An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
Don’t wait for the platform, make your own platform. — We are leaving the gatekeeping mentality in the past and utilizing the opportunities and tools to build something even better than you might have been limiting yourself to.
As a part of our series about business leaders who are shaking things up in their industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jordyn Benedict (TAROT).
Jordyn Benedict aka TAROT is a Nashville-based independent singer-songwriter who has transitioned her music career into the web3 space. The 24 year-old sold her first NFTs by minting 28 tokens everyday in the month of February — all of which contained a new song written, produced, mixed and mastered by Jordyn herself. With a modest social media following and streaming numbers, the female singer made nearly $10k from songs that otherwise would have sat in her collection or streamed for pennies — all thanks to web3. Next up, she will be launching her crypto crowdfund campaign at the beginning of May, which will fund the release of her debut album, “Wake.” Benedict is one of the few female independent music artists leading the way as an NFT creator in a very much male-dominated space.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Growing up, I always knew that my purpose was to make music and perform ever since I was 3 years old singing songs from The Wizard Of Oz all the way to building my independent music career. I moved from home in Newbury Park, CA to Nashville, TN in 2016 to study songwriting and music business at Belmont University and graduated in 2019. Looking back, the passion for music was and still is undeniable, but through my journey in web 3 so far, I feel as if it is a reminder of other passions such as building communities, planning out and executing a vision, and being a leader. I believe in alignment and I believe I was led to this career path because connecting and creating with others for a greater purpose than myself is what brings me fulfillment.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
NFTs. Psh. Probably nothing. But probably the most innovative and most expansive opportunity that independent artists can take advantage of to really build their community, their relationships with their supporters, and cultivate an ecosystem around their music without the need of the middle man. When I first learned about NFTs this last December (which feels like forever ago), my brain started exploding with new ideas and avenues to approach my independent artist career as if I am the CEO of my music. Now there is an opportunity for artists to own their work, get directly paid, distribute the pie accordingly, and give back to the supporters in the community who have helped you turn your vision into reality.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Shilling. Ahhh do not shill! Haha I definitely have learned a lot about when it comes to promoting your music and connecting with the community. I owe it all to minting a song every day in the Tarotsings 28 Day Music NFT Marathon because I was literally learning real time through trial and error. I started out by just posting my songs in discord chats and on twitter but then I was like…this is embarrassing..lol. What I learned is that the best way to truly build community is to share your story, have real 1–1 conversations, discover what values you have to bring to the community, and step out of your comfort zone by constantly educating yourself and putting yourself out there. Let the art speak for itself.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
There have been so many artists in the space that have inspired me and impacted my journey 100%. Every single person innovating whether on the creative side or tech side is leading the way and it is a privilege to be surrounded by such forward minded visionaries. Phinestro, or so I like the call The Oracle, has been in my corner since day one. He is a collector of the first TAROT music NFT off of the 28 day collection and has been the most inspiring mentor and collaborator in the music industry and web 3. He is a husband and father of two, a talented and hardworking producer, engineer, and musician, and he just built his own studio. What inspires me the most is how much support and love that flows through him. He has taught me to believe that what I am doing has a purpose and there’s nothing in my way to stop me but myself. I have so much respect for the people grinding in this space who have families and full time jobs. These are exactly the type of people I would dream of having in the Soul Tribe.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
The music industry has always and will forever have constant disruptors and that’s what makes it so exciting! Adaptation is key to making it, but when there are flaws in the structure of the industry and an opportunity to create a positive shift, a revolution is upon us! I am not saying that all record labels will die and streaming won’t be a thing because NFTs are taking over…I’m saying that now artists can rewrite the script in their own interest rather than the standard model of building a following only to sign their rights away. There is a way for artists to be independent and successful, and in that success, there is an opportunity to bring back value to the actual art and relationship with the fans which can then inspire the entire industry to follow suit in order to adapt.
Can you share five of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
Don’t wait for the platform, make your own platform. — We are leaving the gatekeeping mentality in the past and utilizing the opportunities and tools to build something even better than you might have been limiting yourself to.
The age of single player mode is deactivated and it is now multiplayer mode — Collaboration is essentially a joining of energy to create something even more magical than one can make on their own. You need a team, a support system, in order to execute the vision.
What you are doing has purpose — It doesn’t matter how small or big you are when it comes to numbers. Everyone starts somewhere and it is your choice as to how far you want it to go. What you are doing has purpose, never doubt it, or else you will only be getting in your own way.
When you are aligned with your purpose, the right abundance is bound to flow into your life — I have been blessed with the most meaningful connections and relationships in this space ever since I set out on my web 3 journey. I truly believe I have attracted the people I have always been meant to come across in life in order to build my career and achieve dreams I never used to think were possible.
Remember burnout is real. We are all human and it is important to find a balance — I’m definitely the type of person who goes all in when I am passionate. I have had to learn how to take care of myself and discipline myself in new ways. My brain is firing up 24/7 and it keeps me so excited and working constantly on all the ideas! I have conditioned myself to always show up even when it’s hard, because I know that is really all it takes, but it is also important to rest and give yourself real time to be present in order to get the job done.
We are sure you aren’t done. How are you going to shake things up next?
Of course! It’s just the beginning. I am about to launch my crypto crowdfund to raise funds for my debut album “Wake” on mirror.xyz with the $TAROT token and tier based 3D Tarot Card NFTs. The goal of the crowdfund is to raise the funds to put towards my album that comes out at the end of the summer as if I had an indie record label budget, while also giving supporters a stake in the $TAROT token. The goal is to raise 33ETH soft cap to 77TH hard cap in exchange for 50% of my artist share of royalties and a percentage of NFT sales from the 11 song project. The NFT tiers come with unique utilities from gaining a seat to the live stream performance of the album before it drops to VIP +1 tickets to any TAROT headlining show. What began as a plan to fully fund my debut album as an independent artist has rapidly evolved into an ecosystem of talented and trusted creatives building essentially an entire world of content collaboratively, all inspired by the music. It is my purpose to follow my visions all the way to the moon while connecting with and inspiring others to awaken their own passions and potential. In my eyes, the possibilities are limitless, so why not take advantage of the blessing and privilege of having a voice and creative expression, all while bringing back the value to the art and the creators.
Do you have a book, podcast, or talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us? Can you explain why it was so resonant with you?
I was listening to an episode of the Aubry Marcus podcast the other day, Re-Membering Our Future With Matias de Stefano, and they touched on the idea of morality versus consciousness. For the longest time in human history, humans have evolved and formed societal structures around communities. They used the example of the morality behind killing a cow to feed a village. One can say killing the cow is immoral, but if the people view the killing of the cow as a means to feed the village, they can’t understand why it is perceived as wrong. In today’s digital age, we are still learning how to navigate technology and the internet as if we just discovered how to make fire. Now the world exists on a global scale, connected by the internet, with access to this massive collective consciousness. I’m no expert so definitely check out the podcast if you are interested, but what I took away from this conversation is that humans are experiencing an actual shift on Earth when it comes to the way we operate as a society, so there is an opportunity to steer humanity into a more positive direction through consciousness.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My dad taught me that the three words to live by in life are humility, gratitude, and purpose. Whenever I need to ground myself, I remind myself of what each of those words mean to me. I recognize where I come from and I am so grateful every day that I can wake up and live a life where I get to make music in my robe and connect with people all around the world. I don’t need much materially to be happy. As long as I remember how grateful I am for the love I have received from my family and friends and the drive I have to accomplish something that can give back to those who have impacted my life, I could die tomorrow peacefully.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I hope to inspire a movement of evolution through music and mindfulness. Music is the language of the universe and if I can inspire others through following my purpose, I truly believe it can impact the vibrations of our earth and collective consciousness as a whole. I am just trying to be as vulnerable as I can in my journey and it brings me so much joy to share and help anywhere I can in any way. As cliche as it sounds, it is more than just a dream of being a rockstar (as much as I can’t wait to go on tour), it is about making a difference in the best way I know I can. I hope that I can leave a mark by creating a community where people can be inspired and grow and let go of self limiting beliefs in order to contribute to the change.
How can our readers follow you online?
I’m always tweeting, it’s like my thing so come hang @tarotsings on all social media platforms and TAROT on music streaming services.
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!
Meet The Disruptors: Jordyn Benedict On The Five Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
