The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
‘WINNERS NEVER QUIT’
Local record label, Ruby Recordings, pushes artists to their potential
UTICA, N.Y. » Ruby Recordings, a rising record label and talent management business in Utica, is run by a native with musical mastery and natural finesse. Going into 2021, the label holds much excitement about its up-andcoming stars.
Ruby Recordings is owned and managed by 25-year-old Travon Howard, a graduate of Thomas R. Proctor High School.
His label pushes the artist and the listener into one arena, providing a platform for optimal interaction. An artist’s persona is not accidental, Howard would argue; it demands a lot of work to get it right. Ruby can provide marketing, social media management, music videos, album graphics, and more, while also facilitating partnerships with producers, venues, and other prominent figures in the industry.
Distribution is also an undertaking at Ruby, done through The Orchard, a Sony Music company.
Music and formation have long been a part of Howard’s skillset. An artist himself, Howard also goes professionally by the name Trizzy, having created several of his own tracks under this name over the past five years. Some of his original content on Youtube has gotten over 30K views.
The young musician says he wrote his first song at the age of five and taught himself to create instrumentals at the age of 12. In 2008, he was producing music for Diamond District Records. In the summer of 2009, he produced
“So many times I wanted to quit, but I just kept going.” — Travon Howard, CEO and founder of Ruby Recordings
a majority of the music as a part of a local music group, Dub Club.
In high school, having the opportunity to participate in Mohawk Valley Community College’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) is something Howard looks back on with pride and appreciation. The class rounds up young leaders with creative ideas and allows them to practice and hone in an array of skills necessary to succeed in the real business world, Howard explained.
“When I was in the contest, I had a bunch of mentors that were actually helping me become who I am today,” he remarked. “They kept me focused, kept me on the goal. Ever since I went there, it changed my mindset.”
In 2015, Utica was lacking in the label and music management department, he said. “What I realized [living in Utica]... it has no labels, no management companies, nobody here to help artists power up their brands and actually make money off themselves,” he commented. “There’s nobody here to help us.”
He launched Ruby Recordings to first rise himself, Trizzy, through the ranks, realizing that a label sets people apart. “People don’t take individuals seriously,” he said. If being signed to a label was the answer to making it big, Howard found his own solution. He named the label after his mom, Ruby, for a personal touch.
Howard released his debut rap album with Ruby Recordings in 2016, called “Winners Never Quit,” which proved to be a defining moment in his career and his label’s brand.
“So many times I wanted to quit, but I just kept going,” Howard said of life.
“I graduated in 2014, but I kept failing my regents test,” he explained. “So every year, I would take the test after I graduated, and I made a song called ‘Winners Never Quit,’ and I swear, every time I fell, [my counselor] kept putting it in my brain. [She’d say] ‘You made this song. You did this, so you’ve got to follow [through].’”
After three failed attempts at conquering his regents after graduating, Howard finally passed in 2016. “Ever since I passed that test, nothing could stop me. I never quit,” he said proudly. “That’s my motto. And when it comes to my label, I say ‘Winners never quit at Ruby Recordings.’”
His counselor, Erin Scalise, was a driving force leading to his success today, he said. “If it wasn’t for her, I would have quit,” he said. Scalise was also the one who referred Howard to join the Young Entrepreneurs Academy, he added.
After over five years of trial, error, and a lot of growth, Ruby Recordings isn’t just a record label, Howard said; It facilitates an artist’s signature brand and empowers them to meet their potential. His mission is to lift artists up through a multi-media brand development approach. There are so many avenues and outlets to make a meaningful mark today, Howard said, and Ruby can help tap into all of them.
Becoming a public figure takes a lot of work, and much of it one artist can’t handle on their own. “In our area, there’s so many artists who don’t know nothing about artist development. They’ll pay to get their music videos done, pay to get their songs recorded, and stuff like that, but when it comes to that marketing and promotion side, they have no clue what to do,” he remarked. This is where Ruby Recordings can be a shining light.
Howard is a one-manband, so to speak, doing most of the leg work for Ruby. His specialties include copywriting, producing, graphic design, and getting artists verified on their social media accounts, among several other skills. At first, any work Ruby put out was by his hand, but now Howard has a few employees to assist with scouting artists, connecting with the press, and shooting music videos.
Five years since its inception, Ruby has launched stars into great successes.
According to reports by the label, Michael Stubbs, professionally known as AB Tazz, is a recording artist, singer, rapper, and songwriter born and raised in Utica. Through innovative expertise, Ruby Recordings say they helped AB Tazz catapult his career, facilitating an exclusive interview with Respect Magazine, which garnered attention from American rapper 50cent’s official website, Thisis50. In the Respect interview, Tazz compared his relationship with Ruby to “gaining a second family.”
Most recently, Ruby has re-signed one of their rising stars, MC Frio Isa Blaque, who first started with the label in 2016. Frio, also from Utica, has gotten hundreds of thousands of streams for his work on apps like Spotify and will soon be dropping a new single featuring Trizzy on Feb. 5.
“Ruby is the perfect label for aspiring artists to get the exposure we dream of,” Frio said. The rapper reported performing in Syracuse and Massachusetts and being interviewed by a handful of prominent radio stations. Letting his label work behind the scenes has allowed him to better focus on his craft, Frio said.
Also notable, Ruby used to work with artist Haitian Fresh, who has since signed a deal with Adidas, Howard said.
He added, “I have this artist named Tonee Marino, and I’ve been working with him since he was 15...I think he only had like 5,000 [Instagram] followers when I met him, and now he’s got over 200,000.”
Mainly, Ruby works with artists in hip-hop, rap, and R&B, but there’s no limit as to who Ruby can connect with, Howard said.
“The [artists] I look for are, basically, the ones that are doing something different. They’re not trying to be like everybody else,” he remarked. Their dedication to the craft is also key, he said, and their overall positive, unique mindset.
Right now, the label has its eyes out for more singers, Howard said, and other public figures, such as models, sports icons, and others who need a management boost for their persona. Artists/ figures don’t have to be limited by distance, either. Currently, Ruby provides services for a Canadian artist, JT5K, from Alberta.
Constant inquiries from rising musicians remind Ruby Recordings their services are in high demand. “I get hundreds of messages of people wanting me to sign them,” Howard confessed. Standing out from the rest is what takes them from an inquiry, to a signee.
Now, established and growing, Ruby Recordings can put Utica on the map for music and talent management, Howard hopes. In five years time, Howard said he wants Ruby to be like the new Jay-z Roc Nation (an entertainment company), with a prominent location on Utica’s main strip.
Looking back on his success, Howard fondly remembers the goals he set years ago while in the Young Entrepreneurs Academy. “My five-year goal was to sell enough beats to generate enough confidence to start my own record label by 2019...It’s funny because I was just looking at the paper, [with] my business plan, I was reading it and I said ‘Wow. I really did it. I did it.’”
Howard’s hope is that the next local generation, ages 13-18, will consider tapping into the powerful resource that is this high school program.
“I want them to know about [this] opportunity because [it’s] something that can really empower our city,” he said. It’s a mission of Howard’s to lift his city up like he does his clients. “I want to get as much attention to Utica as I can. I want to build something out of Utica where people would know [us],” he said.
Whether you’re a local artist or not, Ruby Recordings wants to hear from you and see what you bring to the table. Visit their website at ruby-recordings.com, or follow them on Twitter at @Rubyrecordings to learn more, and maybe shoot your shot at making it big.