DJ Skee - Building Dash Radio & Reinventing What It Means To Be A DJ

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On Apple TV plus what's going on everyone? Casey Adams here. Welcome back to the Rise of the Young podcast. Today we have Scott Keeney on the show. Scott Keeney, better known by his stage name DJ Ski, is an American artist, television host, radio personality, philanthropist and entrepreneur. Ski rose to fame as the first DJ to discover and play superstar artists on the radio, including Kendrick Lamar, Justin Bieber, Akon, Lady Gaga and many more. Mark Cuban has called Ski the Oprah of music. As a dj, Ski has headlined festivals worldwide, hosted his own radio shows on Los Angeles, Kiss FM and Cyrus XM Satellite Radio, and remixed music from various artists including Michael Jackson, Chris Cornell and many more. Skee started in the music industry as a teenager and broke onto the scene working at Sony, Loud Records and Universal. He has also represented brands including Google, beats electronics and AT&T. On the marketing side, in 2015, Ski launched Dash Radio, which has become the biggest all original digital radio broadcast network in the world with 75 stations powered by brands and artists and celebrities including Kylie Jenner and Snoop Dogg and many more. His business portfolio includes interest in various other businesses as an entrepreneur, advisor and investor.

As a writer, Ski is a contributor.

For TechCrunch, Forbes Inc. XXL Magazine, the Verge and many other publications, often posting thought leadership articles centered around entertainment and technology. That being said, I am very excited to say thank you so much DJ Ski for coming on the show. He is an absolute legend. Dash radio raised $8.8 million back in 2018 and he has absolutely crushed it. And that being said, make sure you subscribe to the Rise of the Young podcast, share it with a friend and enjoy the show.

What's going on everyone? Kasey Adams here. Welcome back to the Rise of the Young podcast. Today we have Scott Keeney here with us AKA DJ Ski. Thanks so much for coming on man.

Of course brother. What's going on how you feeling?

I'm doing good, man. How are you?

All is good, man. All is good. A little crazy, but actually just as busy as ever.

For sure, man. So, first things first. Huge fan of DASH Radio. Everything you have going on and everything you've built, I want to just give you a second to explain to the people that may not know what is DASH Radio?

So Dash is the evolution of live audio and live content. We're powered by live DJs, live hosts, real communities, fully curated and available to listeners for free. We really, like look at the way that people consume audio in two buckets. There's the on demand, which is what all the streaming services and even podcasts in essence, are. And then there's like really lean back and highly curated, which is what we really excel in. And that's the place that, you know, terrestrial radio has always kind of owned. And we're trying to really pave the way for that in the digital era.

Got it. When did you start DASH Radio? Because I've been hearing about it these last two years like crazy all over. But where is the origin story of Dash Radio?

Yeah, we officially launched in June of 2015. And, you know, my background is terrestrial radio. I've been in radio since I was 16 and was at SiriusXM for 10 years, at iHeart for seven years. And we just thought there being this big opportunity is radio still is the last form of media that's primarily consumed through an analog perspective. And it's still, by a long shot, as the number one way people hear audio is radio. It's free, it's thoughtless, it's built in, it's in their cars, on their commute. And those places haven't really been disrupted yet. And while the music business side of things has evolved and streaming services like Spotify built an incredible product that really replaced what retail used to be and have opened up new industries. The challenges that you face are still not alive experience still. Well, you have playlists and things. Arguably, if you hop in your car and you're commuting 40 minutes each day and you're listening to even your favorite playlist, it's going to become more repetitive than, you know, regular radio is. And radio is great because it's built into places, it's totally free so everybody can participate, it's highly curated and it's how music still is primarily broken. We just saw there being a big opportunity in the digital landscape as everybody to date was just focused on, in essence, simulcasting FM and AM signals instead of creating something from the ground up, which is what we really did with dash, creating all our stations. They're not simulcast. They're all developed and ran in house and creating this premium audio experience focused exclusively on, like, the next wave of digital platforms.

Love that.

Wow.

That's a lot going on.

Yeah.

I'm fascinated because I saw back in 2018, you guys raised $8.8 million. How has the last two years been since that raise? Because I saw, like, as I said, the campaign everywhere and the pr, and I was like, oh, yeah, they're about to come in here and really revolutionize this whole space. So how has it been these last two years with that initial raise?

It's been great. I mean, for us, the interesting thing is we haven't spent a dollar on marketing or user acquisition or anything. It's all been. It's all happened organically, and that's how we think that happens. At best, while we've raised a decent amount of money, it still pales in comparison to the amount of content that we do and what's out there in the market, especially to competitors. And you're seeing services, not that they're a competitor at all, but, like, content companies like Quibi raise, you know, one point to get into, and we've really figured a way to do it efficiently and in a way that really works for all sides and can keep us lean and lean. So with us, you know, it's, you know, beyond the money we were. What I was really most excited about was adding just such a great roster and team to our board and investor list that has become so helpful and so instrumental in building what we are with Dash. It's really incredible seeing, you know, some of the names that we have in the room and, you know, being in our boardroom with some of the most experienced people in the entire space and landscape and learning from them. So that's really what's been, you know, most exciting for me about that.

I love that. And I want to read off real quick. It says, you know, the platform includes partner stations curated by Snoop Dogg, Kylie Jenner, Lil Wayne, and all these people that I could go on and on, just what I've done my research on. But when it comes to those strategic partnerships and, you know, the collaborations with those a list type of names, how has that impacted the brand and the business, and how do you recommend other people who have, you know, are looking to get those names involved with their company? How have you done that so?

Well, for sure, for us, I mean, it was creating a product where there was a need in the market. Right. There was no other way for brands and consumers and talent to really engage with live audio and music, which there's a ton that goes on with licensing rights. Beyond that, you have to get distribution and audience. It's not just easy. It's not something that's easy to do yourself. And our top talent, all those people, most of those people approached us directly just because there was nothing else else out there like that. So it's creating a product that provides value. We, you know, we, again, while we've raised money, it's not enough to attract all those celebrity names. We don't pay anybody we've created, you know, we're not in the game of endorsements or sponsorships just because we don't think that it's sustainable and we're not going to. Going to outspend any competitors that we have in the space. So we really focused on building a product that naturally works for everybody and giving them a solution on the back end that, you know, makes it makes the most sense to them. So it's really thinking of putting the talent, consumers building the product first.

Got it.

Very cool.

I want to take it back. So you said you were at iheartradio for 7 years and SiriusXM for 10, is that correct?

Yep, yep.

Where did your passion for just radio come from at a young age and how did you get into the space initially?

I always loved radio as a kid. I mean, my grandmother did radio, my mother did radio. So it was kind of in my blood and, and, you know, as soon as I started DJing when I was a teenager, I knew that that's what I was going to do. When I was 16 in Minneapolis, I started on a small community station out there doing, you know, 4:00am shift on a Saturday night with maybe two listeners and just fell in love and ended up working my way to being on the biggest station in the country. So, like, it was just something that, you know, as soon as, once I found my passion, I just went all in on it. Knew that, you know, that's, that's what I wanted to do and where I was going to be.

Very cool.

Where did DJ Ski come from?

The name just for my leap first, for my first and last name. Just if you combine the first letter and the last name. Yeah, I got it.

Very cool, Very cool.

Did you ever, like, growing up, did you go to college or how did that look?

No, I got the opportunity when I was 17. I got connected with Steve Rifkin, who was the CEO of Loud under Sony Records then at the time and sent him a letter and what he was doing wrong after I'd built with him and he loved it so much he offered me a job on the spot. So I actually figured a way to graduate high school a year early and never been to la. Packed it, packed u haul, drove across the country and the rest is history.

Okay.

I was planning on it, but yeah.

So you moved to LA right, when you were like.

17, still a teenager? Yep, exactly.

Very cool, Very cool.

How has being in LA just impacted your life? Like would you ever leave or is that the place you're going to continue to go long term?

I mean LA is great. It's not what I initially planned on originally I was moving to New York and that's where and then 911 happened. So Steve actually ended up wanting me to be in LA because he was bicoastal but his family was here so he ended up spending more time here. It's one of those world changing events like we've seen right now what's going on. Right. And so I didn't really expect it but in retrospect it was the best thing that could happen to me because that's how I made it on the mixtape side and DJ side was a lot more open than it would have been in New York and really made my, you know, stake my claim here. And LA is home and love it. Right. Like so I've been here for you know, 19 years now almost. So it's or 18, 19 years now. So it's, it's definitely my home. And like look, you never know, you never say never to getting out but you know, it's the center of the entertainment, the tech, like where it's the convergence of all these things that are happening right now is in la. So you know, it's the, the perfect place for me to be.

Very cool.

Regarding. Because just I follow you on Instagram, right, And you have ski sports that I know you're a part of and you know that you've created. What is that? For people that may not know, we.

Really bridge with ski sports. We really bridge the gap between sports and entertainment. We're not trying to be a sports media news company. We're focused more on the lifestyle and the off the field things we do. Everything from it started on as a segment on ski TV where it was just us. When athletes were in town, they'd come to the studio and we, we create content with them or we'd go visit their cribs and do cool things and from there it evolved into us actually powering entertainment for pro sports teams and leagues ranging from like Minnesota Vikings to Ice Cube's Big three. Working with the NBA, mlb, MLS and really bridging the gap. Whether it's helping them, like in Minnesota we built an incredible DJ booth. I'll go out there and DJ before the games. We turn it into like a festival style atmosphere. We'll create a ton of content with the players where it's not, you know, sports, you know, we're not going to get and try to compete with ESPN and sports news, there's enough of that out there. But we'll go and talk to them about music and cars and clothes and fashion and kicks and what they're listening to and what they're watching and creating these really cool moments that help build these players for them, their brands and for the teams that give them new touch points to reach fans and as well as interact with their players. So it's everything from helping them book talent, helping them structure the in arena experience. Like with the big, you'll see us do everything from every sound that you hear from the arena speakers is coming from us. In essence, we're helping book all the talent programming and thanks for that. To helping with social media and overall brand strategies for a lot of the teams and leagues.

Got it.

Very cool. I didn't know that. That's so sick.

Yeah, it's great, it's fun. I'm just a big sports fan so I just love an excuse to be in the, you know, be on the sideline at all these games.

Yeah, no, I always posted up, I'm like, that's what's up.

Yeah.

Has the coronavirus and everything happening now made an impact on your business or how has that looked? Because I know it's obviously a topic of discussion everywhere. How has that impacted your business but also your daily life, especially being in la?

Totally on the business side, I mean, I think it's affected everybody's stuff. For us, you know, we, you know, we just had opened up brand new 25,000 square foot, incredible venue in Los Angeles with retail, with performance venues, sound stages, et cetera, and had a lot of projects in the work there that are now just kind of on pause as the world shuts down. But on the other hand, our core value and our core product has always been radio and these live communities and live DJs and people listening and lean back devices and that's actually excelled. We're seeing listener numbers higher than ever and we think that it's now is the Perfect Apex, all the things that we're building is now really coming to fruition. So while obviously it's tragic what's happening in the world on the business side, we have to evolve and move and our core product, we're lucky that it fits really well into people staying at home and even wanting to hear more and connect with communities and engage. We've also launched a whole video live stream series where we've had already over 40 artists on over the past few weeks. We launched a new partnership with Twitch where we're streaming daily from there and have a lot of really cool things coming on that we're going to continue going once this is done. We're almost utilizing this as a test ground to test a lot of things. We're getting a lot of learnings that we're going to take and expand once we, you know, once the, once things start, you know, coming back and getting back to normal and we open our facilities and you know, instead of doing live streams for people based people's basements, we'll have this, we already have this incredible state of the art studio that's built specifically for that and it works really well to the way that, you know, it's going to take a while I think, until you see big crowds back together. So I think that it's going to work really well the way that we have our setup. So we're, you know, from a business perspective we're incredibly bullish on where we are right now. We're one of those lucky companies that was, you know, is built for, you know, moments like this.

Yeah, yeah.

Very cool, very cool.

How is it out there in LA based off of like the current day to day? Is it still locked down pretty hard just in there or how are you experiencing it personally?

Yeah, for sure. I think, you know, everybody's staying at home for the most part and you know, if not they should be like, right, like that's the. And keeping their distance. If they go out, I mean la and you know, our Governor Newsom and Mayor Garcetti have been great with the regulations and the lockdown that they've put on before a lot of other states and other people were doing it. They've been very aggressive with it in terms of cutting the curve. So they've done a great job here in the state and you know, it's, it's, you know, for me I tried to keep as normal a schedule as possible. I'm not, you know, it's easy to get tempt, know, not work out, stay up late Playing, like stay up all night playing video games, you know. But for me, like, I'm trying to stick to a normal schedule. I'm still up and going to sleep and waking up at the same time. My days are as busy as ever. It's just calls instead of in person meetings now. And, you know, I've tried to keep that normalcy of working out, eating right, healthy, and, you know, not too much has changed outside of, you know, instead of running around and traveling and jumping into meetings and doing that, it's all happening from home.

Very cool.

Do you guys do anything in the, just like the podcast world or what does that look like?

We haven't really done anything in the podcast space. We're starting to syndicate some of our shows as podcasts because in essence, a radio show can be cut up as an on demand podcast. But we've really focused on the live audio space. However, we are starting to look into developing, creating different things in that realm from radio shows that we have and just utilizing it as another touchpoint distribution platform in the future.

Totally. No, I'm curious because I know, like you having so much experience in radio and just everything in that world, what is your thoughts on podcasting on the way it's grown as a community these last couple years?

I think it's great. I mean, we look at again, podcasting, I look at the same as almost like what's happened to music with streaming, right? It's been, it's been this opportunity for people. If they know what they want to hear or they have, they have these great fans, they can, you know, go listen and it's a great kind of experience in your headphones while you're driving, while you're, you know, at home running around. But you don't want to watch video of something or working or putting on. It's a great, great, great experience for that. It's really, you know, evolved what am, FM radio is. And we think that they work hand in hand. Right. Like, if you know what you want to hear, go download a podcast. If you just want to hear like the latest news or sports things, you just turn on the radio. We think there's room for both in the ecosystem.

Very cool.

I wanted to bring up. You have a Stockx in your bio. Are you affiliated with them or is that just sneaker guy?

Yeah, no, I was one of the first investors in StockX. We've worked with them since day zero, before it was even named, all those guys. And you know, we, we actually have our StockX court at the Dash Headquarters. So that's a great relationship and it's been so awesome watching. Watching what Josh and those guys, Dan and everybody's built over there.

That's sick. I met Josh once when I was a D at the Shopify event, but I did not know that. That's super tight. So you, when it comes to an investment side of things, do you also look at early stage companies or how are you as an entrepreneur? How are you building your company, spending time investing in companies and what does that look like in your life?

Absolutely. For me, you know, it's another natural kind of evolution and things. I try to work with companies that make sense, that are core to my true value and that I believe that I can add value to. And luckily through in the industry over the years, it's given me this great access to get involved with a lot of these people early on. And so for me, it's definitely something that I'm passionate about. I love helping others and giving them my guidance and seeing what's worked. And if you look at my even history in the audio side, right. It's always like I've enjoyed my success from being first on introducing certain artists to the world and different products. So it's really no different now on the business side. So no, it's, it's. I'm looking at expanding that to doing more there because we've, I've been lucky enough to have some, some big wins on that side, but for me it's still, you know, kind of a fun like little side thing that I'm doing and you know, probably about 10 companies now that I'm involved in.

Got it.

Very cool.

What's your advice to a young entrepreneur that's starting their first company? With the experience you have today, you.

Just got to go out and do it. Don't be afraid. I mean, you got to make calculated risks and everything and take, and also to take into account like learn as much as you can, do as research, take as much advice from others. But your path is going to be unique. Just because I tell you, hey, this is how I did it and this is what worked, doesn't mean it's going to work for you. Definitely take that into account and think I'm learning lessons. But you're going to have to make those decisions on your own. So don't be afraid to just step up and follow your gut. Oftentimes, even if it's counter to what other people have said, if you think it's really the right move because you know you'll learn More from failures as well. So be willing to adapt to that stuff. But just go out. You know, the toughest thing is going out and just doing it.

Love that. And I'm curious because you've had experience with raising capital. If someone already has their idea or they have a business but they're looking to raise capital, what's your advice on not only raising capital, but when do you believe a company should and what's your advice there? Just in that world of raising capital.

It all depends, right? Like there's certain companies where you don't need to, and if you don't need to, there's no point to do it. You don't want to do it just to do it. You have to be really strategic with it. You have to show value and you have to have, you know, if people are going to give you money, you have to have the. You have or have it really thought out. You have to have some level of experience or expertise in there or some clear pathway. You really need to be buttoned up before you go out and do it. It's not just like, oh, I have this idea, let me put this together in a couple days and go raise money and stuff and, you know, don't do it if you don't need to. There's plenty of businesses that don't necessarily, you know, need it and sometimes it can be a crutch. I mean, we've seen what's happened with some of these big, huge raises over the past few years that are, you know, have prioritized growth above profits or anything at all costs. And right now in this downturn, there's a lot of companies struggling, right? We were lucky on the dash side where we never raised a tremendous amount of money. So when we're able to handle these kind of setbacks that happen to everybody versus being so dependent on that money coming in that once it stops, you're dead and you have just such a high burn. We've been very conservative with, with what we spend and how we spend that and allocate our resources.

Very cool.

How have you gone about building team culture and just everything internally? Because I'm fascinated by just leadership and the culture that you've built. It's super dope. Everything I see on social, which is like, hell, yeah, whenever I'm back in la, I gotta stop by the spot.

Of course you do.

That culture and how did you build that from the ground up?

That's what it's all about. Well, two things. One, for us on the company side with our artists and talent. We always say we can't compete with dollars. There's again, media companies with billions of dollars behind them. There's radio companies that have been around for forever, right, like for hundreds of almost 100 years. And we're not going to compete in dollars with them. But what we do compete with is culture. We have a state of the art facility that's really cool. We understand artists. Our secret sauce is we understand talent and how to work with them and integrate them. And as well as doing, there's two types of things artists do. One are things that they kind of have to do or that they're paid to. And then the other things is what they do is to build their brand. And we always try to compete in culture, not in dollars. And that's why we have the facilities that we do. That's why we work with artists and talent the way that we do. We try to really speak to them in their own language. From an internal company perspective. It's always a challenge when you're building a company, right? Like everybody always says it, but you ignore it until you start hitting scale in certain sizes. But it's everything, right? Like you have to keep everybody aligned. It's easy when you're just doing it yourself and just with a few people, but when you start adding headcount, getting all these different people in there, you know, it's, you have to continually to convey the message, the goal, the vision of what you're doing, of where you're going, of what you want everybody doing and keeping everybody aligned. Because you know, you can't do everything anymore and you need to get everybody else working and doing that for you. So it's, it's, you know, I always took it for granted until you start building it up. But that's one of the key, the biggest, biggest things that you'll see.

Very cool.

How big is the team now at Dash right now?

We have 450 DJs. Like, you know, it's, yeah, it's, it's, you know, we've got a big roster of talent on board and stuff. Internally, you know, we're, we're still like a smaller headcount from that. We're around, you know, we only have like around 30 something people managing that. But it's, you know, yeah, there's, there's a lot of cooks in the kitchen right now, which is great. It's great to have all these different various ideas and personalities and people here. Yeah, for sure.

Man. What does your day to day look like just having the team, the culture, and everything happening from the retail location to the radio network itself. Where do you spend your time on a daily basis?

I mean, no two days are alike, right? It's just moving and adjusting to whatever needs to happen, running the company and making sure everybody else is in the position so they can go out and execute and handle all those divisions. So there's really no two days that are the same.

Got it. Do you have any, like, daily habits that you have built into your life?

Just got to make sure. You got to make sure you take care of your body, right? Like, you got to, you know, make sure you get enough sleep, eat right, work out. Like, those things are key for both mental and physical health. So I've just really made sure that I, you know, I'm trying to, you know, take care of myself in all of those ways because it affects your performance all the way across.

Got it. Do you have a moment where, just like along your journey, because I know you, you're connected with some of the most amazing, not only people, but talented artists. Do you have a story that you could share that, you know, is this something that along your journey has stuck out to you, that has taught you a lesson? And if so, who would that be with?

I mean, there's been so many of them, but it's really, you know, surrounding yourself with others and. And putting yourself in rooms with people more successful than you and learning from them and being a fly on the wall and getting out of your comfort zone. Right. Like, that's where I've always had my best success and built the relationships that have helped me get to where I am today. I'm lucky to have had great mentors and great people around me that have helped build this business in my career and just leaning into them and trying to just be a fly on the wall and learn from those that have done it and that have, you know, had a lot of success.

Got it.

Totally.

I have, like, two more questions before.

We wrap up here.

Just regarding, I know that, just for example, your relationship with Nipsey Hussle and everything you talk about him. I've been following you closely, and I believe that there's a story and a lesson that I'd love to ask you, and that is what would be one of the biggest takeaways and lessons that you've learned from Nipsey while he was here?

For him, it was always, you know, staying true to what his vision was. He oftentimes turned down, you know, short term gains and opportunities because it didn't Align with exactly what he wanted to do. He gave up, you know, a lot of what could have been short term, kind of easy success in order to build legacy and build his brand. And that came out when he passed away, right? Like it was as big an impact, it was bigger impact than any rapper I, I remember. I mean it has to be like, you know, as big in terms of a cultural, from a street perspective is when like Tupac and Biggie passed away, right? Like the way that the streets reacted. I've never seen anybody, especially if you look at like just from a pure number perspective, he didn't have the numbers on like the charts or sales metrics that other artists have had that have even passed away. But the impact that he had on culture was so much more profound. It's so much bigger and it's because of what he did. It really reinforced to me that that's the way to do it. It's about doing those right things because that's really care about even if it doesn't show up on the short term stat sheets. It's more powerful than just numbers and music. And he always was about staying true to what that vision was. Love that.

Last thing. Just if there's anyone out there that's listening that is a DJ or wants to be a DJ for a career wise, what advice do you give them?

I think just go out and do it right. Find your unique path. Don't just try to copy what others are doing, learn from them and stuff, but find what's unique in your space and don't let anything hold you back. If I can do it as a kid in Essence from Minneapolis, there's no reason you can't Love that man.

Well Scott, I really appreciate the time today man. I just want to give you an opportunity to tell people where they can follow everything you're doing at Dash Radio.

Absolutely everything. Just you know, check us out dj ski.com/radio on social. My stuff is all DJ Ski. And yeah, check us out Dash, we have 50 platforms, Sonos et cetera, you name it. Anywhere that you listen to audio from Amazon, Alexas to devices, we've we think we have the best kind of lean back audio product in the world. Totally free, no commercials. So go check it out.

Love that man. So that being said, I really appreciate you coming on today. When I'm back in la, I'll make sure to swing by.

Yeah, you gotta come through.

It looks so sick and the grand opening looks epic, man. So that being said, thanks so much for coming on the show.

Man.

I'll talk to you soon.

Yeah, man. Thank you, brother.

Monarch Legacy of Monsters An Apple Original Series the world is on fire. I decided to do something about it. On November 17th. This place. It's not ours. Believe me. The most massive event of the year arrives. If you come with me, you'll know everything. I promise. Legacy of Monsters streaming November 17th only on Apple TV.