We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Morey recently and have shared our conversation below.

Sarah, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

Lucky Money Entertainment is all risk-taking, hence the name. I started writing songs when I was seven years old because I wanted to have a song on the radio and I haven’t stopped betting on songs since then. I have always known that music is my passion and what I will spend my life doing, so I decided that I wanted to move to Nashville, TN to pursue music when I was ten years old. Being born and raised in Tampa, FL, though, it took me eight years after that to finally get to Nashville. As soon as I turned eighteen, my bags were packed. I moved to Nashville to pursue a career in the music industry without any established connections on Music Row and without any surefire way of making money – a risk. I also began college at Belmont University to earn a degree in Songwriting – another risk. Since getting to Nashville, I’ve learned that every success story in this town is the product of big, exciting, scary risk-taking. I am now twenty-two years old, have been living in Nashville for four years, and still have a lot to learn. However, after working different music industry jobs and internships in roles including Staff Songwriter, A&R Representative, Music Publisher, Social Media Manager, and more, I continued to see that in all the betting that happens on Music Row – the only two things anyone really has to work with are people and songs. There are a lot of things that can distract from those two things (money, fancy titles, companies, contracts, fame, etc), but people and songs are the only two things that you can really count on (and bet on) in the music business.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Sarah Morey and I am a twenty-two year old songwriter, recording artist, and the Founder/CEO of Lucky Money Entertainment. I began writing songs at the age of seven because I was inspired by Hannah Montana and I wanted to have my songs on the radio that my mom would play on the way to school. After studying Taylor Swift for a school project in fifth grade, I learned about Music Row in Nashville, TN and decided that I wanted to move there to pursue a career in the music industry. After attending GRAMMY Camp Nashville when I was fifteen, I went back to my home town of Tampa, FL and begged my parents to let me record an EP and start a band so that I could play live gigs at bars and music festivals around town. As soon as I turned eighteen, I packed my bags to move to Nashville and attend Belmont University to study Songwriting. Many of the people I looked up to and grew up listening to on the radio went to Belmont, so I dreamed of going to Belmont while I was growing up in Tampa. I graduated Belmont with a Songwriting degree in three years instead of four because it is so expensive, we could only afford three years of tuition. While I was a student, I interned for music publishing and artist development companies. I also was hired at my first Staff Songwriting job at Off The Row Studio in Franklin, TN while I was still a student. While I was working at Off The Row Studio writing songs for other artists to record, I started to feel a little disheartened because most of the songs weren’t actually getting heard by any real fans. With it being all independent releases (no label backing), the songs would be released and they would just sit there – gaining no streams on Spotify and receiving no press coverage. I have been releasing and promoting my own music since I was fifteen years old, so I had a few simple strategies and services I could offer to the artists who were recording and releasing my songs to help with getting the songs into more ears. From there, I started to have success with getting some of these songs I was writing for other artists onto CMT and Spotify Editorial playlists and realized that I had strategies that could actually help get songs heard. From there, I started getting a lot of demand to offer those same services to artists outside of the studio I was writing for. The demand for these services came so quickly and unexpectedly that I decided to start a “fake company” and call it Lucky Money as a joke so that I could help out my other artist friends and co-writers with getting their songs heard by more people. Almost as quickly as the company started, I learned that it was actually a very real company and not so much of a joke at all. Shortly after starting Lucky Money, I quit all of my other music industry jobs I was working at the time (another risk) in order to really focus on my company. I saw that it was a good thing because it was effective at getting my own songs heard and became effective at helping my friends and collaborators reach their musical goals, as well. Even though these things were clear, I still had many set backs – the main one being pushback from people I valued the opinion of. Since I am a very active songwriter and artist, I experienced many controversies over my ability to run a company in the music industry. I was told that I needed to “pick a lane” and that it wouldn’t be socially acceptable in town for me to present myself as so many different things, all at once. I started to call myself a “swerver” because I swerve instead of picking a lane (another risk). Since confidently moving in that direction, I have been able to see that most of the people I look up to and aspire to be like are also people I would consider to be “swervers.” I’ve also learned that if you’re willing to swerve, you’ll typically get where you’re going faster. Now, Lucky Money Entertainment has a team, roster, affiliates, an office on Music Row, a live event leg of the company called the Lucky Money Writer’s Round, and more. Lucky Money Entertainment in a Nashville-based entertainment company offering a wide variety of services spanning from playlisting, publicity, out of house marketing, tour management, social media consulting, and more. We essentially do anything to get a song heard and we are frequently hired my music publishing companies, artist management companies, as well as independent artists, to help with a release strategy when the artist is gearing up to release new music. I am most proud of the genuine interest in songs and people behind Lucky Money. We really keep those two things at our core and focus on working with people on getting their songs heard by more people. It comes from a place of real passion that I personally have for my own songs and I think that sets Lucky Money apart from other entertainment companies. Our team at Lucky Money shares this same drive and passion, as well. I’m really proud of the in-house team that has formed at Lucky Money – it really allows the company to grow and have a life of its own.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Yes, reading “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie significantly impacted my mindset not only on my career, but on every interaction I have. I highly recommend it!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding part of being an artist is that I get to hear stories from people who have found my music on how it has impacted them. I believe songs can change the world and I love seeing the impact that they have first hand as a songwriter, recording artist, and performer.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sarahmoreymusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahmoreymusic/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahmoreymusic
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-morey-696110182/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahmoreymusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiAmMMU0Y2zizmit-DFY5Xg
• Other: https://luckymoneyent.com/

Image Credits
Grayson Green