Jay Newman on Finishing Strong, Letting Go, and Building a Real Career
Jay Newman isn’t new to the melodic space, but Back To Me marks a clear pivot. Built with Joshua Moreno, the new single strips things down to the essentials: rolling percussion, lean arrangements, and enough room for the loop to breathe without losing grip. It’s out now on Magnetic Magazine Recordings, following their earlier joint release Longing on Where The Heart Is—which leaned more emotional, more atmospheric. This one’s sharper.
His commitment shows up behind the scenes, too. In this short conversation, Jay outlines how walking away from a profitable tech house brand helped him realign with the music he actually wanted to make. He talks about persistence, finishing tracks with intention, and the value of consistency when you’re trying to build trust with labels. No fluff—just a clean look at what’s working for him now.
Why do you think persistence is such an important part of making it in the music industry?
Persistence and consistency is hugely important. A label, for example, will only really want to work with an artist who is constantly releasing music and sending demos or promos.
This shows commitment and that you’re in this business for professional reasons. If a label is going to sign your music, they’re committing financially toward you and your work, so they want to know you’re the real deal—not a flash in the pan.
What’s one of the biggest sacrifices you’ve made to stay committed to your music?
One of the biggest sacrifices I’ve made relates to the events that I run. I used to run a very successful tech house event, and we used to sell out all the time. But my personal music taste changed, and I started producing my current sound—melodic, organic, deep house.
My events have always been a way for me to promote myself and my sound, so I decided to stop running the tech house nights and started a new brand to push the melodic side. We halved our following and I gave up some financial stability, but I feel more content pushing the sound I love instead of something I fell out of love with.
How do you know when a track is finished?
I know when a track is finished when it sounds great alongside other popular tracks in the same sonic area. I tend to compare most of my tracks with some Anjunadeep records.
Why do you think it’s important for artists to focus on developing their own sound rather than chasing trends?
An artist has to enjoy the music they’re making. It really shows through in the finished track when it’s made with love and from the heart.
