Magazine Spotlight Canada caught up with Dj Iceman. This is a piece that touches the heart of The Business Of Beats.

Dj Iceman (Robert Anderson) has a storied history in the music business. Living his passion meant spinning records for the greater part of three decades, and winning multiple awards and accolades to show for his ever expanding skill set which encompassed donning various music industry hats from tour disc jockey to road manager.

Add to that list of titles, publicist, and label intern, and a picture starts to emerge of a master who has learned the ropes from the ground up, fulfilling a host of roles related to the music business. Of significant note, in recent years, Iceman has been both a producer and Instrumental artist—slapping beats as part of 6 Wu-Tang affiliate groups.


The industry is cold but Dj Iceman brings the heat. Transforming himself from a passionate DJ to a full-fledged music executive speaks of knowledge gained in the trenches tempered by lessons learned on the streets. 

Navigating the fast-changing rules of engagement kept him nimble, staying on top of the promotion of his mixes, while riding the wave of the 24-hour breaking social media news cycle. Following an amazing run, 2017 marked Iceman’s official send off as a concert-headlining DJ. Retirement has brought a plethora of opportunities.

SPOTLIGHT: How has jumping into production/beat making landed you in a whole different ball game—altogether?

ICEMAN: I had to do everything times 10. Besides learning about trademarks, copyrights, licenses, split sheets, and owning the content I put out—that is my masters, I was catapulted into the ‘legalese’ side of the music industry that is at first blush neither sexy, nor glamorous but is absolutely necessary to keep on top of one’s royalties as a rights holder of my beats.

SPOTLIGHT: Can you give us a concrete example of what your new reality looks like?

ICEMAN: So it went from me doing simple promo to then running full campaigns, pitching to playlists and sound libraries and artists.

SPOTLIGHT: It is said that the best way to learn is to teach. On your journey you have been on a path of self-education whilst passing the knowledge you have attained to cohorts in need. Talk of these developments.

ICEMAN: I incorporated a promotional company Big Boss Ent, 7 years ago to promote my mixes. And now I’m promoting my beats as well as the beats of other artists. From there I took ownership of a production company, Big Boss Beatz, and launched an independent label, Big Boss Records. I made it my mission to become both qualified and certified. Today I hold over 30 certifications in everything from Youtube Music Rights management to Facebook and Instagram ads to Google analytics.

SPOTLIGHT: Tell us about you opening a social media management company (REA Social Media Management)

ICEMAN: Outsourcing social media is something that artists have been doing since day one, but people wont tell up-and-coming artists this. The industry would rather keep them in the dark so they can exploit them.

SPOTLIGHT: How does the route you propose switch up the dynamics of the game?

ICEMAN: When you own EVERYTHING, all people can do is come with partnerships. They can’t exploit or try to own your content. In this day and age it’s more important than ever for artists to own their creative content, everything from their names to their music videos, and logos. The more you own, the more leverage you have when the labels finally come knocking, and that way, you won't get trapped in a ‘bad deal.’

SPOTLIGHT: Through your masterclasses, as you coach artists, DJs and producers on the ins and outs of the music industry, what challenges are you facing getting through to artists?

ICEMAN: I try to instil WHY certain things are done and why they are important. You can tell an artist that they need to spend money on quality promotion till you're blue in the face, but until they see why it costs as much as it does and how it affects them, they won’t get it, they will think it’s a scam.

SPOTLIGHT: The truth is, what you don’t know can hurt. Bad contracts are a cliché in the music industry. Thankfully DJ Iceman has written a book to shed light on the business side of selling Beats. His latest book "The Business Of Beats- A Common Sense Guide For Selling Beats" is on Amazon.

ICEMAN: Anyone who desires to attend one of my seminars and/or speaking engagements can reach out for more information.

SPOTLIGHT: Share the inspiration behind your book.

ICEMAN: I just want to get the information out there so Artists and Producers can win.


SPOTLIGHT: Thank you to DJ Iceman for sharing a slice of his life in music. Meanwhile, Iceman dispenses valuable industry advice daily on his Facebook page and he prolifically uploads content on YouTube and Instagram. His beats sell regularly and successful projects include over 3, 000, 000 million streams on Spotify.