We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Phil Silverberg. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Phil below.
Phil, appreciate you joining us today. 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’ve been living off of my creative work for a number of years now. Last year, I made the move to Nashville from New Jersey to take my creative work to a new market. The truth is that it has never been easy, but I’ve looked at each step in the process as a building block in my path.
Moving to Nashville meant rebuilding everything. This move put me geographically further away from home than ever before and I really only knew a couple of people based here. For many years people told me that I needed to just take that one big leap of faith. I suppose that’s what this was.
I knew when I arrived that I would have to establish myself in each of the creative worlds I wanted to be a part of here in Nashville. As a music producer – I needed to find ways to meet and work with songwriters. As a Hammond B3 Organ player – I needed to find the jams and the places other musicians hang. As a photographer – I had to be present with my camera in my hand. When I first settled in, my goal was to be everywhere – and I was. I did my research and found where the writers rounds were happening on different nights. I found the open jams where I was able to play and meet the musicians I was looking for. My camera came with me everywhere, and often you could catch me at two or three different places in a day or night.
It’s always been a challenge getting people to understand that it is possible to be a Professional Producer/Musician and Professional Photographer. My goal was to make it clear that I really was all of the things I said I was. When people called me for anything I made sure I returned the best product I could, with the most professionalism I could bring, all while genuinely trying to help other people get where they are trying to go in their careers.
I believe that being sincere and genuine is the key to success. I’ve also learned over time that each of us brings something different and special to the table. Between seeing the incredible level of songwriting and musicianship in Nashville combined with incredible talent on social media, I had a few moments of self doubt. Everyone I met was so good at what they did that I struggled to see how I could fit in. It took time for me to get comfortable feeling like I could just do things the way I do and that that was all I needed to do.
Phil, 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?
My name is Phil Silverberg and I’m a Music Producer, Musician, and Photographer/Videographer who recently relocated from New Jersey to Nashville in 2021.
Music will always be my first love. At around the age of 8 – I first discovered I could play the piano by ear and often improvised songs or figured out other people’s songs. It just grew from there and stayed with me all the way into college. I have to admit, as much as I loved music I wasn’t sure it was going to be my focus in school or that I would ultimately make it my career. I didn’t apply to a single “music school” and was really considering a path in Law. I ended up at Lafayette College – a small school, and after my first year changed my path from Government/Law, to Economics and Business, but also learned that I would be able to double major in music. Even then – the music degree was really just for my own education and want to be the best I could be, but there still wasn’t necessarily a thought that I would make it my career. As graduation approached, I started applying to financial jobs and was going to put my Economics/Business degree to use. In the final month, I got a call that the production company I was working with at the time was getting a lot of attention from the music industry and that they were interested in signing the whole company. That was the moment I realized I was producing work that was high enough quality to be considered professional and that I might actually be able to make music my career.
From there, my career has been all music. I’ve worn a number of different hats within the world of music. Everything I’ve learned to do and every job I’ve filled was by necessity. Someone had to do it. So, the list of skills is long. Broadly speaking – I am a Music Producer – If an artist has no music, they can come to me and I can help build everything from the ground up. I can help write songs, produce demos or full blown productions, play on the songs, hire a band (if needed), mix them, master them, then shoot all the photography and videography needed for promoting the artist and the project. To me, being able to offer all of that as one person means I can really help create continuity across every step in the process, rather than piecing it together with a million moving parts.
My Photography career has always run parallel with my music career. It was another skill I picked up initially by necessity, but I fell in love with it. I wanted to create images like I saw in magazines or billboards, so I studied, practiced and always tried to improve. At some point, an artist I was working with asked if I would try my hand at photographing them. They loved the images and from there I started to build confidence in my work. I moved into a studio space in Brooklyn, NY and started working with artists and modeling agencies. At that point, I decided I could actively pursue being a professional photographer while being a Music producer. In fact, I felt that the two might help feed each other – music would lead to photography work, photography to music. Since then I’ve had a number of images published and have had my work in galleries.
I believe the thing that sets my work apart from everyone else is that I am always giving you all of my effort. I hate the saying Jack of all trades, master of none. I do a lot of things – I’m not one to call myself a master of any of them – but I put in the time to study and learn anything and everything I can about each of the things I do. I take pride in bringing excellence. I refuse to be mediocre. If I say I can do something for a client – I will get it done, and get it done very well. I bring that to each and every person and opportunity.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
My journey through the music industry has been more than a challenge. There have been many incredible moments. Music has taken me to so many places and introduced me to so many people, but every now and then a a bump in the road has tried to knock me off of my path.
One moment in particular was when I dropped everything I was doing to go on tour with an artist. They offered an amazing contract for me to tour as the organ player in their band in a national tour with some international dates. Unfortunately, after three weeks of touring, no one had been paid. We played the last two gigs and then went home with a promise that we would be paid. They never paid us.
That moment nearly made me quit. I was so angry that I worked my whole life for an opportunity like this, sign a contract, and that someone would not make good on it. I had given up everything and it put me in a terrible financial hole. If this was what being a professional musician was about, I wasn’t sure I wanted it. It took me time to get over. Ultimately, it pushed my career more towards the Music Production side of things because I was afraid to get burned like that again. Within 6 months of that, I was back in action as a keys player and the level of gigs that came in were far superior to touring with that artist. I’m thankful for the experience because it taught me to really keep an eye out for smooth talkers. Some people know the right things to say – I’ve learned to ask the right questions.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
I often wonder what the mission or goal is. Is there a specific end point I’m hoping to reach? I don’t really know, but I’d like to think not. In the creative fields, the mission is to always improve at your craft. That’s an internal goal that needs no external validation and will be a life long mission. But, if I were to try and frame it – my hope is to be able to just make music on my terms and on my time that can generate enough income for me to do so freely. People often ask if I would still do photography work at that point. The line between art as a pleasurable thing or as work is blurred purely because of money. If finances were of no concern, my art would never be work.
My dream – is to give back to my family. I’m so blessed to have parents that have fully supported me through every decision I’ve made and every step I’ve taken. They’ve always provided me with the absolute best they could to help me on my path. As I grow older, I want nothing more than to make them proud. They’ve worked so hard – it’s my turn to give back to them. That’s my ultimate mission.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.philsilverberg.com
- Instagram: @phil_silverberg @Phil_Silverberg_Music
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/phil.silverberg/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philip-silverberg-09b81722/
- Twitter: @Phil_Silverberg
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-bapuUJjmfrKkhi6DkdYAGBo7QUNj8V6
Image Credits
Phil Silverberg