Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kelly White. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Kelly, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
As someone who grew up being heavily involved in music and theater, I have always valued my creativity and know it needs to be preserved. Now that I work on the business side of music, I’ve found that I need to make time to express myself creatively through singing, playing piano, and being active. While A&R and publishing are still very creative fields, I will always have an itch to perform to feel fulfilled. I am so grateful to be in a position to exercise both my business and creative skillsets and work so closely with such talented individuals. Learning a couple new songs on the piano after a work day or going to a dance class on the weekend help me to stay feeling inspired and allow me channel my younger self.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I work in music publishing as an A&R. I get to listen to music every day! What I love and am most passionate about. Working so closely with creatives and their process is so exciting. I help take care of a roster of producers, songwriters, and artists across Atlanta, LA, and Nashville who work in all different genres. I’m involved in coordinating sessions and being a cheerleader for the writers I look after. Making sure they have support where they need and being there to take their vision and goals to the finish line is most important to me.
While I grew up aspiring to be a Broadway actress doing musicals and voice, piano, and dance lessons, I realized I wanted to pursue a path on the business side of music. I grew up in Atlanta where I was surrounded by both rap and country music. I attended Belmont University which equipped me with the tools I needed to continue on to working at Prescription Songs in their Nashville office. During my time at Belmont, I interned at various companies with a highlight being the iconic Patchwerk Recording Studios in Atlanta. Spending time in the studio with artists, engineers, and producers sparked my love for being a part of the creative process.
I go back and forth from Nashville and Atlanta frequently and love both the country and rap scenes. Now I am lucky enough to work on all genres and find opportunities where they can intersect. Most recently at Prescription, our writers were apart of four songs on BigXthaPlug’s album, ‘I Hope You’re Happy’, which features country stars like Thomas Rhett, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Shaboozey. I couldn’t be more thankful to get to be a small part of a groundbreaking project like this and am so excited to do more.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think some of the most vital skills for me have been confidence, maintaining intentional genuine relationships and being resilient. Believing in yourself and trusting your gut is so pivotal. There’s always a lot going on in the music scene and there’s a lot of personalities to navigate so you have to be assured in what you bring to the table. Nobody will be able to trust me with their art and vision if I don’t trust myself. At the end of the day, music is subjective and heavily based in feeling and energy so I have to be confident in my taste and willing to take risks.
Relationships are such a huge part of life in general but especially in a career path. I’m so grateful to the people who have taken chances on me and it’s been super important for me to maintain those connections. Socializing is a very big part of my job and I always want to be intentional about connecting with people who share similar passions and values. There’s a lot of different directions you could go and it can be difficult to know where to start if you don’t know exactly what your goals are. I won’t be the right person to be involved in every project so locking in on who and what feels right keeps me inspired and avoids burnout. Investing time and effort in sincere relationships is more productive to me than having a ton of shallow relationships that don’t feel fulfilling.
It’s easy to feel like you’re not doing enough or feel behind especially today where we have an overload of access to information with social media. I wouldn’t be able perform at my best without being positive and not letting the little things get to me. Without obstacles and trials, I would never grow and every misstep gets me closer to the right one. I know I am always going to make mistakes but choosing to learn from them instead of letting them consume me is how I get better. Every day I learn so much and always want to be open to broadening my perspective.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Finding a balance of being well-rounded while focusing on my strengths is the most productive for me. While I don’t want to be placed into one box, I also don’t want to be spread too thin. Being from the South, I have a love for country music but growing up in Atlanta gave me a deep love of rap. It’s important for me to fuel my passion by balancing those interests and finding ways to connect the dots especially living and working in Nashville. I’m a music fan in general and love all kinds of artists from Tate Mcrae to Tom Petty, The 1975, Daft Punk, and Mariah the Scientist. Shrinking myself to fit one category feels unfulfilling and only working in one area gets boring. Having a diverse taste allows me to create unexpected ideas and push the boundaries of what’s next. All this to say, I wouldn’t try to become an expert in every area of music and lose my own touch of what I can bring to the table.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atlkellywhite/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/-kellywhite/
Image Credits
Ian Terrence
