Music

So, you want to be a Musician?

An interview with William Sheats

William Sheats is a singer-songwriter from Atlanta Ga. William is also an avid social media user and has earned followings on Instagram A and Youtube, where he posts covers as well as vlogs and lifestyle videos. He has a number of songs released on Spotify and other streaming platforms, including ‘Obviously’ which has over 400,000 streams. William will be releasing his newest single on October 23rd, so watch out for it!

I’d like to thank William for agreeing to do this interview with me; I hope you find it helpful! You can find out more about William on his instagram https://www.instagram.com/williamsheats/

How did you become an musician? What led you to follow your creative impulse and create a career from it?

Growing up my grandma sang as well as played piano so at a young age I was exposed to music and many different genres. I started preforming when I was as young as 7 years old and I think that was when I really fell in love! What led me to pursue music as my career was the moment I wrote my first official song and released it titled “Let Me Let You Go”. it was such an incredible moment for me to see people connecting with my lyrics and the story being told in the song! That was the moment I knew I wanted to work extremely hard and create a career for myself.

How did you seek out opportunities when you first entered the industry?

So I had to learn that opportunities aren’t going to come unless you are willing to put yourself out there, meet new people, and put everything into your work. I did exactly that, I started posting covers on YouTube, I then signed to a manager, and put my life into my music!

How did you find the confidence to strike out as a musician and release your work?

It was extremely hard for me to release my first song because even though I was extremely proud of it, it was also very honest and vulnerable. My songs are how I express the emotions I’m truly feeling at the time so to have anyone and everyone able to criticize that, was definitely terrifying for me. but I’m extremely glad I did it!

Where do you find inspiration for your music?

Usually I find inspiration in my own personal struggles or things I’ve been through but I also find inspiration from my friends, movies, books, really anything and everything. That’s the beauty of music though - you can literally write about anything you want or feel!

How would you describe your creative process - how do you go from an idea to completing a song?

Personally, I like to start with the idea that I’m writing about and then from there, I’ll have a producer send me a few beats. After finding a beat I like I’ll hum out the way I want the verses, pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge to sound. Once I have a layout I start to write the song! After recording all of the final vocals my producer and I spend on average of four to five days revising the song. After that, it’s ready to be released!

Do you think it is easy to find jobs / projects that can provide a comfortable wage in the creative industries?

I think that it really just depends on what specific job within the creative industries you are looking at pursuing.

What would you say is a common misconception about musicians?

In my opinion, I’d say a lot of people love to look at musicians or anyone in the entertainment industry and think that it’s the easiest job in the world, when that’s so far from the truth. No, it’s not your average 9 to 5 job, in fact it’s a job that’s 24/7, but it’s not the job for everyone. Wether it’s dealing with haters, sometimes working 15-20 hour days, while keeping up with your image and content, it can definitely be difficult to balance at times!

However when you get up on stage and connect with your audience through the songs you’ve created and you see them connecting with you, it makes it all worth it!

What is the one thing you wish you had known before you embarked on your career as an musician?

I wish I would’ve known how important it is to READ YOUR CONTRACTS!! Make sure you read and understand any contract you are signing!

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians?

My advice for aspiring musicians would be to work really hard, and fight for your dream because if you play your cards right that dream will become a reality!

Thank you for reading!