Music Soul with Wendy Starland

And welcome to Cindy Stumbo tough his nails on WBZ News Radio. Okay, who's our guest tonight in the studio? Do you know Wendy Wendy has the last name we go by Wendy Wendy. That's your stage name, right, Stalin or is that real?

Darland? Yes?

Is that stage name? Or is that your name?

Born born with the star and my name born with it?

Okay, there you go. Ye, Actually, Sammy, I met somebody recently that Wendy went to camp with. So you must went to camp up in New York or Maine somewhere.

No, yeah, Maine, we camp a triple A camp.

Really, we played you in sports. I went to Viga, all right.

You guys were great at tennis.

Youwhere?

So I won't ask how Wendy is. But Sammy's thirty seven, so you can. You guys can run the numbers yourselves. Okay, So, yeah, I met Sammy recently that said they went to camp with you. Anyways. And by the way, when Samy's a friend of mine, don't have a knock a friend of mine because I'm coming at you right.

So I'm extremely loyal, loyal to the core.

It's just something you're born with, Okay, Wendy, tell my listeners something about how did you get started? How did Wendy Stalin become Wendy Stalin? I pronounced my eyes? Did I pronounce my eyes on that one? Thank you? Thank you.

I've been in the music business my whole life, but I was discovered at fourteen years old by Maceo Parker. I'm sure you guys have heard of James Brown. Well, when James Brown went solo, his band stayed intact and Maceeo Parker became the lead singer, and he sounds just like James Brown. And he pulled me up on stage as a fourteen year old club hopping around New York, which, of course I had my fake ID pretending that I was eighteen. I having back twenty one.

Oh that was twenty one.

Yeah, So basically I went in and I ended up scatting on his stage because I'd been my whole life, and it was written up in all the newspapers the next day, and he got down on one knee and put a bass string around his finger and said to me, Wendy, will you please this from this day forward? You are married to music. And from that day forward, I was married to music. It was written up in all the newspapers the next day and I got gigs all around New York. And that's how it all started for me.

And then take us from the next phase. So you're out there, you're in the music industry, and now you're out looking for what talent or he just happened to find step in it.

No, no, I really was, you know. I got the producer of the Rolling Stones came to me and said, Wendy, I think you're the next big star. Let's get into the studio together. I made some recordings and my Space became the biggest thing at the time, and I went to number one eight times on MySpace on their music charts, and an agent said to me, Wendy, I would love to shop you around me Down, which is a huge music conference. I got two record deals, one with Sony

When you were Sony when Sony made yournof was was that with donnieina A, Tommy Matola back in the day with Charlie Walk.

This was actually out of Europe, so it started so I was touring all throughout Europe, and my song was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and so I was the only, you know, twenty five year olds who was honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame at such a young age. So I came back to the States after touring for a few years, and basically what happened was I I got approached by lots of different multi platinum producers who said to me, Wendy, we would love

And I know there's not a lot you can talk about that because the way down different avenues. But you were pretty much the one that stepped in and said, okay, this girl's got talent.

Well not only that, we we we created the entire you know, we created the brand with her and brought a team of This was like my startup, so you know, this included songwriting, This included you know, uh, creating the name, uh, getting the record deals. She was dropped, getting the second record deal, so her.

Forgetting record deal. She was dropped, and then after he.

Was dropped, and then we had to you know, as a team. We got her the second record deal and after or she was dropped. You know, it was a really intense time because the music industry basically makes it very difficult for you to read enter and here we were sitting on the first album, The Fame, which got Billboard's Album of the Decade one hundred and eight weeks on the charts at number one. I mean, she is just a powerhouse. But it took years and a lot of time.

Devotions, obviously the first album didn't do so great, and they went to dropped her right the sales were wrong.

They didn't they didn't release it. They sheltered as they shelter. She used her as a text right off.

They never put the shelf the album Elli Read Okay got it? Eli Read says.

It was the worst decision of his life, and I would have to agree.

So they didn't release the first album. So it wasn't that she had failed. They just shelved her and then she got picked up again.

It was hard, yes, it was. It was the record label's fault completely. Their album, like I said, one hundred and eight weeks on the Billboard charts and got Album of the decade and number two on that list. Spent half the amount of weeks at number one. So this was a huge the you know, the biggest artist of the last twenty five years. We've created a global brand.

And then what happened at that point it was a we and then a not we. It was we the four way it was.

It was fantastic. But basically, you know, I went on

Okay, let me use it. Told I thought we're going to break. This is Sidney Stumple, and welcome back. This is Cidney Stumple. I'm here with Samantha to have his nails on WBZ and we are here with Wendy Stalin. We'll pick up where we left off. I'm sorry.

So yeah. Music Soul is basically the next project that

So you've learned to pivot big time from what you were used to doing into this new tech world.

Well, it's not just pivoting, it's basically taking all the experience I have from creating a global brand and automating hit and making it accessible to artists everywhere, which just hasn't been done before. You know, the record labels expect you to come completely packaged, you know, with perfect songs, perfect marketing, millions of followers, millions of streams. How are

I think it's funny. Next week we have a country singer coming in that and again another person on my social media right he was that what number three on country to the music charts got to number one and he was number three, and I said, look, I want to get you on my show. Immediately he finally hit number one, and he did it all by himself, all self paid. Amaz Yeah, yeah, I get it. I have to like literally hook you guys.

Is definitely the exception to the rule. But even at number one, like I said, you've got it's been number one a million times. How much is he getting paid for number one? It's great to have the accolades, you know, but you know, listen, I'm a songwriters you know, honored by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Grammy nominated, worked with every artist across the board. You know, lots of the biggest names in the world, opened for Jack White and Cheryl Crow and you know, on the records of Nora Jones.

So if you're just nobody, they can come onto that platform. Is it again? Technology for free? So technology and me we're not best friends, Okay, I like a dumb house.

People like Instagram would disagree with you. I say, you've got lots of followers on Instagram, very loyal followers.

I think I think.

She didn't want the question.

Why I came on Instagram, Wendy was because people were taking my houses off my websites. And Smith would say, Mom, your house is all over Instagram and people taking credits for your work, whether it's bathroom's, kitchens, whatever, front elevations, and I'm like, what are you talking about that? How do you get those pictures? And then I went on I'm like, dude, that's not your picture. And some people were really polite and said, you know what, you're right.

Right.

It's like, buddy, gets you get my picture off your page. We had so many fights, Sammy like, and then you got Sidney Stumples talking to Sidney Stumples and on Sidney Stumple liked.

I have how many Wendy Starlin's are there across social media?

There's like, but these people answer questions what kind of pain? What that's and it gives these people advice. It's not me. I'm like people Google crazy, like go get your own identity, leave me alone. Okay, exactly crazy, But Wendy normal. You're also doing so much modeling too. Tell us what you're doing in New York right now? What are you doing in New York right now?

Well, I just modeled in New York Fashion Week.

Oh that's right, that's fast week.

So I've just modeled in a New York Fashion Week like a week ago or something. And now I'm speaking. So music soul has so many facets to it with charities and causes to also drive traffic and raise money for charities and causes. So I am speaking, I was. I'm speaking at the United Nations on Saturday in front of the General Assembly about how music soul can really enhance their initiatives and make raise money for them in a fun and engaging way for people instead of people

Very cool. So you grew up in the Northeast.

Right, grew up here in New York City.

I love it, okay, But you live on the West coast, right.

I now live in Los Angeles. But to be frank, I traveled two hundred days last year, so I'm usually not anywhere for more than five days at a time. It's been three years of extreme travel for me between modeling. You know, Paris, Milan, London, New York, LA. You know, it's all over the place.

Did you think that girl that went to Camp Wik Triple A, who's going to become the woman she became?

Never in a million years. Never in a million years. I mean I had always has been singing. I was, you know, the lead in the play or whatnot at Summer Camp. But I never thought that. I certainly couldn't have predicted that I really helped to build Lady Gaga and discover and develop her from an unknown artist to a billion dollar brand. I definitely couldn't have expected that I would pair with the technologists to create something really incredible for people to be able to monetize their careers.

All that thought. I'll say Stumpo and he listened to Toughest Nails on WBZ News. Ratio will be right back and welcome back to Toughest Nails on WBZ. Sammy. I said, Sammy opened us, bring us Backshe no, I wasn't in the mood. She doesn't like to go out or bring in. So this is kind of I don't even think samuels his story. So Wendy needs a beautiful house to shoot it. That's how Wendy and I became friendly and started talking on either We're following each other and She's like, Cindy,

Gorgeous, gorgeous. Thank you so much. That was so wonderful of you.

So she just reached out. I said, I'll make it happen, right. So that's again when people say, can people really become friendly from social media? Yeah they can. It just takes two people to make the effort right. Just can't be one sided. It's one side, you know, get rid of that person.

I met my boyfriend through Instagram? Can make that my boyfriend Chris boss with three and a half years later. I don't know if you follow him. He's fantastic, but he was a former FBI hostage negotiator. He's such an interesting human being and uh yeah, we he messaged me on Instagram and uh so three and a half years later, you know, and.

Did you trust U? Did you trust this dude? Right from the beginning? As you go on don't know, maybe as well.

Okay, he told me that the first date was much more like a cross examination. There was some some very inaccurate things on Wikipedia about him at first, and you know, it said he was a lot older than he was. It said, you know, there were some some iffy things. It said he was married, but that ended up being his daughter in law, thank god. And so now, uh, you know, I made him shure, I.

See, I can see. I can see the happiness to your through your pictures. We're all watching that, right. Pictures tell when they say pictures tell a thousand stories. The eyes can tell it all. Your you can tell body language. I can anyways, Then I look at some couples go, oh that's so phony. Oh he's banging another broth. Oh she's she not him? Oh yeah, this ain't working at all. I don't know how I know these things I swear of go. I don't how I know them, but I

Now?

What what we have? This company? You've got partners in this company or the founder.

Yeah, I'm the co founder with Aris Percidis. We've got our board and right now we're we're building this to create you know, major disruption in the same way that you know Spotify disrupted many years ago, and now we're about to disrupt Spotify and create major change in you know, the ecosystem for artists to be able to really extend the life of their careers and make money off music instead of being T shirt salesman. I mean that's basically

Do you know anything about social Oh my god, social audio. Thank you, Cindy, I had a brain at a pause moment. Do you know any about social autosocial social audio? You actually get to talk. We talk to people. So I want I want you to download when you get a chance, this app called geez. I don't have Mahdi here to help me here. Chatter chatter social right is I and I sit on the board of that one. You think I would know all this stuff, but there's so much

Your phone?

Right, Who's I got three phones? What do I do with all these phones? Okay, so there's questions in the box for Wendy. This is what Chad's girlfriend learned to do last week.

How much, if at all, has music sinking helped your career and what are your thoughts about AI in the industry and how it can benefit artists?

Okay, well, music sinking has been a huge, a huge, huge money maker for me in my career. And you know, I'm I'm signed to a major publisher and so like my first thing was the theme song to an NBC TV show called Las Vegas. I don't know if you remember that.

I love that show.

Yeah, oh great, Well, I you know, created the theme song which was and which was one of the main major you know, commercials on NBC and from there and this was a song that I literally, uh composed and produced out of my own home in my bedroom as like a kid, and it became this It ended up being a huge money maker. They used it on another TV show. They used it for the Olympics. Uh, you know, on a commercial during the Olympics. So having all of

Had how many seasons? How many seasons? That show have three? Four seasons?

I you know, I can't tell you, but I I really I loved it and it allowed me to then create theme songs for other TV shows movies. So sinking is a great way to go, especially as an unknown artist, and you know, focusing on your songwriting ability, that's a great if you say.

Right, she's to answer the questions I've lost that, okay, Ai, go ahead.

You're back to pictures of me and Chris.

Yeah, he popped on but no, we have you on Chatta too, right, So people asking questions in the back chat, that's how I want you get on there. But I'll explain all that to you later.

So just to answer the question about AI, AI is fully integrated into the music soul app and so we think that it's a fantastic if used appropriately. I personally haven't used AI too in the creation of music yet. I'm sure I'll give it a try, but I haven't done that at this point. But chat, GPT and the pairing of artists with brands and smart contracts are all AI enabled functions inside of music soul which are going to be completely helpful.

As completely because voice Taylor Swift.

With Donald Trump, right, you know, he there was some AI version of Taylor Swift on Donald Trump's website endorsing him, but she hadn't really endorsed him. She's so anyway, Yeah.

I can just take anybody's voice and say anything though, I mean that's actually.

Your voice, but their image, you could their likeness. I mean it really, you know, most of these social media platforms have You've already agreed and accepted to give away your name and likeness by being on Instagram or Facebook. So you have to make sure that your AI is kept for yourself. And I haven't read the fine print able to be an expert.

But somewhere down the road it will find a way to sneak into your business too, and they'll be a negative, right, because for every positive, there's always negative. It's going to figure ot where the negative is going to be on that one.

Yeah, you have to be careful, is what i'd say.

But social audio is it's a different. Social audio is very different. Like we can like each other's pictures. I can tell you, hey, Wendy, I love that stunning, beautiful ba ba bah. But you can screen share, you can get on what we're doing right now and actually talk to people and talk to fans, build your community of people and so on, and bring in your guests. It's kind, it's really it actually is cool. And of course, like

Right.

So I have a question, go ahead, with all the success that you have had thus far, what's the ultimate legacy that you want to leave.

I want to I want artists to get paid, period. I think that right now. I literally think it's criminal that you can get a billion streams that make less than forty five thousand dollars. I mean, you guys are builders. Can you imagine creating a billion dollar home and making forty five thousand dollars.

Yeah, I'll go take an exercise. I'll go run on the treadmill. Thank you.

Yeah, exactly.

They don't need an exercise. We don't need an exercise. Wait, hold, go to break, gotta go to break. I'm Sidney Stump and you listen Toughest Nails on WBZ and we'll be right back. And I'm Cindy Stump and you listen to Toughest Nails on WBZ News Radio ten thirty. Sammy, Yeah, who are you? We're coming back from break? Wake it up?

I'm Sammy.

Okay, that's good.

You like Triple Task?

And who's on Wendy Tarltt? Thank you for your questions? Can I ask did she finish the last one? You got ten minutes left here?

Did you have more to say in the last one?

Or no, she forgot?

We've had that break and so I can't.

You all have a menopause moment?

Advice would you give someone who wanted to get into the industry now that it's harder to become discovered via streaming platforms.

That's why she's creating this app.

That's exactly why I'm creating it, because can you imagine signing up for free AI, pairing you with a huge brand like Este Lauder, Home Depot, whatever, who have one hundred and fifty million opt in consumers that were being driven to your profile to hear your music, and then you retaining seventy percent of that streaming revenue. I mean, that's insane. You can make a ton of money.

How people get on your app, well, they'll be able to sign up just like they're for free, even the way they're able to sign up for putting any apps.

It's called Music Soul. It hasn't launched yet, we're in pre launch phase. But this is.

I've learned so much by technology. Are you embated testing.

We have, Yes, we are. I mean we've tested like sort of U couared down versions, but it has it has fifty seven different functions, whereas you know Instagram has something like twelve or fifteen. So you can imagine how you know immersive it is.

It's it's like, do we have a launch date yet or not yet?

Not yet, not yet, But that's why I'm in New York right now getting it getting it done.

But this will launch, oh for sure, for sure.

This is this is rich once that will be huge.

Sorry, so does music still act as a distributor like United Masters.

It acts as a distributor. It I mean, like I said, it has fifty seven functions. It's it's a distributor, but it's a combination of if you could put Amazon, you know the functionality of Amazon where their store fronts. And it also it's a distributor, so it distributes your music like iTunes or Spotify, and we have the music license for all of the music on Spotify or Apple Music

I have to pitch with a friend of mine, Ernie Book. I got to make that that I'm going to put you guys together.

Okay, thanks to eliminates record labels.

Yeah, they're gonna everything is.

Gonna Record labels are going to be so happy because instead of throwing a million dollars at an artist to see if their song sticks against the wall, they're going to have real time data with mass promotion to see if they're making a correct investment. So it's a true vetting process that right now they're they're basing everything on social media numbers, which can be flubbed. This can't be.

Who's your favorite artist right now?

Ooh, that's a good one. I would say that my favorite artist is I mean, I love classic, classic music, so I would say my favorite artist is probably you two or Sting. I love these classic artists. I think they stay in the test of time, and.

It seems like they we both play a lot of that same music. Did you notice that on us stories?

Hmm, yeah, totally. I love you know, it's it's just it stands the test of time. I hate trendy music, you know, sometimes it goes well with social media, a lot of trendy music, but the stuff that kind of seeps into my soul is classic music.

So I'll get on social media a lot. On Instagram, Cindy, I love your stories, and I even love your music even more, like where did you find that song? Like I write, they're like, oh I forgot about that song. Oh I forgot about that song? You know? So yeah, And I go through everything from motown to disco to rock, the soft rock.

Rock right there with girl, so.

You know motown. So I'm all over the place. I think I'm very bipolo when it comes to my music. But if you had to pick today today, who's one of your favorite artists twentys.

I think Bruno Mars. I mean he also started off as a songwriter for other artists before he became a huge start performer, and so I really love that. His ability to write and produce songs that are like timeless in that genre are this phenomenal. He's someone I truly respect and admire.

Okay, Sammy, which goal because no matter I can put these glasses on and Nelson's got that dark screen going, I cannot see the question. Go ahead.

So let's say you have ten k users and AI matches one hundred of them to one company, ask for an artist who then narrows it down. Does AI narrow it down to one or is that up to the client to sift.

Through neither neither. They're missing it. As soon as you sign up and you say, okay, I would like to be paired with the company, AI has a set of criteria for what the artist wants to be paired with and a set of criteria for what the brand wants to be paired with. Music Soul automates the process of pairing the two together, and then as part of the company's marketing strategy, they will send their one hundred and

That's pretty cool.

Seventy percent of what though, what's the down send.

The seventy percent of streaming and programmatic advertising. So, for example, what programmatic advertising is If I'm Nike okay, and I say, Hey, Instagram, I want to target all of Justin Bieber's followers for

And this is the first app like this that's going to take care of the artist.

First one, first one, every other every other app less than half a penny.

You know, that's pretty bad criminal.

So it's criminal. It's criminal who can support themselves that way.

So when you download an old song for like I think was that? I think I'm the only idiot still doing that on I Sammy had iTunes, Am I the only ones still paying?

That was a leak dollar.

We all pay like ninety nine for Spotify. We pay a monthly fee and you now pay nine nine a month for.

But I was downloading for iTunes. So my point is it seems like I always going okay, whatever, I can keep up with all of it. But the ones I pay is always the most expensive, whether it's a dollar thirty nine, dollar ninety nine, whatever it is, what is the artists get from that? Let's say it's a doll nine nine because I never find the nine nine cent ones unless you're the one hit wonders, right, even Davey Cassie gets dull nine nine still love him, by the way,

We're streaming like Spotify, So it's not as much like iTunes where you're downloading music, you're streaming. It's a streaming service like Spotify, and it's free for the artists to join. They get seventy percent of all streaming and programmatic advertising revenue, and their level of engagement helps accelerate their level of promotion. So it's it's phenomenal, you know, it's it's just so it's not like a download. I'm I'm not gonna like break it down in terms of because it's not a

But me, if I buy a song for ninety nine cents, how much today does that artist get off that you think if you you might not know the answer, that's cool too.

Well, they so if again it's for the ninety nine cents, it depends on several factors. If you're if you were on for example, iTunes and you are the artist and you uploaded your song for ninety nine cents, it would depend if you had co writers. If you have co writers, you're splitting it that in half immediately. If you have a record label, they usually take at least eighty five percent.

Very complicent. You answer that money, I'm done. You're to answer that. So it's a complicated question and they end up with sense on it. By it seems like sense. Okay, we're going off to break. I'm Sidney Stumpo and you listen Toughest Nails on WBZ and we'll be right back and welcome back to Toughest Nails. I'm WBZ and I'm Cindy Stumpo and I'm here with Samantha and I'm here with the beautiful Wendy Stalin. Wendy, how do people find you?

They can find me on Instagram at Wendy Starland. So please come follow, like, share, subscribe and would love to connect with you.

Wendy. Thank you for being here tonight, Sammy, thank you for co hosting answering questions from Chata Social. Everybody, have a great, safe weekend, and we'll see you next week.