Hello gang,

 This week I wanted to talk a little bit about how I write my songs, as this week has seen me re-release a single of mine called Running in the Dark. As I’m being kinder to myself I have realised there’s so many things I have done in the past and songs I have made that I haven’t deemed “good enough”. Yet they really are more than good enough, cue re-release of RITD.

 My process of writing is so varied and is always evolving. For Running in the Dark I actually bought the instrumental to this song from the good old internet, as I was tired of having to wait for producers or not being able to afford who I wanted. Writing over beats has now become a huge part of how I write, I still sit down at the piano or with a guitarist, but being stuck on a certain way of writing or the “purist” way can sometimes slow us down. this also hugely depends on the genre of music.

 As everything there are pros and cons. The pros to writing over beats is: beats can be inexpensive, they are yours as soon as you purchase them so you don’t need to chase anyone for that final mix, and there are a lot of good instrumentals around. With my deal all royalties are mine and a lot of very successful artists from Chris Brown & Tinashe to many rappers have beats sent to them all the time, it isn’t some bootleg way of making music as it can be seen.

 Cons: If you don’t have a lot of coins then your instrumental will probably be non exclusive meaning that hundreds of other people potentially could have bought that same beat and be making a song over it just like you. You don’t have a relationship with the producer so if you love the beat but would like to make some changes it may not be possible so naturally in some way you are limited.

 All that being said I’m now a believer in starting where you are. When writing RITD I was teaching myself the piano as I wanted to take my ideas from the piano to a producer who would catch my vision and bring that to life. That was the dream, but I can’t let life pass me by, waiting for things to happen for me the way they do to artists on major labels with major budgets…and neither can you.

 So start, start now, wherever you are with whatever you have. If you can play three chords on the guitar, then write songs with them three chords in as many inversions possible while teaching yourself more. If you only have your phone, start making your YouTube videos on your phone until you can afford a camera, and if you have to take night classes to get that business acumen up while you work to eat in the daytime then do that.

 Perfectionism is a killer & many songs that sound like they were crafted around the singers melody were in fact created separately yet fit like a glove. So many people are waiting for you to walk into your purpose and so many good things are waiting for you if you start now with whatever you have.

 Also check out my “new” single Running in the Dark by clicking on the menu at the top of the page then hitting the music tab.

Much love,

 Ione

Hello there!!

If you’re back, thank you and if you’re new, hi! So we’ve mastered the E.P and now it’s time to get the artwork done. I’m hopeful that this blog can serve as inspiration, help or entertainment to someone out there to know that the life of an independent artist is great but loooong!!

Once the music is finished there is still so much to do as an artist and believe it or not, since my last post the past two weeks have been dedicated to me deciding on the artwork for my new single ‘Tell Me”. In an ideal world I would have decided what look really suited my brand, the mood of the song and done a photoshoot for this single. However factoring everything in a shoot can be quite costly, so I simply went into the archives and used an unused picture from an old shoot and guess what …it looks great and apart from this blog no-one would know the picture is four years old. ha! eek!

I do remember a time when album covers were iconic and pieces of art within themselves, a lot still are but it’s quite unrealistic for me to think I can compete with artists who are signed or the budget of a record label. And as I look around I see huge pop stars using a plain background, their name and the title of the song as their single cover. Lo-fi is now in, alongside pictures and videos that look like they were filmed on an old school camcorder from the 90’s. So basically no excuses Ione!

The process of getting to the finished product has been interesting. I used a cover art designer based in the states who was recommended to me by a friend. At every junction of my life I’m learning about myself and throughout this process I have learned that I love artists, I love phone calls and face to face meetings to exchange ideas, I love the back and forth between what I envision and what my music sparks for the designer… I love collaborating.

However in this instance because of distance I never spoke to my designer or met up which is fine. Instead, most of our exchanges and design ideas were sent via instagram. Hmmm. It struck me that I had to suggest sending over the song that the artwork was related to, when my instincts tell me that the song should inform every part of the design. I don’t even know if the designer even liked the song, (it’s a good thing I don’t need my ego massaging). This process was akin to me looking at the menu at at a fast food restaurant, placing the order and getting exactly what I ordered. When in fact, what makes me come alive is having ideas and watching them morph into something they never could have been without another creatives input; getting back something different & often better than my original idea, with us both agreeing two heads are better than one. This is not a criticism, merely an observation, does the process even matter anyway I ask?

In the end I have a front cover I love that does represent me and my music, and what sparks joy in me will always be important to me. But what is sometimes more important than my preferred methods and even me feeling alive every second of every day, is my art having a chance to be heard by the world. As a producer friend of mine once told me “the music industry is a results game” and business got done. The pace of the industry is fast and I’m learning how to simultaneously nurture the artist in me and get my work finished and out.

With all that being said keep a close eye on my social media this week as I will be revealing the artwork to my new single “Tell Me”

Much love,

Ione

Hello there & welcome to my blog!!

My name is Ione (eye-oh-nee) and as you can tell from the title of this blog I’m a singer-songwriter. I’m from Manchester, England and I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a long time, I’ve also been avoiding it for equally as long. Mainly because I didn’t know where to start and because I wanted amazingly edited pictures to go along with it that matched my brand etc etc.

However one of the things I have learned from a lot of successful people is to start where you are, so here I am. I don’t tend to do long captions on social media, so this blog is a space where I can delve deeper into the process of being a independent artist in 2020, and all that comes with it. It’s an exciting time to be an artist, the flood gates are open for anyone to make it, but also…the flood gates are open for anyone to make it. So how do I make myself stand out? Or should I just do my thing and slowly build a fanbase organically? ahhh!!

You’ve joined me at a very exciting time as I have just mastered my 3rd E.P, which I consider to be my 1st (this is a chat for another blog). And I’m also on tour with a musical called “Beautiful- The Carole King Musical” about the life of the amazing songwriter Carole King. Although it has been a long journey just to get to the point where I have a body of work I am very proud of to release, I know that the work and hopefully the fun has only just begun.

Stay tuned for the adventures :)

Love,

Ione.

Hey Guys and Gals,

Welcome, welcome, welcome to my first blog entry!! My name is Ione (eye-oh-nee) and I am a singer-songwriter from Manchester, England. I am a firm believer in always keeping your dream alive & that we can create the lives we want. I never thought I’d see the day I was a blogger, but it has been suggested that I do this so many times and I have put it off for so long, that one day I just thought… why not aye!?

My blog will mainly focus on my journey to work towards all my dreams and goals while trying to eat and not be the stereotype of the starving artist. Is this even possible?

I do believe the idea that the music industry is more unstable than other industries is a bit of a myth, the whole world is unstable right now with brexit, the possibility that technology will eventually take over many jobs previously occupied by humans (imagine) and someone I know being made redundant every other month. It's a risky world for us all, so we may as well take a risk, a "calculated" risk on ourselves and our dreams, whatever they are.

so what now?...

Right now I am a freelance singer which has led me to do some pretty cool stuff, including travelling the world, singing at corporate events, West End shows and being a vocal/performance coach to signed artists. All of these have been and continue to be incredible experiences and a lot of people I know would be happy with a job generating a (somewhat) regular income. However first and foremost I am an artist, I want to make and release my own music and there are so many other things I would love to do in my career and life, so follow me as I have the nerve to believe that all the things I dream of doing can actually come true.

Hopefully my blog can be a source of inspiration and insight into the world of an independent artist. As I’m gearing up to release some new music (new single out 25.01.19) this feels like the perfect place to share my journey, exclusives, behind the scenes and who knows what else. :)

Wish me luck!

Love,

Ione x