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

Jan, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

I learned how to write songs, and eventually, how to perform them, by loving music and listening to the radio, and hearing the form in which most hit songs were written, and how artists sang them.

I started writing songs by myself, and then over time, when I moved to Nashville, Tennessee, I started co-writing songs with other song writers. I learned some techniques from other song writers. I also learned more from critiques given to me by people at the publsihing companies that signed me as a staff writer.

I listened to the radio all the time, and that is where I learned the form and style of song most played.

When I started getting hits, and was asked to play my songs in Nashville venues,
I began to get over my stage fright and sing my songs.

By listening to the radio, and studying the way artists sang, I was able to mimic them and improve my singing skills.

i also learned that you have to “sing like you talk,” and by that, I mean that you have to phrase lines in a song just like you would phrase them if you were in a conversation.

I also learned, over time, that you have to find your own voice, and sing how feels best to you.

There are books about song writing and performing that one can read,
but it is most important to just DO IT… and, over time, you will improve!!!

The only obstacles that stood in my way, as I learned, was me wanting to learn faster,
and beating myself up because I couldn’t write or sing as well as somebody else…
but then I learned it is wrong to compare yourself to others.
You just have to do the best you can, as you are unique. :)

Jan, 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 am a hit songwriter and singer, and now an artist, releasing songs through Distrokid onto all streaming formats.

I started out writing songs in my twenties, and the first ones were awful!!!
I learned, over time, how to write better songs.
Listening to the radio really helped me learn that.

Woody Allen has said that the most important thing to do is “showing up.”
So, I have “showed up” to write songs, and to perform my songs, for a long time now!!!

I believe that discipline is really important, so I keep an appointment book,
and I write down everything I plan to do… and each night I look to see what I will be doing the next day….
and the next day I do everything that I have written down.

Persistance really counts. The more you write, the better you get.
The more you perform, the better you get.

Ten years ago, I started mentoring a lot of twenty-something song writers,
and then they started mentoring me too!
Through them, I learned about Distrokid and Canva, and having my own YouTube channel…
and with their encouragement, I started learning and doing it!!!

I guess what sets me apart from some others is that I LOVE music,
and so I do it all the time, and it makes me very happy.
I don’t do it to become rich and famous; I do it just because I love doing it!!!
When you love what you do, success usually follows.

These days, I have started to write a lot of funny songs.
I learned, over time, that I love to laugh, and to make people laugh,
so it has become part of what I do, writing funny songs.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

There is one book that really helped me understand the music business,
and that book was titled THIS BUSINESS OF MUSIC.
I believe you can find a copy at your local library.

The first half of the book had chapters on publishers, record companies,
artists, song writers, etc.

The second half of the book had all these contracts,
and I had to read some paragraphs four or five time to really comprehend what it was saying…
but those contracts really showed me what would be expected of me,
how a contract could be breached, and what the remedy would be for that.

That book made me see the business side of what I loved about music.

It helped me make good choices and get things done properly.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I am still learning how to build my audience on social media.

I am on Facebook and Instagram and Tik Tok and YouTube, etc.

As I have learned how to navigate each of those apps, I have added more info and, as a result, more followers.

I have a lot of people take pictures of me when I play venues, and then send me the pictures.

I will post one of those pictures each time I adverties a future gig.

I’ve have also learned how to start my YouTube page and how to post videos there.

I have my young friends help me, showing me how to do more things.

They have helped me create and post my first music video: WEED!!!

My advice is to have fun learning to do all of this.

It can be stressful, because it is a huge learning curve… but very satisfying, as you learn to do it!!!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.janbuckingham.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/jan_buckingham
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jan.buckingham1
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-buckingham-604484288/
• Twitter: N/A
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JanBuckingham
• Yelp: N/A
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/jan-buckingham
• Other: https://www.reverbnation.com/janbuckingham

Image Credits

Joseph Wandass & Sarah Mae Chilton