Tastemaker Highlight - Semantic Sounds

It's time for another tastemakers highlight!

This time we talked with, music producer, label owner & founder of Semantic Sounds Ettore Passafiume (aka TORREX) about independent record labels, music promotion and the future of the music market.

1. Tell us a bit about yourself: How did you start your label and your media agency?

I founded Semantic Sounds in 2017.

Initially it was born exclusively as a promotion network but I always wanted it to become a great label and a point of reference for artists and music lovers from all over the world.

I worked in the music industry as a DJ and as a music producer, taking advantage of self-promotion strategies, a few years ago I decided to create my own music network to give myself and above all other emerging artists the possibility to exploit its channels to spread their music to a wider audience. In fact, from day one our networks' slogan was "Leave Your Mark".

2. Your services are very innovative and applicable to new-aged artists. Can you share with us what is your mindset behind it, and how do you perceive the constantly evolving role of the label?

We believe that today one of the fundamental aspects in the success of music is promotion. We are in a historical moment in which on the one hand, thanks to new technologies, it is much easier to create music than in the past, but on the other there is greater competition, therefore it is more difficult to emerge.

For this reason, over the years we have focused on promotion services, constantly improving them, expanding our network of contacts so we can fully meet the needs of the artists.

Now having created a network of partners from all over the world, we are able to offer new music promotion services on Soundcloud, Spotify, other social media channels, blogs, music sites and radio stations.

3. What kind of music do you listen to and where do you discover music?

We like to listen to all kinds of music, especially for our independent label we are looking for songs that make you dance, like dance, house, funky, hiphop or R&B, or radio genres like pop / soul and some new trends Latinas that convey great emotions.

We also give all external label artists the chance to promote their music through our network, except for classical or neo-melodic music.

We are constantly looking for new talents on Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube or through Instagram and Facebook, in our team there are two employees who work as A&R to discover new emerging artists and high quality music that respects our standards.

4. Name 3 music platforms you can’t live without.

SoundCloud - Spotify - YouTube

5. The music industry is constantly changing. What do you think is the role of social media today in music exposure?