Music Industry Pro Living In Murrieta Brings Your Songs To Life

MURRIETA, CA — Do you like to sing or write songs and wish a producer would turn your masterpieces into polished, finished tunes?

A music industry pro who lives in Murrieta is doing just that for people who want their sound heard.

Nelson Braxton is an award-winning producer-engineer and musician. He's worked with top artists like Rihanna, Stevie Wonder, Seal, Faith Hill, Lauryn Hill and many others, and has collaborated with world-famous symphonies such as San Francisco's and Rome's. Currently, he's touring as the bassist for singer-songwriter Michael Bolton, and is one-half of the acclaimed The Braxton Brothers.

Indeed, the 51-year-old Murrieta man is still very much in the biz. On the day Patch caught up with him, he was heading to Los Angeles for a session.

Like any seasoned pro, Braxton jams and collaborates with big names but he's also a down-to-earth guy who just loves music.

Now, he's hoping to make the music business accessible to anyone by offering an "open door" via a side gig he's launched called Songfinishers.com.

Songfinishers works like this: You have a song, or maybe you want to sing a rendition of someone else's top hit. Braxton puts all the pieces together by creating a music track for you, including all the instruments and, if you're not the singer, the vocals.

Songfinishers is for people who don't know where to start. The client can be any part of the process: a songwriter, singer or musician. Maybe all three.

"We help get the music out there," Braxton explained — whether that means YouTube, Spotify, Pandora or something less public, like a sweet private melody for someone special.

"Maybe you have a song and you want it recorded as a gift for someone," Braxton explained. "Or maybe you send us an audio recording of yourself singing in the bathroom."

Songfinishers produces the final product — with your own sound on the track.

People aren't turned down because they don't have "a look," a voice or an amazing song.

"It doesn't matter," Braxton continued. "The music does whatever it's supposed to do — whoever it was supposed to touch, move, inspire."

Hiring a professional music producer sounds expensive, but with today's technology, it's easier to put all the pieces together, said Braxton, who gears Songfinishers pricing for the everyday person. A basic $349.99 "Silver Package" includes a simple music backing track using piano or guitar, along with mixing and editing of vocals. Prices increase from there — up to $1,499.99 for the "Platinum Package." Other services can also be contracted, like vocal tuning, and uploading to streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.

Braxton, who was classically trained, has been in music production and has worked as a professional musician since the mid-1990s. He's amassed a lot of industry contacts — musicians and vocalists — and expertise.

He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area playing the tuba. His dad was a DJ. As a kid, Braxton and his identical twin brother, Wayne, were always coming up with tunes.

"Music was life at our house," he said.

Known professionally today as The Braxton Brothers, the twins have released seven studio albums over the decades and produced a #1 charting Billboard single (Smooth Jazz Chart) in July 2022 with "Catalina Nights" right in Murrieta. Their signature blended sound is saxophone and six-string bass melodies, and the brothers continue to tour together.

Nelson is a married father of five who moved to Murrieta with his family in 2014 because he said he wanted a safe place to raise his kids, while also being close to L.A.'s music epicenter. Southwest Riverside County also offers the ability to hop on a flight from five nearby international airports — important for a touring artist.

"We really like it here," he said of the small city.

Now in mid-life, the music man said he wants to give people access to his professional world.

"Our goal is to turn your musical ideas into reality," he said.

For more information, visit songfinishers.com.