Muhammad “Mvstermind” Austin is using the tools he has acquired over the course of his music career to equip current and future generations of St. Louis artists. This week “Mvstercamp: Mastering the Secrets of the Game” returns for its second year.
“Mvstercamp is a platform we created for the creative homies that results in a live programs series.” Said Austin, Founder & Executive Director of Mvstercamp, “We’re about to make sure artists get it by any means necessary, that’s performance activation, class series, to almost artist therapy sessions.”
The artist development program – now in its second year – serves both independent and signed musicians in the St. Louis area.
The free series runs through December at the Regional Arts Commission’s City Foundry location, thanks to the support of the Regional Arts Commission and its ARPA for the Arts funding.
Dubbed an “artist boot camp,” Mvstercamp sold out its current season in just two days. Austin intends to match this demand with more breakout sessions and developing new opportunities to get involved even if one is not lucky enough to snag a spot in the program.
Austin, a rapper and producer, started making beats when he was 12-years-old. For a long time, he considered himself an artist who could care less about the business. That was until he embarked on what he believed was a successful tour with his former band MME. After everything was tallied up, the group only earned enough to break even.
“It really shifted me to know that I have to create something to protect my dream and protect my art,” Austin said. He began to research partnerships, brand deals and other aspects of the music business he didn’t understand.
He then used this knowledge to secure a brand deal with Dr. Scholl’s. This was no small feat for a local artist – who had about 6 thousand followers at the time. The partnership caught the attention of a top recording label, Columbia Records, who he consulted with on building an organic following.
Austin then pitched the idea of a “Director of Musical Experience” to St. Louis CITY SC – a position that focuses on the musical philosophy for the soccer team. “It caused a really big shift that made other MLS teams focus on the importance of music and how you can brand storytelling through music,” said Austin.
Incorporating local musicians was a major component in the program’s philosophy. However, he felt there were only few prepared at the time.
“Was there enough information for people to successfully do business with a corporation?” Austin asked himself the aforementioned question – which led him to Mvstercamp, and its main goal of preparing artists for collaborations.
It is described as “an artist enrichment program designed to provide musicians and creatives with space, tools, resources and knowledge to scale their entrepreneurial journey.”
To bring the dream of Mvstercamp to fruition, Austin connected with long-time family friend Vanita Thompson, who is the principal partner at The Thompson Rose Agency here in St. Louis, and has a long list of national music industry credentials. She has recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties – and managed artists signed to Jive, and Capitol records, as well as Austin’s former music group MME.
“You can sing at church for free but once you start accepting money in exchange for live performances then you need to know the business of what you are doing,” Thompson said. “Mvstercamp is a lifestyle. It gives you the actual access to people who are actively doing this as a job. Whatever the specific question you have, we connect you to somebody.”
Mvstercamp is not only seeking artists hungry for the knowledge to expand their careers. They’re also in search of working professionals to create “a pipeline of understanding.”
Austin hopes to use the initiative to curate a community made of artists and working professionals with ties to St. Louis that stretch across the entertainment industry.
Marcus Burns, a St. Louis native from Walnut Park, was a recent Mvstercamp speaker. Burns has served as a producer on reality television shows such as “Basketball Wives” and “Love and Hip Hop: Miami” among others. He is currently on tour with veteran R&B music group Jagged Edge.
Artists participating in this camp have gone on to perform in Music and the Intersection. Mvstercamp launched its own performance activation in partnership with The Foundry that takes place every Wednesday from May 14th to June 25th – and adds to the value of this growing “artist boot camp.”
“Everybody shows up and we get to talk, we get to build,” Thompson adds, “Mo [Austin] has really created something that is amazing. As a city I think we need to support it, expand it, and make this a destination.”
Registration is now open for the upcoming session, and can be completed at Mvstercamp.com.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
