We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Terah Lynn a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Terah, thanks for joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

Like many others in the music industry, I don’t really have to wonder what it would be like to just have a regular job…because I have one of those too. The industry is saturated and cutthroat just as much as it’s cathartic for people like me. I’ve worked in manual labor most of my life and work in manufacturing for Gibson during the day now. As much as I love my day job, I am excited for the day my schedule is filled up with creative work only. Making music, encouraging others with the magazine, just doing what brings me the most fulfillment and joy. But you never know, my day job might be providing me with more balance that I realize. Spending the day drowning in my creative feelings might overwhelm me after a while, but I guess time will tell.

Terah, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Sure, so I wear a couple of different hats in the music industry, I first got into the business after getting my first recording contract in Houston a couple of years ago, I began recording an EP right before the pandemic (terrible timing) and that season gave me an interesting introduction into the industry. It wasn’t operating at all like it normally does and made simple things like recording so much more difficult. After releasing my first couple of songs and hitting the Apple Music charts strong in those debuts, I wasn’t able to make the performances and appearances that my record label had scheduled due to the global shutdown so I found myself at home, taking inventory of where I was at and strategizing about what was next. I remember sitting on my couch in my underwear one day and thinking about how a major part of the industry and getting momentum as a new artist is press. Getting featured in articles and magazines and on websites. The industry is largely reliant upon the internet, social media and online reputation. I sat there and realized that if I needed all of those things as a new artist, so did everyone else. So I launched Bridge Magazine, an online publication that shares the latest on music and entertainment news and provides a platform for other artists to get the recognition they deserve, whether they have a big label or not.
I began to interview artists and turn my writing chops from songwriting to writing articles and hyping up others in the industry. Over the next 2 years, Bridge grew and I moved to Nashville where I was hired as the first female supervisor in the history of Gibson’s lumber mill and where I was contacted by Universal Music Group about a strategic partnership with the magazine.
Since then I’ve been continuing to record music, currently working with Dean Miller, the son of Country Music Hall of Fame’s Roger Miller on some new material. The magazine has been growing and expanding and I am now the supervisor of Gibson’s Pickup Shop. So basically my life is music in every aspect.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect is just having the freedom to be creative. Whether it be making music, writing articles, or building electric guitars, I get to do what I believe God created me to do, to be creative.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I would say starting the magazine was a major pivot for me. I had fulfilled a lifelong dream of signing a recording contract and then a month later, the whole world shut down and the industry changed completely. I could have sat there and given up because it seemed impossible that I would be able to break into an industry that was effectively shutting down but I decided to cast a wider net and approach the music industry from a different door. The internet was still alive and well and people were still recording and releasing music so I got to work and carved out my piece of the pie while I waited for my own music to be an option again.

Contact Info:

• Website: bridgemusicmagazine.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/bridgemagazinenashville
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bridgemagazinenashville