We recently connected with Jillian Riscoe and have shared our conversation below.

Jillian, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’m a full time singer/songwriter/musician – been at it since elementary school! My first “real, paid gig” was when I was in 3rd grade for a short performance at a store grand opening. Music has always been my #1 but I worked some pretty terrible part time jobs during high school and my early 20’s – I had someone I worked with musically finally say “hey, if you’re unhappy with all of that, you can totally do this on your own,” & I think I’ve always known that – sometimes it just takes a boost of confidence, some encouragement and a bit of delusion to just do the thing! Being a creative full time has lots of ebbs & flows and can be amazing at times and really difficult at times – but I’d rather be doing something creative full time than anything else so I’m thankful for it all!

Jillian, 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?

Music has always been my #1, a part of my life that has always remained steadfast outside of anything else. I’m proud of my tenacity and resilience despite some personal obstacles I’ve encountered over the years – I always try to see the hope in any situation I’m in – I definitely have the heads in the clouds, one foot on the ground mentality.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

Something I wish I had a bit more of in my creative journey earlier on was finding more mentors/like minded individuals – I did as time went on and most of my closest friends are all musicians themselves but it’s really important to have solid mentors, coaches etc early on. I did have some wonderful music teachers and coaches I was able to work with from an early age on.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I get nerdy about the music business and love the industry side as well – there have been tons of cool resources I’ve got to use and experience over the years including going to/performing at various music conferences likes NAMM, CDBaby’s DIY Musician Conference, Folk Alliance and more – I listen to a lot of industry and songwriting podcasts – a personal favorite is Ten Year Town, Stories Behind the Song, #liveandcreate (my buddy Miguel Antonio of the band Run With It’s podcast,) Artist Friendly w/ Joel Madden and The New Music Business w/ Ari Herstand (read his books/blog – he’s a music biz genius, nice guy too!) Definitely love artist/band autobiography books & memoirs. I also feel privileged to be friends with and surrounded by tons of amazing artists/bands/producers/creatives etc and just getting to learn a ton from them as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://JillianRiscoe.com
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/JillianRiscoe
• Facebook: https://Facebook.com/JillianRiscoeMusic
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/JillianRiscoeMusic
• Other: https://TikTok.com/JillianRiscoe

Image Credits

All photos by Madison Mead Photography (C) 2024.