Several weeks ago my wife and I went to Nashville for our 16 year anniversary. This had been a longtime dream of mine to go and check out Music City. I was not disappointed. I loved the city, the people, the music, and the atmosphere. It is such a great place to visit.
I grew up on country music and have always loved the artists in that genre. From Waylon and Willie, to George and Garth, to Carrie and Blake, I love them all. Truthfully, I have always wanted to be involved in the music industry in some way. But I was not blessed with the ability to sing nor am I able to play music. I've owned a guitar for 20 years and can still only play a handful of songs. So I knew early on that I wouldn't be performing on stage.
This realization lead me to ignore this desire, thinking that there was no way for me to be involved with the music that I loved. So I went on down the road and worked at other things. But the desire was always there. I just couldn't put a name to that desire. What was I supposed to do there in that industry if I wasn't a musician? I didn't know.
Then, about five years ago I was serving as a student pastor in east Texas. The students that I worked with liked to have conversations about all kinds of cultural things, music, books, films, video games, and Netflix of course. I began to realize that these media elements had more influence over these students than I did. Also, at that time I began to realize that business was a viable option as a place for a Christian person to minister in.
Very clearly the Lord began to speak to me and show me that I needed to be working in the media industry. Meaning I needed to help these creative people get their stories heard.
That is where Packaged Light Media came into being. A company that influences minds through media. Specifically by coming alongside creatives and assisting them in gaining an audience.
So for the last five years now I have been preparing for the launch. Well, the truth is I tried to launch several times before but fear got in the way (That is another story for another day). Reading, studying, preparing, praying, hoping and dreaming.
To make a long story short, back to present day. While I was in Nashville this idea for Country Rise came to fruition. On several evenings my wife and I visited Broadway where all the country stars have their restaurant and bar. In every single one there was a singer or songwriter or band doing their thing trying to make it big. And it was like that every night we went down there. Over those several nights we never saw the same person or act perform. I realized there are a lot of people trying to "make it" in Nashville.
One evening it dawned on me, Nashville is kind of a bottleneck on the pathway to country music stardom or success (However that is defined). Meaning there is a long line of people who want to sing and perform and get noticed but only a few places that can happen. It is a problem of scarcity really. The resource of platforms to perform on is scarce compared to the number of people who desire to perform on those stages. And beyond that the number of record deals, in today's time, is scarce compared to the number of people that desire a deal.
On the plane ride home I continued to think about this problem. The realization hit me that there are infinite ways to become known outside of Nashville for the aspiring country musician. Skip the bottleneck and blaze your own path. This sounds like a great idea but there are still many that will choose not to take another route.
In my mind there are three reasons why many people will still choose moving to Nashville over blazing their own path.
Right there, in the midst of considering these three points, is where the idea for Country Rise came into being. What if, a country musician had someone to stand beside them and create the content necessary for them to rise above the crowd and be seen? What would that look like?
Here it is! The vision for Country Rise. We come along side the artist and record content in audio, video, and written form. We then take that content and break it down into micro content for social media distribution.
After we gather all the content and break it down into micro content we plan a distribution schedule complete with all the audio, video, graphics, captions, and tags. This distribution plan is then given to the artist for approval. Once all content is approved for the planned period we release it, according to the schedule, onto the artist's platform. Meaning website, youtube, podcast, and all social media platforms.
From there we monitor the results of those releases and see what needs to happen to help the artist reach their audience in a better way. We want our artists to be engaging their fans in a real and honest way.
And that is the vision. We are the advocate for you the artist. Helping you reach your goal in the country music industry. Whatever that goal may be.
That is the vision for Country Rise at Packaged Light Media. Are you an artist? Would you like to visit about how we can work together? Contact us through our website packagedlightmedia.com. Have a great day!