We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brandon Clahassey a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I am a songwriter in the tv/film/sync space. Basically what that means is that I make music that is used commercially. This can be music that is in a commercial, promo/ad, Netflix series, video game, or movie trailer. I am a “topliner” which means that my job is to write the lyrics and do vocals. I primarily make Hip Hop influenced song because for a long time I was a rapper.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Most people I know in the music industry are people who just kept at it, even when they felt like quitting or everyone told them to quit. My grandma used to tell me I was a “dreamer.” She was an old school lady who had lived through the great depression, so she couldn’t see how I would ever make money doing music, let alone rap.

But like I said, most people in the music industry who have success are the ones who didn’t throw in the towel. So I guess…I’m still here…just gotta keep on going.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

If I could be honest, I wish I would have been putting money into 401ks earlier. Many artists don’t fully realize that the ARE businesses. I’ve always put money into a personal Roth IRA, but as a self employed person, there are options of SEP-IRAs, self employed 401ks, etc, that have pretty awesome advantages. I learned it at a fine age, but wish I would’ve known/cared about that at a younger age. I would be in an even better spot than I am currently, as far as finances are concerned.

Contact Info:

• Website: beaconlightmusic.com
• Instagram: @beaconmusic
• Other: tiktok: beaconmusic