We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Casey Heyo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Casey below.

Casey, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?

Am I happy as an artist /creative? The answer is always Yes.
I did try a regular 9-5 before, and luckily that environment was pretty great. But I always knew it wasn’t what I pictured my dream self to be doing or the path I wanted to follow.
As a musician, a pianist to be specific, I always made sure to stay in this field. I was able to do a variety of music related jobs: teaching, music directing, writing, producing, arranging, performing, accompanying, pretty much everything a musician can do. But things weren’t stable and I started to feel unhappy while doing these music jobs because of the lack of clarity and direction. During this time, I was pursuing a sync licensing field as a producer, which has always been my main goal. I was producing tracks and submitting a bunch for them to get picked up by clients. But nothing was happening for months. 8 months go by and I told myself, “One more month. I’m going to try one more month and if nothing gets picked up, it means I suck and I’m going to quit.” The next month, 3 of my tracks got picked up all at once to be licensed.
After that, placements rolled in regularly. Since then, I’ve been given cool opportunities to work with big artists and companies.
I learned that giving myself a specific deadline is silly because the passion is already there and it will always be there whether I pursue it or not. I do wonder time to time what I’d be doing right now if I didn’t pursue music full time. But knowing me, I think I’d eventually do what I did to get here.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Casey Heyo, I am a music producer and pianist. As a child, I always wanted to become a pianist. The passion has always been there and playing piano was truly something I loved. I never really thought about pursuing anything else other than piano. I went to Berklee College of Music and graduated with a Contemporary Writing & Production degree. I was trained to write and produce all genres of music and experience a different process that comes with a variety of musical styles. When it comes to producing a song for clients or specific artists, it is important to play different roles; a creator and an audience. I think one of my strengths as a music producer is putting the focus on the artist & the product. My ability to make them shine comes before my attachment to the art. When I make music, I make it with a very clear intention, and that is to highlight their artistry. Working in the creative field does not mean you are making art all the time. Listening to the feedback and meeting people in the middle is also part of the art. On top of that, I believe staying true to my artistry allows the right people and opportunities to find me.

I’ve spent a good amount of time building my Lofi & chill music catalog and putting out social media contents that showcase them. Recently, I was given an amazing opportunity to make a Lofi album for a videogame, “Palia,” which is available on Nintendo Switch and PC. For this specific project, I pictured what sounds and instruments would be suitable for both the game and the players. I think having the discipline & ability to be versatile creates successful art for all parties- producer, clients, and audience.

Besides producing, I spend a good chunk of my day teaching piano. It wasn’t always my passion, but teaching is something I learned to have passion for. I learned that I love coming up with creative ways to explain different musical concepts and connect with my students. They range anywhere from 5 or under to 90 something! Not only their ages are different their learning & playing styles vary as well. It’s really cool that I can identify their strengths and weaknesses, and come up with a plan & solution to help their journey.

I always struggled with the fact that I had multiple career goals- produce, teach, and play. I thought I had to focus on only one thing. Being able to do it all is a natural part of my life now.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

I did a 31-day beat challenge, where you are supposed to make a new beat every day. I took a step further and posted them on my social media just to be more accountable. It really, I mean reallyyy, forced myself to sit down and create something. It didn’t matter if I didn’t feel like it, had a writer’s block, or had a very long day.
By doing this, not only I was making different styles of music daily but reached an audience that was interested in my art.
Creatives should take advantage of social media. As long as you have a phone, you can easily put out a content.
Getting over the embarrassment and cringe can be a little rough in the beginning, but being embarrassed shouldn’t be the reason that holds you back from potentially meeting your goals!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Being able to say, “I do what I love.”
The life I have right now and thinking about the unlimited opportunities to come makes my heart full.
And going back to the first question, “Am I happy being a creator?” To be able to say Yes without a doubt makes me feel like I am living my life to the fullest.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/caseyheyo
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@caseyheyo
• Other: Spotify:
  

Image Credits

Orel Chollette
@chollette