Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Heath.
Matthew, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I initially moved to Atlanta to attend Grad school for Clinical Psychology. I had aspirations of being a therapist until I stopped mid-semester of my second year to sign a record deal with the band I was in at the time to J/RCA Records. We had a very driven guitar player with great business acumen, an amazing singer, and a run of good fortune that got us in that position and in a lot of ways, I just felt like I was in the right place at the right time. We signed in 2005 and were dropped by 2009 and though that venture was over, I was bitten with love for making and writing music. By this time, I was in my late 20s and though it seemed like I might be able to waltz back into some offices from our band’s past and at least pitch new songs or to get a publishing deal to write for others, every time I’d reach out, I was met with mostly radio silence. That made me pretty bitter for a while and I came pretty close to quitting music altogether. In hindsight, breaking ties from that past life, with a few exceptions, was the best thing that could have happened to me. I lacked humility and I needed to be served a healthy dose of it.
Out of sorts, and still left with the desire to make music work in any way possible as a career, I hit the reset button and just started writing again. Initially, I refused to write anything for myself to sing or record. I was only committed to writing and pitching to other artists. At the time, I knew nothing about production or engineering but I found myself forced into choosing to pay money I did not have to have my demos produced or to just figure out how to do it myself. I chose the latter and watched every tutorial I could get my hands on, read every book I could find about recording and mixing, and called any of my engineer friends that would listen to my “intro to production” questions. After a summer of immersion, I came out with an adequate skill set and started producing my own projects.
The first thing that I placed on a TV show that I produced/co-wrote after the whole band experience ended landed on a show called The Americans. I was super excited so I got a bunch of friends together to watch it and made a really big deal about it. We anxiously awaited the scene that would have my song in it but the entire episode came and went, seemingly without it. I reread the confirmation email that said the song was in fact, in the episode but played from a car radio that was across a parking lot. I was essentially ambient sound! Even though that was a bit of a let down, it was my first small victory. The band ended our run in 2009 and from then until 2014, I worked as a server in the restaurant industry until I was finally able to do music as a full-time job again.
Since then, I’ve gotten to work with some really amazing artists as a producer and songwriter and at this point, have hundreds of placements on TV shows, Movies, and Commercials. My focus now is on helping new artists bridge the same gaps I was faced with, but with a bit more wisdom and expediency hopefully. One of my favorite myths to dispel to artists and new clients is that there is no magic behind the curtain. It’s just a ton of sweat and time. I try to help them realize that if a mediocre guy like me can make a real go at this then so can they. My favorite thing is connecting an artist I’m working with to the world of synch licensing and watching them be able to launch their careers off of one key placement.
Has it been a smooth road?
This has been an incredibly bumpy road. I remember calling my wife on the way to my restaurant job, nearly in tears saying, “this is never gonna happen, it’s not gonna work out.” This happened multiple times over five years. To be honest, though, my pride is what made this journey the toughest in the beginning. I genuinely thought I was “too good” to have to work in a restaurant and that I “deserved” to be further along than I was. That attitude is absolutely ridiculous and the bitterness that it caused slowed me down. Instead of being driven, I was just pissed off about my lot in life. Once I accepted that I was where I was supposed to be and gained a posture of gratitude, things finally started to turn around. The other difficult thing in this industry is being able to make a decent income in the beginning. We had many lean years before any sort of comfort level was reached but I kept pushing despite the lack of income.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
My main focus right now is synch licensing for TV, Film, Podcasts and commercials. Unless I am commissioned to write something, I’m not aiming to pander to one show or movie, but I am always trying to roll tape of the visual in my head of something I’m writing or producing. I take this same approach when working with production clients. There are small choices in production or little nudges here or there that can change a song’s chances of being able to not only work with a moving visual but to really elevate it. I think that’s something I’ve started to become known for as a producer. After countless rejections and hundreds of throwaway songs, I’ve managed to get a handle on what will work with a scene and why it does or doesn’t. I always encourage new clients to think this way as well because it is a doorway into real monetization. The beauty of synch licensing is you don’t have to be famous to be on TV.
The world is a content monster with an insatiable appetite and there is always a need for new music. All that said, I implore artists to be compelling first, in their own right. Though I do have a tendency to genre hop, the common thread through all the music I work on, whether it’s my own or an artist I’m producing, is that it makes me feel something genuine. It could be a really poppy song or a really dark epic trailer kind of song. Both of those things compel me equally but in opposite directions. I think there is a mistake young artists make in any facet of the music industry and that is to pander to what you think people want to hear instead of to what you want to make. I did this too. I tried to guess what I thought people wanted because I was too afraid of putting my true self out there. Once I let this go and started being okay with my genuine self, I started getting results.
One thing I’m most proud of is actually a conversation that two production clients had not too long ago. They happened upon each other in another setting outside of the studio and when sharing their experiences in working with me they both described it as a “safe place.” That is the highest compliment I think I could receive. An artist needs a safe place to say things that frankly sound dumb and to be able to throw out every idea imaginable without feeling judged. Some of my work includes writing and producing the theme songs for three different Gordon Ramsay Shows, music in shows like Orange is the New Black, Undercover Boss, The Ellen Show, Selling Sunset, Toy Story 4 (trailer), Terrace House, Grey’s Anatomy and more.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
It’s crazy to think that streaming is in its infancy and is already the well-established paradigm for the music industry. That said, in 5 to 10 years, it’s difficult to guess where we will be. I do think that songwriters are on their way to getting the pay they so deserve. I typically wear both a songwriter and producer hat and that means I’m sharing in the master revenue and the songwriting revenue. I’m at an advantage that way but people that are just songwriters on a track are getting a very small piece of the streaming revenue pie, which is insane to me. Without the song, there is nothing. Advocates, like the NMPA and Ross Golan, are really going to bat for songwriters and causing the ship to turn.
One thing that really makes me happy is that Pop music is getting weirder and weirder. Pop music is doing things Radiohead did 20 years ago on Kid A, that would have surely been shunned prior to this point. People always said Radiohead were ahead of their time then. Who knew how right they were! I think there is just more freedom right now to be experimental and to still find a viable audience. I don’t think that’s always been the case. I see things getting weirder and will be doing my part to contribute to the weirdness!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.mattheathmusic.com
- Email: matt.heath28@gmail.com
- Instagram: mattheathmusic
Image Credit:
Cristy Lee Heath and Seth Kark
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