We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Molly Lovette a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Molly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
My whole career has been built around taking risks. Growing up, being a “famous singer” was always my dream, but it wasn’t until I went off to college that I truly believed that my dream could become reality. As a senior in high school, I did what most everyone does and applied for college. But during that first year of university I began writing, performing, and building a confidence that I had never seen in myself before. I came to the conclusion that if I truly wanted to be a singer, then I needed to leave school and jump headfirst. After a very nerve-wracking conversation with my parents, my dad and I put a business plan together as to how I would make my start in the music industry. My mother told me something during that conversation that really stuck with me – “If you truly want this (music), then you can’t have a Plan B, no backup plans. You have to give it everything.” I moved back to St. Louis, my hometown, where I gigged every weekend and saved up for my move to Music City (Nashville, TN). I learned that there are some things you just can’t learn in four walls of a classroom, and for what I wanted to do with my life, I took the leap and left my college education behind. Although, the learning hasn’t stopped – I am gaining so much knowledge about the music industry here in Nashville every single day. Now, as a full time singer/songwriter, I cannot picture my life going any other way and I’m so grateful to my parents for giving me the push, and honestly to myself for believing that this risk would pay off.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, my two siblings and I grew up in a very close-knit family. Deep rooted in tradition and faith, I attended Catholic grade school and then an all-girls Catholic High School – the same one that my grandmother, mother, five cousins, and younger sister all attended. However, music was another tradition that my family passed along as well. My mother was always playing music throughout the house when I was young, and my grandmother wrote music and sang to me. My dad definitely has some country roots as well that influenced my love for country music, in fact my parents took me to my first concert – Tim McGraw – at the tender age of 5! So, it wasn’t long before my family’s love for music translated over and became my love for music. I was in every talent show from kindergarten on and I remember putting on small “concerts” for my family and babysitters from a young age. Sports also played a huge part in my upbringing. I grew up playing soccer, volleyball and softball, but my love was for basketball. I thought that I would actually have a career as a coach up until about age 14. During a game, I took a fall and after enduring weeks of pain and visiting doctors, I was told that I had a tumor inside of my right femur bone. While I was out due to my injury, music was all I had to pass the time. My dad taught me to play guitar and I dove into songwriting. It was at this point I realized that even with my love of basketball, I now loved music more and wanted to focus solely on that. Though I was terrified to tell my parents, their support to pursue this dream of mine only further solidified my decision. They said that as long as I am happy, they’re happy. That was one of the most eye-opening experiences for me, seeing how much they will support me in whatever I am doing. The summer before my freshman year of college at Murray State, I began working on my debut album. By the time Christmas break rolled around, I returned home and played my first full band show at my own album release party. This moment was the turning point I needed in order for my music career to become the main focus. Over three hundred people came to support me and the venue made a record-breaking total that Thursday night which boosted my confidence in my music abilities. But, three weeks later I was back at Murray State sitting in class. As the second semester continued, I remember sitting in class and all I wanted to do was play music. I would write down lyrics in my notebooks and sit in my room and play and write in between all my classes. I started booking some gigs at school that all proved to be successful. It was then and there that I knew I had to leave school if I wanted to make music my career. Flash forward a few years, I’m now touring with my band on the weekends, co-writing with songwriters in Nashville during the week, working with a publicist, booking agent, producers – it is crazy how much can change in such a short amount of time. Being 22 years old and having to run a business has its challenges, but I think back to the little girl who wanted this so badly, and it makes it all worth it. Getting to share my lyrics, music, and life with people who truly enjoy my music is the coolest thing – I can’t even put into words how grateful I am for what I get to do as a career.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
Aa a country artist, I don’t necessarily refer to my fans as “clients,” but I suppose that is what they are in a business sense. I know that without fans listening to music and supporting me, I would be out of a job. So, my “clients” are the most important thing to me. For example, at live shows I make it a point to talk to as many people as possible afterwards to display my gratitude to them being there and hopefully create a lifelong fan. I also try my best to respond to comments on social media, DM’s, etc. I think the most effective strategy for growing and keeping your clientele is to get on that personal level with them, showing that they are as important to you as you are to them.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Something that I always grew up caring about was what other people thought of me. I feel as humans that is just something we are trained to be aware of. It wasn’t until pretty recently that I decided I didn’t care so much what people thought of me. Of course, I want to be a good person and to show kindness to all, but in the sense of my career, taking risks, failing, putting myself out there – I don’t care what others think. This was something that always held me back. For instance, I went to college for a whole year just because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do, and I didn’t want to stray from the norm. When I finally unlearned this need for others approval, I gained so much confidence and belief in myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.mollylovette.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollylovette/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mol.Lovette/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/mollylovette
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/mollylovette
- Other: Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mollylovette0?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc
Image Credits
First photo (personal) : Lauren Hayes Media