Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Arrica Rose. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Arrica , thanks for joining us today. Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?
I do earn a full-time living from creative work. I am first and foremost a musician. My father was a working actor, singer, and acting coach and my mother a teacher, administrator, and writer. They both valued the arts and education so I studied music from a very young age. I also went to USC where I studied film, audio, and composing. As an independent musician I learned a variety of different skills – everything from graphic design to producing. I decided to utilize all these skills I learned throughout my life and form my own business, a creative agency called Roses Are Blu. I coach artists, I help them with co-writing and producing albums, as well as with video production, graphic design and branding. Essentially all the things I needed help with along the way that over time I learned to do myself. I also do creative work for non-music related clients and I maintain two music projects – Arrica Rose & the …’s and Winter Animals.
Arrica , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I think I provide a unique perspective because I am a working artist and a small creative business owner. I still play shows, make albums and album art, license music to film and TV, design merch. Because I am an active artist I find that I understand the path inside and out. I’m actively using these skills I’ve learned along the way – music production, video production, graphic design, songwriting, healthy vocal technique – in my own career. I also keep up with the trials and tribulations of creative industries and social media, and therefore can help clients on a variety of different fronts.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I have always had a pretty good work ethic, but as an artist hard work doesn’t always equate to monetary results. I had a few years where I just made my income as an independent musician – from music sales, film and TV placements, and touring. As streaming became the norm and sales of music dwindled I found it too difficult to support myself on music alone. I waited tables, I did office work, I worked in production at Pixar, but none of these avenues felt right for me. I decided that if music alone couldn’t pay my bills I wanted to try and make a go of using all the skills I learned along the way to make ends meet so that each day for me would still involve creative pursuits. Sure it might not be just my music I’d be working on but I would be doing what I love to do in the form of helping others realize their creative visions. It took time and persistence to build up my business, but I didn’t give up even when I was barely getting by. And I finally arrived at place where I’m comfortably making a creative living.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I had to unlearn what success meant to me. As a kid I had a vision of success that revolved around the idea of fame and fortune and millions of adoring fans. But obviously that story can’t be every artist’s journey. I had to learn that sometimes the reward is in the work itself, or in a smaller group of fans that appreciate what you do, or in curating a life that allows you to spend your time creatively working for yourself. Essentially I had to learn that failure isn’t the opposite of fame and fortune and that success often resides in the little things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.arricarose.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arricarose/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/arricarosemusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/arricarose
- Other: https://www.arricarose.com/rosesareblu
Image Credits
Photo 1 and 2 by Piper Ferguson, Photo 3 Arrica Rose & the …’s by Scott Pitts, Photo 4 Winter Animals by Extra Letters, Photo 5 by Steve Boyd, Album Cover – Photo by Jim Mitchell, Album Art by Arrica Rose