Faculty member Sam DeRosa shares her artist development insights at a panel from NAMM 2023. She has taught masterclasses in songwriting and has led acoustic session here at HVS Conservatory. She will be the featured artist at our HVSC Spring Showcase on Sunday, May 18, 2025 at The Hotel Cafe. Email info@hvsconservatory.com to RSVP!
Sam DeRosa says “Treat yourself like a startup business.”
The world is lacking in the way it used to be, in the business, where there used to be A&Rs and publishers and record execs who would bet their entire career on a song, on a person, and say “I’m gonna give it time because it’s gonna work.” So what happens now is you, unfortunately, as the artist, as the writer, as the producer, you have to do it all, right? You’re a videographer. You’re a marketing director. You’re a writer. You’re a singer. And guess what? You’re also a hair and makeup artist too. You’re doing it all, right, so you have to give that love that energy into yourself.
Treat yourself like a startup business. Like every single move you are making is because you have to create that one stop shop for yourself. What does it look like? What does it feel like? What’s the live show like? If you’re a performer, if you’re a songwriter, what’s the sound? What is it? Because it sucks that there’s nobody there to tell you and help you and believe the way that it used to be.
Like these guys, it sounds like you were one of the best, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. But it’s like one viral song is not indicative of you being a superstar or even being a hit. It means nothing. It’s the algorithm, right? So what else can you do? Treat yourself like a business. Be your own team for now. And then be so undeniably good that you know exactly what that sounds like and you are ready when it happens.
About sam DeRosa
Sam DeRosa is a multiplatinum artist and songwriter originally from New York, now based in Los Angeles. She cowrote “broken” by lovelytheband, which is a record-breaking, longest-charting song in alt radio history (over 74 weeks). She has since written for Grammy-nominated albums like “Evergreen” by Pentatonix (on which she cowrote the title track, “evergreen”), and prides herself on being a multi-genre songwriter.
At HVS Conservatory, you can develop the necessary tools to succeed in the music industry. Based in Los Angeles, our faculty of music industry expert and mentors help to coach aspiring artists by passing on real-world training from their personal experiences alongside necessary musical training. Check out our schedule of masterclasses and free community events, including acoustic sessions, seasonal open house events, and artist showcases.