Who Is Gopal Metro?
My Life
I was raised in Satchidananda Ashram, Yogaville. I taught my first yoga class at six years old. Later, I briefly trained to be a monk, before discovering that music was my calling.
I went on to found the gothic rock band Bella Morte and the band is now listed in the top 50 goth bands of all time on ranker.com.
After my time in Bella Morte, I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Business Administration from Full Sail University - more on that below.
I then went on to study the science of success. What is Success? What does it look like, what does it feel like, and is it consistently replicable?
After that, I served as a mentor, strategy consultant, career consultant, indie artist manager, founder of multiple successful bands, and, over the years, have served in nearly every role required to make a successful career in music - from songwriter and composer, to audio engineer, to tour and merchandise manager, to booking agent and more.
As an odd side note, I am also one of only a handful of technicians in the world qualified to build, install and maintain a highly specialized scientific instrument called a Molecular Rotational Resonance Spectroscope. They are basically advanced molecular scanners used for molecule discovery and identification.
All of this to say, I believe in high standards of achievement, but I also strongly believe in the value of joy, peace, and personal fulfillment in every area of life.
Now, I am the founder of MainQuest, where I continue to mentor and coach independent artists and where I have developed the MainQuest Compass app - a tool designed to help people discover their "main quest" in life and to help keep them on track as they learn, grow and develop into their ideal self.
I teach artists personal agency.
How to take control of their careers.
Through their own dedication and effort and given time, I know how to consistently take artists from the very beginnings of their career to millions of plays.
I also know how to keep things in alignment, so that the process is a creative joy.
That doesn't mean that following your dream is always easy or that you always end up where you first thought you wanted to go, but it does mean that it is always worth it.
What I have found is that success is systematic and it is consistently replicable.
You do not need to be signed to a label, you do not need millions of dollars in the bank, you do not need the next plugin or fancy instrument (though those are incredibly fun).What you need is passion for your craft, dedication to your future and your art, a positive attitude (this is critical), just a bit of bravery, and a willingness to persist and adapt as you grow.
This system is not a magic bullet, but with consistency and persistence, it will get you to where you truly want to be.
30 years in the industry
Co-founder
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Bella Morte (hundreds of shows, millions of plays),
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Brighter Fires (major label interest in under six months),
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Gild The Mourn (mainstay on the East Coast science fiction and fantasy convention circuit)
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First Class Coffin (to the best of my knowledge, VRChat's first and only old school goth band and one of only a handful of true live VR exclusive rock bands)
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Gopal and the Shadow Band (my own upcoming solo work).
Achievements
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Released over 20 records
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Played hundreds of shows
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Received millions of plays
Through all of this, I have developed a deep understanding of how to successfully launch and maintain a career in the independent music industry.
Putting all of these skills and experiences together has given me a very unusual approach to artist strategy and career development that I look forward to sharing with you.
Work and Education
in 2013, I earned a Bachelor's Degree in Music Business Administration from Full Sail University.
With a 4.0 GPA, I graduated as Valedictorian, and further received the Advanced Achievement Award, 12 Course Directors awards and gave the commencement speech at graduation.
After school, I ended up doing a broad range of work from career strategist and consultant, booking manager, and tour manager, to stage and lighting technician, full stack web developer, electromechanical engineer, yoga instructor, UX/UI engineer, social media strategist, indie artist mentor, merchandise manager, and music mix/mastering engineer at my own recording studio, Gopal Metro Studios.
I am also currently earning my MBA in Entrepreneurship through the Oneday program.
All of this comes together in MainQuest. e