We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ethan Hennessey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ethan, appreciate you joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
My first bit of money I earned came from posting a lot on YouTube. After starting music as a hobby in 2018 and taking it seriously two years later, I finally began posting beats to YouTube once I felt that they were listenable. I made an online store for selling beats and linked it to each video to be able to monetize each one. At that point, I didn’t know my sound and resorted to posting rap “type beats”. I tried to remain as consistent as possible with my posts. This lasted for about half a year and I didn’t see much traction in terms of engagement. I figured I needed to try something new, so I put more time and effort into figuring out my style as a producer. I began gravitating towards the pop/indie sound and started posting with this new style. I knew I liked more of the “organic” sound and at this point I’d been teaching myself guitar on the side, so instead of doing everything on my laptop, I decided to play into a microphone. At the same time as guitar, I taught myself ukulele since I love the “beach” kind of sound. Once I got comfortable enough, I started posting ukulele beats and instantly started seeing more engagement. I knew this was the sound I needed to stick with, so that’s exactly what I did. Only a few weeks later, I received the notification that someone had purchased a lease for one of the recent tracks I posted. It was a very surreal moment in my career to see that after a 5-year span of working, growing, and testing different things out. At this point in time, my grandfather was on a decline in his life. He ended up passing away a few months later, and I flew home to attend the funeral. He was a very musical person throughout his life and even gave me his own guitar to start teaching myself with it. After my aunt spent time cleaning out his attic, she discovered he owned and played a ukulele for a part of his life. What I like to tell myself is, as he was reaching the end of his time on earth, he was feeding me with my music ability and led me to achieve such a milestone.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Since I was 6 years old, I have been involved with music. I used to take drum lessons and wouldn’t end the sessions until I broke the sticks from playing too hard. Once high school came around, I continued pursuing music through DJing. Over the early years of me DJing, I knew I wanted to pursue music as a career and when junior year came along, I decided to pay for production software instead of concert tickets. I noticed that when I indulged in creating music I was fully immersed and would lose track of time. I loved the idea of creating something completely from scratch that people could love. The idea of having a song of mine attached to another person’s favorite memory or making them feel something in their life helped me to fall in love with the creation of music. I love the human connection element and I know how important it is to me to have songs that impact my day-to-day life so greatly. After years of progress, along with trial and error, artists started to purchase beats that I’ve created and posted to YouTube. Regarding products and services, I produce music and write songs. The music I write and/or produce falls under the big umbrella of pop. Anything from indie pop to pop rap, and folk/country pop to indie rock I partake in. I love blending genres, so I’m always willing to expand my style. The majority of my work is done independently by independent artists. With that being said, I’m very proud of the reach each song I have collaborated on has, with the help of the very talented artists and producers I work with. Seeing people express their love for the songs I’ve been a part of motivates me to continue what I love to do.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
I’d say the most rewarding aspect is knowing one day a spark of inspiration could lead to someone’s new favorite song they play every day that draws emotion, brings back great memories, brings people together, or simply allows them to escape reality. Music is a nonstop factor for me that plays a big role in enhancing my day-to-day life. It can be a huge mood booster and allows me to relive moments in my life along with create new lasting memories. The thought of me having the ability to provide that for someone else, whether it’s a close friend or a complete stranger living thousands of miles away, brings me joy and continues to push me to pursue this passion. Sometimes, when I create a track I get attached to, I think to myself about how it didn’t exist the previous day or if I decided not to give it a shot this wouldn’t have existed at all. Because of this, I try my best not to miss a day or creation, because I never know if that day is the day I will make my next best song. Each time I work on an idea, I try to shut off parts of my brain and let the creative process flow through me. This makes me believe some part of the universe is driving me to create certain ideas that are truly meant to be made for some particular reason. Because of all of this, I truly feel rewarded each day I pursue this creative journey.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
Not necessarily a struggle to understand, but rather could be easily overlooked. What comes to mind is that someone can view someone’s creative career and think to themselves about how fun it must be to be doing what you love and working with music every day. However, it’s not always sunshine and rainbows, and I feel many creatives can relate. This isn’t a 9-5 job, and you don’t have someone telling you when you need to clock in. Although that sounds great, it means you need to be your own boss and have good discipline for the days you don’t have the energy or are not in the right headspace. Especially if you work a day job, as I, along with many other creatives do, and come home feeling beat up from being on your feet all day or on your laptop nonstop. With this creative journey comes many highs and lows. One day you’ll have a track of yours release and achieve great success, leading you to feel a certain high, and the next you’ll be burnt out and struggling to move forward. Me being the over thinker I am, I find myself falling into a mental trap from time-to-time. Throughout this journey, I have been hard on myself for thinking I’m not being as productive or disciplined as I’d like to be. This isn’t a job where once I clock out I can completely detach from my work life. In my mind, I can always do a little extra to better myself, which can be very mentally taxing if not handled properly. Luckily, there are ways to combat this, such as strict scheduling and allowing yourself that time off from time-to-time to allow a healthier work/life balance. Instances like this seem to be rarely talked about in this field, but it is something important to be aware of so you can work with it and not let it consume you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beatstars.com/hennyybeats
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ethan_hennessey?igsh=aXRyc2xodXNudWxy&utm_source=qr
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethan-hennessey-33596822b/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@HennyProd
