Last year, after the release of Janine Berdin’s single “Pagod Na Ako” which he produced, Juan Karlos shared that he was never in the music industry for the awards and revealed that he actually turned down receiving some of them.

“I wasn’t making music for the sole purpose of being called Asia’s next singing guy or the next total performer or whatever. I’m not after those things eh. It’s really all about again being able to execute the ideas that I have and being able to put out the thing that I want to put out and share with the people,” he previously shared.

This year, the 21-year-old artist helped aspiring artists find success in the music scene by sharing his insight on the how to navigate music industry trends during the most recent installation of the Levi’s Music Project campaign event.

READ: Juan Karlos Labajo on staying away from the limelight: ‘Marami akong awards na hindi tinanggap’

During the event, the Island Records Philippines’ creative genius was joined by Managing Director for UMG Philippines Enzo Valdez and Republic Records Philippines’ rising artist huhsmile who also gave advice how to break down current industry trends and how artists can use them to their advantage along with the rise of streaming platforms and social media.

“There’s so much pressure now as an artist. You have to be more creative than ever. But my advice is to just keep creating. Keep creating music, keep creating content, keep posting,” Juan Karlos admitted.

“Scroll through the different platforms and see what’s trendy or funny. What type of content works for different types of platforms? Who can find me and where? As an artist and creator, you also can’t stop at just putting your music out there. You have to put in the work. Find your own voice. And most importantly, know yourself the most. Knowing the trends and using the different platforms well is one thing, but always inject your own identity into whatever you do. It helps to connect to your audience more,” added UMG Philippines Managing Director Enzo Valdez.

READ: JK Labajo on Cristy Fermin’s ‘hitad’ remark against Nadine Lustre: ‘Inggit ka ghorl?’

Juan Karlos also stressed that there really is no set rule book on what artists can or can’t do but it all starts with knowing who you are. “Start with your why. Why are you doing this? What’s your purpose? This would help set the tone and direction of where you want to go. Know yourself as an artist, and find the right partner who believes in what you do.”