Danny Cramer of NYC’s Surf Gang Talks Production Management

This week’s episode of Monday to Monday hosted by Mike Boyd was a good one, featuring special guest Danny Cramer aka Lebron Crames. Cramer manages artists and is an A&R manager at BeatStars, a digital marketplace to buy and sell beats. Cramer oversees many musicians including members of the New York rap crew Surf Gang, and as of this writing, BeatStars has over 1.5 million beats ready for artists and producers to buy. The company also gives musicians a place to release all of their music to major digital music platforms and has a partnership with Sony Music Publishing in place to further help artists collect their publishing revenue, something that has been a complicated thing to figure out in the music industry over the decades.

Users can sign up with Beatstars through their official website, and take advantage of the mobile app, where they can listen to beats, connect with fellow musicians, and write lyrics. Boyd caught up with Cramer after a crazy week of accomplishments to talk about what’s been going on in his world lately.

After a conversation about his early days in Ohio with Goner, Boyd then asks Cramer about Goner’s unique approach to music and sampling. “For a long time, I was focused on the way things are “supposed to be” industry-wise, in terms of clearing the sample, not getting trouble, etc. Once a song reaches a point where the sample maker cares and they want to take it down, you're up by then, so there are people who are willing to help you with that clearance process.

Boyd and Cramer continue their conversation about their sampling, eventually making their way back to Surf Gang with a discussion about the group's recently released project SGV1. Boyd then goes on to ask Cramer about his favorite track on the album “That’s a tough question! It kind of changes every week, but I think “Cinderella” shows the versatility of the group, and how many different elements can fit together for a really cohesive sound. You know “Crash Land” might be my sneaky favorite though.”

Be sure to check out the rest of Boyd and Cramer’s conversation above and follow Cramer on Instagram.