Alessandra Berry & Bella Berry’s Stories, Lessons & Insights

We recently had the chance to connect with Alessandra Berry & Bella Berry and have shared our conversation below.

Good morning Alessandra & Bella, it’s such a great way to kick off the day – I think our readers will love hearing your stories, experiences and about how you think about life and work. Let’s jump right in? Have you ever been glad you didn’t act fast?
This is something I’ve learned while starting my business Noize Magazine many times. Sometimes it can be hard to know when to act on something or to strategically wait until the moment is right. When much of the job is reaching out to artists and networking, I’ve found it smarter to build your community slowly as you work your way up. Some “bigger” artists that we hope to work with have a much better chance at replying or being open to collaborate when they see we have worked with more emerging bands that they have mutuals with. So in that sense it has helped to avoid acting too fast.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Alessandra Berry and I created NOIZE Magazine, a startup platform dedicated to telling the stories of today’s underground musicians with my twin sister Bella Berry. Raw and unfiltered, we amplify underground talent through authentic storytelling and bold visuals.

I’m Bella Berry, the editor-in-chief of the magazine. I’ve always loved music and writing more than anything, so NOIZE was the perfect opportunity for me to combine my passions. I strongly believe that people today should put more effort into discovering their own, personal music taste rather than listening to what they think everyone else is listening to. Through the articles I write in the magazine I bring attention to bands that are genuinely talented and music that is different from anything else that has come out so far.

While studying in Paris we noticed the struggles of underground musicians wanting to gain visibility and make their craft into their jobs. Together we interview and photograph them to give them an emotional and visual platform to express the meaning behind what they create. Things started out digitally on instagram and a website I made myself, then I decided to set a hard deadline to create a print magazine. To help fund it, I took meetings with other types of artists and students I knew in fashion, art, and events and offered them a page to buy to promote their work.

Upon the “release” we had no concrete plan as to how to get it out there in the hands of people but it formed as we went along from starting to sell at gigs to marching straight into shops and asking them to stock it. It was a real ‘fake it till you make it’ situation. Then we started getting contacted by stores and Issue 1 is now stocked in 8 locations in 4 different countries. We are now hosting events in Paris and even launched T-shirts at a fashion pop-up for fashion week.

The best part is the more we grow, the more potential there is for the musicians, photographers, graphic designers, etc… we work with to grow. A win for us is a win for the entire community and to us that is the main reason we know this is what we were meant to do.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
I would have to say that I definitely get my work ethic from my mom. For both my sister and I, we always saw her working so hard and as such a trailblazer growing up and still now with the amazing things she works on. While she hasn’t had an easy life in many ways, she has given us so much to look up to; strong female independence while our dad was away at work, amazing people skills, community building always with a full house, and the way she gives so much to others.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
I think that many of us can be scared of being confident in our goals. Saying them out loud and almost signing a verbal contract to others. I would worry that if I confidently spoke of my plans that there was higher risk of “failing” or that people would be expecting more and judging me if they didn’t unfold as I said they would.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
It’s less about what the music media industry tells itself and more about the lies that other people believe about it. whenever we talk about NOIZE, people always ask us “But isn’t print media dying?”, but in reality it’s the exact opposite. in these times with technology like AI infiltrating every industry, people are having a hard time discerning what’s real and what’s fake on the internet. Human voices are being drowned out. People are longing to connect with each other and find community, which is what magazines are created for. Having something that you can physically hold in your hand with real information from real people is more important now that it has ever been.

Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
We understand deeply that all human beings are the same. We all want, feel, and think the same things. That’s why no one is above or below anyone else. That mentality has helped us immensely both in the sense that it gives us the confidence to reach out to musicians that we are fans of and it motivates us to work and uplift musicians that are starting out. We all want to be successful, we all want other people to see us and understand us, so why not help each other?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://noizemagazine.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/noize_magazine/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/noize-magazine/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NOIZE_MAGAZINE
• Other: https://www.threads.com/@noize_magazine?xmt=AQGz-FYL8xWwvQBV5qLr_RnxgNyHko796wBP0je12HrILKA

Image Credits
Velvet Dust (Victoire Roudaut)
Sixtine Cail