David Cloyd wears many hats in his life: father, husband, teacher, artist, musician, entrepreneur, web designer, advocate, and activist; each intertwined with the art of creating and reaching across boundaries to bring people together and lift them up. It is this passion that has led David’s work.

 

David and his wife, Jaime Herbeck, moved to Buffalo in 2008, relocating from Brooklyn to be closer to Jaime’s family and to have more space to start a family of their own. They have two children, Matilda (13) and Milo (9) who are musicians and artists themselves.

 

A self-described artist-activist, David began working on the #IRespectMusic campaign (irespectmusic.org) in 2014 with Blake Morgan, the producer and founder of ECR Music Group (the NYC label to which he is signed and serves as VP of Creative Operations). This campaign aimed to close a loophole that has allowed terrestrial radio broadcasters in the US to go nearly a century without paying artists royalties for airplay. (The United States is the only democratic country in the world that does not do this, and shares this position with only Iran, North Korea, and China.) 

Thanks to artists and music supporters all over the world, it became the most successful grassroots music rights campaign in history and, along with the help of numerous other efforts, has resulted in the introduction of the American Music Fairness Act in the House of Representatives in 2022. This act would require American broadcasters to compensate artists just like every other music distribution platform while protecting small, local radio stations.

 

In November 2020, David co-founded the Buffalo Music Club (buffalomusicclub.com) with Eric Crittenden to inspire and advocate for local musicians. The Buffalo Music Club connects professional Buffalo musicians, aspiring musicians of all levels, and the listening audience to foster and support the artists of today while helping to create the artists of the future, in turn helping Buffalo’s local music scene to be as sustainable as it is vibrant. “There is no such thing as arts funding. There is only artist funding. Artists are where art comes from, and artists are just people. We need to eat and work and live just like everyone else. If Buffalo wants an incredible arts scene, that garden must be tended.”

 

Following this year’s copyright controversy (or “non-controversy,” as David puts it) with Casey Milbrand’s Greetings from Buffalo mural, David felt called to weigh in on the discussion and ultimately partner with Casey to establish Buffalo Creative Common Ground (buffalocreativecommonground.org), a group of Buffalo creatives coming together for the good of the industry to share their experiences, advice, and educate one another on issues of copyright.

 

“Copyright is the lifeblood of any artist’s career. Forfeiting the ability to protect our work from being used without our consent is tantamount to forfeiting our right to legally exploit our work for financial gain,” explained David. “Protecting our work under the fair use statute isn’t just our legal right, it’s our responsibility as citizens of this community. We aren’t just protecting our own rights and livelihoods as artists—we are defending everyone’s right to protect their own hard work. And if we are truly the City of Good Neighbors, we cannot start this conversation by saying that artists should turn a blind eye to someone else breaking established federal law in a way that has a direct impact on a person’s ability to make a living.”

 

As a musician, David has taken a unique path. He began as a pianist at the age of 4, after his family discovered him picking out Mozart by ear. He spent the next 20 years adamantly pursuing classical music as a pianist and woodwind multi-instrumentalist, completing his Bachelor of Music Performance at the University of Texas at Austin.

 

To make a living and start his career, David began teaching music and performing live—everything from chamber music and pit orchestras to local rockabilly bands. As he was completing his college degree, he won an internship through the Joni Abbott Music Foundation to move to NYC and work at EMI Music Publishing. Soon after, he walked away from it all to pursue his true passion: writing songs and making records.

 

Today, he is a solo recording artist with ECR Music Group in NYC. Following its worldwide release, his debut album Unhand Me, You Fiend! hit #1 on eMusic’s Album Charts. Cloyd followed on the national success of that album with I Could Disappear, a powerful collection of solo performances, and a fresh take on a Paul McCartney classic “Dear Boy” from the 1971 album Ram. He is currently in the studio, finishing up his third album, which is currently scheduled for release in 2024. Visit his artist website at ecrmusicgroup.com/david-cloyd for more info, including links to stream his albums.

 

You can expect to catch him performing around town, especially at his new concert series MIXTAPES, which features Cloyd and two other artists backed by a string quartet. Produced by Buffalo Music Club, the new season will begin at the Ninth Ward in September. Learn more at buffalomusicclub.com/mixtapes.

 

David and his family live on Amherst Street where they continue to make beautiful music and inspire our local creative communities.