My Career Journey: Breaking Into the Music Industry
Music writing allows me to tell my life experiences in a unique way, as well as help others tell their stories. It also allows me to have the best of both worlds by being an introvert in an extroverted industry.
(Brad Neathery via Unsplash)
It’s possible that I’m being overly ambitious and that most people would judge me to be arrogant if I said that I never envisioned myself working a typical 9-to-5 job. I’ve known from a young age that music would be the means by which I would become wealthy, famous and otherwise highly valued. I’ve had lofty goals like these for as long as I can remember.
After seeing the film “Why Do Fools Fall in Love” when I was 11, I became increasingly interested in the idea of composing my own music. The film follows three women who all claim to be 1950s singer Frankie Lymon’s wife as they fight for his estate in court. The movie’s plot revolves around a legal dispute that began after a version of a song written by Lymon and his band The Teenagers, “Why Do Fools Fall in Love,” was re-recorded by one of the most popular artists of the period, Diana Ross.
After seeing this film, I told myself that I wanted to create something so great that people would fight over me after I died, just like Frankie Lymon’s wives fought over him. When I first started making music, I attempted to become an artist myself until I realized that I did not want to perform because I am an introvert in almost every sense of the word. I soon discovered that there are people who are primarily songwriters and work behind the scenes.
This is a dream job because it allows me to be somewhat of an introvert because I would simply be writing for people and not have to perform while reaping the benefits of my work, and still being able to be in circles with high-profile people.
One of the other reasons is that there is less competition, as most people want to be performing artists without realizing that writing makes a lot of money. I have yet to write for anyone, but I have written songs of my own to demonstrate my abilities so that when the opportunity to write for someone arises, I will be prepared.
Music writing allows me to tell my life experiences in a unique way, as well as help others tell their stories. It also allows me to have the best of both worlds by being an introvert in an extroverted industry.