We recently connected with Cidney Grady and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Cidney thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
My passion for Music has always been present since before I could walk! I was belting Alicia Keys, and Destiny’s Child at just 5 years old. I sang in my Church Choir a few years as well as in talent shows, and Musicals in High School. What started out as just a love of singing, and wanting to perform gradually morphed into me yearning to go deeper into the business side of things once it came time to choose a College.
Upon my arrival at Belmont University in 2016 I was still a creative at heart, but it was something about the things I was learning in my Music Business classes that just took a hold of every part of me. My mind was being opened to possibilities I had never imagined until siting in classes really learning the breakdown of every little minuscule detail about the business of the thing I love most, The Art that is Music. By shifting my focus a bit to include Owning & Operating my own Management Company, Record Label, and many more companies in the Music & Entertainment space I now faced the mission of creating a Brand worth my while, and something I knew would take a few years to accomplish. I still have the notes in the margin of my class notes that read, “change this with your company,” “make sure you really research this when you build your company,” and “I don’t like this…maybe we can do it differently.”
The current venture at hand is an Artist Management Company dedicated to the mental health, education, and professionalism of the Artist. We strive to cultivate relationships with the foundations of trust, honesty, and respect at their core, and put “Real Music” at the forefront of everything that we do. Real music isn’t easy. It isn’t just a viral party anthem. It is music that reaches deep into one’s soul, and fuses the Artist with the listener. Real Music is intentional. It expresses the Artist’s deepest, and most true self to the listener just with the timbre of their voice, or the cadence of the drum even before a word is spoken. The company is one that believes in Real Music, and the fact that it never left us…it has just become harder to find. We find it, and spread it to the masses. This year I have the goal of finally fully forming my LLC, and I’m excited about starting the process!
I currently manage an Artist by the name of SymbaSyd. accountable, can sense each other’s “burnout,” and creative ideas before the other one can even let us know. She’s an Artist from the Southside of Chicago effortlessly fusing the Chicago flavor with that of the ever-present Nashville Hip-Hop sound by blending Hip-Hop & Neo Soul with Rap cadences, and lyricism alike. A true talented pen with impeccable relatability, and delivery. I’m so happy the two of us met when we did. She keeps me going, and I couldn’t be more grateful for our friendship! We’re currently working on her first “Mini Tour” around Nashville, titled “Until The Party’s Over,” set to run from May to June 2023.
Cidney, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
On a more personal level, I am grateful to be who I am in the space I operate in. I believe that the Entertainment Industry as a whole needs the entire essence of who I am in it. It may sound like a comment of arrogance, but it is simply one of observation. I’m constantly working to maintain a complete Mind, Body & Spirit balance within myself. I believe that the proper surroundings, intentions, and energy is what propels you to the next level., and that so long as you are meant to be in this Industry, and have the willpower to keep pressing on that everything you need will find you, (by no means does that means it just falls in your lap…it just means it finds you, and everything is yours you just have to find the right route to it). I am purpose driven, I’m a Woman, I believe in God, and strive to constantly radiate Joy, and Love to everyone I meet. The Industry just needs that. With all of the pressures surrounding us of being like-able, having a huge following, working like a robot, continuing to race even after defeat, maintaining a public image and mental health, and the never ending list of expectations even before our OWN personal requirement of excellence within ourselves; someone of genuine Grace, Power, Joy, and Love is needed. One may also say, “That person gets taken advantage of in our Industry,” and although it can be proven true ALL Industry professionals also have a keen sense of awareness when it comes to who to trust, and who is just there to take advantage, Let’s not forget I am an Artist Manager, and we tend to see straight through bad business, and ill-intentioned people since we have to constantly look out for this on behalf of ourself, and our Artists!
When it comes to Artist Management I connect with my Artists on a deeper, more personal level because I’m also a Creative by heart so I understand the connection between an Artist and their Art. I understand how writing a song can save you even as you’re in tears writing it. I understand what it means when people say, “A Creative has to create,” because, I too, have to create. Creating this business is, and will continue to be one of my biggest creations yet. I simply understand and embody a Creative, and it helps me motivate, protect, and affirm my Artists when they need it most. I’m a Loving, Powerhouse of Joy and Creativity, and I have yet to hear anyone else describe themselves in that way. I’m the breath of fresh air and perspective our Industry deserves.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My resilience in this Industry is never ending. I graduated during the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic which in turn made me miss out on a conference I had planned to attend that I knew could have lead to me landing a job in my field. I then had to figure out how to utilize the business side of my degree. I have had to work for tech companies, a Wedding Planner/ Coordinator, and I have even (and still partially do) Babysat for family-friends all to make ends meet to keep going and giving it my all when it comes to my career goals. I’ve been afforded the opportunities of working The Annual CMA Awards, and Music City Grand Prix amongst several conferences around the city. Although the life I lead, and the path I’m on isn’t easy I keep going, and God continues to provide for me.
In 2021 I took the biggest leap of faith I could take, and stopped looking for jobs all around off of one statement that continues to echo in my head when life is too much even with all of my resilience. It’s the last thing my Uncle said to me before his passing, “Is someone giving you a hard time,” is what he asked me before I never saw him again. At the time it wasn’t someone…it was something. I wasn’t close enough to my dreams. I was at a job that didn’t give me the rest, and freedom to continue on the Music journey I’m on, and that is a HARD “No” for me. I let the job go, dove head first into my management responsibilities, and got to work. His words can somehow always put me at ease, clear my heart, and mind. I have since made it a point to focus on occupying spaces that make me happy, and that means the space has to give me enough room to still work on my craft of Artist Management, and I have to still have a sense of peace. The hardest times for me come when I can’t focus on my Spiritual & Mental well-being, my creativity is suppressed, or I can’t work my business. That time away from the job hunt added so much more stability into what I needed to focus on, and kind of helped me realize what I needed to keep constant in my life to be happy.
Resilience is honestly a part of the requirements for making it in the Music & Entertainment Industry because our Industry is a beast. However, if it is for you…nothing can deter you from making it so keep putting the work in, keep bouncing back, keep moving, and keep learning. You will be rewarded for your hard work, and sacrifices.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
I have yet to build my company’s presence on Social Media, but when it comes to developing, and maintaining a Social Media following the most important thing you can do, in my opinion, is focus on your authentic voice. You’re going to want to know who you want to attract, what tone you want to use (are they your friend, is it jut business, or is it both etc), and what kind of content/experience you wish to offer the user. Maximize each app to its fullest potential, and familiarize yourself with each platform’s similarities as well as their differences. The landscape, and algorithm of each site is different so a marketing strategy that works on Instagram may not necessarily do the same thing on TikTok or Twitter. You’ve got to tweak your delivery per platform, but work extremely hard to keep the same authenticity.
Marketing yourself through Social Media platforms can be very a very daunting task, but only if you let it! As much of a marker of success as it has become to have more followers than following, and at least 100 likes per post always remember your target audience is still out there, and good “old fashioned” marketing still works. I don’t place too much pressure on myself or my Artists when it comes to social media because at the end of the day Social Media isn’t a real place, we’re the ones putting in the work and our peers and superiors notice it. Hard work, a focused strategy, and your authenticity will take you further than any social media marker can.
I know this is true because a few months back, Instagram came up with the Instagram “Bonuses” feature (that has since been dissolved as they rework more strategies behind it) where they paid certain users for creating reels. I was awarded with the feature. With less followers than people I follow, still posting long captions, and goofy pictures. It’s all because I know who I want to attract, and I know what I want to put out into this world on and off of social media. I stick to my authentic self, and know that whoever I’m supposed to touch through these platforms is what will happen. You do have to be a bit more strategized when you operate a business’s social profiles, but the main thing I want everyone to remember is that Social Media isn’t the end all be all even though everyone treats it as such, and to BE YOU/ YOUR BUSINESS’S AUTHENTIC SELF.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/CidneyG
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cidnache/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cidney-grady/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CidNache
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/cidneygrady
- Other: SymbaSyd: https://www.symbasyd.com/