Raelyn Nelson
Raelyn Nelson
Interview conducted on July 27, 2022
By Dan Locke
Raelyn Nelson is a musician who plays country, southern rock, and a mix of other genres. She comes from a family of which many are musicians. She is the granddaughter of Willie Nelson. Rolling Stone magazine describes her music as a “mix of old country and dirty garage rock”. Raelyn is the daughter of Willie Nelson’s third child William Hugh Jr. (Billy Nelson) and Janet Major. Raelyn lives in Tennessee and performs all over the United State.
How did you discover music?
My family…my grandpa was already a famous country singer when I was born so it’s always been a huge part of our lives.
How did you start to write music?
I’ve always written Melodies in my head but actually started writing songs right after my babies were born when I was stuck at home with twins.
You got a guitar from your Grandfather. Do you still have it?
I do still have it. It’s the guitar I play and write songs on. It’s my most important possession.
Why did you decide to pick up the ukulete?
My music partner, JB, did an all-ukulele Replacements cover album, he had a few ukes sitting around the studio and I told him to show me some chords one day and I haven’t stopped playing it since.
What is your ukulete of choice now? Year, make and model?
I play a tenor uke; Kala Brand uke is what I play.
What was your first performance at like?
We played a benefit in Nashville and deep purple was there to play the benefit, too. I was so nervous.
How was it to perform at the 2014 FarmAid?
It was exciting!! I still feel honored that papa willie asked us to play.
Did you get any words of wisdom from Joan Jett on your version of “Bad Reputation”?
Hahaa no but I did tell her that we open every show with it so now we have too forever
Will you be performing at this years FarmAid?
I haven’t been asked
Describe your music.
Country Garage Rock
Royalties never appear like magic. Royalties are only sent to you through work undertaken by a PRO to ensure that their members are getting paid. If you’re not yet signed up to a Performing Right Organization like ASCAP, BMI or SESAC, you may not be receiving all the royalties you deserve.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP ?
BMI!
What makes a good songwriter?
I’m a melody girl so in my opinion, a good song has a catchy melody, the verse patterns match, and there’s gotta be a hook in the chorus. Oh! And it has to rhyme…and the lyrics have to be in the same tense and in the same theme. It’s simple, really.
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
Tomorrow. I don’t think I ever recorded it but we did play it for awhile.
What is the process of writing your music?
I wait for songs to come to me…usually it’s a fun lyric to a catchy melody and it comes to me when I’m driving backroads or in the shower.
Tell me about your single “Free”?
I wrote free a few years ago, right after my divorce. I was stuck at home with 3 little youngins, 5 cats, 2 dogs, 2 hamsters, 2 birds, and a fish…after the past two years we all went through, I feel like we can all relate to it.
How was it working with JB (Jonathan Bright) on the single?
JB and I are a good team.
What is your favorite video for people to watch and why?
The newest one…which is Free and it’s coming out soon so watch out for it!
What are you’re feeling about streaming music?
It screwed the music industry.
The symbol # is known as the number sign, hash, pound sign and a sharp sign in music. The symbol has historically been used for a wide range of purposes Since 2007, widespread usage of the symbol to introduce metadata tags on social media platforms has led to such tags being known as “hashtags”, and from that, the symbol itself is sometimes called a hashtag.
Are people forgetting that the # is a part of music?
The hashtag is a great marketing tool and should not be forgotten.
Digital vs. vinyl?
I listen to songs on the digital format because it’s convenient.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
My favorite Papa Willie song these days is “energy follows thought” …it’s on one of his newest albums. It’s on the nose, pure wisdom, and sung in the way only papa willie can do it.
If “Video Killed the Radio Star” do you think that the Covid-19 virus has killed live music?
It killed it for awhile but it’s picking up again.
Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
It’s definitely already affecting independent venues. When you have to shut down for over a year, it’s hard to survive that. Large corporate venues can spread out the losses, but independents don’t have that luxury. It’s sad really, because there is an actual person or family attached to the independent venues, people I’ve personally met over the years and they are the ones suffering the most.
Do you think that Covid-19 has been a plus to an artist career?
The only positive thing I can think of is that touring artists finally got a chance to rest, get out of the grind for a bit, and reevaluate what it is they really want to do. The flip side is, once the gigs got cancelled, the only real source of income for most bands (touring) completely dried up.
How do you stay healthy during the lockdown?
Yoga
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
Yoga! I got my teaching certification during the pandemic, so I opened a yoga studio in Nashville called Stardust Yoga (after my grandpa’s album) with some friends of mine.
Live Nation Entertainment – the corporate parent of Ticketmaster and a dominant force in the entertainment industry was able to get many of the funds which were met for smaller Venuses. Because these venues were not able to get access to these funds. Many of them went out of business still protected.
Live Nation as a parent company did not directly receive any money from the program, but the government relief to its subsidiaries still protected its investments and improved its long-term outlook, however slightly. The earnings of its subsidiaries provide Live Nation with crucial cash flow and enable it to service its debt, it said in securities filings. The aid enabled the companies to pay staff and recover more quickly from the disruption, their executives said in interviews and emailed statements
In 2018 Live Nation purchased what it described at the time as a majority interest in Frank Productions, a Madison, Wis.-based concert venue promoter. Frank Productions’ operating company, Frank Productions Concerts LLC, received $10 million from the SBA grant program in July, the maximum amount possible. Both Frank Productions and Frank Productions Concerts are listed as Live Nation subsidiaries in the SEC filings.
Do you think it was fair for Live Nation to use their power within the lobbies of the congress to get money for their subsidiaries?
Again, I wish the focus would have been on independent venues first, then the corporate entities. Most, if not all, bands that are booked by Live Nation got their start in the independent venues. It would be a huge blow to the industry as a whole if all of the small clubs went away. Where else can young artists develop? You can’t build your chops without getting out and playing.
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
I guess you have to get creative. We started a podcast in the downtime, interviewing comedians about the differences and similarities between music and comedy (Music is Funny Podcast) It’s been fun, but I really don’t think there is a replacement for going out and seeing music live. It’s a connection that can’t be duplicated on the web, I hope it’s not a dying art form, I’d hate for future generations to miss out on that experience.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
I’ve only heard stories, but we’ve never paid to play, live, get on playlists, or to open for bands. So, it probably still happens, but it’s not for us.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
No thank you
In the past if a musician stop doing music they find a new career. For example David Lee Roth from Van Halen became a licensed EMT in NY for 6 years, San Spitz (guitarist for Anthrax) became a master watchmaker, Dee Snider (Twister Sister) voice over work for SpongeBob SquarePants.. If you can’t do music, what would you like to be doing?
Teaching yoga by a beach
What is your happy place?
My back deck on a warm day .
Red Hot Chili Peppers are about to sell their entire song catalog for $140 Million. In the past year a lot of musicians such as Stevie Nicks ($100 Million) , Bob Dylan (over $400 Million), Taylor Swift, Journey, Def Leppard, K.T. Tunstall, and Shakira have sold their catalog rights within the last year. Bob Dylan sold his entire catalog for a reported $300 million. Neil Young song 50 percent of his worldwide copyright and income interest in his 1,180-song catalogue to Hipnosis Songs Fund limited. Once you get to the age of about 70. Publishing is far more lucrative then the mechanical royalties paid to artist based on sales, airplay and streams. A good example of this is Michael Jackson brought the rights to the Beatles catalog in 1985. And in the late 80’s the Beatles Revolution appeared in a Nike commercial.
The lump sums being offered by publishing firms are more tax friendly concerning estate planning.
Do you think you would be willing to sale your back catalog if someone like Universal is will to buy everything, such as all the rights to all your songs?
If someone wanted to by our catalogue right now for $140 million? Sold! I can write more songs….
But I do think it makes sense for those artists. They’ve got nothing left to prove, their reputation is intact, and who knows how the music biz will shake out in the next decade?
What is your feeling about TikTok? With Sony Music and Warner Music strucking an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group. Now that TikTok is now fully licensed by all three major record companies, will you start using TikTok more?
I try. It’s hard to keep up with all of the social media platforms.
Also, TikTok has launching TikTok Radio (ch. 4), a full-time SiriusXM music channel. The station will be available is vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices.
The station will be part of a new TikTok collaboration with SiriusXM and its subsidiary, Pandora, to jointly promote emerging talent. Do you think this platform could became a force in the future of streaming music?
We should all buy stock in it right now.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
Watch our new video for Free and listen to our podcast, Music is Funny !!
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