Episode 51: Spinning Success with Donna Lisa Murray

Spinning Success: A Conversation About Music, Business, and Building Your Brand in Las Vegas

Originally featured on Anything and Everything with Donna Lisa, Episode 51

Listen to the complete episode here.

Some conversations feel less like interviews and more like a long-overdue catch-up between two people who've been building in parallel for years. That's exactly the energy of my recent sit-down with Donna Lisa on her podcast Anything and Everything with Donna Lisa. Donna and I actually go back to 2015 — we met through Meeting Professionals International when she was working at the Westin, and I was deep in the association world. Ten years later, we're both in Las Vegas, both running our own lanes, and both with a whole lot more to say about business, creativity, and what it really takes to build something sustainable.

From LA to Las Vegas: A Deliberate Reset

After nearly 17 years in Los Angeles, I made the decision to relocate to Las Vegas — and it wasn't just about the cost of living, though that's a real factor when you're comparing it to LA. It was about intentional change. I had hit a plateau personally and professionally, and sometimes the best thing you can do is change your environment and let new energy in.

What's surprised me most about the move? How many people actually come to visit. I've had more guests in a year and a half here than I did in the last 12 years in LA. Vegas has that pull — and for someone building a speaking, DJ, and coaching business, it's a genuinely strategic home base. I'm booked out of town constantly — California, St. Louis, DC, Nashville — so the city I call home matters less than the infrastructure I've built around my work. Vegas fits.

The Jack of All Trades Myth — Debunked

Donna raised something that comes up constantly in my world: the idea that doing multiple things means you're unfocused. DJ. Professor. Author. Speaker. Coach. Podcast co-host. People hear that list and sometimes assume it's scattered energy.

My response: look at the thread. Everything I do connects back to music and the music business. When I speak, I use music as the vessel. When I DJ, I'm performing the craft. When I teach at Cal State Fullerton, it's music business. When I write, it's about the history and culture of the genre I love. None of it is random — it's an ecosystem, and each part feeds the others.

The old model of doing one thing for 25 years and collecting a pension is increasingly obsolete. The pandemic made that clear. Diversified work isn't a liability — it's protection, creative fulfillment, and smart business strategy all at once.

The Music Industry Has Evolved — Have You?

One of the deeper threads in our conversation was how dramatically the music industry has shifted, and what that means for the artists trying to navigate it. We traced the arc from physical album sales to Napster, iTunes, and streaming — and with each transition, the perceived value of music dropped for consumers while the complexity for artists increased.

The reality today is that streaming is marketing, not income — unless you're in the top one or two percent globally. The artists who are thriving are the ones who understand the full picture: touring revenue, merchandise, sync licensing, publishing rights, direct-to-fan platforms like Patreon, and royalty collection through organizations like ASCAP, BMI, and SoundExchange. That's the curriculum I teach at Fullerton, and it's the framework I bring to my one-on-one coaching clients.

Record labels still offer real advantages — radio access, tour support, producer connections — but the tradeoffs are significant. Labels own your IP. Advances are loans, not bonuses. Artists who sign without understanding what they're agreeing to can end up in debt to the very entity that was supposed to help them succeed. The goal isn't to avoid the industry — it's to enter it educated.

Associations Changed My Life — Literally

I've told this story in different rooms, but it bears repeating because most people still underestimate how powerful association involvement can be. My professorship at Cal State Fullerton exists entirely because I was VP of Membership for the MPI Southern California chapter and was tasked with recruiting student members at area universities. Those campus visits led to classroom appearances, which led to helping plan an event, which led to an email one summer offering me two classes when a professor retired unexpectedly.

I had never taught at the college level. I showed up an hour late on the first day because I couldn't find parking. And seven years later, it's still one of my favorite things I do.

The broader lesson: associations put you in rooms with the people who hire entertainers, speakers, and performers for corporate events, galas, and conferences. MPI, PCMA, SITE, ILEA — these are not just networking groups. They are pipelines to serious, well-compensated work. Show up, volunteer, add value, and let the compound interest of relationships do its work.

What's Next: Documentary, Coaching, and a Trivia Game

The Quiet Storm — my USA Today bestselling historical analysis of R&B groups — has been out since February 2025 and continues to generate momentum. Author events, media appearances, podcast tours, and speaking engagements tied to the book's themes are all part of the ongoing work. The real mission now is getting the book into the hands of the artists featured in it, because the next chapter is a documentary. That's a multi-year project, and I'm actively looking for the right partners to bring it to life.

In the shorter term, coaching is front and center — working with musicians and hospitality professionals who want clearer strategy, better business decisions, and a real road map for sustainable careers. And for the R&B history fans: yes, a trivia game based on the book is in development. Eleven or twelve people independently asked for it, so the market has spoken.

A Quote to Close

When Donna asked me for a guiding principle, I came back to one that feels especially true right now:

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

Collaboration has been the engine behind everything meaningful I've built — the professorship, the podcast, the book launch, the speaking career. None of it happened in isolation.

Find Amani Roberts on social media @AmaniExperience, on LinkedIn as Amani Roberts DJ, or at amaniexperience.com. His book The Quiet Storm is available on Amazon and at thequietstormbook.com.