KARRA started her career in the music industry as one of the most successful singers and songwriters in dance music, collaborating on tracks with artists like Armin Van Buuren, Seven Lions, KSHMR, LSDREAM and many others. After creating some of the best-selling sample packs on Splice, she now runs her own online music product company and provides professionally-produced educational content on her Youtube channel.
Visit her site to grab her sample packs, tutorial courses, vocal templates and more:
https://iamkarra.com
Follow KARRA here:
https://www.instagram.com/iamkarramusic
https://www.tiktok.com/@iamkarramusic
And visit my site to join the mailing list, book a free coaching call or get in touch:
https://www.nikcherwink.com
KARRA started her career in the music industry as one of the most successful singers and songwriters in dance music, collaborating on tracks with artists like Armin Van Buuren, Seven Lions, KSHMR, LSDREAM and many others. After creating some of the best-selling sample packs on Splice, she now runs her own online music product company and provides professionally-produced educational content on her Youtube channel.
Visit her site to grab her sample packs, tutorial courses, vocal templates and more:
https://iamkarra.com
Follow KARRA here:
https://www.instagram.com/iamkarramusic
https://www.tiktok.com/@iamkarramusic
And visit my site to join the mailing list, book a free coaching call or get in touch:
https://www.nikcherwink.com
if you're just trying to do something to be successful, might get success, but. Doesn't mean that you're gonna be happy And it's, and it also doesn't mean that it's gonna have longevity either. And for me as a business woman, as an artist, I want longevity. I wanna have a career that lasts lifetimes. I don't want to have a flash in the pan. Like that's not valuable to me. And
Track 1:What's up everybody? Welcome to the Headliner Mindset podcast. Today's guest has been heard on some of the biggest dance tracks in the world. And if you're a producer, you've probably used her voice in some of your own songs. She is a singer songwriter, producer, content creator, sample pack maker, official boss, babe, badass, divine queen. This is Kara.
KARRA:Oh my God. I loved that intro. Thank you
Track 1:I, I had to bring it for you. I had to bring it today because
KARRA:Well, you gotta match. Yeah, we gotta match each other's energy, so
Track 1:That's what's up. I feel, I feel like we do. Kara, it's so great to see you. It's so great to reconnect. It's been a long time, and uh, I am, I'm pumped. I'm pumped to, to dive in with you because I'm just a huge fan. I'm a huge fan of what you do. I'm a huge fan of the music that you create and also what you've just created for yourself as, as a business, as an entrepreneur, as a human. Like you're kind of kicking ass in this life thing.
KARRA:Yeah, I I would say I'm in a really good place at this point, you know, still, still learning lessons and going through it, but it's just a lot chiller. I have a lot more peace in my life, so I'm happy.
Track 1:Hell yeah. I love to hear it. And I believe that. You told me you moved out to Vegas, right?
KARRA:Yes. Yeah. the pandemic we really weren't seeing too many people, so, uh, we were actually traveling out to Vegas once a month because Reed was building my mix lab with Luca Prezi, who masters some of the biggest records and dance music, and so we just fell in love with Vegas and we moved out.
Track 1:Cool. Yeah, I've heard more and more people kind of moving out there and there's a, there's, there's a, there's a vibe out there for sure. That's great. Good to know when, uh, in the, the once out of, once outta three years that I go to Vegas, I'll, I'll let you know
KARRA:Yeah, you
Track 1:I make it out there
KARRA:Yeah.
Track 1:Um,
KARRA:It's a great place to live. I love it.
Track 1:yeah. Yeah, yeah. Well, I would love to start off sharing a little bit about your story, because I feel like you, and this is just my understanding, and there's probably a lot more to the story, but at least professionally, you know, I saw you come in to the industry really as a featured artist. You were singing on a lot of people's songs. You know, a lot of these DJs and producers out there, they all want vocals, right? You can make, you can make your instrumental bangers, but it's really those hits. That have vocals that, that seem to really, really shine. And you have been one of the voices that were featured on a lot of those songs. you've also sensed then like created so much more for yourself and you've broken out of that, which I see a lot of, a lot of singers especially kind of get stuck in that featured artist kind of world. So I'd love to hear about, you know, how you got into that, but also what you did to actually break out of really that ceiling that so many people get stuck in.
KARRA:Oh, I love this question. That's, yeah, great observation by the way, because it's true. A lot of people do get, uh, stuck in that world and not, it's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just really up to taste and you know, what that specific person really wants out of their career. And so I saw EDM as an opportunity to step into the, the music industry. it was kind of the easiest way for me to get my foot in the door because I knew that I had vocals, I didn't really, um, know how to produce music. So I figured, oh, since I can write songs and sing songs, then I can partner up with producers and then we can actually get some records out in the world. And the. First experience that I had with EDM was actually, one of my songs that I put out on an EP when I was in college got remixed by a DJ duo. And that remix got featured on Proximity, which is one of the biggest, uh, you know, EDM YouTube channels. And yeah, and Blake, the guy who runs Proximity, I met him when I first moved to LA and that was just kind of my start in la And actually you were one of the first people I met too at Icon Collective
Track 1:that's right. We go
KARRA:Uh, yeah, way back. And yeah, it kind of just spiraled from there. Uh, once you get one feature out, it's pretty easy to get more because once your name is circulating in that space, other producers and DJs hit you up and then it's just kind of a natural progression from there. I learned so much from making dance top lines and pitching them, and I actually, I got signed to Ultra Publishing because of it. And since then I've recouped my deal and I'm independent now. But it's, uh, really opened the doors for me in so many ways. Um, but ultimately it just wasn't in alignment with my soul and my purpose. I love dance music and I will always create dance music, but I think at some point I realized that I actually didn't really like being a full-time songwriter and top liner. Uh, I didn't really like the business aspect of it, and I'll explain why.
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:In dance music, the artist and the main focus is the producer. That's just how it is. And obviously there's exceptions, um, especially when DJs. Collaborate with pop artists, which that's kind of like a more equal situation when the, uh, the singer is bigger or just as big as the producer. But in my case, I was just making a name for myself, so I really didn't have much power in any of these situations. And so for me, after a while of not having any control over my work and where it went or how it was being pitched or how it was being produced, I just realized that maybe this wasn't the right path for me. And so that's where I stopped and thought, well, what, in what ways can I expand? And. Sample packs came along and I ended up doing splice sample packs and they got millions of downloads and I ended up being one of their best sellers, And then I started my YouTube channel and I started making videos and producing and songwriting on camera, and those videos blew up. I was not expecting any of these things to blow up in the ways they did. And so that to me told me that there was something there worth exploring further.
Track 1:Yeah. And I love that you followed what felt good. You were like, this doesn't really feel good. This doesn't really feel in alignment.
KARRA:Yeah,
Track 1:So what else is out there for me?
KARRA:exactly. And it took me a really long time to come to terms with that, because at one point, well here's, let's go back to childhood. When I was a kid. I envisioned myself as a pop star. Like I wanted to be like Britney Spears and Rihanna. And that's really where my soul is aligned in seeing those artists on stage, performing and dancing and having their own production and having their own fans come to see them. when I was doing top lines, like I really didn't have that. Like I feel like I was always, you know, associated or affiliated or I was just kind of on like, the sidelines of everybody else's project and I wasn't really a part of it in the ways that I felt like I could be. Like, I, like, essentially I knew I could be a leader, I didn't feel like I was being a leader in those situations because. You know, when you get songs placed with DJs, uh, the labels and it, it's really all up to everybody else to make something happen with the song. And, I just kind of wasn't included in that process
Track 1:Yeah. Yeah. And, and that's just naturally the dynamic of it. You know? It's like the, the DJ is the artist, the vocalist is the guest, you know, that they're, in a way, I hate to say it, it's almost like using, you know, it's like, it is a, it's an artistic collaboration, but at the same time it's like, Hey, I'm, I'm getting you on my song to help me in my career. I'm gonna go make fucking 20 grand a night DJing off of this song, and you're gonna get like, you know, a thousand bucks for your, for your fee on it. Right. It's a, it's not, you know, always entirely fair, but it's just the nature of that, of that game.
KARRA:Totally. And there obviously are exceptions to everything, right? So I don't want to just say every situation was horrible and, you know, because there were situations like my, my relationship with Kir, uh, we built something to the point where he is now an executive producer on my pop album. So, yeah. So there are relationships and people that I met through dance that actually took me to the places that I wanted to go in, creating my artist project as a pop artist and a
Track 1:Amazing. Amazing. And speaking of Cashmere, we just had him on the podcast like two or three weeks ago. If you guys are listening to this, he's like, it was one of the best episodes ever. Like, he's just such an articulate person. He's brilliant. He's a fucking production genius. Definitely. Go back and listen to that episode of, uh, highly Recommend It.
KARRA:And, going back to what we were talking about, I I was just frustrated with how difficult it was to be paid, to be seen, to be heard. And I remember specifically the moment where I was like, okay, maybe it really is time for me to step away from EDM, even if it's just for a little bit. performed at EDC and, I won't name names or anything because it wasn't anyone's specific's fault, but I had a performance and you know, the manager was like, it's the DJ's birthday, so when you're done singing, I want you to lead everybody and Happy Birthday, uh, song. and so like I did my performance and then I start talking on the microphone and trying to lead everybody in this song and like no one's singing back to me. And it turned out that my microphone was just off the whole time.
Track 1:Oh, damn.
KARRA:and this was, it, it was like a constant thing for me. Like every time I performed at a, a festival, something happened where my voice was just being like, shut off and literally and figuratively. And so I was just like, you know what the, like, I, it just didn't feel right. And that was the moment I was like, okay, I'm gonna stop doing these sessions. I'm gonna stop writing these songs. I'm gonna work on my own music and see where that takes me.
Track 1:Yeah, and it's so important. This is such an important lesson of paying attention to what feels right. If it doesn't feel good, there's a reason it doesn't feel good. Listen to your body. Listen to your heart, listen to your intuition, because it's like the universe is trying to point you in a different direction. Stop trying to push a boulder up the fucking hill if it doesn't feel good. And it's hard because there's so many Ways that things are just kind of done. It's like, oh, well this is what it's supposed to look like. This is what a DJ career looks like, or this is what a pop star career looks like, so this is the way it's supposed to be. So I'm gonna try to push and grind and fit my way into this template. But if it isn't working and it doesn't feel good, and something inside of you is telling you to go in a different direction, you have to have the courage to trust that. Right? such a perfect example. Like, look what happened when you did. When you're just like, ah, no, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna trust this feeling and see what's over here. And it's like, boom. There's a fucking whole other world of opportunity open for you that you wouldn't have seen if you continue to try to fit yourself into that world.
KARRA:absolutely. And it's so funny, like every, everybody's path is different. So there, I know people that were in the pop world that went into dance and vice versa, like it, you're con, everybody is constantly moving and. Different directions and you just really never know how it's going to transpire. And I think that's what's really exciting about it. But it is really interesting how I went back to my childhood dream
Track 1:Hmm. Yeah.
KARRA:like, like I always knew that I was gonna do pop music and be a pop star, but for some reason, like I diminished myself and put myself in this EDM box and it just wasn't working. But that was the time where I actually learned and grew and developed my skills. And so I can really step into that next phase.
Track 1:Yeah,
KARRA:Prepared.
Track 1:yeah. And that's important too, where it wasn't a waste of time. It wasn't a, it wasn't a failure. It was like that was a necessary step of your journey, a necessary step of your chapter. And if anybody out there right now is maybe feeling that of like, oh, this is so frustrating, or, why am I here? It's like, yo, there's lessons there. You're there for a reason. Trust it. Trust it. Keep going. Learn the lessons that you need to learn. And, uh, yeah, that's, that's, that's cool.
KARRA:Yeah. I think you can't put too many expectations on anything or too much weight in any one situation. I think life really is about that journey and being present and understanding that, you know, things can change tomorrow. Like all you, you just have one realization and then it hits you and then you know exactly what you gotta do. and and you gotta know, like when that inspiration strikes. if I didn't have all of that training and that, that character development and artist development, when that inspiration and those ideas started hitting me, I wouldn't have known what to do with it.
Track 1:Yeah, yeah. I saw you make a post the other day about just seeing all, all these different friends in the industry that are doing different things that have like ended up in totally different places that I thought that was like a really cool observation, you know, just like this insight into Yeah, years ago. Like you don't really know where your future's gonna be. You might have a plan, you might have an idea, a direction that you're going after, but you might end up, you know, 50 to yards down the road in an even cooler place potentially. And yeah, I think, you know, for those of us that have been in the game long enough, you know, you, you see people that have stuck with it, that are like, oh, they're doing, I mean, I'm fucking life coaching DJs now, you know, like, and it's like, so like, how the fuck did I end
KARRA:for you. Yeah. and you know what's so funny? I don't set goals anymore,
Track 1:Mm.
KARRA:I just don't set any goals for myself anymore because what I realized, what I was doing, I was once again, just limiting myself and putting myself in these boxes that I kind of lost my infiniteness. Like I, like, I just lost sight of that. And now I have ideas of like, things that I would like to do, but I never, ever make plans anymore. Like I, I really just act. Like on impulse and intuition and it's been working out so much better for me.
Track 1:Wow, that's amazing. Just trust, just trusting that the universe has some awesome plans for you and just surrender to the flow and see where it takes you.
KARRA:exactly.
Track 1:It reminds me of that book. Have you ever read, I think the Surrender Experiment, it's called?
KARRA:Not that, one, but I've read a lot of
Track 1:Michael? Michael Singer. It's a really, really good book. Uh, he wrote The Untethered Soul, and then his book, I think it's The Surrender Experiment, is
KARRA:gotta read that.
Track 1:A whole story about his life and he basically was just like very, very similar. He was just like, I'm gonna just have no plans and just see where this bitch takes me. Like and, and then like his life was like un like insane things happened in his life. He like built this like billion dollar like tech company and like started like a yoga meditation center and like I was like, what? He's like, I didn't plan any of this shit, man. I'm just going with the flow.
KARRA:Yeah, I mean, I didn't plan on being a top selling sample pack creator. I didn't plan on having, you know, a YouTube channel with over a hundred thousand subscribers that watch me make music and have all of these brands pay me to use their equipment and show people you know, how to use it and stuff. Like, I had no idea that that was gonna be a part of my journey. And, but, but guess what? It's literally what's paying the, the bills and, and funding the album that I'm creating. I mean, it's like you have to be open to doing things that one you didn't expect to do. and things that aren't necessarily, in the template that you were kind of talking about before, you really have to think outside of that because you never know in what ways you can actually. Fund your dreams to get to the end results that you want. Because at the end of the day, it's, it requires a lot of strategy time, planning, money to make something happen in the music industry. And you just never know, like how you can, create an income for yourself. and for me, top lining it in songwriting, it just like wasn't enough, uh, money for me to be able to fund an album.
Track 1:So you didn't necessarily have a five year plan and this big intellectually designed set of goals that you were going after. It sounds like some of this was almost on accident. Like how did you, first off, what are the things that you have going on now? There's, there's the YouTube channel, there's the sample pack, like these really cool things that you've created. Uh, what, what are those things? And also like what was it that you were, like, how did they come to be? What led you there? What were you following? If it wasn't this, this intellect and this very clear focused game plan, then what was it that you were actually following that allowed all of these things to come forth?
KARRA:Yeah. Well, a lot of different things. So going back to the sample pack, you know, I was writing a ton of music and I knew that people needed vocals, and I was always interested in expanding beyond just writing songs and like hoping that something will get placed. I really wanted to. Build something with more structure and more, you know, like, like a steady income and something that I could actually live off of. and so when I was working with, um, my vocal producer at the time, Matthews steeper, who you also know, we, we both were. Interested in making some money, like real money. and while we wrote the songs, we knew that the sample pack was an amazing idea to one, fill a need that was out there, which was producers need high quality vocals and then also help us, um, know, build a career and, and a new path to, um, increase our income so that we can live comfortably in la which is incredibly difficult to, you know, to live in. so it was that desire for more from us that really sparked, something within us to make something big happen
Track 1:Yeah. Yeah. And there's a big piece there as well of adding value. You were adding,
KARRA:yes,
Track 1:value to the community. Like people need vocals, right? They, this is a, this was a demand, this was a need, and even like a void that you were able to come in and fill. If you add
KARRA:Yeah.
Track 1:gonna be rewarded for it.
KARRA:Absolutely. That's one of my biggest tips actually, is if you want, for example, if you wanna work with somebody, then you have to think of the ways that you're gonna add value to their lives. And, you know, it's not like I had a label to help me make this album or an, you know, an investor to help me pay people like Kir to produce my album. I added value to his life by creating with him and recording samples for his stuff. And, had like a equal exchange there and we added value to each other's lives. And that's how I like to create with people. I don't like things being too, um, tight and, you know, by the books
Track 1:yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah.
KARRA:need, it needs to flow.
Track 1:there's also a lot of collaboration. In what you're doing. You're working with Matt, and you're working with Niles, and you're working with all these other people, and I think that's just a great mindset to step into as well, especially for a lot of the producers that are listening where it's like me and my laptop locked in a room by myself doing everything a hundred percent by myself, and this conversation has come up many times and these podcasts, if you've been listening, but nobody succeeds alone, right? We can accomplish so much more together. It takes a village. And so who can you start working with, collaborating with, networking with, building businesses, with, right? It's like we have to stand on the shoulders of giants. We have to all collectively come together to create more than we could ever possibly create on our own.
KARRA:Absolutely. And that, that kind of leads me to my partnership with my husband, Reed. Stefan. he was the one who pushed me to start my YouTube channel, um, He really was giving me like a lot of really great advice and confidence in myself because I just didn't know how, you know, it would come across'cause there's not too many women, uh, producing on camera. Well, now, now it's a different story. I'm talking about when I first started, which was years ago. but actually that was what made me stand out was being a woman in such a male dominated space. so he and I worked together to build up my following and to come up with content strategy. And when I tell you when I started making content, I didn't even have time to make music. There was no, there was no time for me to, you know, uh, kind of cater to all of these different like producers and DJs needs while I was trying to build something on my own. Like there was simply no time. I had to. Put 100% focus on myself, which is also another thing that kind of pushed me in that direction. And I was like, you know what? I kind of like focusing on myself. Like I'm actually seeing results here.
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:I actually have people like following me and, and, I have brands wanting to pay me. And I just felt like I was in control of my career for the first time in my life.
Track 1:Yeah. it's amazing what's possible when you have following and you have an audience, you
KARRA:you can do anything. You can literally make as much money as you personally desire. Like you can go as far as you want to go. it's, it's really cool actually. It's kind of like a little game to me. Like I love learning about human psychology and finding the things that, you know, people are interested in hearing about and what they're triggered by and what they're excited by and all that stuff. Like, it all plays together because What I've realized is that attention, pays. Like if you can garner people's attention, then you have a career.
Track 1:I like that you're bringing up just understanding a little bit of psychology and a little bit of human behavior. It's good to think about that, especially when we're gonna maybe get out of the full blown artist chair and actually start sitting in the business owner chair. The, I'm also a business owner. I'm also now, marketing is a part of what I'm doing. I need to understand marketing. So if you're, if you wanna understand marketing, you gotta think about Consumer behavior, right? and when it comes to content,'cause I even fall into this sometimes I'm like, I want to get out and talk about some shit that I care about right now, but just'cause I care about it doesn't mean really anybody else will. If I think about, well, what, what am I, what is my, you know, audience, what do they care about? What are they interested in? Let me speak into that. How can I add value? Because I'm paying attention to like, what they think is important. You know, even in, even in this podcast, there's, you know, so every now and then I'm gonna bring on like a heavy metal person where I'm just like, this one's for me. I'm talking to my fucking metal boys today.'cause I this, you know, but really, I'm really thinking about what, what does the audience want to hear? And so, similarly, as an artist, of course it is about self-expression. It is about like, you know, do you boo like get out there, you know, put yourself out there. But think like a marketer too. Notice like, well, what's working? What are, what, what are people interested in? What are they resonating with? More like, we gotta be paying attention to the, the numbers and the analytics and the engagement, and
KARRA:Yeah.
Track 1:some effort into that as well.
KARRA:Yeah. And that's a common theme throughout all of my businesses and everything that I do is an experiment. And so with the splice packs, I, we didn't think they would blow up like that, but we did it and we put it out there and we just experimented with it and we got the result and it was very telling. And then when I started making content, uh, the content just developed over the years and. We use people's comments as a guide for us to create that content. And whether that be responding to hate comments, to stir up a little controversy, or whether that be actually answering people's questions like their most asked questions. really do have to have that connection and awareness, of what's happening out there in your comment section and what other people are doing. and and I'm not saying I'm not encouraging you to like copy people or to, go down a deep rabbit hole of reading your hate comments or anything like that, but like it is really important to be aware of what people are saying so that you can fine tune what you're creating.
Track 1:Yeah, it's called social media. It's about being social. It's about stepping into a conversation and understanding what's happening in that conversation, participating in that conversation, asking questions, getting feed feedback the same way that you would, you know, step into a party and like maybe join conversations and meet new people. And maybe you're like, you know what? I'm not really into this conversation. I'm gonna go walk across the room and, and find a different conversation with people that I resonate with more, but I'm listening to what they're saying and I'm responding and I'm engaging and I'm being social. And that's a part that I think a lot of people forget about is we're just seeing ourselves as like, I'm gonna just make content and put it out and just, I'm gonna just like, put stuff out, put stuff out, put stuff out. And it's like, no, this is a two-way street. It's not a
KARRA:Yes,
Track 1:street.
KARRA:absolutely. And it is kind of like networking and. What I love about the space today is that you literally can just start making content from your bedroom and then, if you are consistent with it and people are reacting well to it, then you can build an entire career and then you can connect with the biggest artists and business people in the world. And it's all at the, at your fingertips. It's, it's wild. And I think so many people lose sight of that, and a lot of people complain about social media, and I just will never understand that because I value it and I see what it does for me. And even though it is a lot of work, music industry was never just about the music. It's, it was, it's always been about selling something. It's always been about, Booking events and selling this product and I think people get really triggered by that, but it's just the truth. Like the music is the vessel to, uh, consumerism,
Track 1:Yeah. And, and you know, straight up, I, and I have no problem just speaking into this directly and calling people out where it's like, this is the music business. This is why 99% of people are still in their hometown or they're still in their bedroom making music and they're not getting out of it. This is the fucking thing, like, everybody please, like, listen to it, and it doesn't have to be. Scary. It doesn't have to be ugly. It doesn't have to be bad. It can be amazing. Like I've been loving social media lately'cause I'm just like meeting awesome people and getting to connect with them and opportunities are coming from it. Like, it can be a lot of fun, but whatever that resistance is, whatever that resistance is to learning something new, to getting outta your comfort zone, to being seen, to putting yourself out there, to getting no likes, having and, and having crickets, you know, when you put yourself out, like that's all internal, uh, an internal block, right? It's all just like a fear. And when you can get over that, it's, uh, incredible what's possible. You know, I just had a big conversation. I have, I've started a, I'm doing like a beta program for my coaching group. I'm launching a coaching group in January and I'm running a small group of people through it right now. I had this whole lesson planned out. We start going through it and then we got onto this topic of, of our relationship with our phones and it, it ended up taking like a half hour. It took up like half the call. I was like, wait, there, this is a very hot topic because, uh, and I, I'd be curious to hear your take on this.'cause on the one hand, like, our phones are designed to be psychologically addictive, right? Like, we are getting dopamine hits all the time. And even myself, I think so many of us struggle with like, not being on the phone so much. Like, I really should be working on my music, or I should be working on whatever. So it's kind of like playing with fire and know, the big conversation we had.'cause someone was saying like, oh, this is like you know, your phone is like your biggest distraction and the worst thing in the world. But also it can be your best friend if you learn how to use it the right way and really change your relationship with it. And I think it's about you can't. Treat it and use it like a normal person. A normal person just gets on and they're downloading, they're scrolling, they're using it passively, right? And you have to see yourself now as I'm a business owner and this phone is my fucking best friend, this is my million dollar opportunity to, you know, create, uh, revenue, to make an income, to share my gift, to connect with other human beings. And so just that mindset shift is I think, the first step to it. But even with that mindset shift, it does take discipline to also not fall into all the doom scrolling and the time-wasting. So I'm curious for you, you're creating a lot of content. You're online all the time. You're, you're killing the game. Like, how do you handle bouncing that relationship and not getting caught up? And maybe you do get caught up in all the, the time wasting doom scrolling side of it.
KARRA:Yeah. I, first I wanna say that I've gone through all of the struggles and the doubts and the fears, and I've tried every type of therapy you can possibly try. I mean, I've really put in the work in facing my shadow self and healing my traumas. so when I wasn't healthy, I was doom scrolling and I was comparing myself to others because in my mind I saw myself as The star and, uh, this successful artist and businesswoman, but it wasn't in my reality yet. So that gap was really, really destructive to me. And it was a block. And so I really had to like face that head on and heal that mindset, that I could use my phone as a tool. And now when I'm on social media, I'm looking at other artists and other pieces of content and I am inspired by it. I look at something and I'm like, oh, I love that about it. I love the color scheme, I love the edit, and I'm saving all of these different videos. I'm referencing them, and I am creating my own out of that.
Track 1:Yeah, so I'd love to go a little bit deeper into that. I think it's amazing that you, you did the work, you've done the therapy, facing your shadows, facing these inner demons, those parts of us that, that want the validation or we are comparing ourselves, we feel like we're not good enough. Tell me a little bit more about how you actually got over that. What, what did you actually really practically do to
KARRA:Yeah,
Track 1:and get to the other side of it?
KARRA:a lot a lot. So for me it just took years of different types of therapies and, even just like, like I kind of said before, like I'm big on Like, I view my life as an experiment, and so I don't know what kind of therapies and what kind of exercise programs and, and meditations are gonna work for me. Like everything, you know, everybody has different preferences and so I've literally tried it all. and from there, you know, I kind of learned the things that really work for me. and some of those things specifically, um, are acupuncture. I do yoga, I dance, I actually did go to therapy, um, with therapists and I don't need to go to therapy anymore, which is amazing. but I did, I went through all as, uh, what, what is the light therapy?
Track 1:Uh,
KARRA:What is that called again?
Track 1:like EMDR,
KARRA:Yes, I've done that? Yep. I've just,
Track 1:or whatever. there's so many, there's so many, fucking things out there. Like I started when I, I was, I was on a healing journey last year and I was like, I'm gonna just make a list.'cause I'm, I'm, I'm pretty plugged in with like, out here in Austin, all my friends are healers and I'm like, I'm gonna just make a, a list of like all the things I could do. I'm like, there's like 25 different, you know, reiki healings, plant medicine, acupuncture,
KARRA:done all of these. Everything.
Track 1:Yeah, yeah,
KARRA:yeah, And, but once again, like I, it's overwhelming. There's just so many things that you can do and you can try and so it's just important to accept the fact that things take time and it's okay that they take time and that goes for your career. That goes for healing, that goes for really.
Track 1:Yeah. It takes years. And, and I think that's, that's something that's been coming up recently as well in these conversations is recognizing that this is a long game.
KARRA:Yes.
Track 1:That's probably one of the biggest dangers to fall into is feeling like, oh, I gotta make this shit pop quick. Right? I gotta, you know, you're putting a time limit on it or feeling like it needs to happen fast. And especially in the creative process, you, you don't wanna rush that process. You gotta put in the time. And I would always say it's like on Thanksgiving, you're like taking the Turkey outta the oven before it's fully cooked and you're trying to, and you're trying to serve it to people. It's like you can't be serving the half, half cooked fucking Turkey to people. Like take the time that you need to really, really go deep into your creative process, really master your skillset. And you know, this is why I think it's so hard for a lot of artists is They're, you know, making like kind of a decent product. And then they're getting out there and they're trying to push it down people's throats and it's like, yo, give, give yourself some more time to really like, like really figure out who you are as an artist and really get that music.'cause if you got good music, like it's gonna work, it's gonna work good music with some good branding or the basic marketing, like the, the
KARRA:Yeah,
Track 1:music is, the less you have to market it. Like it's just gonna fucking sell
KARRA:it's true. it's true. I released a song independently for the first time, uh, my song Underwater, and it, it got almost like 2 million streams on independently on its own just because it's a good song. Uh, I didn't I didn't push it that hard. And through all of those lessons, I. I've definitely learned the things that do work and don't work, and I realized when I was just trying to move too quickly and release songs that just weren't there yet, I would see that result too. Like it wasn't resonating with people and so I had to take a step back. I had to learn that lesson in not rushing myself and understanding that it's divine timing and you have to focus on yourself and do that work in order to put out a product that's authentic because authenticity is the MO is the most powerful energy, and if it's resonating with that, people will pick it up. People are a lot smarter than you think.
Track 1:Mm-Hmm? Yeah. You can. You can feel it. Exactly. You can feel it. That's why we listen to music. We don't listen to an music to analyze it with our brain. We listen to music because it makes us feel something. And as an artist, if you make music that is just Intellectualized if it's just made from your brain because you're figuring out the formula of what works and, and you know, you're putting the right samples together, and this is the music that's hot right now. It's like all of that's coming from your brain, it's coming from your mind, it's coming from your ego because you're basically just trying to be successful as quickly as possible. And it's not necessarily coming from your, your, your feelings. So if you want people to feel your music, you gotta make music from your feeling
KARRA:Yeah. And you really need to have, you need to be tapped in and you also have to have good intention behind it, because like you said, if you're just trying to do something to be successful, might get success, but. Doesn't mean that you're gonna be happy And it's, and it also doesn't mean that it's gonna have longevity either. And for me as a business woman, as an artist, I want longevity. I wanna have a career that lasts lifetimes. I don't want to have a flash in the pan. Like that's not valuable to me. And I haven't gone super viral yet. And that's okay because I'm just, I just haven't put out the thing that's supposed to put me viral like yet. And that's fine. I think a lot of people are like dying for that moment, but they're not actually, uh, wanting it for the right reasons.
Track 1:totally, totally. And at some point it might even go in a totally different direction and in a, in a direction that right now you can't even imagine, and you don't even know what that would look like, right? Like when we're, when we want longevity, we have this idea of what we think it's supposed to look like, but again, being open and just sort of surrendering, like there might be some other, you know, like the sample pack thing, the YouTube channel, you know, it's like, oh, what? There could be this new thing that presents itself that just being open and kind of unattached and, uh, even like playful and like, this is all a game, right? It's
KARRA:It is a game.
Track 1:what does the universe
KARRA:Yeah. Like a lot of people play video games.
Track 1:it. Yeah.
KARRA:I play life
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:Like I, I, I'm not a gamer. Um, I respect people who have that kind of mind. I just don't, but I have the mind for life. Like, I just love unlocking new levels. And, for me, another, uh, you know, new level, something that I did not expect that I was gonna have is actually my six figure. E-commerce, business, selling vocal templates and, uh, courses and things that I just never knew I would ever have my name on or be associated with. I have developed because once again, there was a need. People didn't understand how to record and mix their own vocals, and I saw that, the comments in my YouTube videos, and then I created a website and I made
Track 1:Hmm.
KARRA:business out of it.
Track 1:Amazing. So this is different. You have your splice sample packs, which if you're listening right now and you have used Kara's voice in your splice sample pack, I, you are required to comment on this. You are required to send me a DMM and say, yes, I did it. Send me the track. I want to hear it. Like Your voice is all over the freaking
KARRA:All over the place. I hear it. on TV all the time. Like a lot of people who make music for, TV catalogs use my samples. So I'll be like watching, you know, Bravo and just hear me singing in the background. actually I'm not, um, my packs aren't on SPL anymore. My My licenses are up. So, I just have a new vocal pack that's available on my website. And the reason why I decided to finally like, move on from Splice was because I was just ready for something new,
Track 1:Yeah,
KARRA:when I was getting shouted out in, a Forbes article and a Billboard article about how much money they were making as a company, and I was like, their, their highlighted artist, I realized that, wow, there's a lot of money in this business and I should make my own
Track 1:and what is, what is the website? I'm gonna plug this in at, on onto the show notes. Everyone go check it out.
KARRA:I am kara.com.
Track 1:Okay. simple
KARRA:simple as that.
Track 1:that you are, what a powerful affirmation. I am, I am, Kara. Uh, hell yeah. And so what do you, what do you guys offer on there? You have, you have courses, sample packs, you said templates as well. What are those?
KARRA:Yeah, so actually my best sellers are my vocal templates. And it's basically, for every single daw I have FL Studio, Ableton Pro Tools, so on and so forth. we developed a vocal chain in that daw, um, made outta stock plugin so that you don't have to purchase any extra plugins. So whatever doll you use, you can download one of my vocal templates. And then you have a template that's just mapped out for you, and then it comes with a course on how to use it and how to record your vocals in it. of my best sellers. It's something that people really find useful
Track 1:Hmm.
KARRA:and it, it's basically, I'm selling a consolidation of steps,
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:because a lot of people are just like, where do I start?
Track 1:yeah, yeah, yeah. And this, this, this took you, you know, probably years to fine tune and tweak and figure out your process and figure out what that works. And so for somebody to be able to just download that and be able to get it right away, that's, that's amazing. Huge value there. If I downloaded it and I sang it, what I sound like you would, I sound like,
KARRA:that's where, things get kind of tricky.
Track 1:to be a good singer though? Is that, is that part of it?
KARRA:kind of, kind of have to know how to sing. I mean, you know what? There's a lot of character in people who don't know how to sing, and when you mix your vocal in cool ways, you actually would be surprised at what you can create.
Track 1:Yeah, Yeah. Yeah. So it's funny, I've, I grew up playing the drums that was my original love and picked up the guitar along the way. I produced a little bit, you know, I'd make some beats and stuff. I know the basic production stuff. But singing is one thing that I've never, I'm like, I am not a singer. I do not identify as a singer. I do not, you know, ever really sing. But something in the last, like, I don't know, four months or so, I've been singing in my car every day and I'm loving, I'm like finding the joy of singing. I'm just like, I sound like shit, but I'm bumping music up and I'm just like going for it. I'm going full send and I'm having so much fun. I'm like, oh, this is cool. Uh, and there's a part of me where I'm like, I kind of wanna take like voice lessons. Like I'd love
KARRA:Yeah.
Track 1:learn how to
KARRA:Well, you can just download my singing for beginner's course. I'll send it to you,
Track 1:Boom. Yes. Hook. Hook it up. Like it's, it's like it's been in the back of my mind, you know? I'm like, I don't know. I think I'm, I'm craving like, some, some new edgy hobbies and some new things, so, uh, all right. Send it over.
KARRA:And also I think with, with singing. I think everybody, especially producers, should take vocal lessons or watch my course. it's not that you have to go super hardcore with it, but I think the biggest struggle and obstacle that I've faced with working with producers in the studio is, um, communication while I'm recording. So I had a lot of problems with producers not knowing how to communicate with me as a vocalist. And so that actually causes a lot of, uh, you know, just, uh, obstacles and resistance while you're trying to create something. So it's
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:for everybody to understand a little bit about singing.
Track 1:It's like being a director, right? Like they need to be able to express what they're really wanting to get and how to
KARRA:Yes,
Track 1:that conversation,
KARRA:yes. And vice versa. Singers should know vocal production or have a basic understanding of production as well.
Track 1:yeah, for sure. That's great. Everyone gets on the same page. So this is a great segue'cause I would love to hear,'cause I know there's a lot of producers out there that. Maybe they're downloading the sample packs and stuff, but the truth is, you know, if you're using a sample pack, fucking 500 other producers are using it too, right? So you're never gonna be actually having original vocals working with a singer on an original track. So I would love to hear about some best practices, right? Like, how does one go find a singer in the first place? What's the best way to hit them up? What are, I don't know, what are, what's the standard kind of rate for hiring a singer? Right? And I don't know, I'm sure you've worked with so many people. There's probably a, a, a lot of great advice that you could give to, uh, to producers out there that are wanting to find singers and work with them. Because I've, I've seen a lot of people kind of fuck it up and do it the wrong way, you know?
KARRA:Yeah,
Track 1:the, what's the right way to do it?
KARRA:Well, you know, every situation's different, but it really depends on like, where you're at in your career. So if you are a straight up beginner, never worked with a vocalist, I would really lower expectations in a way, you're not going to get the more experienced singers, and a, a lot of people will just like dmm, you know, singers and try it and work with them when they've already been, you know, working in the music industry and having all these big releases and stuff and they think like a DMM will make it happen. It just, it just doesn't work out like that. but when you're a beginner, it would be smart to look for other beginners. So if there's other like singers that are looking for people that you know, to produce their vocals, then that's really where you should start.
Track 1:where's the best place to find other up and coming singers? It's easy. It's easy to find the big ones. They're out there, they're in your face, but
KARRA:right.
Track 1:where are the up and coming singers hanging out?
KARRA:Well, I think a lot of singers are on Fiverr. So there's a website called Fiverr that you can hire a vocalist for a very, very affordable price. And there's a lot of singers up there offering deals that want to work, and you never know what kind of relationships you can build
Track 1:Yeah, good
KARRA:Um
Track 1:on maybe, maybe Upwork as well. I think that's
KARRA:mm-Hmm.
Track 1:Upwork or is There's like a
KARRA:I'm not really familiar with other websites, but it's up to you as the producer that is looking for a vocalist to research some of these, you know, options for you because Yeah. And then you can also do a little digging and look at. You know, some of the vocalists on other tracks that you really love and see who they're managed by. And you can send out cold emails to them. In situations like that, it's probably unlikely that they'll do it for free. So you have to be prepared to pay some sort of fee. and as a vocalist, what I would do when someone would email me to work, I would send them a one sheet, a contract, basically saying like, this is my fee. I need 50% upfront. Because, you know, say I send the stems and then you guys just disappear, and then I don't get paid. I have to be protected in some way. So, so yeah, I, I would get 50% upfront and then once, you know, everything was finalized, I would send stems and get paid the final payment. and then there's situations that I've been in where I didn't ask for a fee because I really just wanted to build the relationship with that producer. so yeah, it's just, it's different. And I, I think it's really up to you to, to find people online and reach out to people. But you can't just expect like a big singer to wanna work with you if you're just beginning. And that's the point that I'm trying to make.
Track 1:Yeah. And it sounds like being profession, it sounds like being professional, sending an email rather than just a casual dmm, right? Like, treat this,
KARRA:Email,
Track 1:a professional, treat your singer like a professional, have a contract,
KARRA:Of a contract. Yeah. right And a lot of people might think, well, that sucks the fun out of it. No, it doesn't. having contracts and having clear, roles and, and having clear communication is so valuable and it creates such an effortless, flow to the process and understanding and knowing what each person is gonna bring to the table. I definitely recommend that because every situation that I've been in, where I got. Screwed outta something was because there was no contracts in place, there was nothing, uh, in writing, so they could do
Track 1:So important. Yeah, so, so important. I, it's been a long time since I taught. The music business classes over at Icahn Collective. But this was always something that I really hammered home, especially coming from a background in management and also just seeing how many fucking people would come up to me and be like, Hey, I'm in this situation that, where it's like there's this total, you know, power struggle now and this music communication now. And I'm like, well, you should have had the fucking conversation in the beginning, right? Like, it is important, you know, it's just communication. Be direct. Like, Hey, let's, let's be creative together. Are we gonna split this 50 50? Is there a fee? It's, it can be a very simple, easy, casual conversation, but have the conversation and have it written down and be like, cool, now let's, now let's go have some fun. Let's now let's get in bed,
KARRA:Right. And honestly, a lot of situations definitely don't start that way because when you are, say you're living in LA and you're doing a bunch of sessions with people and, and the lines get blurred and you're not really signing contracts and stuff, it, it can be really difficult because you just, you just never know what kind of energy someone's gonna bring to the negotiation part of the project I kind of view writing songs as like different like phases and like the creating is a totally different phase. And then you have the negotiation and the business side of it. Right. And you have to be aware of both sides because you have to get both accomplished to get the song out. so you, you really wanna treat people, right? You wanna do the, you know, you wanna be fair, you want to like, have good energy and. Because that reputation really goes a long way in your career. so yeah, it, it could be tricky because you're not just walking into sessions with contracts and signing stuff like, um, yeah, exactly. But I think just like being knowledgeable about what you're, it's gonna be negotiating and, and just kind of like feeling people out, like being intuitive about it. And because there have been sessions where I would walk in and be like, okay, these people are gonna be a problem.
Track 1:You could feel it. Yeah.
KARRA:Yeah. Yeah. you could smell it in the air. I smell trouble Exactly. And, and in the beginning I would get myself into trouble because one, I just needed to learn those lessons early on, which is totally fine. That's part of the process. But also, I just didn't have the confidence in myself to stick up for myself and, and know my worth. And so I kind of just let people. Walk all over me. once again, I, I learned so much from doing that. I don't do that anymore. So that's a plus
Track 1:yeah, yeah,
KARRA:I know how to handle situations energetically. I, like I said, I could read people very easily now, and I just think that just comes with time and wisdom and practice and people don't realize that, you know, collaborating and working with people on music is actually very social. Like going back to what we were talking about before, it's a social game and, and it has a lot to do with managing personalities and understanding human psychology. And so if you feel like someone's gonna be a problem or something's not gonna work out, you don't have to work with them. You don't have to finish the project, you can move on. you find people that you vibe with and of the time those situations are what's gonna take you the furthest.
Track 1:You know, I just had the huge Privilege and honor of getting to coach duo, which I've only done one other time. But it was so fun because totally, it was like I, I I was almost just like a marriage counselor for them the whole time. Shout out to Bahe. They're coming out with some amazing like Indian infused, like house music. It's so fucking cool. I can't wait to share with everybody. But, uh, it was like just really helping them deepen their connection was, was so much of it was like better communication, you know, whether that was not only on the creative side, but just the personal side. And that was something I was always really supporting them with is like, guys, the deeper you go, the deeper you become connected, the better music you're gonna make, the more intertwined your souls and your energy is gonna be. And, and a lot of times, you know, you're just maybe getting into the studio and it's like Alright, cool. Let's just start making right, you know, making music right away and, and see what the vibe is, uh, just musically. But I think that social side, that human side, I remember hearing, uh, an interview, I think it was this producer, naughty boy, and I don't remember who, maybe it was Emily Sande, I think was, was the, was the producer. But I remember reading, they had a huge hit. They said that they spent two full days just hanging out. They're like, before we even make music, we're gonna, they were, you know, they just went to lunch. They talked about their relationships, they talked about life and all this stuff. And it was like being able to come in and, you know, it's like you're making musical babies. You know, having, you know, fucking musical sex with this person, right?
KARRA:Yes, yes,
Track 1:together, so like, let's get
KARRA:yes.
Track 1:other a little bit, you know?
KARRA:Yeah. And that's really how I ended up with, um, Reid producing my music and also cashmere producing my music. And then, my friend Nash Overstreet, who writes everything with me, like, that's my team. And, and because of the fact that I am so deeply connected to each one of them in my own unique way, it, it's just an effortless thing. But it took years to build those connections. Like it took many, many songs, many sessions, many business meetings to hash out things. And it wasn't always easy. I didn't always it like we didn't always flow. Like there was certain things that we had to learn about each other to get to that point of
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:which I feel like we're at now.
Track 1:Mm. Yeah. It's like going deep, you know, going, going for depth instead of, instead of, you know, you can spread yourself very thin amongst a lot of people and you know, there's something great about that, just, you know, right. But then also really going deep with that smaller circle and and seeing what's possible creatively,
KARRA:a team.
Track 1:on a business side of it as well.
KARRA:Yeah. I think when I first moved to LA the first like five years, I was doing a different session every day and I got so burnt out. I was incredibly unhappy. I didn't know why I was living my dream making music, but also so depressed. Like I just didn't understand why, until I realized how sensitive I was as a person. I'm incredibly empathic, and so all of that energy I was taking on, so even just traveling around to different parts of la like when you're a songwriter, going to these different studios, you don't know what. What kind of, you know, things are going on there. Like, it, it's like you get sensitive to things and I had to build my own studio, in my own space and create my own environment in order for me to have a clear channel because I was really, really struggling. I just kept hitting walls.'cause I was like, this isn't my studio. This doesn't feel right. This isn't like, I, I, I just keep it, keep going to different places and it's not really amounting to much, like, yeah, I might get a song out, but I, I wanna build something, like I said, with longevity. I wanna build an empire. I can, I have to do that with a team.
Track 1:Yeah. Yeah. And that's a great point for producers that are working with singers that are looking to work with singers, if you're inviting them into your space, if you have the studio, really go above and beyond to make that person feel comfortable, right? Create the vibe, make them feel welcome. Ask them for what they need. Like, that's where the best stuff is gonna come. You need to feel safe. You need to feel comfortable. You need to feel connected. And so I think if, if you're, if it's your home, if you're the one hosting that's on you, like
KARRA:Mm-Hmm?
Track 1:go above and beyond create that energy
KARRA:Yeah.
Track 1:of you.
KARRA:So when I had that realization and Reid and I moved in together for the first time, we did that. Exactly. We were like, okay, if we wanna host sessions, we need to make this a special experience. And that's how Laser Jungle Studios was born. we, we, that's how we built it Yeah. Like, that's how, like we were, we actually like named our studio something because we wanted it to be an experience for people. We wanted it to be cool. Like, we had this house in Topanga that overlooked the entire valley with a hot tub on the deck. And we had like, you know, our friend who is a, a chef come over and make snacks and stuff. Like, we really took every single detail so seriously. And that's, that's really where I think I thrive the most. Like I'm a Viber, like I can create, I can create a vibe. Like I know what the emotional takeaway is gonna be and I know how I wanna make people feel. And that's why I feel like I'm a good artist.
Track 1:Yeah. The vibe Queen.
KARRA:Yeah.
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:people overlook it sometimes. They're like, okay, well I have the functionality, but, but where's the vibe? Like where's the excitement,
Track 1:Yeah. Well, you certainly have created a vibe on this podcast today. I am so happy to just reconnect with you and
KARRA:Yeah. It was
Track 1:and hear about all the cool shit that you're up to. And man, I am, I'm really proud of you. I'm really, honestly, like, it's been a long, you know, we were like little kids in the industry when we met, like, probably like early twenties, mid twenties, and like, you know, just seeing what you've created for yourself and you're just, you're thriving, you're vibrant, you're making amazing stuff. You're living
KARRA:Thank you. Yeah. Yeah. Let's go. And my biggest purpose in life is to help others do the same.
Track 1:Yeah. Hell yeah. You're doing it. You're making an impact.
KARRA:I.
Track 1:and also, lastly, don't you, uh, did you, you started a podcast yourself as well, right?
KARRA:Yes, I started a podcast on my YouTube channel and so far I only have two podcasts, Reed as my guest, and I have my first special guest coming next week. So we're gonna continue to build it. I wanna have more conversations with people in the industry and, even not at specifically the music industry, just anything that correlates with creating and, and business and all that good stuff. So
Track 1:Yeah.
KARRA:excited to build that out.
Track 1:Yeah. Everyone go check it out. You know that that is gonna be fire content. I'll put all the links in the show notes. Uh, Kara, thank you so much for hopping on today. I, I love you. It's been a true privilege, and you're the best.
KARRA:You're the best. Thank you so much, Nick. It was great talking to you.