We had the good fortune of connecting with Toby Gad and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Toby, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

I started writing songs at the age of 7 in Germany where I grew up. At 18 my brother and I had our first successes with 3 songs on the European hit album of Milli Vanilli but it took another twelve years before I made the leap to America.

Fast forward another five years and I had my first Global #1 Hit with Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Thats when I formed my own record label, publishing company, and a music production company. But I soon realized that it takes a lot of dedication to run these enterprises and while the production company and the publishing did great as they were a natural extension of my craft, running a record label and building up artists is a whole different story. It takes less of the creative “makers” but more so great, listeners, strategists and in general people with more of a business sense.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am 54 and today I can look back at four decades of songwriting. More than 400 released songs, some of the songs, like John Legends’ “All Of Me” or Beyonce’s “If I Were A Boy” have made it to the top while there are around two thousand songs that have never seen the light of day.

I have focussed my happiness always on the moments of creation. When a good idea comes and a song comes to life, those are my most joyful times. Seeing my songs receive Grammys and accolades is great but that happens many years after they were written. So the fun of creating music is the motivation for why I am still writing songs. It has been a long winding road to get to where I am and I remember the many rejections, the songs that didn’t make it, the artists that got dropped. One needs a certain kind of crazy delusion to continue writing songs after hundred’s of failed attempts.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Surfing at C-Street, County Line, the Malibu Lagoon or PV Cove. A walk around Point Dume.
Lunch at the Malibu Pier at the Farm to Table restaurant.
A bicycle ride from the Zoo to Frog Town with a stop at the Spoke Cafe.
A hike up Cahuenga Peak before Sunrise.
The Arts District in Downtown
The Broad Museum
Rollerblading along the Venice Sidewalk to Santa Monica
A good concert at Disney Hall or the Hollywood Bowl
Dinner at the Sun Cafe
A stroll up the Sunset Strip at night visiting some of the legendary clubs like the Roxy

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to dedicate my shoutout to all the dreamers and the creative artists and song writers who dedicate their lives to novel ideas and visions.

Website: www.tobygad.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tobygadmusic/

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