Don’t overlook the business side of the music industry: Exec.

Listen and subscribe to Financial Freestyle on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts. Living in the shadow of greatness can weigh heavily on anyone, especially when that greatness is within your own family. In this episode of Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac, Mac sits down with Rene McLean, senior partner and founding advisor at Influence Media Partners, who knows that lesson better than most. McLean’s grandfather, Jackie McLean, was a world-renowned alto saxophonist, composer, and American jazz master. His father, René McLean, was also a celebrated saxophonist and flutist. So, it’s no surprise that Rene McLean felt the need to carve out his own path. Initially, McLean aspired to be a visual artist. That trajectory shifted during a college internship at a record label. “Six months after that, I was at the record company all day long, just soaking it all up,” McLean recalled. He reflects on his time at the epicenter of hip-hop culture, witnessing industry pioneers like Russell Simmons and Andre Harrell build their labels and brands. “I was like, wow, that’s what I want to do… That’s how I fell back in love with [music],” McLean said. “[That’s] what brought me back into it culturally, musically, the business side of things.” Today, McLean is the senior partner and founding advisor at Influence Media Partners, a company that acquires artistic intellectual property (IP) and catalogs. “We partner with talent on their IP… and we are the custodians of their legacies,” McLean explained. “I don’t prescribe to just doing a bunch of transactional deals. My perspective is that we actually come from the culture.” His partnerships include significant deals with BlackRock and Warner Music Group. “If you [told] me I’d be doing this at this point of the game… on the finance side,” McLean reflected, “it wasn’t like a pathway that was kind of completely there.” Financial Freestyle with Ross Mac on Yahoo Finance is dedicated to promoting economic prosperity for all. Through expert insights, practical advice, and inspiring success stories, we empower you to build and grow wealth. Join us on this transformative journey toward financial freedom and inclusive economic growth. This post was written by John Tejada.Read More