Lana Carter – Interview – Thanks for Asking

Lana Carter – Interview – Thanks for Asking – by Liam Sweeny.

RRX: Every artist’s first song is a milestone. But so is the latest song. Describe the first song/album you recorded, and also the latest song/album you recorded; what are the differences?

I released my first song when I was ten. I’m now 20, so it’s safe to say my music now is quite different lol. It was called “Finally Free,” a song inspired by Disney Channel’s “Good Luck Charlie,” when someone cheats on someone (I don’t remember the specifics). The song was about being free from someone after they cheated, and feeling good on your own without taking them back. Pretty mature stuff for a 10 year old, but it was such a fun song that marked the beginning of my love for creating and recording music.

Now, 10 years later, I recently released a song called “Only At Night,” inspired by the excitement and thrill of a night out. I’ve been living in and attending college in NYC for 2 years now, so you can see why I might’ve written a song like this. It’s still authentic to me though and very upbeat… I think a 10 year old me would’ve loved it. So many of my fans now are so similar to myself as a kid.

RRX: Tell me about your most recent song, album, or video (you pick.) Tell me a story about what went into making it. Not a process, but a cool story that took place within the process.

The music video for “Only at Night” is super fun, located on a roof top overlooking the NYC skyline. The cast and crew were all former or current NYU students, Talia Green (Director), Dillon Rowe (Assistant Director), and my co-star, Dean Maupin. The music video itself is pretty cool (I’m biased), but the coolest part was that we were able to get it uploaded through VEVO through The Orchard. It makes all the work put into it feel a little more validated and official.

RRX: Stereotypes are a bitch. I mean, aside from the really bad ones, you have cultural stereotypes about everything, including music. What do you think is the stereotype for the music you play, and how far are you away from it?

I’ll say this. I’m currently exploring pop because it’s fun and joyful and both my audience and myself enjoy listening to it. Yet I think people underestimate pop artists, viewing them as unskilled, or sometimes even unintelligent.

The leading artists right now are female pop artists. They represent the face of a bigger brand, and if they had any role in making that multi-million/billion dollar brand come to life, then they are some of the most intelligent people in my opinion.

For me particularly, I am attending a college with an 8% acceptance rate, while also managing my business as a pop-artist and content creator, with growth of close to 900K followers and releasing new music. So I would say I do not, along with most successful female pop artists, fit into the stereotype.

RRX: We let it out differently when we play music. The happy, sad, good and back; it can all be put out musically. Overall, do you feel better when you sing about the better times, or the worser times? Is there a difference you can describe?

It’s definitely a more emotional experience when playing or writing a sad song, sometimes even a negative one, but I think artists find value in how deeply they can feel while engaging with their art, and that in itself is beautiful enough to continue doing it. Music is a vessel for emotion, so whatever I am playing does have an effect on my immediate emotional state, happy or sad, which is great, because it makes for a wonderful performance where your audience can feel your emotions with you.

RRX: With services like Spotify, streaming revenue can be pretty dismal. Without spilling secrets, do you have a promotional mindset or philosophy?

Learning the art of virality on socials. Unless you’re a nepo baby, or best friends with a few, you’re gonna need to make yourself known by yourself. The great news is, there is social media which makes that possible. The bad news is that it’s a huge time commitment and takes a while to get started (usually).

RRX: It’s a lot of fun living in the present, but we all collect memories and give birth to dreams. We’re talking dreams here. Where do you see yourself next year? In the next five years?

Out of school, on a stadium stage, performing an amazing album that I’m proud of. Oh, and I want a dog. And I wanna get married to the loml. And I want to be rich. I think that’s it.

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