Meet Maia Zakay

We were lucky to catch up with Maia Zakay recently and have shared our conversation below.

Maia, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
It took a lot of work for me over time to achieve real self love and confidence. I had to learn to become my own best friend so that I don’t depend on others for my happiness. The music industry is especially tough because I’m constantly comparing myself to others’ successes. The key, is to remember to only compare your own success with your own past, and look at how far you have come in the present.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I was born in London, England and moved to LA when I was six years old so I lost my British accent over time. I’ve always loved music from a young age and sang covers of songs for fun, but I never took it seriously until I was 17. I started going through dark times in my life and needed a way to feel better about the situation. That’s when I wrote my first song and put it out to see if anyone could relate! My first day in a real studio is where I truly fell in love with the art of songwriting and producing. When I put my song out and started seeing all the positive feedback on it, like how it has helped others feel less alone and even stopped them from taking their own life, I knew I wanted to do this as a career for the long run. I’m a huge mental health advocate in my community. I livestream every day on TIKTOK to spread my message through my music. My passion for expressing myself and helping others doing what I love most is what drives me to continue creating new songs! I just released my new 6 song EP called Roller Coaster which I consider my best work yet.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The 3 qualities that I feel any up and coming artist should have are: 1) Education in the music industry. It is important to educate yourself on the business side of the industry so that you don’t get taken advantage of. Making music and the creative process is what all artists love to concentrate on, but to succeed financially, you must learn the business side too.
2) Social Media. Consistency is key. You must continue to post on all social media platforms with special concentration on TikTok. This will help you build a fanbase organically. Find your niche and stick with the theme.
3) Patience and managing expectations. This was the hardest one for me to learn. There will be many moments when you feel you are about to go viral and your career is made, but then everything appears to go back to “normal”, and you are no longer the “star” you were yesterday. Remember to take the small wins as forward progress and keep going. The quote I live by is “It takes 10 years of hard work to become an overnight success.”

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
One of the biggest challenges that I have to face is being a woman in the entertainment industry. I’ve had countless incidents of being taken advantage of by important people who claimed to believe in me but they always secretly wanted something from me that had nothing to do with my music talent. When they found out I wasn’t willing to sacrifice this part of me for quick fame and success, they ghosted me and broke their promises. I don’t go through this type of situation as much as before because I finally learned how to play the game in the entertainment business. I’ve learned how to only believe people’s actions and not their words, which has helped me avoid disappointment.

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Image Credits
Savanna Ruedy Rogie Dewayne

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