Los Angeles – Meet the man behind BPM Music and BPM Supreme. Angel “AROCK” Castillo is coming up on his 23rd year in the music business and he’ll tell you that “it feels like I’m just getting started.”
With humble roots as a Latino American DJ, AROCK got his start working for a radio station in San Diego, Calif., where he got to see first-hand the ins and outs of a DJs life.
“BPM Supreme was born out of necessity,” says AROCK. “I was making my own edits and people were coming to me for those edits, so they didn’t sound like everyone else. It was then that I realized there was a play there, a business model.”
With little to no resources available for digital music made for DJs, AROCK saw an opportunity to go behind the scenes in the industry and help other DJs along the way.
“I started reaching out to any and every audio or video editor I knew to grow a team,” he says. “Out of the six people that I found, five of them are still with us today – 12 years or so later! They had a similar passion for the music and they understood the vision. And the others may have taken different paths, but they’re still friends and customers.”
As time went on, the BPM Supreme platform continued to grow into what it is today. Both the open format and Latino libraries are continuously growing, plus there is BPM Create, an online sample library for music producers, and BPM Music, the overarching parent company of all BPM services.
We caught up with AROCK to ask him a few questions about hitting a major milestone in his career and surpassing over two decades working in the music business. See a quick Q&A below:
How has working in the music industry shaped your life?
Honestly, it has made my life. Without music or the path that I chose working to better the careers of other DJs, nothing would be the same. I can’t imagine any other life and I’m so thankful to be doing something I love every single day.
With over two decades working in the music business, what would you consider to be your biggest achievement?
I am most proud of the fact that I created a successful product from the ground up.
The BPM Brand has collaborated with some big companies and artists, like Pioneer DJ, Serato, Avid, Deorro, T-Pain – and the list goes on. As CEO, what is your dream collaboration?
I would love to collaborate with a company as big as Apple, Spotify, or other brands that are pushing to the forefront of the music industry with incredible innovation. We’ve had a lot of success with collaboration and partnerships thus far, but I believe the best collaborations are yet to come.
If you could re-live a specific moment from your career, what would it be?
I would like to re-live it all, from the very beginning, if it were possible…. mainly, because everything I’ve learned over the years I could apply and do things even better.
You used to be a DJ and still like to produce remixes and edits of your own. Do you prefer making music or being behind the scenes in the industry?
Definitely behind the scenes. It’s very rewarding to create a product that helps so many people and to know that we can offer tools for musicians who are just starting out. I know how it feels to be just starting out and it’s amazing when you have tools, tutorials, or even a mentor to lean on.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out who wants to work in music?
I would say to keep this in mind: Everyone is competing for the top. You have to find a way to differentiate yourself and offer something that people need, that may not be available, or to do it in a way that’s better than the competition. That’s your best angle, your edge. Also, success doesn’t come overnight. If you keep pushing, and you really believe, success will come.
People know you as AROCK, the man behind BPM Music. Tell us one thing we might not know about you.
I love playing pool/billiards. I consider myself a pool-hall junkie [laughs].
Where do you see your life in five years?
Continuing to build the BPM brand and expand the music services that are available. There is more to come – trust me. The future for us is to position ourselves as the leader for anything related to performing, to be the go-to for DJs, producers, and artists that are looking to make a name for themselves. I feel like we’re just getting started.
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