Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Phoebe Ritchie. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Phoebe, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Of course I wish I had started earlier! I think we all wish we had a jumpstart on the things we find out later in life are important to us. I keep meeting people who started when they were 10 or younger. It’s incredible – they’re the unicorns of the industry that apply for entry level positions with a decade of experience that we all thought couldn’t exist. Personally, I was late to the game. I joined a choir at the end of high school and again in college, but I didn’t realize music could be anything other than an hobby until after I graduated. Most people had industry knowledge, a functional understanding of theory, and connections by then so I didn’t have a group of people to be excited or build out ideas with when I realized I wanted to pursue writing. The upside of that is that I was forced to learn a lot of it on my own, which gave me a lot of independence down the road!

Phoebe, 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 a self-taught songwriter, producer, and singer currently based in Indianapolis, IN. I believe strongly in the therapeutic value the creative process offers and hope that “making” becomes accessible for the people around me, as I think everyone has inherent creativity.

Culturally speaking, we’ve come to view creativity as a means to a consumable/sellable product, yet I’ve seen the most value come from projects that were meant for my eyes and ears only. I am in the middle of a year-long, self-issued challenge to write, produce, record, and share one original song a week. Inventing and newness come naturally to me; finishing and letting go do not. So while I regularly have a few different song ideas in a day, finding time outside of my job to sit down and ideate wasn’t habitual for me until this year. The first thing that comes to my mind is what the song is about. I usually write in about 10-15 minutes, as the bulk of my time is clunkily building my tracks and recording instruments. That means there are some pretty corny lyrics out there with my name on them, but to keep the pace I’ve set, half the battle is learning to let go and write the next one. I’ve noted several times this year that I either have time to learn, or I have time to do. I’ve chosen to do, and hopefully I’ll can learn next year when I have 52 original songs to choose from for a deeper dive.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I don’t believe it’s the fault of the listener, but I do wish a higher value was placed on music. While everyone I know deems music as an integral part of their life, not many people know how musicians and writers make (or don’t make) a living from creating. While it’s convenient to have access to the entire history of recorded music for a subscription per month, most artists don’t recover the costs of production, mixing, and mastering with the .0003 cents per stream they get. Buying music, merch, and donating directly to and from artists when we can empowers musicians to keep creating. Buying a painting doesn’t just cover the cost of art supplies, but the time and skill it took to create it. Paying a photographers doesn’t just cover the cost of the camera, but the knowledge of how to use it and the time it takes to edit. I think musicians deserve the same opportunity to create art sustainably.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

The free ones! I probably wrote and demoed 100 songs in GarageBand on a dinosaur of a Mac before I ever allowed myself the paid upgrade of Logic. Getting to know my way around the free softwares before I spent on ones I wouldn’t use has been the best way to keep making music budget friendly. Procreate is great for making album art too. Not everything needs to be outsourced!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://phoeberitchie.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/phoebehritchie?igsh=NDc1NjNvOXQ0Z3Y1&utm_source=qr
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555916500645
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@phoebehritchie
• Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/aoGWunXNZ6KJbLqD7