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Veteran record label executive Joe McFadden, who worked for decades at companies including EMI Music and Capitol Records, died March 11 following a long illness. He was 77.
McFadden launched his career at EMI in 1975 and later worked at Capitol Records as senior vp of sales and field marketing. While at the latter label, he worked with acts including Paul McCartney, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Seger, Megadeth, Duran Duran, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Coldplay and Iron Maiden.
In 2007, McFadden departed Capitol to open an independent consultancy, The Hammer LLC, where he worked with Punch Andrews and Mike Boila as a sales and marketing consultant for Seger. From 2007 to 2008, McFadden was also in charge of sales, marketing and promotions for Coldplay’s Viva La Vida album and world tour.
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McFadden joined Better Noise Music in 2008 as chief commercial officer. In that role, he oversaw operations, strategic planning and artist development for acts including Five Finger Death Punch, Mötley Crüe, Papa Roach, The Hu and Buckcherry.
Prior to entering the major label system, McFadden received an education in the music business through his father, Jack McFadden, with whom he worked to manage artists including Buck Owens and Merle Haggard from their home base in Bakersfield, Calif. He went on to earn a business administration and management degree from Fresno State University.
“Joe McFadden was more than just a colleague; he was a dear friend and an invaluable partner in our journey together since we first met in 1987,” said Better Noise Music founder Allen Kovac, who worked with McFadden in various capacities for more than 30 years.
Kovac added, “Joe admired my clarity in marketing, but what I valued most was his unwavering honesty and practical thinking. Together, we navigated the challenging waters of the music industry, working on projects like Richard [Marx] and Duran Duran. At times when many doubted, Joe stood firmly by my side as a label executive, always ready to open doors and create opportunities for us to succeed.” (Kovac’s full tribute is below.)
McFadden is survived by his wife Ellen McFadden; his sister Lana Waltman; his sons Jonathan McFadden, Jeffrey McFadden and David Torello; his daughter Sara Torello Hart; and grandchildren Jeffrey McFadden Jr., Maci McFadden Stanford, Vivian Hart and Elijah Hart.
A service will be held Saturday (March 22) at 1:15 p.m. at Church of the Recession at Forest Lawn in Glendale, Calif. The live stream can be viewed here. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in McFadden’s honor to St. Jude’s Hospital, which he supported throughout his life.
Allen Kovac tribute:
Joe McFadden was more than just a colleague; he was a dear friend and an invaluable partner in our journey together since we first met in 1987.
I still vividly recall that day in the bleachers of a gym in Philadelphia. I was a relatively unknown manager on the rise, working with Richard Marx, while Joe was with CEMA Distribution, quietly making his mark. As we listened to Richard perform, something remarkable happened. Joe, who initially struck me as understated, became animated and vocal, pointing at Richard and proclaiming, “That kid is going to be a star.” From that moment on, a bond was forged between us—two believers in the power of music and vision.
Joe admired my clarity in marketing, but what I valued most was his unwavering honesty and practical thinking. Together, we navigated the challenging waters of the music industry, working on projects like Richard and Duran Duran. At times when many doubted, Joe stood firmly by my side as a label executive, always ready to open doors and create opportunities for us to succeed.
When I took the leap to start my own record company, one of my first hires was, without question, Joe. He was not just an employee; he was the foundation upon which we built our dreams. At our retreats, where new ideas were often met with skepticism, Joe would be the voice of reason, encouraging everyone to listen to my vision and reminding them that I saw possibilities they might have missed. His confidence in me gave me strength, and I will forever be grateful for that.
Every morning at our retreats, Joe would be the first to rise and greet the day. He would come down to breakfast with a smile, often sharing his fondness for the wonderful pillows in my master guest bedroom. He always got that room because of the deep respect I had for him, just as I cherished ending each night with my best scotch, a tradition we shared and enjoyed together.
Joe’s spirit, enthusiasm, and unwavering support have left an indelible mark on all of us. He was a true champion for those he believed in, and today, as we remember him, let us carry forward his legacy of belief, honesty, and camaraderie in our own lives and work.
Joe, thank you for being my partner, my friend, and a guiding light in our industry. You will be profoundly missed, but your influence will live on through each of us.
Rest in peace.
Ticket sales for Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour are off to a galloping start. Barely a month after pre-sales began and with six weeks until opening night, the world tour is at 94% capacity across all dates, according to new stats from promoter Live Nation. The Cowboy Carter Tour was announced on Feb. 3 with 22 […]
Long-time indie music distributor Sam Wesley Phillips passed away in Jackson, Miss., on Feb. 28 after facing multiple health issues over the last few years. He was 74.
Better known to long-time Billboard readers by his nickname, Skip, Phillips worked his entire life, beginning at age 9, for his family company, Select-O-Hits, the 65-year-old independent music distributor based in Memphis. He was the third son of Lucile and Tom Phillips, who, together with Tom’s brother Sam Phillips — the Sun Records founder — started Select-O-Hits in 1960. Tom eventually bought out Sam’s uncle, the elder Sam Phillips, in the early 1970s.
Sam Wesley Phillips began working at Select-O-Hits first as a janitor/stockboy, then a salesman, followed by a role as studio engineer/producer. Sometime in the 1980s, he and his brother Johnny bought out their father, upon which Sam became the president of the company, which is still going strong as a music distributor today.
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Phillips’ family provided the below remembrance to Billboard.
Sam was born February 20, 1951, in Mobile, Alabama, to Lucile and Tom Phillips…Sam always had that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Whether it was at school or working at the Record Shop on Chelsea, he found ways to enjoy life his way, but no one worked harder during those sixty-five years than he did.
Sam met his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Debby, at Frayser High School in 1967. Debby and Sam were married in 1969 and were the loving parents to five children, Tiffany (Tommy) Couch of Jackson, MS, Lesle (Matthew) Heinz of Memphis, Ashlee Phillips (Will Brewer) of Memphis, Courtney (Stephen) Smith of Frisco, TX and Wes (Lauren) Phillips of Memphis.
Sam lived his life with humor, kindness, strength, honesty, a passionate love for music and even more passionate love for his family. He was most happy in a home filled with his family laughing and loving loudly; his children and grandchildren were his greatest treasures.
Sam was preceded in death by his wife Debby, his son Wes, his parents and brother Tom. Left to cherish his memory in addition to his daughters are his siblings Johnny (Sandra) Phillips, Melinda Snipes, Irene Barg, Kathy (Harry) Gordon; Jennifer (Brad) Cullison; grandchildren John Thomas (Jordan) and Peyton Couch; Carter (Meghan) and Sam Heinz; Coby and Presley Bennett; Ethan and Aidan Phillips; Addison, Graham and Sadie Smith and Liam and Eden Cullison, his great granddaughter Vivian, loving cousins, nieces, nephews, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and too many friends to count.
We will miss his laugh and his kind, funny, strong spirit every single day but are thankful knowing that he’s now at peace, with no more pain and with his one true love, Debby, and their son, Wes.
The family requests that memorials in his honor be made to Wounded Warrior Project.
On Feb. 2, group chats across the music industry lit up when Chappell Roan used the Grammys stage to implore record labels to cover healthcare costs for their artists. Perhaps few chats were more active than the one between employees at Backline, the mental health nonprofit serving music professionals.
“[Our group chat] was on fire as soon as she started talking… this is a conversation that we have all the time,” says Hilary Gleason, Backline’s executive director. “So to see it platformed in that way really resonated with us and encouraged us. We were all just blown away that she chose to use that moment in that way, not having any idea that a week later, we would be where we were.”
Where they are is in a privileged position. On Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 10) — after Roan hit back at a Hollywood Reporter op-ed by a former A&R executive who criticized her speech by daring him to match her $25,000 donation to help “struggling dropped artists” — Roan and Backline jointly announced the We Got You! campaign, launched with $25,000 donations from Roan, Charli XCX and Noah Kahan (who had previously partnered with Backline to provide mental healthcare for all 78 band and crew members on his We’ll Be Here Forever Tour). Billed as “a fund to support artists’ mental health,” the campaign has resulted in an influx of donations to the nonprofit, including matching $25,000 donations from Sabrina Carpenter, Live Nation, AEG, the Wasserman Foundation, Guy Oseary, Sumerian Records and the Hinterland Festival, among others. Since launch, the campaign has netted the organization $353,000 and, perhaps more importantly, raised its public profile overnight.
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“Our biggest challenge has always been getting the word out,” says Gleason. “So this moment that happened around Chappell at the Grammys has really given us that exposure and opportunity to really connect with people who’ve never heard about us and could utilize these kinds of resources.”
Launched in October 2019 by more than 50 music industry professionals following the suicides of several prominent musicians, Backline provides a case management program that offers one-on-one support for music workers who need help navigating the often-knotty mental health care space. The organization helps link these workers with therapists and 170 partner organizations — including MusiCares, the Sweet Relief Musicians Fund and the Black Mental Health Alliance — that together form a clinical referral network boasting 1,150 providers across all 50 states, over 85 percent of whom have experience working with music professionals or have worked in the industry themselves. Backline also hosts annual clinical training for providers; sends out free touring care packages that include wellness products and mental health resources for professionals on the road; hosts weekly industry support groups; and offers free or heavily discounted wellness resources from partners that offer services including yoga, breath work, meditation and nutrition.
When Gleason learned that Roan had chosen to support Backline from a list of options the artist’s team had presented her with, she was flattered but uncertain that it was the right fit, given that Roan’s speech had focused on overall healthcare, not just mental health.
“I actually pitched a few of our partner organizations in that moment, saying, you know, this could be a really great moment for some of these other organizations who have a broader focus,” says Gleason. She was surprised, then, when Roan’s team came back to her and insisted Backline was the choice. In hindsight, Gleason sees the wisdom in Roan choosing to partner with Backline, which notably boasts Joshua Knight and Matt Runner — co-founder and agent, respectively, at Roan’s agency Wasserman – on its board of directors.
“I think the throughline of the work that we’re doing in mental health is a foundational piece of the larger conversation around access to health care,” says Gleason. “If you’re struggling with your mental health, it can be really hard to sign up for insurance, get your finances in order, go see a doctor, go see a dentist. Any of those pieces can feel really overwhelming if you don’t have the mental health foundation in place. And so we see this as the first step of accessing healthcare in a greater capacity.”
Since the influx of donations came through — including from many of Roan’s fans — the picture for Backline has changed. As Gleason puts it, the organization’s strategic plan for 2025 is now being looked at “with a bit bigger lens.” While she says they “want to stick to our core programs,” the extra money will “allow us to make some moves more quickly,” including upgrading the organization’s case management system this year. It will also allow Backline to expand its marketing efforts “farther into the music industry,” she says: “We really want to hit every corner, make sure that whether you’re in a tour bus, in a studio, in an office, you know that this is a resource that exists for you.”
Since the launch of We Got You!, Gleason says Backline has received an encouraging swell of support from music companies, noting that they’ve seen more corporate donations in one month than they did all of last year. While receiving support from individuals is important, she agrees that companies must shoulder the responsibility of caring for their artists and staff.
“Last year, we did 1.4 percent of our total raise from corporations, and that’s really where we want to see the change — for [companies] to invest in this and take care of their employees and their artists and be a part of this positive moment,” Gleason says. “It’s easy enough to email your whole staff and say, ‘Here’s all of Backline’s resources.’ It’s harder to say, ‘And we’ve made a donation, and we’ve earmarked that donation for your care.’ But we’re starting to see that kind of thing happen more and more, and we’re hoping that this moment really gets people thinking about what their plan is. And I think more artists are going to be looking for that as they are signing with labels and agencies and management companies.”
Of course, receiving the public support of Roan and other stars is the kind of marketing money can’t buy, and that added visibility, in addition to the flood of donations, has led to a spike in interest from music professionals looking for help. Gleason says Backline has had 205 submissions to case management in 2025, more than twice as many as it had at the same time last year (87) — an increase she attributes to both the Los Angeles wildfires (a Backline social post offering free therapy to those affected by the fires was shared by celebrities including Justin Timberlake and Common) and the We Got You! campaign. Notably, Backline has seen more producers, promoters and back-of-house professionals coming through its case management system — artists have historically made up 40 percent of cases — including an increase in music workers who hail from states including Texas, Maryland and Missouri, Roan’s home state. One of those cases, in particular, has stuck with Gleason.
“One of the submissions [was] from a young artist in Missouri, and that’s exactly what [Roan] was speaking to, and the work that we’re trying to do day in and day out,” she says. “So for [that artist] to learn about the resource, utilize the resource — I can’t think of a more perfect circle.”
Diplo, Poolside, DRAMA, Noizu, SIDEPIECE, Aluna and more are coming together to perform at Live From Los Angeles: A Fire Relief Benefit on March 16.
All proceeds from the benefit concert, which will be held from 12 p.m.-10 p.m. at Aviator Nation Dreamland in Malibu, will be donated to MusiCares’ Fire Relief Efforts, which provides financial aid, emergency care, and mental health resources to those impacted by the L.A. wildfires. The day-long concert will also host and honor firefighters and frontline workers during the show.
Live From Los Angeles — produced by Warner Bailey, creator of Assistants vs. Agents, and James Raj, founder of Afters Club — is the latest of many fire relief efforts that highlight LA’s vibrant arts community. On January 30, just weeks after fires broke out in Altadena and Pacific Palisades, stars like Joni Mitchell, John Mayer, Stevie Nicks took the stage at FireAid at The Forum and Intuit Dome.
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Then, the Recording Academy pivoted their week of programming around the Grammys to center on relief efforts for affected families, raising millions in the process. Other projects like California Picture Project, which is selling prints from top photographers now through March 9, were also launched to continue to raise money and awareness for fire victims online.
The full lineup for Live From Los Angeles includes DJ sets from Diplo, Poolside, Noizu, SIDEPIECE, DRAMA, Noizu, Night Tales, Phantoms, STARRZA, Leisan, Londen Summers, STRAWBRY and Felipe Silva. Even more artists are set to be announced.
To expand its reach to those who can’t be there in person, Live From Los Angeles will also be available via livestream for free. It will be rebroadcast for 24 hours globally through an exclusive partnership with YouTube.
For tickets and more information, visit livefromlosangeles.com.
Ty Baisden, co-founder of the creative/business partnership company COLTURE, is announcing the launch of the firm’s Empower U Grant, dedicated to uplifting and supporting women entrepreneurs from underserved communities. Kicking off this year, the annual Women’s History Month initiative will select five women-led ventures to receive $10,000 grants and 12 months of mentorship to help […]
Juanita Stephens, a barrier-breaking music industry veteran who helmed media and artist relations departments at major labels such as Warner Bros., MCA and Polygram, died March 1 in Atlanta after a lengthy battle with cancer.
Stephens’ industry background also includes a tenure with Bad Boy Worldwide. After that, the well-respected executive launched her own media and publicity firm, JS Media Relations, with bases in New York and Atlanta. Under that banner, she helped oversee the solo career of Grammy-winning artist Bobby Brown.
“Juanita Stephens was a true trailblazer — one of the first Black female executives to shatter barriers in the music industry,” veteran entertainment attorney and longtime friend Rev. Dr. Denise J. Brown tells Billboard.
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Founder of the faith-based entertainment content incubator Oikeo Ministries, Brown (no relation to the singer) also remembers Stephens as “a consummate professional and relentless perfectionist. She never accepted ‘no’ as an answer, fiercely championing every artist and project she believed in. Her impact was profound, her presence commanding and her legacy unshakable. The industry has lost a pioneer, and she will be deeply missed.”
Stephens was born in New York’s Spanish Harlem, moving with her family to Queens as a young child. Her initial entry into the music business occurred in 1987 when she joined MCA Records as assistant to the vp of publicity, longtime friend Katie Valk. With no prior record company experience, Stephens learned the ropes by helping to organize national and international campaigns for a roster of pop, heavy metal and country artists that included superstars such as Elton John, Dolly Parton and The Kinks.
Later tapped as director of publicity by the heads of MCA’s Black music division, Jheryl Busby and Louil Silas, Stephens oversaw campaigns for Bobby Womack, Patti LaBelle, New Edition, Jody Watley and The Jets, among others. From there, Stephens became the first Black female vp of publicity and artist development appointed at MCA, working with Bobby Brown along with a multi-genre roster that included hip-hop, alternative, jazz, gospel and reggae acts.
In a comment sent to Billboard, Bobby Brown notes, “Juanita was a beautiful and gifted sister. We had decades of memories, and I could always count on her wisdom and kindness. I love you, Juanita. You will be deeply missed.”
After MCA, Stephens segued to similar senior executive-level posts with Polygram in 1992, Warner Bros. Records (now Warner Records) in 1995 and then Bad Boy Worldwide in 1998. She exited the in-house label publicity circuit to establish JS Media Relations in 2000; its clients included Charlie Wilson and Tito Jackson.
Through JS Media Relations, Stephens handled publicity for tours featuring LaBelle and Stephanie Mills in addition to Brown and Wilson. Among the various media events with which JS Media Relations collaborated were the BET Awards, American Music Awards, Trumpet Awards, VH1 Music Awards and the Otis Redding 70th Birthday Tribute.
R. William “Bill” Freston, a former executive at Columbia Records who worked with superstars including The Rolling Stones and Billy Joel, died on Thursday (Feb. 20) following a “traumatic fall” on the Caribbean island of Bequia, his family announced Wednesday (Feb. 26). He was 76. Freston began his career in the early 1970s after graduating […]
Artist contract clauses to promote environmentally sustainable touring were highlighted Wednesday (Feb. 26) in London at the 37th annual International Music Conference.
The green initiatives have been put forth by the U.K. live music advocacy group LIVE (Live Music Industry Venues and Entertainment). Its members are a federation of 16 live music industry associations representing some 3,159 businesses, more than 34,000 British artists and 2,000 backstage workers.
Delegates to the ILMC, who hailed from some 60 countries, were greeted Wednesday morning with comments from Chris Bryant, the U.K. minister for creative industries, arts and tourism. “Live music in the U.K. is a really important part of what we have to offer,” said Bryant (while he lamented poor wifi at festivals and “utterly inedible” food at many venues).
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The green contract clauses, initially announced by LIVE last October, are “designed to galvanise industry-wide action and transform the environmental impact of live events,” according to a statement from the organization.
Efforts to reduce the impact of travel-intensive touring on the climate have been promoted in recent years by artists like Coldplay.
When the band announced its Music of the Spheres Tour in 2021, it pledged to reduce its direct carbon emissions—from show production, freight, band and crew travel—by at least 50%. Coldplay subsequently announced that carbon emissions on the first two years of that tour were 59% less than its previous stadium tour (2016-2017) on a show-by-show basis, with its figures verified by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.
The LIVE environmental proposals come at a time when climate change is acknowledged as the driving cause of catastrophes worldwide, from extreme flooding in Europe last fall to the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles earlier this year.
Within the music industry, it has been estimated that extreme weather had affected at least 30 major concerts in 2023, including evacuations, cancellations and postponements, based on a running tally, “while the total number of affected music events worldwide is surely far higher,” Billboard reported.
The contract clauses result from discussions with representatives from the agencies Wasserman and ATC Live, the global event producer TAIT, the Music Managers Forum and other major players in the touring industry. Leading the process has been the working group LIVE Green, guided by Carol Scott, the Principal Sustainability Advocate at TAIT, and Live Green impact consultant Ross Patel.
“It’s a long road, we’re all on it and we’re going in the right direction,” Patel told an ILMC session Wednesday which he hosted, along with Hilary Walsh, general manager of the U.K.booking agency Pure Represents.
The clauses are intended to help artists, agents, promoters,venues and others to create events with environmental sustainability at the core of planning events, with a focus on energy efficiency; waste reduction; water conservation; local and sustainable food; low carbon emission means of transport to encouraging attendees to travel to the show using lower carbon emission transport; offering sustainable and ethical merch; and much more.
“We’re presented with the evidence of a changing global climate on a daily basis,” said Patel as he opened the ILMC session. “And we also know that we hold the keys to be more resilient.”
Patel made the point that the changes to long-standing practices needed within the live music industry to make touring more sustainable are similar to those in the field of health and safety that are now considered standard.
Patel praised “industry professionals who can pack out an empty room at the drop of a hat, or transport thousands of fans to fields in the middle of nowhere, for life-changing experiences…. So why stop there? Why not create events that fill attendees with hope” in the face of climate challenges.
Environmentally sustainable live events exist, said Patel. “The challenge is how to increase the frequency of that.”
Walsh offered the perspective of Pure Represents, a relatively young booking agency, whose founder, Angus Baskerville, has made sustainability a personal and business priority.
“It’s really important to Angus,” said Walsh, noting the agency founder is the father of two small children and “wanted to leave behind a legacy that was sustainable.”
Walsh notes that the green contract clauses (available online from LIVE) have been easily inserted into touring agreements for Pure clients.
But sometimes those clauses have been deleted in returned contracts. Reducing resistance to change, says Walsh, required “conversations, not just on email, on Power Points, or any of that” with promoters, venues, tour managers, production managers and artist managers.
“It’s about us sharing that information,” says Walsh. “I think slowly everybody is getting onboard.”
Katie Bain provided assistance in this story.
In a new series following the devastating L.A. wildfires of January 2025, Billboard is speaking to impacted members of the music industry about their lives in the wake of the disaster. Affected music professionals who wish to take part in the series can email us at afterthefire@billboard.com.
This installment is with Iyana, an R&B singer, songwriter and instrumentalist who lost her Altadena apartment in the Eaton Fire.
I was at the recording studio when it happened. The power went out and [my neighbor] texted and invited me to over to hang with him and his lady and their dog.
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I wasn’t at home, so I said thank you and passed, and that was it for a few hours. I was doing my thing, hanging out with friends making music in Studio City, which is pretty far from my house. My neighbor checked on me again a few hours later and said “Don’t come back. We’re getting evacuated.” But I had my two cats at home, so I had to go back.
I texted another friend and told him we were getting evacuated and that I was having a lot of anxiety because of the cats at home. I don’t have a car, so he asked if I needed him to come pick me up so we could go rescue the cats. I told him I would love that. He drove all the way from downtown to Studio City to pick me up, then to Altadena.
This was hours after the evacuation notice had gone out, and the power was still off when I came home. It was pitch black and I had to wrangle my two cats. I was using my iPhone flashlight to see, and my brain was just mush. I didn’t really know how to process everything that was going on. I grabbed my laptop and a couple chargers, a little bit of cash that I had stashed away and that was about it. I was there for about 10 minutes.
I could see the fire from my window, but it looked far enough away that if they could get it under control, my place would be fine. I honestly did not think my place was going to burn down, so in my head I just kept telling myself it was going to be okay and that I’d be able to come back tomorrow. It was a crazy feeling to get a message from the property managers the next day telling me that the buildings were destroyed, knowing that I didn’t really get anything out of [my apartment.]
My mom passed away when I was younger, and I had a lot of her artwork and all the things I had left from her. Photos from my childhood, memorabilia from when I was a kid, things I thought I’d share with my future children one day. There were journals that I wanted to keep for my entire life to look back and see where I was at certain times. It’s all gone.
It’s been a lot to process. I feel like I’m doing pretty well accepting that it is what it is. I’m trying my best to practice non-attachment. This is a really huge lesson in non-attachment. It’s kind of crazy not to have anything, but’s a little bit liberating in some ways too, I suppose. I’m trying to see it from that perspective.
My friend who came with me to grab the cats is also a producer, so in the immediate aftermath I went with him to the recording studio and spent two nights there. It wasn’t the most comfortable situation, but I was able to have my cats there, which was really nice. It was a safe place for me to be for a couple of days.
A friend of mine called the next day and asked what I needed. It was just like, “I don’t know what I need. I’m having so many emotions that I can hardly think.” She asked, “Do you need underwear? Do you need toothpaste?” I was like, “Oh my gosh, yes. I actually do need underwear.” These were things that I wasn’t thinking about right after it happened, because I was honestly still in a state of shock. I needed other people to use their brain for me.
I also had a friend who told me I should start a GoFundMe. It’s been helpful. I’m still not sure about insurance, because the insurance company has been wishy-washy and trying to play games with us a bit. Even the FEMA thing, [they said] the National Guard was blocking my area for so long that FEMA wasn’t able to get proof or something. A lot of people have donated stuff to me. I got some clothes and the things I need for hygiene and whatnot. I’m pretty much living out of two suitcases and a duffel bag. I have a friend who’s in India for the month, and she’s letting me stay in her place while she’s gone. Another friend took my cats and she’s willing to [house them] as long as I need her to.
I’ve had a couple studio sessions since it happened, and it’s been really helpful for me to be in the studio and create, just because everything’s so crazy. It gives me a sense of normalcy or just allows me to have a moment of therapy.
I had a whole release schedule before this happened, a whole plan of what I was going to be doing for quarter one, two and three and the singles and projects I was going to release. I love writing love songs, but it feels weird too, because my house just burned down, and then I am going to drop a love song? It just didn’t feel right, so it felt nice to write a song about the situation. I think that will probably be the next song I share with the world.
It’s crazy too, because I’d released a song the day before the fire. I was also planning on this month being a marketing and promotion month for me, but I haven’t really been able to do any promo. It just doesn’t feel right to be like, “Hey guys, listen to my new song” while this is all going on. Instead, it’s been a whirlwind of trying to readjust and figure out how I go back to having a normal life… I typically work at a restaurant, but luckily the donations I’ve gotten are keeping me afloat for now, because to be honest, the idea of smiling in people’s faces and asking them what they want to eat for dinner just does not feel like mentally where I’m at right now.
I feel like I’ve seen this narrative on the internet, from people who aren’t from here and think this only happened to rich people and celebrities, which is silly… If people have the capacity to donate monetarily, that’s helpful for me right now, just in terms of rebuilding.
If people don’t have that capacity, I would love for people to tap into my music and see what I’m doing. It’s hard for me to imagine going back to a regular life after this. Theoretically, it’d be so nice if my music moved and did some numbers. It’s definitely my dream to be able to make money and start a life with music being the foundation, so having people support me on my journey and see my growth would be more than I could ask for. If people are willing to listen to my tunes and share them, that would warm my heart.