We were lucky to catch up with Lisa Sanders recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lisa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

In 2014 I thought I would never make another CD again. I felt like I was done. The music business had changed so much in the 20 years I had been making my way and now I was on my own. I had my own label I had put out six self-titled-released CDs, and continued to tour. I had hoped that I would catch a bigger brake. With each self-released CD costing thousands of dollars. and working hard to make back my investment I grew tired of trying and risking everything I had, to play and produce good music, I felt like I had nothing more musically to say.

In the early days, the mid to late 90s, I had been signed to a record label. I had a publishing deal, toured, won awards, and got great reviews. That was my beginning. It happened relatively fast from the first time I had decided to be a songwriter to getting signed by a record label, but by 2000 I was off my record label. I thought, what was I going to do after getting off of my record label? So I started my own record label “Maya Jade Music”. and began putting everything and every bit of money into making and putting out my own music.

Shortly in the early 2000s, the music business crashed. Napster a peer-to-peer music platform had started to share copy-writen music without paying for it. All of our music! and suddenly everyone was clambering for music that they could get for free online on Napster. So the music industry and us artists lost collectively millions of dollars. It, almost collapsed the whole music industry.

We could no longer re-coup the money we put into our music or sell our music. The music business and the multitude of us artists had poured all of our money, resources, and precious time into our business and it was a bust, all in a few months of Napster stealing our intellectual property and distributing it across the globe via the internet.

No one in our industry knew which way to go from there. Thousands of people lost their livelihoods. We all had to reinvent ourselves and re-construct a new music business platform by using the internet and it was grueling and very difficult to now have to learn a new way to sell and play music as well as make enough to sustain a career.

So by 2014 after trying for another half of a decade to not lose any more money or time, I felt I was done! I thought I just couldn’t risk any more loss and I had no more money to make a new album even if I wanted to. So I thought.

Through all of the upheaval, I had continued to play out, tour some, and tried to eke out just enough money to keep going.
The fans were hearing my new songs and loving them at live shows. They began to ask me, again and again, to please make a new record. I thought even though I heard them asking “who would buy it”? I couldn’t see how it would work given the state of the music business. How would I pay for it? How would I make enough to put it out myself? Finally, I couldn’t ignore my fan’s request for a new CD so I finally thought I would try. So I asked my friend, Jeff Berkely to produce the CD and my band to play on the CD, and they all said yes! But now, how was I going to fund it? So I thought I would do a Kickstarter.

Kickstarter is a platform you can put what you want to do on it, ask for the money to do it from donors, and in return, you promise to fulfill incentives in exchange for their contribution to the project. The catch is If you don’t raise all the funds you intended in the allotted time given, you get none of the funds.

Well in the last ten minutes I had left to get all of the funds, I was $9,000.00 short of the $20,000 I needed to make the CD. Then suddenly in the last ten minutes, I received a text saying ” Lisa, don’t worry. I am guaranteeing the rest of the money to make your CD. $9,000″ !!! I literally dropped to my knees and cried like a baby!!!

We recorded the CD, It is called “Shiver”. We had an incredible CD release party and now I’m on my 4th pressing of my “Shiver” C”! I’m still touring, and now playing festivals, I am on the songwriter team for the NBC/Peacock children’s series, “BabbleBop and I have recorded my newest CD with 3 time Grammy nominated songwriter and producer JT Nero of the Birds of Chicago, featuring guest artist “Allison Russell”, due out sometime this year.

Here I go taking big risks again! I wouldn’t have any of this if I hadn’t kept going to fulfill what brings me joy and joy to others through my music. Let’s see what is possible!

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a singer and a songwriter and when I started almost 30 years ago I would have said I am a songwriter, not a singer. In the 90s I was playing coffee houses in San Diego trying to see what songs I had written would I be able to sell for the big stars of the day to record. Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin, Marah Carey, etc… I was driving to Los to pitch to publishers in hopes that someone would pick up at least one of my songs. but what happened, was, I was playing at a coffee house in San Diego when a producer named Josquin DePres from the record label Cargo Records. They were a big indie label that had also signed Blink 182 and he pursued me until I signed a deal to make records for them on their “Earth Music” label. We made 2 pretty successful records before I went off on my own.

I started my label “Maya Jade Music” where I produce my own music for the last 20 years. I’ve since released eight of my own self-titled releases.

I am very proud that I continue to grow as an independent artist. With the craft of songwriting, and being an artist. There is so much always to learn. There are hours and hours of education on how this business works and it is always changing. The internet is now at the core of all of our commerce whether we like it or not it is what we have to do. adapt or fail. So it is crucial, I feel to keep learning and applying whatever is needed to change and grow in the music and E-commerce business.

I am always striving to play the best show I can. So I surround myself with the best possible talent to play and interact with. Choosing the outstanding to keep company with it brings up everyone involved and the audience we strive to entertain.

I believe it is of the utmost importance in my experience to be able to put out honest and great music one really has to want the best for everyone. For me connecting with my audience to show them that we care, and are grateful.

To understand the human connection through my music is my mission. I strive to always make my music come from a place of love. Love for humanity, and love for those who might listen. I would say my brand is, we understand that we are all connected even if we might look different and have different experiences on the outside. On the inside, we have some of the same hopes, fears, and experiences and we can convey and live this message through music.

My hope is to keep playing, and putting out good music for years to come for as many people as I can! In music, there is no age limit on who can and should play it, listen to it, and enjoy it. It is a gift that keeps on giving. Music is a miracle in that it also can bring people closer together. I know this to be true because I see it, I live it every day. So I will keep going in that endeavor!

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There is an organization called Folk Alliance International.

Even though I have attended the annual Folk Alliance conference over the years multiple times I had no idea of the breadth and scope of Folk Alliance International as the amazing resource that it is.

It is a Non-Profit one-stop shop of resources at your disposal from songwriting, panels, collaborating, peer-to-peer building possibilities, and industry professionals. record labels, publishers, grant possibilities… on and on… I would encourage any singer/songwriter to really get to know all the resources available by attending the Annual Folk Alliance conference it will open up many possibilities for building long-lasting relationships and resources.

It is an incredible resource for Music Creatives who gravitate toward the folk, and the broad scope of the folk singer/songwriter world. and companies that have products that would serve the music community. It is truly a great organization to explore and get to know and hopefully to fully participate in sooner than I did! https://folk.org/

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

The mission that drives me is to always strive to be better today and tomorrow in my craft and business than I have been in the past.

I have been on this journey in my business for many years without a compass sometimes. Without knowing if I can keep going. When It seems like the money to keep going is slow in coming. Or the help I need is slow by my standards in getting here,
What I’ve learned is, the money will always come as long as I keep putting one foot or one song in front of the other. Somehow knowing through trial and error that or me getting a spark of inspiration to solve what seems to be the unsolvable the miracles always show up just when I think I can’t take it anymore. This hard-earned knowledge keeps me humble and keeps me striving to get to my goals. And one by one my goals and dreams are now coming true.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://LisaSanders.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/LisaSandersmusic
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/lisa.sanders.942145 & https://Facebook.com/lisaSandersSings
• Linkedin: https://Linkedin.com/LisaSanders
• Twitter: https://Twitter.com/Lisasanderssong
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2wTh28dmJA

Image Credits
Photo by Chris Woolley, ( Shiver Cover ) Photo by Cathryn Beeks ( Lisa Sanders & Brown Sugar a Piano ) & Lisa Sanders stand at Barn) & ( Lisa Sitting w/Guitar) Photo by Chad Cochran ( Lisa in Red Coat Prayerful)