Kara DioGuardi has carved out an incredible career in the music industry. She has collaborated with artists like Miley Cyrus, Pink, and Carrie Underwood; she owns her own publishing company, Arthouse Entertainment; and also started her own nonprofit called Inspired Nation; and DioGuardi is a Grammy and Emmy-nominated writer. She is a 2011 NAMM Music For Life Award winner, 2009 NMPA Songwriter Icon Award winner, 2007 BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year, and has received 20 BMI Awards for co-writing some of the most performed songs on the radio.
Pretty impeccable credentials, right? In a new article on BMI’s website, Kara broke down some of the keys to her amazing success:
‚Ä¢ On still finding the energy to be creative: “I‚Äôve definitely switched gears from being a songwriter into a creative publisher, and the way that I get to still have my creativity is by helping mentor young talent. Because I can listen to one of their songs and say, ‚Äúthis is great‚Äîwhat if you do this, or you change this around,‚Äù and I‚Äôm doing it more on the mentor side instead of being in the room and writing the song. It‚Äôs very fulfilling to help somebody reach their full potential.”
‚Ä¢ On her philanthropy: “I really feel like youth have so much to say and we really don‚Äôt give them a place to speak about what they‚Äôre going through, or what their generation is going through. Music is such a great vehicle for them to express what‚Äôs going on in their lives…They‚Äôre using their talent, they‚Äôre performing for people, they‚Äôre making money for the organization, and we give that money back to their generation. It‚Äôs for people who are in need, whether it‚Äôs a pediatric cancer hospital, an asthma camp, or a homeless shelter.”
‚Ä¢ On the importance of mentorship: “We want to respect their music and respect their vision, but guide in terms of our past experiences. That‚Äôs even more important as we get older as industry executives‚Äîwhat they have to say is going to be different. We have to encourage them to break through boundaries and do things that at times are scary to us because we‚Äôve been in the industry.”
‚Ä¢ On her publishing company: “…¬†I always wanted to build a publishing company where the writers could stand alone. It wasn‚Äôt that I had to write with all of them; they were great in their own right, and I wanted to help them reach their full potential, which is what made it different.”
‚Ä¢ Advice for aspiring songwriters: “Your perspective is your biggest commodity when you‚Äôre a songwriter. Don‚Äôt get stuck in a surface emotion‚Äîgo deeper.”
‚Ä¢ On her long relationship with BMI: “Whenever I‚Äôve had an issue or something I needed help with‚Äîwhether it‚Äôs songwriting or legislative reform‚Äîthey‚Äôve always been there for me. They really care about songwriters and I feel like they‚Äôre always fighting the good fight.”
Read the full article here.
