We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Murphy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Murphy below.

Hi Murphy, thanks for joining us today. Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

I think that the reality of being an artist is far from what most people would expect. I’m very happy to be able to do what I love for a living and share my music with the world, but at times it is complicated. The industry has changed so much even just in the last ten years. Artists no longer really have the option to go out to a cabin in the woods alone and write for three months. In the age of social media and the internet, musicians are wearing ten hats at once. Unless you are a big name and have a big label behind you, you’ll usually be expected to be your own manager, booking agent, publicist, and so much more. And to even get those big labels interested in you nowadays, you need to have millions of followers and be posting every day. Many artists. including myself, have gotten burnt out from having to constantly be online. Sometimes, I think that having a regular 9-5 job would be a lot easier- but music is like breathing for me and I wouldn’t know how to live without it. One frustration that I have had about the music industry is that you aren’t allowed to say that it’s hard. Most people have a very flowery picture of what a musician is- that we just get to chill out all day and make whatever art our heart desires. In reality, this is truly a job that you can’t clock out of and you’re expected to be grinding 24/7. If you ever talk about how hard it is or criticize the industry, you’re told that you don’t deserve to be there if you aren’t willing to give everything to it without complaint. As a professional musician, you are constantly followed by the narrative of, “if you don’t give this your all, there are a million others waiting to take your place.” I love being a musician and I wouldn’t change it for the world- but it is hard work and certainly not for everyone.

Murphy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have been a musician for as long as I can remember- I truly don’t know what life would be without it. I’ve been singing since I could talk and started my musical journey on the piano at the age of 5. It was at the age of 7 when my passion for music truly blossomed. Having grown tired of the piano, I told my family that I wanted to learn the guitar and was told by a family member that it would be far too hard for me. So with my usual spiteful determination, I set off on a quest to prove her wrong. I began songwriting when I was 8 and it became my passion. I realized that any difficult emotions I was feeling could be translated into music and I could share that music with the world. It was an addictive feeling for me, taking something that was once just an idea in my head and being able to transform it into art. I was able to bring together so many people just by sharing these songs and I love being told that my music has helped someone in some way. In high school, my teachers truly nurtured my abilities and encouraged me to learn 7 more instruments. This prepared me to take my Bachelor of Contemporary Music and Jazz at Grant MacEwan University. However after a year of studying, I decided to drop out and pursue music full time. Ever since then, I have been working tirelessly at my craft and striving to be the best musician that I can be. I collaborate with many incredible artists and labels across the globe as a singer/songwriter and am truly proud of where I am today. I strive to create art that my fans can connect to on a deeper level and I hope to make music that inspires others.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

As musicians, I think that we have all been made to believe that someday some big name or label will discover us and will skyrocket us to fame overnight. I believed this for many years, hoping and waiting for someone to stumble across my music and change my career. But in reality, those stories are few and far between. No one is going to be able to save you and make you successful- you have to do that yourself. At the end of the day, you are the only person that you can truly rely on to make you successful. With the way that the world is today, small artists are just as capable of success as artists on big labels. That freedom can even be empowering, as you’re not legally bound to anyone or anything. So for example, you are able to put out as much music as you want without a label having to approve it first. When I first began my career, I saw this uncertainty as scary and I believed that I needed a team to make me successful. When I finally got that team, it ended up dragging my career down rather than boosting it up. I no longer had the freedom to make the art that I wanted and was constantly criticized and told that I wasn’t good enough. Now that I’m fully independent, I have seen far more success just by doing what I love and what I think sounds great. I had to learn that I was capable of doing great things all on my own.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest pivot I had to make in my career was this year, when I went fully independent. After my contract with my team ended, I felt very lost and hopeless. I had spent years having my music and career controlled by someone else and I didn’t even know where to start. I hadn’t seen any growth in those years and was really doubting whether or not I should even be doing music. I came very close to quitting before I had the realization that I could be my own team. I knew how to manage my career better than anyone and I knew what it would take to make myself successful. Instead of changing myself and trying to fit in like my team had made me do, I started leaning into the things that I already loved creating and loved listening to. This translated to my work and I started gaining more and more traction as listeners could feel the passion in my music. I started reaching out to artists across the globe and asking if they wanted to collaborate, which exposed my music to new circles of people and new audiences. I loved working with other incredible artists and making amazing art with them. That decision to truly be myself and follow my heart was the best decision I’ve made for my life and my career yet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.murphyofficial.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyimmurphy