Singer- songwriter RuthAnne told David Hennessy about her new album and also her new industry bible book that aims to help aspiring singer- songwriters navigate the industry.
RuthAnne released her sophomore studio album The Moment recently.
The London-based Dublin singer-songwriter’s new project is a love letter to classic songwriting.
It also comes swiftly after the release of her industry guide, It’s Not Just A Song- The Ultimate Guide to Writing Songs and Navigating the Music Industry.
RuthAnne describes it as the book she wishes she had had starting out in the industry.
Known for her songwriting credits in hits like Jojo’s Too Little Too Late, Martin Garrix and Bebe Rexha’s In the Name of Love and Britney Spears’ Work Bitch, RuthAnne released her debut album Matters of the Heart in 2019.
Ruthanne is also known for setting up Irish Women in Harmony. The collective brought together 34 of Ireland’s leading female artists including Una Healy, Moya Brennan, Orla Gartland, Imelda May and more.
The group went to number one in lockdown while raising money for Safe Ireland and highlighting the gender disparity in Irish music.
And they continue. RuthAnne and four more members performed at London’s St Patrick’s concert this year and joined Alanis Morrissette in Dublin and Belfast this summer.
We caught up with RuthAnne to talk about the new album and book.
Are you excited to have the new album out?
“I’m really excited to have new music out.
“It’s been a while and I’m excited for anyone who’s loved The Vow.
“I’ve made a whole album of music that I think will soundtrack more moments in peoples’ lives.
“I’m excited for people to hear it and connect with it hopefully.”
How does it feel to have launched the book?
“It feels amazing.
“It’s just amazing to finally have it out there and have people already saying that it’s like a Bible for them of the music industry.
“That’s exactly what I want it to be so I think it’s hitting the right mark.”
That was the inspiration, wasn’t it: To be the book you wish you had?
“Yeah, honestly it’s the book I wish I had.
“I could have used a book like this and I think I would have been way more successful if I had a book like this.
“I get so many people asking me how to write hit songs, how to make it in the music industry.
“I’ve been in it now for over two decades and I’m still here and I just really wanted to pay it forward and pass on what I’ve learned because anyone can do it, it’s just you have got to know how to navigate the music industry.
“It’s a big part of it and I think there’s a lot of books that talk about how to write songs but there’s not a lot of books about that experience of someone day in, day out being a songwriter and a producer and an artist in the music industry and what that really entails.
“I just wanted to lift the lid a bit on it and tell the truth about it.”
Because it’s true that talent alone is not enough..
“Yeah, absolutely.
“I’ve worked with some of the most talented people in the world who never make it and I’m like, ‘How have they not made it? They’re so talented..’
“But I’ve also seen people who’ve not got as much talent make it just on hustle and drive and work ethic and relationships and networking and being great with people.
“There’s more than just talent and that’s kind of the main takeaway really.”
What I found hard to believe actually was you saying in your introduction that you’ve nearly quit every year since you started. Is that right?
“Every month.
“And I interviewed a lot of the biggest and best songwriters and producers working today in the music industry and they all almost quit all the time.
“So every month you’re like, ‘Do I keep doing this? Do I keep throwing my hat in the ring?’
“Because it is like playing the lottery.
“That’s what it is every day and there’s a lot of setbacks, there’s a lot of rejection, there’s a lot of songs that come out that flop.
“You just don’t know which song is going to be the one to change your life.
“I think staying in that race all the time, it can be pretty mentally challenging and exhausting.
“Every musician always is like, ‘Should I quit? Should I do something else?’
“But I haven’t quit yet.
“So I say I stay in it because I love making music so much and it’s my passion.”
You may think about quitting but I bet you can’t think about anything else you would rather do, right?
“Yeah, exactly because the most sacred place is when you’re making the music.
“That’s the part that no one can take that away from you.
“It’s more when the business gets involved that it can get a little more complex and hard and draining but you just have to stay in it to win it, like I say in the book.
“And what you’ll find is a lot of the people that are the most successful in music, it’s because they didn’t give up.
“It’s the ones that just refuse to give up and just keep going and keep going and keep going and those normally tend to be the people who end up the most successful.”
Some may think it’s a straight line to success but you write about having hits, having no hits and then having hits again…
“Yeah, it’s definitely a rollercoaster.
“For every hit I’ve had, I’ve had hundreds of songs never see the light of day.
“I’ve had songs that people said to me, ‘Oh, that’s going to be a hit’, and then it comes out and it’s not.
“I’ve been rich, I’ve been broke, I’ve lost all the money. It’s constantly up and down.
“It’s never a secure once you have a hit, that’s it, you’re set up for life.
“Especially in today’s market, it’s up and down and it’s a roller coaster and that’s why you have to really be in it for the love of it and not for the money and not for the fame and not for any of that because the only thing that’s going to keep you in it is the making of it.
“Like I said, that’s the magic part.”
You were over in LA for many, many years, how do you look back on that period?
“Yeah, I’d say that I had some great times in LA.
“I had probably some of the greatest moments of my life and some of the darkest, hardest moments of my life in LA.
“I think Hollywood is so different culturally from Ireland and where I grew up.
“I definitely think that I experienced a lot when I was there and I think it made me a better writer.
“I got to write with the best.
“I got to be around the best musicians and the best songwriters in the world and I got to learn so much from them and be a part of amazing hit songs.
“But I ultimately left LA because it was affecting my mental health and my self esteem and it’s a difficult place to live from my point of view and I knew that I was never going to stay there long term but I had amazing times there as well.
“I have a love/hate relationship with it.”
You say it was the toughest chapter to write about and that is the chapter about the boys club of the music industry. It was hard but you felt it was vital to advise younger female singer songwriters about it..
“Yeah, absolutely.
“I think it was a debate back and forth in my head, ‘Is it the right thing to do?’
“But the truth is I couldn’t not write about it.
“It’s been a massive part of my career and any woman in any career comes across the boys’ club in some instances and in the music industry was built upon that in a way, there was a massive misogynistic culture and boys club culture for years and we’re seeing that with the P Diddy case and all these different things in the entertainment industry so it was just a chapter that had to be in there.
“I tried to make it a chapter that everybody could learn from: Men because I’ve worked with incredible men that are like amazing mentors to me so it’s not to tarnish everyone with the same brush but it’s also so men can be aware of the female experience and also for younger, up and coming writers and people who are artists, creatives, parents of kids that want to get into music, so that you can be aware and have the tools to navigate it better than I was able to at the time.”
The mission of Irish Women in Harmony has very much been about addressing gender disparity, do you see improvements there?
“Yeah, absolutely.
“The biggest songwriter in the world right now is Amy Allen.
“A lot of the biggest artists are female.
“We’re seeing a lot of great change happening and it’s for the better.
“As I say in the book, the female perspective in music is such an incredible asset and it should be seen as an asset.
“Look at CMAT and Orla Gartland and all the amazing Irish female artists that are emerging now globally.
“It’s an incredible time for Irish music, an incredible time to be a female in music and it’s just great to see the representation out there for females as songwriters, artists, creatives and we just need to keep that going and support and champion our own.
“We definitely still have a ways to go with radio play and TV slots for Irish female artists but we’re getting there and the main thing is that people are aware, there’s conversations, and we are seeing success stories.
“It’s a shame that CMAT and Orla Gartland had to effectively break other countries first to get the support in their own home country but we love to see the support coming now.
“It’s just important that we realise that we have the power to break our own and champion our own first in this country and what a better story to say that we believed in our own first.
“Orla had to move to the UK and we don’t want Irish female artists feeling like they have to move away to be seen and heard.
“I think there’s still a responsibility there for us to break our own and champion our own but I do see the tides changing so I’m hopeful.”
You write about an early writing collaboration with Danny O’Donoghue and Mark Sheehan who would go on to form The Script..
“Yeah, I did and I was very sad to hear about the passing of Mark. So sad, heartbroken.
“He was such a talent.
“They were really the first writer/producers I worked with.
“They weren’t The Script yet when I wrote with them and they really taught me about songwriting and collaborating.
“I had always kind of written by myself in my bedroom and they were my first sessions and they taught me the etiquette and how to write with people and just watching them, I knew they were going to become what they became because they were just absolutely so talented as singers and musicians and songwriters.
“I’m just really proud of all their success and thankful to them for how they encouraged me and taught me a lot when I was starting out.”
You have spoken recently about being involved with Avicii’s song All You Need Is Love and how you weren’t credited how you should have been..
“Well, I was credited as a songwriter because I wrote it but back at the time Avicii’s manager was very gung ho about him not having any features so nobody was allowed to feature on Avicii songs.
“It was a tough pill to swallow at the time because it would have been big for me at the time but at the end of the day, everything works out the way it’s meant to work out and it still was an absolute privilege and honour to get to sing and write a song with Avicii who again, rest in peace.
“Avicii, an amazing talent and just to be a tiny part of his music history was amazing.
“But I definitely think the manager that he had at the time made questionable decisions on his behalf.”
What have been your highlights as both a performer and as a songwriter?
“Well my highlight as a performer would be the impact that The Vow has had and the fact that it’s gone on to be in thousands of weddings and engagements and goes viral every year for the past eight years and number one in Ireland twice, broke into the top 40 in the UK without any budget or label behind it.
“I’m really proud of that because that’s a testament to the song and the impact that the song has had on people’s lives.
“And then as a songwriter, I’ve been so fortunate in my career to have so many highlights but I think being nominated for a Grammy with John Legend and Diana Ross was a highlight definitely for a girl from Donaghmede.
“I was very surprised but I feel like the luckiest girl to just been able to work with those artists, never mind being nominated for Grammys.”
The book is full of advice and guidance for budding songwriters, what is the big piece of advice you wish you had going into the industry?
“There’s two.
“Preparation plus opportunity equals success.
“That means do the preparation, be prepared because those lucky breaks that you step into the room and you’re, like me, with Billy Simon, Josh Alexander.
“Those are the opportunities but you’ve got to be prepared for them so when you get those lucky opportunities, take them and run with them and that’s what makes success.
“It’s the being prepared.
“It’s working on your skill.
“It’s all those hours in my bedroom writing songs and singing and it’s not just going to be handed to you on a plate.
“You’ve got to work for it and then when the lucky breaks come, you’ll be prepared in order to make the best with those opportunities.
“That’s definitely one and then the other one is you can’t hit a home run every day.
“That’s really important in anything that you’re doing to just remember you’re not going to write a hit song every day and if you think that you are, you’re just setting yourself up for failure.
“You’re never going to hit a home run every day.
“Nobody does and that’s okay and just to not think you failed just because you weren’t perfect one day and you didn’t write it, you didn’t sing the best that you could.
“These things happen and you just have to get up the next day and go again.”
I’m sure the early feedback is good but I feel as well you will get the true feedback in years to come from songwriters who had it when they set out..
“Yeah, I’m never about the first week sales or the first week charts or anything like that, I’m in it for the long game.
“I guess I’d love my little girls to read it one day and just be proud of their mum for being an author which is still a mad thing for me to say and just for doing something and trying to help people with their creativity.
“I’m all about the longer impact of these things.
“I just hope the book finds the people that it needs to find and helps in any way to inspire a new generation of creatives or people that have been in this industry for years that are that one song away from changing their life.
“I would love to hear that in a few years it helped people to get there.”
The Moment is out now.
It’s Not Just A Song- The Ultimate Guide to Writing Songs and Navigating the Music Industry is out now.
RuthAnne plays One Ninety Four in London on Thursday 23 October.
