Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brandon Lee Richardson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Brandon, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

The questions “What would it be like to pursue a regular career?” and “Are you happy as an artist?” have actually gone through my mind a lot throughout my journey. I’m an upcoming music producer, composer, and filmmaker who’s 100% independent, so I’ll talk about it from that perspective. From my experience, it’s been one of the most difficult things to achieve success in and the journey is filled with both the lowest of lows and highest of highs.

The path of an independent artist/creative is equivalent to starting your own business, but with even more hurdles. Compared to it, pursuing a regular career is more linear. You go to school, get your degree, take some internships, find a job somewhere, and then you’re set. It’s a safe path. Being an artist, however, is nothing like that. It’s filled with uncertainty. Since childhood, I spent years of sleepless nights perfecting my craft just so I can eventually be good enough to reach the starting line. But once I made it to that point, the path became even more difficult. In order to continue moving forward, I had to do the work of 20 people by myself because I didn’t have the budget. To top it off, there was never a guarantee that people would even respond to the work I put out. I had spent more than a year working on an album and when I tried to show it to someone, they blatantly told me they had no intention of ever listening to it (I respected their honesty, though. lol). Unfortunately, that’s the reality. There are some exceptions where artists get a bit more lucky and achieve success early on in their journey, but that’s not usually the case and it certainly wasn’t for me. So naturally, when I saw some of my peers getting good jobs and starting their life, it definitely amplified the frustrations I felt in my shortcomings. That’s when a little voice in my head would say, “What’s the point of all this? What if you just stopped and focused on a regular job? It would be a lot easier.” I used to get that thought a lot. But every time it would creep in, I would feel a stronger voice saying, “Get that bullshit outta here. It’s not easy, but you gon’ keep pushing through and make it happen. Now go get your shit together.” To this day, it happens every single time without fail. lol

Aside from the support I get from my loved ones, that strong voice in my head is one of the biggest things that has always kept me going. Despite all of the hurdles, I have this unexplainable knowing that my contribution to society is meant to be through my art. I can feel this is exactly where I’m supposed to be, struggles and all. Logically speaking, my life would be a lot easier if I had chosen to pursue a regular job. But I also know that, in doing so, I would be incredibly unhappy. Although making good money is part of the goal, it’s not just about that. I feel like my highest self when I’m creating and something would feel off if I wasn’t. The best part about it all is that, on the other side of consistency, the path eventually get easier. As I continued to grow as an artist, more and more collaborators who also understood the vision ended up coming on board. Before I knew it, I was able to start building teams and the projects became more ambitious. Now, we’re in the beginning stages of the most ambitious project we’ve ever worked on and I couldn’t be more excited about the future. So when it comes to the question of whether or not I’m happy as an artist, the answer will always be a definitive yes.

Brandon, 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?

Since I was very little, I’ve always known how to draw and I loved making sketches of characters from Marvel, DC, and different anime. I would even try to create my own characters and write backstories for them. Once I got into high school, though, I started to gravitate towards music and I became fascinated with producing. At that point, I knew that I wanted to make music as a starting point in my career.

To achieve my vision and goals for entering the music industry, I taught myself how to produce, play piano, write songs, and sing. Fast forward to present day and now I have an independent music production company called PAZ Music Group. One of the latest projects was an album that I produced for one of my artists, Kendyle Paige. The album is called “Ladybird” and it dropped a couple of months ago. I’m beyond proud of this body of work as well as everyone who worked on it. So if you haven’t heard it yet, definitely check it out.

Aside from music, my creative endeavors are starting to come around full circle as I’m now expanding into the world of film/animation. I’m currently building a team and we’re in the beginning stages of creating an animated film. That’s all I can really say for now, but more details are coming soon and I’m super excited to show everyone!

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Supporting an artist monetarily (buying their work, merch, etc.) is the obvious course of action. But beyond that, I think that people shouldn’t be afraid to be vocal about their support of the smaller artists they like. It’s a fact that most people will refrain from engaging with an artist’s content unless they see other people already doing it. They don’t want to be the first ones to comment, as if it’ll make them look uncool. lol But even the biggest artists had to start small. So if you really like someone’s art, let them know and let other people know. There’s so much good work out there that people are missing out on because they just don’t know about it yet.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on NFTs. (Note: this is for education/entertainment purposes only, readers should not construe this as advice)

NFTs are a scam. lol

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brandonleerichardson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonleerich/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandonleerichmusic/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonleerichardson/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Brandonleerich
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandonLeeRichardson

Image Credits
Orion Phillips (Orion McKinley Photography) Adam Wolven