We were lucky to catch up with Taylor Heath recently and have shared our conversation below.

Taylor, appreciate you joining us today. Do you wish you had started sooner?

I think most creatives wish they’d started sooner than they did. For me, I wish I would have really dug into music technology and non-performing career paths before pursuing music academically.

Taylor, 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 multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and engineer in the Seattle area. In my study and exploration of the music industry, I’ve been grateful for many different opportunities to learn and grow my skills, as well as work with some phenomenal people that care about the craft.

After begrudgingly taking piano lessons most of my childhood, I began to really connect with music around age 14, when I began learning other instruments. In high school, I had several great music teachers that challenged me to grow and take on more performance opportunities. I also picked up orchestral percussion during this time, which I studied through undergrad, eventually earning a music performance degree in it.

During college, my goal was to eventually play in a professional orchestra and teach for a career, since that is what most of my exposure to music and career models had been up until that point. After graduating, I played in the Spokane Symphony Orchestra for the beginning of their season, right until the pandemic hit.

The stay-at-home days were really hard for musicians, as I’m sure folks are well aware. Though it meant I couldn’t play in the orchestra, it was a crucial time for me to hone my engineering and production skills. I learned and absorbed lots of material, had long conversations with engineers I knew, and really explored what a different career path in music would look like.

Through learning many different skills, I’m able to engage with artists in a variety of ways, such as multiple roles in touring (keys, backing vocals, playback engineer, production manager), remote tracking for artists, session work, booking, and engineering.

Right now, I’m focused mainly on building out a production studio at my home using an outbuilding on my property. My goal is to grow my capacity to host artists and collaborators, and not just go to where they are.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

From what I’ve experienced, many folks struggle to understand how important, and sometimes difficult networking is in music. Almost all of my opportunities were provided by someone who was further along in their career, and the chance to meet those kind of people in a casual environment do not present themselves often. It’s always been a friend of a friend making a connection, or even a cold e-mail on my part.

Additionally, the business world treats networking as transactional, whereas most musicians are more relational. Most, if not all of the artists I’ve worked with would rather have someone who is a relational fit working with them, rather than the most skilled person in town.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Right now, the business side music industry in particular is so driven by data, and not necessarily the most artistic data, either.

Stream counts, TikTok followers, monthly listeners, and engagement rates are some of the biggest factors large labels look at when finding new artists to sign. None of these metrics are directly connected to the quality of art, and all could be bought in some fashion.

To help artists get their creative work into the world and continue to support them, engage directly as much as you can. Sign up for that e-mail list, go to their shows, buy merch when you’re there, join their Patreon or Substack. Engaging on social media and streaming music are helpful (and very easy to do), but artists see the most support and returns from consistent, direct engagement.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.taylorheath.com/projects
• Instagram: @taylor.e.heath

Image Credits
Scott Herrera-Bumpus Philip Serino Melissa Shaw