Conversations with Maddy Hayes

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maddy Hayes. 

Hi Maddy, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I graduated from Belmont University in 2019 with a degree in Entertainment Industry studies & no idea what I wanted to do. Upon graduation, I was offered a job at a Marketing agency in town. I decided to give marketing a try for a few months and did nottttt love it. However, in my first week at work, I met a director who was doing some freelance graphic design for one of our clients and we became fast friends. After a month of working together, he said “You would be a great producer” to which I responded “okay but what the heck is that?”. He brought me out on some of his sets to get a feel for it & I learned what being a film producer entailed. A few months after that, I quit my full-time salary-paying job and decided I was going to figure out what it meant to be a freelance film producer. Fast forward 2.5 years and I have traveled all of the United States producing and have grown so much in my craft. This year, one of the music videos I produced has actually been nominated for CMT Music Video of the Year & Male Music Video of the Year. I am incredibly grateful I took the leap of faith a few years ago and trusted my gut to figure it out! I have never been happier & more content professionally. 

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Let’s just saying quitting a comfortable salary job to “figure it out” was not the easiest move. I had been pretty financially independent since I was 18, paying for Belmont College Tuition, and supporting myself along the way. Leaving the consistent paycheck behind to find out what I wanted to do was a tough decision. Luckily, I had some marketing clients who I did contract work for that kept me afloat as I navigated being on-set a few times a month. My goal was always to get enough production jobs that I could slowly weed out marketing clients. This process took almost 2 years to confidently be full-time freelance producing. Have I had ups & downs, panic attacks, stressful weeks/months? ABSOLUTELY. But I wouldn’t change it for the world!! 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a freelance music video producer! Here’s a little background on what that typically looks like: An artist has a new song they are releasing and they want a music video. They/their label/management, reaches out to directors, and the directors write treatments which are basically the storyline that will be portrayed in the video (guy falls in love for the girl in cutoff shorts & they stargaze in the bed of his red pick-up truck, you get it?). The artist will pick whichever treatment they like best and that director will be hired for the job. This is when I come in, the director (or sometimes the production company) reaches out and hires me to produce it. Basically, my job is to make the whole thing happen. I book the crew, the locations, the gear rentals, the lunch, the talent, get permits, figure out scheduling, etc. From who is hired for the job, to the snacks we are all eating, I plan it all. It’s so much fun! 

I have been lucky enough to work on a bunch of awesome projects but I would say my top three music videos are Cody Johnson “‘Til You Can’t” (which video won CMT Male Video of the Year), Chase Bryant “Upbringing” and Jordan Davis’ & Luke Bryan’s acoustic ‘Buy Dirt’ video. The best part of my job is working on something from the very beginning to watch it become this beautiful piece that gets shared with the world. Not to mention, getting paid to travel all over with awesome and creative people isn’t too bad either. 

I would say what sets me apart from others is that although my job is to make sure everything runs smoothly from start to finish on set, it’s also incredibly important to me that everyone is having fun and enjoying their time there. Life is WAY too short to be stressed out and miserable at work for 10-12 hours at a time. Yes, we are all there to do a job, but that doesn’t mean laughs can’t be had, good food can’t be eaten, and friendships can’t be cultivated. 

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I have always been a type A, motivated, hardworking and task-oriented person. I was the captain of my soccer team, president of the National Honor Society, you know, THAT girl. I LOVED being in charge and the leader of everything, as funny as that sounds. Makes sense for what I do today. 

I’ve always loved being part of a team. I tried to do tennis when I was younger and quickly decided a single-person sport was NOT for me. I loved talking to people, and working together to reach a common goal. I played soccer all the way up until college for competitive leagues and high school. I loved the intensity of it and making so many friends with the same hardworking mindset. 

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: https://www.maddmedia.co
• Instagram: madzhayes