You don’t have to know it all, but you have to know enough. You don’t get the luxury of chalking things off to ignorance. The expectation is that you can effectively weigh in on a topic, regardless of your personal comfort with it.
As a part of our series called ‘Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO’ we had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Arcaini.
Matt Arcaini is a first generation Cuban-American music professional with a 16 year career that has touched nearly every facet of the music industry. From production to post production, publishing, A&R, and music licensing, he brings an award-winning career that has seen multiple Billboard #1 singles, thousands of commercially released works, and a relationship-minded approach that has garnered him significant success on both the creative and business sides of the industry. He resides in Nashville, TN with his wife and daughter.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
Music has been a major part of my life since childhood. I was absolutely fascinated by song structure as a small child, often calling out the consistencies in pop songs’ chord progressions, etc. At a very young age, I figured out that if you put a 1/8th inch headphone jack partially into a phono port, you could hear isolated parts of a production. Those small discoveries made me more and more interested in how sound works. When I was 15, a friend of my parents invited me to play bass on a record he was producing (likely as a courtesy) and that was my first experience in a recording studio. I absolutely fell in love with the process from that single recording session and from that moment on, became very focused on making and mixing records. This led me to attend Appalachian State University in North Carolina for music industry studies with an emphasis on audio production. I was in a band during that time that eventually got signed by a record label in Nashville. I had quit the band prior to the record deal being signed, but we were all close friends and so when production began on their record, I came with them to Nashville for a few recording sessions, and ultimately got an internship out of that with a producer named Rob Hawkins. That led to a really fun run of assistant engineering roles on a few dozen records with Rob and a handful of other producers and mix engineers here in Nashville, which led to a very steady production and mix career of my own.
In 2017, an artist I’d worked with a number of years prior heard a mix I had done and asked me if I wanted to mix some tracks for his new music licensing company, Soundstripe. That turned into a 4.5-year run with Soundstripe where I was instrumental in building the music production and acquisition arm of the company. We parted ways in 2021, and via some friends who were interested in getting into the music licensing space, we built and launched WavMaker after closing our first seed round in 2023.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are multiple people who have believed in me over the years and have given me chances, and I’m deeply grateful to all of them. Producer and engineer Rob Hawkins gave me a chance as an assistant engineer and was a key mentor for me early in my career. Micah Sannan, Soundstripe’s CEO, gave me a huge opportunity at Soundstripe when the company was just starting out. The professional growth I experienced in that role, being involved in an early stage startup from the bootstrapping phase to post VC funding, was invaluable and allowed me to grow rapidly in short order.
Leadership often entails making difficult decisions or hard choices between two apparently good paths. Can you share a story with us about a hard decision or choice you had to make as a leader?
We take opportunity cost very seriously. There are often partnerships, deals, etc. that look really great on paper, and with a lot of work may actually be really great, but oftentimes the cost of doing those things is significant beyond direct financial implications. I feel this is something that many leaders and businesses overlook when evaluating the true value of any opportunity. We had an opportunity come across our desks that would have allowed us to save a significant amount of money in one of our core business functions. However, the workforce hours, additional hires, tech considerations, etc. made it a far less valuable opportunity than it appeared at first glance. After very serious consideration, we ultimately passed on the opportunity.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the primary focus of our interview. Most of our readers — in fact, most people — think they have a pretty good idea of what a CEO or executive does. But in just a few words can you explain what an executive does that is different from the responsibilities of the other leaders?
I think this answer depends on the executive and the type of company, but as far as WavMaker is concerned, we’re very small and our hiring philosophy indexes more heavily on player/coach types with strong business acumen alongside their respective specialized skillsets. As CEO, I have to have a functional understanding and awareness of every arm of the company. I don’t need to be an expert, but at the very least I need to have a baseline understanding of practices that are outside of my subject matter expertise so that I can intelligently speak into decisions and provide quality input and guidance based on my knowledge of other functions of the company.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about being a CEO or executive? Can you explain what you mean?
The biggest myth is that being a CEO means you get to live in some 30,000-foot nebulous space where you’re simply making decisions and kicking back with a cocktail midway through the day. The big picture is made up of details. As CEO, I am focused on those details and how they create the big picture, not simply on the concept of the “big picture.” It’s a far more difficult and attention-consuming job than most people would realize. In order to have a clear 30,000-foot view, you have to know the details that create the big picture, and that requires being extremely detail oriented and staying apprised of not only the functions within your own company, but the activities of other companies in your space so you can continue to accurately inform the larger picture and vision. The whole “I’m a big picture guy so I don’t worry about the details” thing is espoused by people who have never had ownership of the “big picture.” It’s just an excuse to not have to work.
What is the most striking difference between your actual job and how you thought the job would be?
I try to learn by observing, primarily. I’ve joked that I don’t need to get hit by a truck to know it hurts. That means as often as I can observe the actions, decisions, and outcomes of the activities of other leaders and executives, the more likely I am to be successful in my role. For that reason, it honestly hasn’t been terribly different from my expectations. The striking disparity between expectations and reality has been more in how ultimate leadership at the top of a company “feels” at the end of the day. That often means I’m the one having difficult conversations with people, telling people things they don’t want to hear, etc. The emotional burden of that can be difficult at times. It’s not fun to end days feeling somewhat worn down because I spent the majority of the day saying “no,” terminating a contract, having to shatter someone’s expectations because there’s a new reality we have to contend with. That is by far the most taxing aspect of it for me. It’s rare that I truly get to be the “nice guy” and just give people what they want. My leaders ask for what they need, and I have to decide on the outcome based on what I know about the bigger picture, as I mentioned previously.
Do you think everyone is cut out to be an executive? In your opinion, which specific traits increase the likelihood that a person will be a successful executive, and what type of person should avoid aspiring to be an executive? Can you explain what you mean?
I can say with conviction that no, not everyone is cut out to be an executive. Most people aren’t. Being an executive requires a lot more time, mental energy, physical energy in some cases, and focus than most people think. Like I said before, we’re not kicking back with a drink while someone else does the work, especially not at WavMaker.
You must be detail oriented. Once again, the “big picture” guy thing is a farce. In order to be effective at the big picture, you have to understand what it’s made of.
You have to be able to remove (or at least pause) emotions from your decision-making. If you can’t do that, you will not be an effective executive. Full stop. What you feel and what needs to be done can often be in conflict with each other, and I can’t tell you how many ultimately destructive decisions I’ve seen made simply because an executive can’t separate their emotional response from the realities of a situation. That’s hard. Most people think they can do that, but anecdotally, it’s not a trait I observe often in people.
You must be able to compartmentalize. Your job will be hard. Don’t take that home with you. If you can’t check your emotions, frustrations, etc at the door before you rejoin your family after a tough day, you’ll be suffering twice — once at work, and once at home. And then probably a third time on your own. Suffer once — check your emotions at the door, understand there will be another day to deal with whatever issue is facing you at work, and do your best to be the best for the non-work people in your life. They need you too.
What advice would you give to other business leaders to help create a fantastic work culture? Can you share a story or an example?
Hire people who are smarter than you, be humble about the fact that they’re smarter than you, and do your best to trust them. Most people are trying to do good, I think. That doesn’t mean they all will, simply because everyone has different standards for “good” and how that plays out in a professional scenario, but take the time to vet your hires thoroughly (that doesn’t mean three months’ worth of interviews, BTW) and when you put them in a role, trust them. Theoretically, they should be able to do their job better than you can. Processes take time, and sometimes the evidence of success or failure isn’t readily apparent. Until someone gives you a reason not to, trust your leaders. It will make your life easier and create a workplace culture of open communication, connection, and hopefully excellence.
How have you used your success to make the world a better place?
WavMaker specifically has been able to enable the creative visions of so many incredible composers who may not have gotten a chance to shine otherwise. The difference between a star and a nobody is often random occurrences that open up opportunities for one person and not another. Many people could have achieved notoriety in their field, had some minor variables been different in their journey. In a world where media consumption is more fragmented than ever and people can easily create entertainment silos for themselves and feasibly never discover anything new, there are some truly brilliant creatives out there who will never get the attention they deserve. Up to this point, we’ve given hundreds of composers the opportunity to hone their craft and put their music on a platform that can help them in their journey.
Creativity is key to strong culture. Patronizing the arts is an important practice to uphold, because art both defines and speaks for the existing definitions of a society. When a society stops creating great art, it begins to unravel.
Strong creativity and original content are important for societies large and small, governmental in nature or corporate. Creativity drives culture.
What are your “Five Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A CEO” and why?
I was actually given pretty relentless, amazing advice by a lot of leaders because I’ve sought it out, and I’ve put myself in positions to learn lessons by observing. These are some of the most important ones that I’ve had to focus on as a CEO:
1. Compartmentalization is important, intentional, and it’s practiced. You often have to force yourself to rapidly move on from a topic simply to tackle something else, and getting time to switch tracks isn’t a luxury you often get as a CEO.
2. You don’t have to know it all, but you have to know enough. You don’t get the luxury of chalking things off to ignorance. The expectation is that you can effectively weigh in on a topic, regardless of your personal comfort with it.
3. Be great at facilitating compromise — multiple things can be true at once, and multiple people can be right at once. Learn to extrapolate the correct aspects from disparate viewpoints in order to merge them into one SUPER VIEWPOINT! No, but seriously, compromise is important.
4. Make sure you have a strong network of mentors — this is actually something I’ve had to aggressively seek out. The journey of a CEO is difficult, it can change rapidly, and when you need time to process but don’t have it, a trusted and skilled outside viewpoint may be the easiest way for you to gain the perspective you need to move on. It can truly be lonely at the top, but it doesn’t need to be.
5. You’re not as good of a communicator as you think you are: Do whatever it takes to refine your communication style. Everyone is capable of living inside their own head and thinking that their thoughts are shared by everyone, etc. Do whatever it takes to make your communication clear, accurate, and thorough while keeping it concise. It’s an art, but it’s necessary as a CEO. You have to share a lot of communication constantly and if you can’t rapidly articulate your thoughts in a way that is easily understood by others, you’re going to frustrate yourself and others constantly.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
This is a controversial viewpoint, but I don’t necessarily believe the democratization of media via the internet has been a good thing. Societies are made up of people who can relate based on shared cultures, experiences, etc. One of the key cultural touchstones in America has always been our ability to create great media and entertainment. It’s given our society something to gather around and talk about. Great storytelling and media breaks down barriers and gives us something fun to enjoy with people we may never have related with otherwise.
Right now, that system is completely broken. With thousands of songs hitting the music streaming services every day, even the major labels are having trouble breaking new artists. If everyone is listening to different music, watching different shows and movies (we continue to create record numbers of new shows, etc.) we instantly remove a unifying, centering aspect of society. I’m not sure most people have realized that this is a huge factor in the societal malaise everyone has felt recently, but I’d strongly venture that it is.
The world has been heavy for years now. Joyous things have become fragmented. It’s difficult to immediately relate around entertainment or media anymore. Sports are arguably one of the last true touchstones we have in our society of an entertainment nature. I’d love to see a movement that prioritizes elevating and curating true excellence in art and media, not simply elevating it because it was made. The “look mommy, I did it!” mindset seems to give people license to believe that simply because they did something, it’s good enough to be shared with the world. This is simply not true. Society benefits from strong, quality curation, and we need to get back to that as a people.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My mother always emphasized to me the importance of being “prepared in season, and out of season.” That means that regardless of what life requires of you in that moment, you should always be improving aspects of your life beyond those at all times. Take care of your health before you’re forced to. Learn voraciously at all times. You never know when that knowledge will become useful. Be ready for what you know is coming, then do your best to predict the 10 other directions that things can go and be prepared for those too. It doesn’t matter the season or what you’re facing; preparation makes everything go more smoothly. Keeping this advice front of mind has forced me to constantly think ahead and prepare for situations I am both aware and unaware of.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them
Dr. Dre or Jeffrey Loria (the art dealer). I find those figures incredibly fascinating for different reasons. Mr. Loria has an incredible eye for art, and his views on the intersections of art, society, and seemingly unrelated elements like sports have always intrigued me. I find his ambition and desire for excellence to be riveting, and he’s someone I’d love to share a great cup of coffee with.
Dr. Dre (Andre Young) is one of the most brilliant minds in the history of music. His ability to identify true talent, cultivate it, and make people care about it has been an influence on society that I don’t think most people are fully aware of. He sees things no one else sees, and can take seemingly unrelated elements and make them work together in a way that very few people can. I’m talking people, music, and business, here. He’s a man of vision and it’s always thrilled me that his success is correlated so strongly with his ability to guide many things to greatness. Not everyone gets that opportunity, and he’s seemingly made the most of it. I’d like to meet Dr. Dre at his favorite lunch spot and talk.
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this.
Matt Arcaini Of WavMaker: “You don’t have to know it all, but you have to know enough” was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.