Rising Stars: Meet Lindsay Will

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Will.

Hi Lindsay, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Northwest Arkansas. I’m from a town called Springdale. I always loved music and picked up a guitar when I was nine and was hooked on music after that. I began writing songs and playing at bars and restaurants around town. My mom and I started making trips to Nashville when I was 15 to play writers’ rounds and write with other songwriters. After my first visit to Nashville, I knew it was where I needed to be.

It was always important to me and my family for me to attend college so I saw going to college as my way to move to Nashville. I got accepted to MTSU and moved to Middle Tennessee in the fall of 2014. I moved here with the intent of being an artist and songwriter but like a lot of people in town, I found myself gravitating towards the business side of the music industry. I had no idea that publishing was even a thing until I took a music publishing class. I fell in love with it and met with my professor, Matthew O’Brien one day and asked how I should go about pursuing a career in publishing. He hooked me up with an interview for a creative publishing internship at Round Hill Music. I got the internship and fell in love with publishing even more.

I had several more internships before graduating in the spring of 2018. A month after graduation, I landed my first full-time job at a small publishing company called Liv Write Play. It was a very small company. We only had four songwriters signed to us and there were three of us on staff. It was one of those jobs where you’re grinding every day to make things happen. I was doing everything from getting the groceries to depositing checks at the bank, to mailing out merch for our artists. I even drove the van one weekend to Atlanta for one of our artists because she didn’t have a driver and needed someone to drive her and her band. It was tough but the entire time I was learning and soaking in every detail of the industry.

I was there two and a half years before Round Hill called me again. They had an opening on their A&R team and asked me to come back. I gladly accepted. It was my dream to work there full-time on the A&R team. I started at Round Hill in the first of 2021 as Manager, A&R. In June of 2022, I got promoted to Director, A&R, and am now able to sign songwriters under me. I’m responsible for finding and developing new talent in town and exploiting our songs. I currently have a roster of writers under me and work with them every day. It’s my dream job.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been so many challenges. The music industry is like a roller coaster, one day will be up and the next day will be down. Comparison is always hard.

In the beginning, it was hard seeing some of my peers land their dream jobs right out of the get-go or get promoted very quickly while I was still working my way up. But you just have to realize that everyone goes at their own pace and as long as you are working hard every single day, then comparison doesn’t matter.

Now that I am in a place of seeking out songwriters and fighting for new deals, I’m realizing how competitive this town is and how hard it can be to fight for some of these deals. It’s also a very emotional business and can take a big toll on your mental health. The highs are so high and the lows are so low, it can be very difficult to balance that.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My title is Director, A&R at Round Hill Music.

We are a full-service music publishing company. Round Hill is one of the most successful music publishing companies worldwide. We are consistently ranked in the top 10 music publishers and were ranked #5 on Billboard’s Hot Country Publishers of 2022. Round Hill Music Nashville has celebrated over 70 number 1 songs.

My job on the A&R team is to find and develop the best songwriters and artists in Nashville and exploit our copyrights by pitching songs and trying to get them cut and released. I’d have to say that I’m most proud of our record last year. We had the most successful year that Round Hill Nashville has ever had and I’m so proud to say that I’m a part of the team that made that happen.

We had 12 No.1 songs last year, 34 country radio singles, and landed at #5 on Billboard’s Hot Country Publishers list which is the highest we’ve ever been.

Do you have any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My family had a lake house in Eureka Springs, Arkansas growing up. All of our summers were spent there. One summer when I was nine, our family from California came out to visit. It was my aunt, uncle, and two cousins. We spent the Fourth of July at the lake house. I had just started learning guitar and was so bad.

We had a bonfire one night and I remember being so proud to pull out my guitar because I had been practicing “Sweet Home Alabama” for hours and hours. I brought it out and played it around the bonfire for everyone. I must have been so bad because I could barely play haha but I remember being so proud and how my entire family sang with me. I played that song over and over again because it was about the only song I knew how to play at the time.

Looking back on that memory always makes me laugh.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: www.instagram.com/lindsay_will