We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Samm Musick a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Samm, thanks for joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
I went to a University after Highschool to study music. Looking back I wish I had just gone straight into my field and skipped college. For classical music and some more technical fields college is a good choice. As a performer I think the best thing to do is just spend your time getting really good at your craft and get as many experiences as you can performing in front of audiences.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Samm Musick. I am a musician, songwriter, producer and engineer. I also work in film as a writer, director and producer. I also help run a campus of visual art and production studios called The Art Forge in Franklin, TN.
After graduating with a degree in music my friends and I started a recording studio in the Chicagoland area. This was my introduction to running DAWs and overseeing music production from start to finish. During this time I also began writing and performing with a local rock band in and around the Chicago area.
I eventually moved to Nashville in 2004 where I formed a new band and began writing and producing with various artists and songwriters in the Nashville area. We built a music label and music studio and I played music as a traveling musician in the United States and internationally.
The past 20 years have been spent mostly in the Nashville area building my client base of artists that I write with, play for and produce. During these years I began working more and more in video production for both Television and Music Video Production. I eventually took the leap in 2022 and began writing, directing and producing short and feature length films.
My company, Musick Productions, was hired in 2023 to Produce ‘A Love Beyond Time’ which I also wrote and directed. A short form version of the film (proof of concept) was shot and finalized in August of 2023.
I have been fortunate to have written and produced Top 10 and Top 20 hits at terrestrial radio and won several awards for songwriting and production. I have written with Stewart Harris (No One Else On Earth/Wynonna Judd), Dan Layus (Augustana), Kenny Lewis (Moonshine in the Trunk/Wheelhouse/Brad Paisley), Alex Harvey (Jimmy Buffet, Alan Jackson/Delta Dawn), Brian McComas (99.9% Sure), Phillip LaRue (Whiskey in my Water) among others.
I was honored to share the stage with major acts including Jade from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, Charlie Daniels, Skillet, Building 429, Rick Derringer, Phil Vassar and Jimmy Webb. I also made appearances on major network television including ABC, PBS, CMT and acted in many commercials and TV shows including for CMT and ABC (Castle)
I am someone who loves the creative process. The idea of taking an idea and helping it come to life gives me an endless amount of joy. I love building amazing teams around an artist’s or company’s vision. We work in the areas of photography, design, music, video and film. We would love to help you create your art and build your brand in a way that connects with your fans and expands your audience!
Learn more at www.musickproductions.com
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
I think that society needs to drop the stereotypes they have of artists being lazy or needing a real job. This is actually very damaging to the psyche of the artist. It would also be amazing if artists and actors had a way of unionizing in a way that offered them benefits that other career paths generally offer. Health Insurance, 401K Retirement, Life Insurance and other benefits can be very costly for independent artists. This should not be and doesn’t need to be the case.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I truly believe that there is an audience for any kind of art and any kind of artist. Social media can be a great tool to reach your tribe! I would begin by following and searching out other artists that you feel inspire you or have a similar look or sound, etc. Follow some of who they follow. Follow some of their followers. Comment on their posts and become a part of that community in an active and participatory way. You can also use geotagging and hashtags to increase the exposure of your posts to an audience that appreciates the same styles and genres.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.musickproductions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samms_place
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@samms_place
Image Credits
Anthony Kiriazes @medrumnow and Musick Productions