Women in Entertainment: Singer/Songwriter, Natalie Brown

You’re a very talented singer/songwriter and you have a beautiful voice. But for many readers it is their first introduction to Natalie Brown. Tell us a little about you and how you got started singing.

I’m a Canadian born singer and songwriter whose music fits in the Pop/R&B/Soul genres, but I’ve mixed them to create my own sound. If you are a fan of artists such as classic Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Lisa Stansfield, Teena Marie and Sade you will most likely enjoy my sound. I got my start, like many, singing as a kid in school plays and then later on in choirs and church. I decided to pursue this professionally after high school and since then I’ve been making a way for myself as an Independent artist. I started out singing background vocals for other artists in the studio and on the road and then I began to hone my songwriting skills and began to write and record my own songs. I had a deal with an Indie label but my project was dropped and so I released my own record with the producer of that first project after we started a record label together. Had a few Major labels interested in me after I self-released my first album but through discussion and preliminary negotiation I realized they wanted someone who they could shape into what they wanted to market and I decided that path was not for me. So here I am now, years later still releasing my own albums in a way that makes me feel comfortable as an artist. It’s great!

Even if readers don’t know your name or your face, they might have heard your music. Tell us where we might have heard your songs.

I have spent a number of years working more behind the scenes writing songs for film and television. Readers out there may very well have heard my songs on shows that have aired on MTV, VH-1, HBO, ABC, CBS, NBC, CBC, Fox, Style Network, TLC, E!, PBS, The Discovery channel and many other cable-television networks or in various DVDs or films. You might have also have heard me on Pandora, XM Satellite Radio, Spotify, Podcasts and other internet radio stations.

You are an independent artist. Tell us a little about both the advantages and disadvantages of being an independent artist.

The advantages of being an Independent artist are that I am free to create the style of music I want. I have full say regarding my imaging and marketing which is important. I want to be able to convey my message in song and appearance and how I come off as a person in the way that best suits my personality. In addition I set my own schedule in terms of when I record, when I take vacation, when I perform etc. I also have full control over my publishing and recordings and can decide what to do or not do with them.

The disadvantages of being Independent are a lack of funding necessary to reach a mass audience. Because of this, we have to work extra hard to promote ourselves in other ways and think ‘outside-the-box’. Another disadvantage to being independent is the lack of leverage and clout that Major labels have at their disposal in order to secure opportunities, get phone calls returned etc.

You’re a huge advocate for independent artists. Watching your YouTube video on the subject, which I’ll include below, really opened my eyes to the amount of talented artists out there that aren’t represented by major record labels. Give us your 1-minute speech on why we should support independent artists.

You should support talented Independent artists because with fan funded support they could actually earn a living without having to work a side job. It only takes about 3,000 fans/believers spending $20 a year purchasing a musician’s CD and live show ticket/merchandise for that musician to live a comfortable middle-class lifestyle and put funds back into their music. If people supported Independent artists, they wouldn’t need to keep chasing the Major label lottery dream on one hand, or living out the typical ‘broke musician’ stereotype on the other hand. Most people think that if a musician is talented they automatically get a Major label deal and everything’s taken care of. The common misconception is that if you don’t have a deal, it’s simply because you are not talented. This is simply not the case. In my video I try to explain that there simply aren’t enough Major labels or even enough money in the system to sign/support every single talented musician out there, assuming they would all show up on the Major labels’ radar. Thousands of extremely talented musicians simply fall through the cracks and never come to the attention of major labels, yet have more direct access to fans, friends of fans etc. that could easily support them if they didn’t wait for them to get ‘signed.’

You co-run a record label. Tell us a bit more about that.

After an experience with a failed Indie deal I realized that I would need to take control of my own destiny and to forge a path for myself in this business. I formed a partnership with my writing and production partner to start our own label. This way we would control our ‘master recordings’ and could exploit them in any way we saw fit. Co-running the label meant I could also market myself as I wanted to. It was the best situation for me personally as an artist. We were very fortunate to be doing this at the beginning of the digital music age, so we could take advantage of the internet and digital distribution to do what we wanted to as a label.

What advice would you give to other talented artists who want to follow their dreams of being a musician.

I would first tell them that this is a business and that you need to be prepared to do business along with your art unless you can find a way to get signed to a label that will do that for you. Even then it’s advisable to know the business so that you lessen the risk of being exploited. Next up I would tell a musician to make sure they are terrifically passionate about wanting to do this because it is a path with many highs and lows and if you are not incredibly passionate it’s easy to give up when you hit the first rough patch. Other than that I would tell musicians to be open to different opportunities along the path. For myself, I never even knew about music licensing, nor was it something I had a notion to pursue when I first started in the business. An opportunity presented itself which led to me discovering a great way to create my art and make an income with it. Had I not been open and receptive to this opportunity I may never have taken that part of my journey. It’s also important to surround yourself with great energy and a supportive team of people who are passionate but who you can also count on to be real with you when you discuss your path, goals and methods of achieving what it is you desire to achieve. You want to balance the people who think you are ‘the best’ with those who will also tell you when you are messing up!

We’re strong proponents of women helping other women. Is there a role model, mentor, or other woman who helped you along the road to success? What do you do to mentor others?

I did not really have any female mentors as far as music goes. I had people I admired, but no woman personally mentored me. This actually caused me to be aware of the unique position I have as a musician and music business person, so mentoring other artists is very important to me. I connect one on one with some female artists through my travels and always try to be a source of information and support to them. I started a music business resources section on my web site back in 2001 and shared resources with many of my peers (many of them girls starting out at the same time I did). Throughout the years I kept doing this and about 3 years ago I assembled all the info I had collected and started Music Business 101. The site is basically a collection of books, articles and resources for artists to read and implement in order to help them build their careers. I generally connect with fellow female artists on the social networks I am on and we build each other up and encourage one another. I find that we women can be a bit catty towards one another in the entertainment world and I am about cutting that out and edifying my sisters in song. We really need to stand together as it can be tough, testosterone filled water to navigate as you create your path in this industry.

Many artists and creative types struggle to get projects completed. It can be difficult to stay motivated when you don’t have a boss, per se, to stay on you and keep you on deadline. You created a 90-day-challenge to help people move forward on their projects. Tell us more about that and tell us how people can participate in the 90-day-challenge.

Yes I think people in general sometimes struggle to finish projects! I created the 90 Day Challenge in March 2010 and as of me doing this interview with you we have just completed the 90 Day Challenge. I wanted to create a community that was a nurturing environment where I could connect with my fans on a deeper level and also where we could help and encourage one another. The project idea came to me as I know sometimes I have a hard time laying down my perfectionist self to just get something done! So I thought it would be a great idea to do my own challenge (write/record new album, work on personal fitness/health and rehearse band for shows) and invite my “natFriends” along so we could all do it together and benefit from group encouragement. I find that when you have someone clapping for you, rooting for you and pushing you further it helps. I wanted us all to use this experience to learn and grow together and it’s been a wonderful experience! The Challenge is over now, but I may do another one. If anyone reading this is interested, they can sign up at NatFriends.com. When there is no challenge running, we still encourage one another as a community of like-minded folks.

What projects do you have upcoming?

Part of my 90 Day Challenge was to write/record a new album and I have just completed sessions for a new album called “The Relationship Odyssey”. We are currently in the mixing phase and the album will be available at online retail this Fall. I have been chronicling my journey to write and record this album by way of weekly video blogs and I’d love to invite anyone interested to watch the videos and comment on them at my YouTube channel.

Other than the album, I am working at doing live shows in 2010 or 2011 and if anyone is interested, I am currently collecting info via my mailing list to see where there are clusters of people in order to route a tour. Please sign up for my mailing list and leave your zip or postal code so I may know where you are. You can sign up for the list at:

http://www.natalie-brown.com/list.htm

It’s been great getting to know you, Natalie. We wish you the best and look forward to hearing lots more from you. Tell readers where they can go to learn more about you.

Thanks so much for the time you have given me to introduce myself to your readers! People can get all the details regarding my albums, videos and social network profiles at my official site: http://www.natalie-brown.com. Currently I am encouraging people to sign up to my mailing list as I’d like to tour and I can only figure out what cities to go to if I know where people live. So the best thing to do is sign up to my mailing list as you get free music and I send out all release and show info there: http://www.natalie-brown.com/list.htm

• natFriends Community: NatFriends.com
• YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/NatalieMedia
• Twitter: http://twitter.com/NatalieBrown
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NatalieBrownMusic
• MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/NatalieBrown