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

Alright, Diona thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

The first big career risk I took was back in the mid 90’s when I decided to go “all in” and move from the Bay Area to Nashville to be in the “center” of what is the songwriting industry. This was the best way to learn and up level my songwriting craft, in addition to being around other talented and aspiring writers, musicians and producers . I figured something might rub off on me. It was a scary decision and it was hard for me to adjust, as all of my family and friends were thousands of miles away. But It was a great place to learn the craft of songwriting and the wealth of talent there was ridiculously high.

The second big career risk was about 10 years ago I made the transition into writing for film and t.v. because it was becoming apparent that it was one of the few areas in the industry that was expanding rapidly, as opposed to others which seemed to be shrinking because of new technologies like streaming etc.. Also, I liked the freedom that it gave me in terms of the genres I could write in… every genre is represented in that space so the palette was richer.

I knew this was going to require me to learn some new skills to be successful in THAT space, so I took up learning how to record and produce my own music. I look back now to everything I’ve learned and think to myself I must have been half out of my mind to do that, but that career decision was probably the most empowering. It gave me SO much more control over my whole creative process. Before, I might have written a song and had a vision for how it should sound, but I would always have to rely on others to understand and carry out my vision when it came to recording. Sometimes it was a happy marriage and sometimes it was a messy divorce.

Since I started writing for film and t.v. I’ve had success getting placements in film, t.v. and ads.
I’ve been involved in film projects, working directly with a film composer and artistic music collaborations which express me more as an artist.
I really get the best of both worlds; that of writer and artist. And now I have tools in order for me to translate my artistic vision in the studio. Super empowering.

And then the third big risk I made was a from Nashville back to CA full time. It was partly due to Covid, but also because most my film/t.v. businesses, publishers and clients in film and t.v. are based in the L.A.area, so it seemed a natural transition.

So, those are three of the biggest career risks I’ve taken over the years.

I imagine there will be more to take as well. That’s the thing, though, there will always be choices we have to make. It’s just understanding how to make the right ones.

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?

I’m a songwriter/producer and have been in the business for about 30 years.

I’ve been writing lyrics since high school and probably writing melodies even before then. I used to hum melodies to my sister, with whom I shared a bedroom, when she couldn’t get to sleep at night!

What I have been doing for the past 15 years or so is creating music for film, t.v. and multi-media.
I work or have worked with publishers, labels , composers and film.t.v. music supervisors in order to help supply them with musical content which their clients (the networks, films, brands) need. I work hard to develop relationships with them so that I stay a trusted source for music.

What I’m proud about is my body of work and that so much have my stuff has been heard in t.v. shows, films and ads.

I think what sets me apart is my work ethic and frankly just the fact that I’m a female working in a mostly male dominated field… especially when it comes to producing.

Also, for the past couple of years or so I started teaching songwriting/producing to people who want to grow in the craft and that’s something I enjoy too. I like the feeling of giving back in some way.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

The thing that comes to mind that I’ve had to unlearn is how to write for film/t.v./multi-media versus writing for the country music market. It took me awhile to figure it out.

Country music is hard to get into film/t.v. etc.. because it’s so specific with visuals and caters to people listening to radio…. too many specifics can interfere with the scene.

By contrast, in order to write for film and t.v. you’re better off writing to a mood, theme or emotion and not having too many specific lyrics. In other words if you have a song called “I Love San Francisco” you’d have a narrow pitch for that song if say, the show takes place in Houston..

Writing a country song is for a HIT.
Writing for film.t.v. and ads are for FIT.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

Honestly, what society can do to best support artists and creatives is understand our contributions, worth and pay us a fairly.

It seems like science is more valued than art, but we all NEED art for our hearts and souls. We learn so much from it.
Yet with a lot of platforms these days, the songwriter is paid the LEAST. And that’s been happening for a long time.

Now, with AI it’s happening with actors and screenwriters. Same thing is going on.

The technologies have been exploding but there are still the same old previous models of making money which also need to updated.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.dionadevincenzi.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dionafelice.devincenzi
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dionadevincenzi/
• Twitter: @dionad
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQBtUZdbsWrP_Pxq6z3jO0Q

Image Credits
Holly Coleman