Michael Cushion Jr., CEO of Mikes Mix & Master

Michael Cushion Jr. is a Entrepreneur and Professional Audio Mixing and Mastering engineer with 13 years experience Mixing and Mastering for Major and Indie recording artists and record labels in over 100+ Countries world wide. He is also a joint CEO at Audio Nucleus (www.audionucleus.com), a search engine for musicians, artists, producers and songwriters. Born in and growing up in New York his entire life, Michael has been surrounded by music, with his mother being a DJ and father playing in a band growing up. As such Mike was destined to make a living in the music industry. Launching Mikes Mix & Master in 2010, made this dream a reality. Michael considers himself a caring and compassionate individual who wants to help others succeed, his current titles allow him to happily do this.

In your own words what do you do?

I am the CEO of Mikes Mix & Master, the #1 Online Mixing and Mastering provider, providing affordable online mixing and mastering to major and indie recording artists and record labels worldwide. I am also a joint CEO at Audio Nucleus (www.audionucleus.com)

What led you to your current business?

Growing up with my mother being a DJ and my father being in a band I was highly influenced by music as a child, in that time I wanted to be a musician, which worked out for a while, I started recording my own songs, and during the process I became infatuated with handling behind the scenes work, specifically Mixing and Mastering, it became my focus and I knew I had to turn it into something. 5 years later here I am.

Could you walk us through your process of developing your business?

I began providing my services physically at my home studio, it was lengthy day and night sessions, business was slow, it was exhausting and annoying. After a while I realized there was a way to provide the same services online and reach a broader audience worldwide while also being able to do the work more efficiently. I quit my day job and devoted all my time to starting the business, spending hours and days building a business plan, platform, a website and non- stop advertising both physically and digitally. Hours tuned into days, days turned into weeks and then months. Ive done every single thing without any outsourcing and used my last pennies until there was nothing left. I believed in my vision and fortunately It worked out. It was a long and tough journey, 6 years later I am CEO of the the #1 Online Mixing & Mastering company.

Did you encounter any particular difficulties in the beginning?

One major difficulty was competition. When I first started there were very few other companies providing the same services, as online mixing and mastering became more popular, hundreds of websites appeared, some by engineers with absolutely no experience. Ive been copied countless times, ripped off and been in many other sour situations due to competition, it becomes difficult to keep up, but the name I’ve built, my clientele and unique quality makes it easier for me to humbly remain on top 😉

What is your long term plan?

My plan is to expand our professional team to take on larger work loads and be able to continue to provide excellent service we’re known for, for years to come.

Could you share with us some industry insights?

The Music Industry can be a tricky place, the more you know safer you are. If there is one thing I can say about this industry is network network network, everyone knows a guy who can ultimately help towards your success here.

What are some important lessons you’ve learnt about business?

I’ve learnt to accept failure and make courageous decisions, entrepreneurship is about just doing it! we learn from our mistakes, remember, failure isn’t failure unless you don’t learn from it. Ive learnt not to rush, determination and being patient is key. Make goals and work hard towards achieving them.

Any tips for achieving success?

Its quite simple. The first thing is to have something to believe in. Believe in it and never give up. Your success only depends on how bad you want it.

Connect