Meet the Founders of DFD Music
Two Alumni. Two Cities. Two Stories.
Shane Foster and Davis Chris founded their music marketing and recording company, DFD Music, in 2016. DFD Music embodies the success these two men have created for themselves in the recording industry. From engineering to producing, Shane and Davis worked hard to build a business and brand while living in separate cities (Davis lives in Los Angeles and Shane is in Atlanta). The distance doesn’t stop them from collaborating daily on recording projects and helping clients with their digital marketing strategies. Their energy is infectious, and it’s easy to tell they’re both driven by music and passionate about entrepreneurialism.
The L.A. Recording School Connection
Shane and Davis met while in the Audio Production Program at The Los Angeles Recording School in 2016. Their instant connection led them to work on school projects together, according to Davis.
“We had Transmedia Design first and after class, I was like, ‘man I’m going to go down to the studio and figure it out,’” said Davis. “And Shane was the only person who was like, ‘I want to figure out how the studio works too.’”
Both U.S. military veterans, Shane and Davis had a slightly different work mentality as students. They spent 3-4 hours per day in the studio at The L.A. Recording School figuring out how the mixing boards worked and connected over their mutual ambitions to learn on the fly. This mentality carried them through internships and classwork while completing their audio production degrees.
Davis worked as an intern for the Grammy award-winning songwriting and production team, The Stereotypes. Shane interned at EP Entertainment and later scored a paid internship at Live Nation here in Los Angeles, which led to a full-time marketing position at Live Nation.
Their recording internships created networking opportunities, which helped build a client base for DFD Music. Whenever the guys networked at events, they would engage in casual conversation about mutual interests and work. This helped build up their inner circle of artist connections and eventually led to more work opportunities. Yo Gotti, Iggy Azalea and Boosie Badazz are just a few of the bigger artists Shane and Davis have worked with over the years.
How to Work Together Separately
Shane moved from Los Angeles to Atlanta recently and says he still communicates with Davis every day. Even though the two music entrepreneurs work in different cities, they rely on technology to help complete sessions for clients. It doesn’t matter where or when the work comes through, it just matters that we get it done, says Shane.
“Your reputation precedes your arrival.”
Shane Foster
“You have to learn how to add value to a room.”
Davis Chris
DFD Music encompasses the entertainment business acumen both men have as well as their audio engineering backgrounds. Their business model is a mix of production, engineering and releasing studio albums on a modest budget. Their latest studio album 50/50 is set to release is Friday, June 26, 2020. This is a passion project that features artists from all over the world, including hip-hop artists AmbyDextr, Athena Poulos and Mayila.
We asked about the books that helped these men succeed in the entertainment business world. Here are their recommendations:
Davis Chris was inspired by Malcolm Gladwell’s book Outliers and Purple Cow: Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable by Seth Godin.
Shane Foster recommends Bill McGowan’s book Pitch Perfect: How to Say it Right The First Time, Every Time.
Thanks, Shane and Davis!
Follow Shane Foster and Davis Chris on Twitter!