Made It In Music: Interviews With Artists, Songwriters, And Music Industry Pros

Emily Ann Roberts is a country artist who was runner up on season 9 of The Voice. She tells about how being on Blake Shelton’s team on The Voice has taught her valuable experiences and where to go from here. She goes on to talk about what all she had to do in order to get where she is today. 

“Everything starts now.”

From singing in churches, talent shows, a Mexican restaurant, and making a YouTube channel, Emily kept pursuing her dream and got connected with a casting director which started the change in her life. 

Emily Ann Roberts tells her story about the steps she took to get her music out there and facing her challenge of being a woman in country music. 

“Focus on my craft, and if it’s great it doesn’t matter if you are a male or a female. It should just be great.”

How do YOU make it?

Emily dives into:

• How she started playing
• Making connections
• The value of experiences
• 
  

“Figure out what makes you different…there is only one you.”

Find the video mentioned in this episode here: Carrie Underwood – “Something in the Water” (Emily Ann Roberts Cover)

Find Emily Ann on social media:

 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmilyAnnRobertsMusic/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emilyann_music/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf9dbFlTQ9TQHRQN1OVz5A

Find her music on:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/emily-ann-roberts/1040553354

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4ZuggB1YawAAZOBL4pI9J8?si=9RLQY6fNQuuM4YUM2VAd2w

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So, what exactly is A&R? What does someone in A&R do day-to-day? Most people have a lot of misconceptions when they think about this role…

Stephanie Wright tells her story about how she landed her first major label job in Nashville (Capitol Records) with zero music industry experience or degree, but it eventually led to her current role as Senior Vice President of A&R at Universal Music Group Nashville.

With her start in an administration role, she found ways to use her creativity in any situation she could, which eventually led to her discovering artists Brandy Clark, Erin Enderlin, and then signing Kacey Musgraves.

“I’m glad I took this [slower] path— it gave me an appreciation for the whole process of making a [music] project”

Stephanie goes into detail on what the A&R role truly means, how to deal with established artists versus newer artists, how A&R uses strategy to accomplish artists’ goals, and what she thinks a “sign-able” artists looks like.

“My job is just to keep [artists] authentic…[people] who have something about them that sets them apart…at the core that’s what everyone is trying to find”

Great news for artists— the label really isn’t trying to change you!

Stephanie dives deep on:

• UMG’s company structure,
• What genres mean at UMG (spoiler: they are more difficult to define in this digital age)
• How those genres relate to how she aims to brand an artist
• How A&R is constantly evolving
• What labels are looking for in an artist

“You have to be flexible and fluid in how you are going about launching an artist, there’s not a one size fits all anymore.”

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How do you become a producer & songwriter? What steps does it take to move to Nashville? These are extremely hard questions to answer on your own…

Blake Bollinger tells how he was able to persevere with his passion in music and how he got to where he is today.

“You don’t have to be the artist performing your own songs to make a living."

Blake continues to talk about the different roles in the music industry, moving to Nashville, and the skills learned for the industry. Learn how to differentiate yourself from other writers and producers, and what things will work for you. Blake talks about what it is like to be in an environment where you are with the cream of the crop in Nashville.

“I had to just go throw myself out there.”

Blake dives into:

• What to do to get to the next bread crumb
• Becoming a producer
• Skills learned/needed for the industry
• What you need for your demos

Blake has had experiences with Blake Shelton, Darius Rucker, and Scott Hendricks. Listen as he tells about his co-writing experiences and his journey throughout his music career.

“The switch flipped of going “this is something I have to do” to “something I love.””

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Matt Hadley is the Owner/CEO of Wander Creative. He and his team help develop a brand by using tradtional methods, as well as digital marketing and content.

Matt dives deep into what is important for an artist’s brand. The most important thing, however, is finding what is the most interesting part of the artist’s story, and unpacking that.

“What is that story about me and about my music that resonance with people and how can I tell that message over and over until people start to think of me in that perspective”

Matt discuss two very important branding tools that have been successful for artists trying to sign with a label

1. A cohesive image across all platforms (organic, yet relatable)
2. promotions/campaigns/merchandise

“You want make the brand enticing enough for the label to sign them”

1. Create as much content as you can with your time
2. Use the money to grow Facebook numbers/platform; focus on sponsored ads and posts

“…how are people engaging with this artist?”

ENGAGE with your audience as much as possible. Try targeting a fan base similar to yours and reaching out to them

Email! surprisingly.

Matt says THE major question in marketing strategies is “what do you OWN?” (like email lists rather than Facebook likes!)

“…at the end of the day, you are running a business, so let it look like a business without it feeling like a business”

Find Wander Creative on Social Media:

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/WanderCreative/

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/wandercreative/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/wandercreative

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/user/WanderCreative

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Steve Robertson works in A&R at Atlantic Records. He has worked with Paramore, Day to Remember, Shinedown, and many more incredible artists.

Steve’s career in the music industry was sparked at a young age. Since he was 8 years old, Steve knew he wanted to work in radio. As he was figuring out what to do after graduating high school, he found a school that prepared him for radio. While there, Steve discovered his love for alternative rock, and made his way to become an assistant music director at WRR in Orlando.

Once Steve finally got his dream job and became an A&R for Atlantic, his only task was: “Go sign bands”.

However, he had a couple learning curves:

1. Even though he liked songs, it didn’t mean that millions others would,
2. The risk is significantly higher than the radio side,
3. Not everyone wants to be signed by a major label,
4. You have to work hard- get out there and become known.

“In A&R, you will definitely fail most of the time”

Not everything is smooth sailing, but after the learning curves, he shares his experiences of working with Paramore and how he discovered Shinedown.

Steve explains the “beautiful thing about a label” is that they can pick out a young artist, help him write better songs, find his band, say “I believe in you” and help guide him.

“It’s his vision. I didn’t do it. I just rode shotgun and scheduled things and helped things. He’s the one that said “I think it's called Shinedown’.”

Why Nashville? As the industry began massively downsizing because of the loss of CD’s, his colleagues started moving to Nashville. He heard big things were going on. He also began acquiring a taste for the americano/ country sound like Kacey Musgraves and Jason Isbell.

The industry is not an exact science.

During the interview, Steve goes more in depth with the way radio works, how technology shaped the industry, the top characteristic in signing an artist, and much more.

Check out some of Steve’s up and coming artists:

Josie Dunne http://www.josiedunne.com/

Betcha http://betchaband.com/

Galxara - coming soon

Illiterate Light https://www.illiteratelight.com/

Savannah Conley https://savannahconley.com/

Wilder Woods https://iamwilderwoods.com/

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Smithfield is an independent pop country duo who moved from Texas to Nashville to pursue their desire to start a music career.

They tell us why they moved to Nashville, who they met, and what they did to be as successful as they are today.

After getting to Nashville, Smithfield quickly found out that relationships are key in the music industry. They discuss how, when, and where to meet new people and what tips they received that helped them with networking.

How:

“The idea is to not start by asking things from people, but to approach it more by actually getting to know them.”

When:

Always. “Be as visible as possible. Go somewhere; make a lap; leave. You don’t have to stay for three hours, just show up and be visible. and it will pay off”

Where:

“The most important thing to do when you move to town is get involved in writers rounds. You meet people to write with, they introduce you to more people to write with, and it just escalates from there.”

Smithfield shares who helped them along their way and all the valuable people and relationship knowledge they gained in their 4 year journey to success.

“Go sit down and get coffee with everybody”

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John Marks is the Global Senior Editor/Music Programmer for country music. In this podcast, he discusses how his music journey started from hearing Oh Pretty Woman on a jukebox, to working for his local radio station at 16, then to Sirius XM, and finally Spotify. 

Marks explains his comment on how Spotify is the “new retail storefront for artists.” With so many more opportunities, now, for artists— the artist’s page on Spotify is like directing store traffic and is a primary way to activate fans’ interest (like selling merch and displaying tour dates). 

“You have a world wide audience at your disposable, all you need to do is be creative and find ways to tap into that”

What role should social media play? The most important and basic answer from Marks is— the biggest one. He says the 3 most best practices for an artist and their audience’s are— 

• Save
• Share
• Follow 

“[Social media] is the most essential ingredient ever, and that’s all there is to it”

So, where is Spotify headed? 

John Marks says Canvas, a few seconds of a gif made by an artist for their song, is more than likely going to be introduced to the Spotify world. Spotify sees potential with probably more video being incorporated, considering the popularity of the vertical videos.

The podcast answers interesting questions like Spotify research and data, what artists are doing wrong, and empowering women in the music industry.

“…work to be profitable, work to have fun, but understand you’re building a business”

Join our Facebook Group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/496946547451729/.

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Lzzy Hale and her 10 year old brother were about to play a county fair. Minutes before going on, her brother decided they needed a name. Ever since, the award winning band, “Halestorm” has been creating hits and sharing their music with the world.

Their story of how they made it in music was not easy.They began playing small gigs and posting flyers wherever they could. Then, they thought, “How do we get on the front page of the paper?” Which lead to a rotating upside down drum kit with Lzzy’s little brother strapped in which you can watch here.

Success takes hard work! They were constantly asking, “How are we going to push this a little further”? They also did not find the right people immediately. 

“Not only the key for being in a band, but just for surviving the industry period- it’s just having the right people around you”

How did they keep the same four people for sixteen years? They each have respect for one another, know how to fight and not throw the whole thing away and have to stay positive, celebrating the little things. 

“It’s like 4 pillars- without one, all 3 would crumble to the ground”.

Want to know the formula for a perfect band?

1. Treating it like a family, 
2. Open communication,
3. Gratitude,
4. Musicianship,
5. Hard work!!

“Cheers to the low times; cheers to when you break down. It’s the thing you remember- It just means that you’re working. 

Keep your flame in front of you! There are a lot of opinions but you have to fight to stay true to yourself. For Halestorm’s latest album, they never let anyone hear a demo before their album was put out so that they could stay true to themselves.

“If I die tomorrow I want to make sure I’m proud of what I put out”

“Turns out, you never run out of dreams. Just keep adding things to the bucket list”

Listen as Lzzy shares how they overcame their challenges and turned them into their advantages. Also listen as she describes how they expanded their fan base and retained fans. One important way:

“Never underestimate the power of being nice”

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Season 2 is coming this Monday, May 20!

madeitinmusic.com

Don't miss the first episode with LZZY HALE of the band HALESTORM.

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