Exploring Life & Business with Liz Rogers of Anacrusis

Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Rogers.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
From a very young age, I knew I wanted to work in the music business in some capacity. I used to tell people I wanted to be a “talent scout” even though I didn’t quite know what that meant. I moved to Nashville to attend Vanderbilt and quickly jumped into various internships and volunteer opportunities in the community. After graduating, I began working with brands on the music side of experiential marketing and developed a passion for how music and brands intersect. I loved Nashville but felt the growing non-country community in Nashville needed more local support, so a year later I started my company as a response to this industry gap. There were – and are – so many resources and companies championing the country market, but very few were focusing on non-country songwriters, especially ten years ago. I launched Anacrusis with the focus of being that local presence– someone you could get coffee with and really build that relationship, but also with connections on the coasts to really get your music out there. Within the first year, we had a handful of songs licensed with brands and in TV shows… and it just grew from there! We expanded into full publishing a few years later with a partnership with global industry leader Kobalt. Here we are almost ten years later with an incredible team of women and a roster of 30 unique Nashville-based songwriters and artists.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We’ve definitely had our challenges– what startup hasn’t? The music industry is extremely male-dominated, and it was difficult to gain respect when I was first starting as a young woman, fresh out of college. (I am petite and look younger than I am!) Most female entrepreneurs in the music industry work for years at a reputable company, working their way up and then transition out to start their own company. I just started. But our songwriters are amazing and the music began to stand out, so people took notice. I set out to build something that was experiential– hosting events and retreats– and that was also a bit unconventional for the music industry at the time. Justifying spending a considerable amount of money on a retreat for our top songwriters to spend a week with brand executives might not make sense at first, but it has paid off– landing huge advertising campaigns with brands like T-Mobile, the US Army, Nordstrom, Tommy Hilfiger, John Deere, and many more. In retrospect, it has been smooth, sure; …easy? not so much. One of the best lessons I’ve learned along the way is to always be open to pivoting. We’re constantly adapting… and I think that is what makes a successful entrepreneur.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Anacrusis is a music publishing and music licensing company focused on non-country songwriters and producers. We work primarily with genres like pop, rock, alternative, orchestral, electronic, and hip hop.

Anacrusis’ vision is to reimagine the music publishing and licensing industry with an experiential marketing lens. Anacrusis focuses on creating unique and memorable retreats and events that both build relationships with our clients and ultimately secure opportunities for our artists. From the licensing perspective, Anacrusis is redefining the artist experience in music licensing in Nashville, actively working with artists on a personal level through showcase opportunities, cowrites and sync camps, and artist development.

All that to say, we specialize in the music that you hear in ads, TV shows, movies, video games, and trailers. Can you picture the latest Apple commercial? or Target commercial? It’s cool, edgy, fun, eclectic, music like that! If you want to read more, American Songwriter recently asked me to elaborate…

https://americansongwriter.com/songwriter-u-understanding-the-sync-world-sync-keywords-and-writing-for-sync/

What makes you happy?
I really do love what I do, which is such a blessing. I love working with songwriters and getting to hear a song in its earliest stages of creation all the way to being finished and then being used in a huge commercial or TV show! Outside of work, I love being on the water and in nature. I own a gorgeous lake house where we host our songwriting retreats (@sandycovelakehouse), and I love spending summers out on the boat. Water is so calming and centering. I also love to travel and can’t wait to get back to traveling more regularly after this past year! Experiencing other cultures always brings new perspectives to my life and my business.

Oh and ice cream… You asked what makes me happy? Ice cream makes me happy! 🙂

Contact Info:

• Email: info@anacrusissongs.com
• Website: www.anacrusissongs.com
• Instagram: @lizrogersxoxo – and – @anacrusissongs
• Youtube: youtube.com/c/anacrusis

Image Credits
The photo titled “NashFilm Jeff Carl” was taken by Elisenda Simmons, as watermarked on the photo. The photo titled “Womens Retreat” was taken by Heather Hillhouse, House On A Hill Photography. The rest of the photos are courtesy of Anacrusis.