I was born in Houston, Texas but \u201cidentify\u201d as an Austinite. I have been moving around the western hemisphere for a while now: currently based in Belfast with plans to relocate to Bologna, Italy in November. I\u2019m a bit of a vagabond, but Austin will always feel like home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I work at Musixmatch as the Artist Community Manager, and also as the creative manager of The Mix (the songwriters editorial branch<\/a> of Musixmatch). I have a pretty wide variety of responsibilities, but the gist of my role in the company is that I get to represent and communicate the perspective of our global artist community directly to our product designers. Before Musixmatch I had 15 years of experience as a touring musician, lyricist, session vocalist, and songwriter, so this role fits like a glove. It\u2019s super exciting to work with Musixmatch helping to develop programs that would enhance my own music business experience. Beyond lyrics, Musixmatch has a vision that I totally align with; to help clear the noise and make a product that covers all the bases: lyrics, credits, royalties, and eventually distribution so that Artists can spend their time focusing on what matters most, making music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I listen to Jade Bird<\/a> when I want to pump up, Khruangbin when I want to chill out, Thundercat when I want to groove, and as of very recently: S\u00ecomha<\/a> (Check her album out! It was produced by Tyler Duncan from the Olllam, featuring Joe Dart, etc., just really great stuff), Maria Rita<\/a>, and Hiatus Kaiyote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mostly word of mouth. To be totally honest, I don’t typically like most people’s taste in music, but thankfully I do have a lot of artist friends whose tastes I really appreciate. My partner is one of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve actually found a ton of music on Instagram reels lately. I\u2019m always trolling for new music for The Mix Sessions, so I often look at international festival lineups to discover new things. That\u2019s how I found Fieh (our first Mix Se<\/a>s<\/a>sion<\/a>). They\u2019re a Norwegian neo-soul group, super groovy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I lived in Austin I used to listen to records and CD\u2019s. In fact I still cherished burned CD\u2019s from friends and ex\u2019s. I loved my records and listened to them ritualistically, I had a great morning music routine. Since moving internationally, for maybe the 4th time this decade, it was hard to keep up with my records. They don\u2019t travel well. For this reason I\u2019ve had to switch to streaming. Spotify is my main source these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have a little vintage speaker system in our living room, but when I\u2019m not out and about listening to a playlist through headphones, I hate to say this\u2026 we usually just ask Alexa to play it for us. I always listen to music during dinner and when guests are over, and our little robot is just convenient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a lyricist I often get asked to review and \u201cedit\u201d songs for fellow musicians and friends. Of course being in the industry so long means that most of my friends are also creatives in some capacity. So short answer, straight from the source. Several times a month I get a private SoundCloud<\/a> link or a WhatsApp file titled PLEASE DON\u2019T SHARE<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The convenience of steaming is nice, and it\u2019s certainly helping artists to get their music out internationally, but it\u2019s not without its downsides. I think there are a lot of distractions on streaming platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I prefer to mindfully consume music: buy an album, listen to it a few dozen times\u2026 it becomes something to cherish. It\u2019s hard to do that with streamed music. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also stream links can feel a lot like spam, especially in forums and social media websites. I will say however that with Musixmatch, lyrics are a new way to connect with streamed music. It\u2019s good for really learning a song, and even helping with learning a new language! I also like that it\u2019s super inclusive for the deaf community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I prefer to mindfully consume music: buy an album, listen to it a few dozen times\u2026 it becomes something to cherish. It\u2019s hard to do that with streamed music.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n If I\u2019m on Spotify, I always make sure to favorite the artist or specific track so that I can come back to it later.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhat are you listening to?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you discover new music?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What formats do you usually listen to? LP, CD, Cassette, Digital, Streaming Services? Why?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Where do you do most of your music listening?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you find and listen to pre-release music?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What are your frustrations with listening to music digitally? Any benefits?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do you keep track of everything you are listening to?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n