A musician who turned a passion into a career, Willie Bradley is an Orangeburg, South Carolina native who brought his talents to Tallahassee.
Bradley is an educator, composer, and songwriter whose sound seamlessly blends jazz, soul, and funk into one. In 2014, Bradley first appeared as a solo artist with his debut album “Another Day & Time”.
Throughout his career, Bradley has performed with artists like André 3000, Clark Terry, Max Roach, and many others.
Bradley sat down and discussed his upbringing as well as his passion for South Carolina State University’s band, The Marching 101. He mentioned how he ran to practice with them after school.
“Taking my trumpet out and marching beside the band, I knew that’s where I wanted to go to school,” Bradley said.
Bradley discussed the changes within the industry, mentioning how he’s starting to convert to USB because CD players are no longer in newer model cars.
He said knowing the business side of the music industry is essential, noting how important it is to own your music. He spoke about the value of knowing how and where to publish your music and receive royalties from the radio streams.
“Knowing the business side of the music industry is the most important part, “He said, “That is never going to change because we find a lot of artists today that we hear about, people like Angie Stone, not being able to access the royalties from the music she wrote.”
