct relationship with each one of your listeners at scale you're better off having a manageable a manageable audience in terms of size so that you can actually have a depth of a relationship with those folks i have folks uh you know you look at my socials my socials compared to the the biggest uh stars or influencers on instagram i'm i'm sitting at 360 000 followers i know that in my core though i have folks that have spent four five six seven ten thousand dollars with me and i know every dollar they spent i know the products they like etc and so you know that depth of relationship on it and and that's sort of in any uh in any vertical in any circumstance the depth of relationship is always going to yield i would say just a greater reward in general sometimes less is more less is a lot of times less is more.

18:32This is a prime example of it.

18:58earners what's up you ever walk into a small business and everything just works like the checkout is fast, the receipts are digital, tipping is a breeze, and you're out the door before the line even builds. Odds are they're using Square. We love supporting businesses that run on Square because it just feels seamless, whether it's a local coffee shop, a vendor at a pop-up market, or even one of our merch partners. Square makes it easy for them to take payments, manage inventory, and run their business with confidence, all from one simple system. One of the things we love most is seeing neighborhood businesses level up.

19:34There's this West Indian spot right in our community that started with a small takeout counter. Now with Square, they've been able to expand into a full sit-down restaurant and even started catering events across the city. That's the kind of growth that inspires us, and it's powered by Square. Square is built for all types of businesses, from the corner bagel shop that turned into a local chain, to the specialty market with thousands of unique items, to the stylist who's been holding you down for years. If you're a business owner or even just thinking about launching something soon, Square is hands down one of the best tools out there to help you start, run, and grow.

20:12It's not just about payments. It's about giving you time back so you can focus on what matters most. Ready to see how Square can transform your business? Visit square.com backslash go backslash E-Y-L to learn more. That's square.com backslash go backslash E-Y-L. Don't wait. Don't hesitate. Let Square handle the back end so you can keep pushing your vision forward. What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings.

20:49Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, a.k.a. neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This show contains information subject to, but not limited to personal takes, rumors, not-so-accurate stats, and plenty more. What's up, man? This your boy, Nav Green from the Broken Play Podcast.

21:26Look, it's the end of the season. The playoffs are here. But guess what? It ain't the end of your season. You can always tune in with Broken Play Podcast with Nav Green on the Black Effect Podcast Network. Not a team who ain't going to the playoffs. They're chief. It's time to rebuild. Listen to Broken Play with Nav Green from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or whatever you get your podcast. You know, we always say new year, new me, but real change starts on the inside. It starts with giving your mind and your spirit the same attention you give your goals.

21:57Hey, everybody, it's Michelle Williams, host of Checking In on the Black Effect Podcast Network. And on my podcast, we talk mental health, healing, growth and everything you need to step into your next season, whole and empowered. New year, real you. Listen to Checking In with Michelle Williams from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Talking to your kids about the dangers of vaping can be hard. Getting them to listen to hot gossip is easy. So here's some drama you could share with your kid. Dude, did you hear about Cassie and Jake?

22:36No, but did you hear that vaping can cause irreversible lung damage and nicotine affects brain development? Nuh-uh. You don't need to gossip if you want to have an open conversation about vaping. So if you want to get tips on when and how to talk to your kids, visit talkaboutvaping.org. Brought to you by the American Lung Association and the Ad Council. I didn't really have an interest in being on air. I kind of was up there to just try and infiltrate the building. From the underground clubs that shaped global music to the pastors and creatives who built the cultural empire, the Atlanta Is podcast uncovers the stories behind one of the most influential cities in the world.

23:11The thing I love about Atlanta is that it's a city of hustlers, man. Each episode explores a different chapter of Atlanta's rise, featuring conversations with Ludacris, Will Packer, Pastor Jamal Bryant, DJ Drama, and more. The full series is available to listen to now. Listen to Atlanta is on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.