We were lucky to catch up with Liv Miraldi recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Liv, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?
November 24th I released the first single, “Denver” off my debut EP “2019”. I’ve loved writing for other artists the past few years, but I started making “2019” because it was the first time in a long time I felt like I had something to say and I was ready to say it. Each song is like a chapter from my life from that year. For me, it was one of the most difficult and transformative periods. Each area of my life was flipped upside down and I had to sit with what was left and how to make sense of the loss going forward.
Liv, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I grew up in Lorain, Ohio- far from the entertainment industry, but my parents filled the house with music, took us to shows, and encouraged creativity. My Dad even built a recording studio in the basement where I learned how to record a vocal and we’d spend months on a song until it was perfect (we didn’t have autotune). I fell in love with lyrics and how they could verbalize feelings I didn’t know how to articulate yet. I listened to everything -from Tupac to James Taylor to Britney Spears – and I was hooked.
I moved to Nashville at 17 to study songwriting at Belmont University and ended up interning in Production Music at BMG in LA for a semester. There, I had access to their recording studio after hours. One day the boss overheard me and graciously set me up on my first co-writing session. A year later, I signed with songwriter and producer, busbee’s joint venture with Warner Chappell Music, called Altadena. While there, I wrote for other artists for three years, and eventually began using TikTok to place songs that were collecting dust in my catalog during the pandemic. I didn’t have the intention of becoming an artist, but after a few viral moments, it became clear that some of these songs were my story to tell.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
So many books and podcasts have played a pivotal role in helping me navigate life as a creative! Planning for the long term in such a dynamically evolving career path can be challenging. For moments of overwhelming uncertainty, I listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast, and Glennon Doyle’s ‘We Can Do Hard Things’ podcast has been a valuable resource with episodes that instill confidence in pursuing my heart’s path.
If I could recommend a book for every creative to read it would be ‘Big Magic’ by Elizabether Gilbert and “Tiny Beautiful Things’ by Cheryl Strayed. These books are coded with A-HA moments, and have taught me so many valuable lessons.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
I used to think it wasn’t possible to write for other artists and be an artist myself. It had been relayed to me many times by people in the industry that it wasn’t a good look and it might be a turn off for artists wanting to work with me. I stopped releasing songs for four years and just focused on writing for others (which I loved and still love), but in 2022 I felt pulled to make music for myself again. Reluctantly, I started sharing my songs on social media, and found not only did my songs resonate with others, but artists began reaching out to write together. It was so important for me to learn to follow my heart and not let myself or others limit my potential.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/livmiraldi/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LivMiraldi/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/livmiraldi
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@livmiraldimusic
- Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@livmiraldi?_t=8i7ybuLHSqU&_r=1
Image Credits
Photo Credit: Rylan Talerico