We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Erin McLendon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Erin, appreciate you joining us today. Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?
Recently, yes, I have and I am so thankful for it! There’s such a huge cliche about the “starving artist” and I never wanted to be thought of as such so, I started working multiple jobs right out of college, while still pursuing my artist career with the intention of eventually making a full-time salary through my music.
I started teaching voice lessons in 2016 because it simply made sense. I earned my degree in Commercial Voice from Belmont University and I was only using it to pursue my artist career. I wanted out of my multiple part-time jobs and thought what better way than to start building a vocal studio! I’d be doing what I love, sharing it with people, and I’d be my own boss!
When the pandemic hit, I had recently hired a business coach, Lindsey Kirkendall. She really helped me hone in who I was as an artist, a brand, and a voice coach!
“Music on The Move Studios” was created with my business partner, Caitie Thompson, as a way to help each other find new students and has molded in to an entire brand.
The all-female showcases were started back in 2019 when I was given an opportunity to have a show at the legendary Exit/In. I knew I couldn’t sell out that room on my own, so I invited my friends Lexi Larsen and Katie Basden to be a part of it with me. I met Caitie through the all-female house band (that has now turned in to my full-time band), The HellCats, and everything snowballed from there.
Since then, Caitie launched her podcast, Paradox Jukebox, our respective virtual music education studios have reached a National level, and our showcases are still rocking and rolling!
One of the biggest things I wish I knew before I started all of this was how long it takes to launch a company and just how many people it takes to build it to what you want it to be. We’re still working on it but, we’re definitely ahead of where we started!
Erin, 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?
I am first and foremost, a singer/songwriter and artist. My music is inspired by a slew of different artists from different genres (and even soundtracks), but I’m mostly labeled as Americana & Country. I’ve been singing for as long as I can remember, and have been doing so professionally for about 16 years.
As an artist, I’ve been pursuing a singer/songwriter career for roughly 12 years and so when I teach my voice lessons, I can offer a unique perspective about what it’s like to be a professional musician through real-life experience.
As I said before, I earned my degree from Belmont University in Nashville, TN in Commercial Voice with a Music Business Emphasis. Commercial voice is when you learn to sing everything, not just classical music, like many programs do.
I got in to teaching voice as way to be a full-time musician so I could quit the multiple part-time jobs I was working. Prior to teaching, I was simply giving my friends free advice on how to improve their vocal technique so, why not turn it in to a business!
When I teach, I want to help my students not only improve their overall technique and vocal quality but also understand how their body is creating the noise it’s making so that they can better improve on their own!
When you sing, there’s not just this sound that comes out of your mouth, there’s an entire physical & mental process that’s happening. In breaking down not only the anatomy of your voice and what your body is doing to create that sound, but also the psychology behind it, I’ve found my students gain a quicker and deeper understanding of their own unique sound and how to improve it!
I want my students to know that there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of when they sing and when they’re trying to get better. Their process is exactly that. Theirs. I am here to help and improve their unique voice be the best it can be because there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to teaching. Each student gets a different experience with me all resulting in the same thing: more confidence in their sound, and improvement in their voice!
I am the most proud of the community that we have created at Music on The Move Studios. Not only with my students, but also with the artists and musicians we work with for the showcases! In the music industry, there’s a belief that there’s not enough room for everyone. We firmly don’t believe that at Music on The Move Studios. We want to empower women and the next generation of musicians to make their own paths and not be afraid of to be exactly who they want to be as an artist!
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
There are so many ways to support artists and creatives both monetarily and non!
The easiest way to show your support is by following them on social media and streaming platforms. Engaging with their posts and their songs. Sharing them with their friends. It costs you nothing and it helps them, abundantly!
Other ways you can show your support is by going to their events and shows! Be there for one another. The music industry is all about the relationships you create. It’s a fairly simple statement but, live by the golden rule. Treat others are you would like to be treated!
Lastly, you can buy their work! Whether it’s merchandise, an album, something they created, whatever! It goes directly towards helping them get closer to their goals!
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
The showcases we have put on have experienced a few different lives…haha!
When I started them in 2019, they were an all-female, full-band, showcase. Complete with the all-female house band, The HellCats, all-female lineup, and all-female owned small businesses as pop up shops. They were meant to be quarterly so, we did them in January, April, July, and October. The last one in that format was January of 2020 with the next one being scheduled for April of 2020. As you can imagine, that didn’t happen.
When the pandemic hit, obviously live music was out of the picture. However, I felt as though I had just gotten started and I didn’t want all the momentum that had been created to just die off! So, I started doing weekly live streams. We did that for an entire year which certainly wasn’t without it’s technical struggles! Bad internet connections, sound systems not working, you name it, it happened, haha!
2021 rolled around and live music was starting to come back in a socially-distant and scaled down manor. Music on The Move moved to monthly acoustic showcases, with socially-distant seating, and limited performers on stage to keep everyone safe. Those actually turned out to be very successful! The first half of the year, they were hosted at Marathon Music Works, and the second half, they were hosted at City Winery Nashville.
However, everyone missed the whole experience of having a full band. We did what we could though!
Finally, this year, 2022, we were able to have our very first full-band show back in January! I had honestly forgotten how many more logistics there were when you added a full-band, ha! This year certainly hasn’t been without it’s struggles since COVID is still affecting people but, it’s definitely felt good getting back to our original format!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.erinmclendon.com
- Instagram: https://www.isntagram.com/erinmclendon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinmclendonmusic
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinmclendon/
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/erinmcmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/erinmclendonmusic
- Other: https://www.musiconthemovestudios.com https://www.instagram.com/musiconthemovestudios
Image Credits
Craig Young Photography Underground Music Collective Eden Lauren Photography