In Tune With the Biz
“I was totally new to the music industry. I compensated by finding people who believed in my vision but had better music skills. Enlisting the right talent and finding the right co-conspirators was absolutely critical. SkinnySongs’ lyrics had to be delivered in a musical package that sounded just as good as pop songs on Top 40 radio. That’s why I had to camp on the doorsteps, at least figuratively, of top producers like George Daly and David Malloy.
David has dozens of awards and has worked for country greats such as Reba McEntire, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton, and Tanya Tucker. George is CEO of About Records and has over two decades of experience as a senior executive at the major record labels. He discovered the Cars, the Tubes, and Vanessa Carlton.”
No Is Not an Answer
“I met George through mutual friends in the San Francisco area. Then through George I met David. The two of them had worked together many times in the past. The trick was convincing them to lend their talents and their reputations to my project. I recruited them to take a share of the proceeds. I’m not paying them, which means if it’s not successful, they don’t make any money either.”
She Writes the Songs
“The lyrics were something I really wanted and they didn’t exist, so I had to invent them. Weight-loss is a huge industry and music is a huge industry. There had never been a combination where the lyrics matched. I wrote the lyrics to motivate myself, but it’s more than that. It’s not just about your weight, diet, and fitness program. It’s about keeping your head in the right space for whatever goal you’re pursuing and whatever path you’re taking. You have to acknowledge and deal with emotional eating issues. You have to see and change your lifestyle, which is hard.”
Crossroads
“Writing the songs was a form of creative expression for me and it also allowed me to flex my entrepreneurial muscle. I was approaching my 50th birthday and doing a self-assessment. The writing process became my path to address a lot of issues going on in my life at the same time. I listen to my music every day. I enjoy it. It still motivates me.”
Proof Positive
“I’ve lost over 30 pounds. Actually, I’ve lost 40 pounds of fat and gained almost 10 pounds of muscle. Even if I don’t make SkinnySongs into a financial success, it is a personal success for me. I’m healthier now at 50 than I was at 40. But there are other success stories coming in all the time—we post them as testimonials on our home page.”
The Skinny on “Skinny”
“I chose to use the word skinny because it was distinctive and yet a bit controversial, which you need to build up awareness. More importantly, I like the idea of the other meaning of skinny, as in “give me the skinny, tell me the truth about this.” My songs are very honest and very personal, so they are not for everyone. Luckily, a lot of other women feel the same way I feel, so what worked for me is working for them, too. I went from 190 pounds and a size 14 to 158 pounds and a size 8, so no one is going to accuse me of actually being skinny! It’s all about feeling great about yourself, feeling healthy, and feeling like you are the best you can be.”
