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Entrepreneur Saqib Aslam, better known as AP, runs a New Record Label, APIS RECORDS, which manages brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos, while also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists, and maintaining contracts with recording artists and their managers.
To this day, AP has worked with some of the industry’s biggest artists and has managed many artist’s portfolios.
AP has worked with famous Rapper Travis Scott, where his gold Lamborghini was featured in his butterfly effect music video.
Travi$ Scott’s 2017 hit “Butterfly Effect” is now a multi-platinum single in the United States.
According to the RIAA, “Butterfly Effect” reached double platinum on January 25, 2018. The award confirms 2 million in US units. He has also been featured with Cookie Money, Show Banga, and Philthy Rich. He has made many appearances in music videos along with his unique Lamborghini in their videos.
In 1987, when Saqib Aslam was eleven months old, his parents migrated to the United States. He grew up in a tough neighborhood of San Francisco, CA that was known for its high rates in crime, gangs, etc. Despite all the challenges him and his family faced, AP continued to better his life by getting an education. In 2009, he graduated from USF University of San Francisco in public administration in hopes of becoming a mayor one day.
AP decided to pursue a career in public administration by working with the city and county of San Francisco, until his career came to a halt due to employment racial discrimination.
“I recognized that in Trump era, it was not easy for a Muslim person to become a public figure. I placed this goal on hold until I resolve my issues with them,” he states.
At a very early age, he had already grown a love for music, and it was evident from a very early on that music was a second choice. In his 20s, he decided to start his own music label called Apis Records based in San Francisco, CA.
“The term “record label” derives from the circular label in the center of a vinyl record which prominently displays the manufacturer’s name, along with other information. Within the mainstream music industry, recording artists have traditionally been reliant upon record labels to broaden their consumer base, market their albums, and be both promoted and heard on music streaming services, radio, and television. Record labels also provide publicists, who assist performers in gaining positive media coverage, and arrange for their merchandise to be available via stores and other media outlets,” he says.
AP was inspired to create ApisRecords because he has seen, first-hand, the struggles that both major artists and rising students have in navigating the music industry. His goal is to create a bridge of resources, connections, and education between artists, executives, and entertainment brands in urban communities around the world.
His motivation in running his record business is hearing the joy in an artist’s voice who after realizing that the music industry was not as difficult as they thought.
“Empowering young singers, rappers with a skill most never dreamed they could master is a great feeling. Watching young people have options to supplement their income without having to leave the comfort of their own home gives us a reason to go through the struggles of running a new business,” he shares.
Most recently, AP has been investing in real estate properties, as well as helping to build schools in Uganda with his two brothers.
As a U.S. Muslim, concerned about his place in society, while continuing to believe in the American dream, AP has had to face many obstacles along his path, but nothing has been able to keep him from his success. For AP, the road to success doesn’t stop here. He plans on pushing higher and harder, striving for more and better. His next project will consist of working with the Central Asia Institute that has helped build schools abroad for over twenty years.
In the years ahead, AP will continue to create opportunities and continue to grow his empire and help as many people as possible.
To follow this entrepreneur’s journey, please click here.
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