YouTube Spotlight: Beth Crowley

        As we all know, I am a big fan of the entire concept of YouTube.  Amazing music, funny people, and cat videos make perusing it one of my favorite pastimes.  One type of video that I especially like are those made from aspiring songwriters.  I really enjoy listening to their original songs and covers.  I've talked about a few on the blog before, but instead of focusing on a specific song, I'd like to look at just one YouTuber.

          I discovered Beth Crowley during my search of The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones-related videos.  I had just seen the movie that afternoon, and I was looking for anything and everything to feed my obsession.  I stumbled across Beth singing her own song, 'Warrior', that was inspired by the books.  My roommate and I immediately fell in love with not only the song, but also her other videos.  We spent the next few days continuously watching her videos and listening to her songs and covers.

        On a whim, I contacted Beth about her campaign to get 'Warrior' on the City of Ashes soundtrack.  I loved the song so much that I wanted to help her in anyway I could.  I was very happy to hear a response from her and an acceptance to my possibility of an interview.  It was so much fun to come up with questions for her, and it was even better to hear her answers.

1.  When did you start posting your songs to YouTube?  What pushed you to finally post something?

The first video I posted was in October of 2011. I had just moved and didn’t know anyone or have a job, so out of boredom a made a mash-up of a bunch of popular songs and named it “Greatest Song Ever Written.” I posted it on Youtube so that I could share it with my friends, and it took off. Biw it has over 1.2 million hits! Then I started posting some of the songs I had written, which got awesome feedback. The rest, as they say, is history.

2.  Who is your musical inspiration? 

I have lots of musical artists that I love and look up to, but when I really think about what inspires me to keep writing music I can’t help but think of my supporters. The people I have been able to connect with online that have rallied around me and my music make me want to keep doing this.

3.  Can you go through the process you follow when writing a song; especially one like 'Warrior' that was based from a book?

Funny enough, some of my best songwriting happens in the shower or in the car because there is less to distract me. That’s usually where I will come up with some little hook or part of a song, then build from there. If I am writing a song based on a book, I’ll go back through the book and put post-it notes on pages that stand out to me. Sometimes I’ll think of a key word or lyric and jot that down onto the post-it. Most of the time it comes together like puzzle pieces- a little bit here, a little bit there, and then I eventually have a finished song.

4.  What's your main goal career-wise?

I would love to be able to make a living out of making music. It’s not as hard as it used to be to do- the internet and programs like ProTools have let musicians be able to get paid for their music without having to have a major record deal. Right now I am just excited to see where everything goes.

5.  Have you ever considered trying-out for something like the X-Factor or The Voice?

People have suggested it, but I have never thought of myself as a strong enough vocalist to be on one of those kind of shows. I am happy doing what I’m doing now!

6.  Who are some of your biggest supporters?

My family and my husband are fantastic. My husband knows a lot about recording music, so he helps me with that and I always play new songs for him to get his feedback. And, of course, the amazing people that follow my music online and are so supportive of me. I feel like I have friends all over the world.

7.  What has been the best advice you've been given? (Love this answer)

Opinions are like assholes- everybody has one.

8.  Do you have any advice for someone who is considering taking the leap in uploading their songs?

Go for it! People on the internet are brutally honest, so if you can get their support you know that you are doing something right.

9.  What kind of music is on your playlist?

I love anything from the 90’s. That is always my go-to.

10.  Anything else you'd like to comment/say? 

Just thank you to everyone that has bought my songs, watched my videos, sent me wonderful e-mails, interacted with me on Twitter and Facebook- you all are AWESOME.

From Twitter:

1.  How do you feel about your recent move to Tennessee and why did you move?

It’s been really good- there are a lot of opportunities for musicians in Nashville that I couldn’t find where I was living before.

2. If you had the option to live in any fictional world, which one would it be?

Hogwarts, with field trips to Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. 

          If you like her song 'Warrior' and think it belongs in the second installment of The Mortal Instruments, you can email her with why you think it deserves to be in the movie.  You can also help her out by sharing her videos via all your favorite social media networks (Twitter and Facebook).

          I'd like to give a HUGE thank you to Beth for letting me interview her and write this post.  I really enjoyed it, and I can't wait to continue following her and see where she goes!  You should definitely go to her channel and check out the rest of her videos!  I only skimmed the surface.