Micheal Ude aims to amplify Oklahoma’s musical voice on a national level, beginning with the first of many annual conventions geared toward serving and equipping independent artists from around the country with resources for their success. Musical dreamers are invited to network, perform for major labels, and gain wisdom on every topic pertaining to the music business at The Future of Music on November 29th. Indie Hip-hop phenomenon LaRussel and renowned rap artist NLE Choppa will be taking the stage to perform, and the speaker lineup is impressively packed with reps from Spotify and Full Sail University as well as celebrities and A&Rs to help artists with every stage of their indie journey. Topics will include but are not limited to songwriting & royalties, social media marketing, animation and design, monetization, NFTs, synching/placements, touring, playlists & streaming, mental health & wellness, and virtual workflow. 

While this is his first event of this scale, Ude is no stranger to the game. He’s been hosting events for musicians over the last few years in the form of pop-up mixers throughout Nashville, LA, Dallas Fort Worth, and Austin, soon adding Denver to the list of locations. Each mixer is free and invite-only, so you have to know someone and r.s.v.p. to get in the door. Only someone who’s attended a previous event can invite you, giving it all the top-secret super cool feeling of the underground concerts in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. On top of all this, Ude is the founder of the Fanfair app. Still in the beta stage, the app facilitates a system for talented creatives to find each other, collaborate, and share fans using a unique patented matching process. But who is Michael Ude, other than the revolutionary behind these movements? He’s a music artist, just like you, me, and most of Tuned Up’s readers, who saw a problem and became a solution.

Known as Micheal Chords in the music scene, the indie acoustic folk artist was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Growing up in the church, Ude was a musical child with an equal passion for ministry. He struggled to find where he belonged, inwardly limited by the traditional religious separation of sacred and secular while his peers increasingly encouraged him to share his gifts with the world. For a while, he existed in limbo confused about which direction to go – being both a preacher and a musician. But his destiny-defining moment was realizing that for him these two paths were one and the same. And with that, he prayerfully launched out onto the music scene as an independent artist. He had a great run, building his local fanbase as more and more promising opportunities opened up until he was at last able to perform in front of actual A&Rs. It was in the bag. This was it!  At least that’s what Ude imagined to be true after impressing a label rep with a stellar performance of his original music. However, the A&R’s applause was followed by sobering words Ude will never forget, “It doesn’t matter how talented you are. It matters how many followers you have.” And with this, he understood the need for artists to have access to greater exposure with more chances to garner fans.

A few years and many musician mixers later, the first Fanfair app ad is currently circulating on Hulu. And we love it. Not only for its originality but its message. It’s a call to extinguish the toxic scarcity mindset that causes creatives to put up their guard and see each other as competition. Ude has recognized one shimmering truth that is exclusive to the music industry: sharing fans is actually great for growth. Unlike other fields where sampling another’s product or service can lead to loss of business, hearing another artist’s song simply adds them to the listener’s playlist and associates that new artist with music they already love. If there’s a Nobel Peace Prize available, give it to this guy! But seriously, get ready for a wave of creative collaborations and reciprocal upliftment. 

If you are one of the many music artists that we’ve featured in our blog, this is for you and all of the incredibly gifted individuals and bands we’ve yet to discover. So while the final version of Fanfair’s app is being developed, you definitely want to make it to their epic event in May of next year. If you’re already in Oklahoma, be there. And if you’re not, it’s totally worth the trip. See who will all be speaking and get tickets here: The Future of Music.

As for Micheal Chords, you can follow him on Instagram, Facebook, and Spotify. Stay tuned for new music set to release by the end of the year.

Author: Gabrielle Solange