Brendan Fallis thinks this is the biggest roadblock for new producers

Brendan Fallis has seen first-hand the changes within the music industry. As an in-demand DJ for the past few years, Fallis has been through major music landmarks in terms of tech innovation for music. From the emergence of streaming services like Spotify which makes music more readily available, to the rise of SoundCloud, the online community that has helped numerous young DJs make it big in the industry, Brendan has seen it all.

So it's only fitting that when he came to our New York City offices, we asked him about how he's seen the emergence of streaming culture effect the ways in which DJs, like himself, work. And even though he believes that free-streaming has posed one major roadblock to emerging artists, he doesn't want anyone to become discouraged from following their passions. As he claims, "[The industry] might be overwhelming, but still do it."

Ahead, we spoke to Brendan about SoundCloud, his one piece of advice for any passionate DJ, and more! And if you want even more Brendan Fallis exclusives, head over to AOL.com at 6 pm today to find out his biggest passion outside of music.

YouShouldKnow is a feature that showcases up-and-coming social stars. To see more of past interviews, including more exclusive interviews with Brendan Fallis, click here. ​

What genre do you tend to gravitate towards?
I just love hip-hop right now. It's in a good place and everyone is like, "Hip hop isn't as good as it used to be." But I'm just a little older so I know, yes 90s and early 2000s hip-hop was really cool, and it's cool that early 2000s hip hop is coming back right now, but the new stuff is so good. You just want to be in the club and hear it really loud because no one else's speakers justify what it does there. And the turn up is fun.

What was your favorite album from last year?
I'm such a bad album person, I feel like we all just download songs. Like I just downloaded Kanye's album -- not from Tidal -- and I really love it right now and I didn't at first. When I first heard it, I thought it sucked. But as I listen to it, I get it now. And I guess I was upset because I wanted there to be some bangers on there, and I don't get how he's going to tour with this because it's more of a singing album, but it's really nice. There are obviously the Futures and Drakes that you love, but Kanye is older and he's not trying to make that same stuff anymore and now I'm appreciating it. But last year -- man I don't even know what came out last year. That's bad.

It's hard too because we're such a streaming culture, and there's so many ways to find new music. Now you can just hear tracks before anyone else on SoundCloud.
But SoundCloud has its faults. Even SoundCloud isn't free anymore in the sense that it's not freedom of speech. I can't just put a random mix up, I have to get it cleared and if I can't it gets taken down. Which is really annoying since all my old mixes are gone, because now they're saying it's copyright infringement. Those have been up for two years and they're just deciding to do it now. So now, there's no other platform, which is really tough for emerging artists.

So you can't really mix the songs you actually want to?
You can, but it's not going to go anywhere. And that's what's so tough. SoundCloud was a great platform for that, where a lot of artists saw their futures and success from that. So now, unless you have a team to reach out to someone or a close relationship with other artists, I don't even know where you can put your music. There needs to be a new place. But once it gets popular, all the labels will be like, "No, this isn't free money." I get both sides, but there's a bit of a creative block for us. Especially when technology is making it easier and easier for you to create these things but then you just get stumped.

What advice would you then give to someone hoping to break into the industry?
Just dive into it. It might be overwhelming, but still do it. One of my friends in his mid-thirties just started doing it and he's a software developer. But he's just like, "This is so awesome!"

And I think putting in your time matters. I used to go out 5-6 night a week and just stand by the DJ booth and watch. Most guys were going to the clubs to meet girls, but I wasn't really interested. I would just go and really watch all the tricks they would do. I'm not the most outgoing person, so I would just sit there and fade in to the shadow and watch as much as I could night after night, after night. Because of that I learned so much.

I really believe in the 10,000 hours theory from Malcolm Gladwell, in which he says that you just need to put in 10,000 hours to become a professional at anything. And I've definitely put in 10,000 hours. I'm not the best technical DJ in the world, but I would consider myself a professional in the space. If you just grind at it, put in the time, and think positively, things will work out.

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YouShouldKnow is a feature that showcases up-and-coming social stars. To see more of past interviews, click here. And come back at 6 pm EST for more exclusive Brendan Fallis features, including his biggest passion outside of music.

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