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Kenosha-based startup company Sovereign Images focuses on visuals, branding solutions and networking for hip hop artists. Founded by Peter Cesarone, the company is launching a new service called Hot Shots which is designed to be a place for emerging artists to have a platform as well as a community.
Cesarone began rapping as a teenager in the ‘90s and over the years built different skills such as producing, promoting and graphic design. In 2022, everything for Cesarone accumulated into launching Sovereign Images. “I’m all about the music industry, but I’m mostly about visual identity these days,” he said. “I wanted to create a niche and fill some of the voids to help people who struggle with the same things I did.”
Hot Shots is what Sovereign Images is ready to focus most on. Cesarone will conduct brief interviews with artists where they can share things like where they’re from, what their goals are and projects that they’re working on. He then turns the interviews into something of a digital magazine. “This way, people can interact with one another and see what’s going on,” Cesarone explains. “If you can create something where artists can reach out to other artists with the same objectives without it getting oversaturated, it can really help you expand.”
Signing up for Hot Shots is only $25. Cesarone is ready and willing to drive to Milwaukee or Chicago at no expense to the artist; anyone who wants to do Hot Shots outside of those metropolitan areas is encouraged to get several other artists involved. “Branding is everything,” he said. “If you can’t make yourself obtainable and consistent, none of this is going to matter.”
On what he feels are the biggest obstacles to artists infiltrating the industry, Cesarone shares, “Honestly, knowledge is one of the biggest obstacles. Back in the day, you wanted to be signed. Now, everyone wants to do everything themselves, so they’re on their phone all the time and it gets people lost. You have to utilize these resources that are right in front of you until you can generate some money; I spent so many years wasting money on the latest equipment and all kinds of stuff that I didn’t need. People can do things themselves but they also have to know when to delegate.”
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Eventually, Cesarone hopes that Hot Shots will become successful enough to where Sovereign Images can start booking shows at venues. In the meantime, he will be holding contests that can win artists free Hot Shots; he also plans to launch a podcast. Visit Sovereign Images’ website here: sovereignimages.net.
