Conversations with Alyssa Smeykal

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alyssa Smeykal.

Hi Alyssa, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hi, my name is Alyssa! My story of how I ended up working in the music industry here in Nashville started with my mom taking my sister and me to CMA festivals growing up. I was an Advertising major at Penn State University, and all I could think about was how I wanted to move to Nashville and help talented country artists pursue their dreams in any way I could. Based on my major, I thought I would accomplish that at the time by helping artists promote their music and grow their social media platforms. Little did I know where Nashville would take me! All thanks to a great friend and connection I made while in college, Jay Jones, I landed my first job in the music industry as a CMA Festival Media Staff employee. I ended up working for an artist development company called Bandtwango as their Artist Acquisition and Music Marketing Manager. I met so many influential people and talented artists while working at this job, one of them being someone who would later in my career offer me my next opportunity to work in touring out on the road as a Merchandise Manager for country artist Chase Bryant. I would never have dreamt of such a unique opportunity for myself, but it turns out it was one of the most unforgettable career experiences. Our entire crew felt like a big family early on, and we had the opportunity to tour and travel the country together for over two years! I worked my way up as Assistant Tour Manager and Merchandise Manager just before Covid took over. Of course, touring abruptly ended for everyone in Nashville, causing me to rethink where I would take my career next. From the day I moved to Nashville and attended my first writers’ round, I was blown away by the talent that the songwriters in this city encompass. Now I have the opportunity to work with these talented songwriters every day! I started my publishing career as the Creative Manager for Liv Write Play Publishing and recently moved up as A&R Manager for Demolition Music Publishing! My role as A&R Manager consists of pitching our writer’s songs to record labels, strategizing future writing opportunities, managing writer catalogs, etc. I could not be happier working with such a talented roster of songwriters and teams here at Demolition, and I can not wait to see all that we accomplish shortly!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been fairly smooth?
I think the biggest struggle I’ve had to face so far was going through a global pandemic and transitioning from my job touring out on the road that abruptly ended to trying to find an opportunity working on the publishing side of the music industry. There were plenty of moments where I considered settling into other options outside of music publishing, but I knew what I wanted and am so glad that I persevered, which got me to where I am today!

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am the A&R Manager at Demolition Music Publishing! I work with a roster of songwriters here, and some of my responsibilities are:
– Pitching songs to record labels and major artists
– Strategize write opportunities for our writers
– Manage all of our writer’s catalogs
– Handle all label and publishing admin

I have always loved connecting with people in this town and life. I am a big relationship person, so whether I connect our writers with artists interested in cutting their songs or joining industry friends along the way with someone who can help further their career, I always want to help if I can. This is something I am most proud of 🙂

Is there any advice you’d like to share with our readers who might just be starting?
My main piece of advice for anyone who has a dream in their heart to work in the music industry one day is to go for it and never give up! Make as many connections as possible by attending writers’ rounds in town or reaching out to people you admire in the industry on LinkedIn for coffee/lunch hangs. Get to know as many people as possible because you never know who may think of you for an opportunity one day. Relationships always pay off!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyssssa_renee/

Image Credits
Annelise Loughead