Don’t underestimate Kelly King. She may fool you with her easy-going demeanor, her sunny nature, her down-to-earth attitude. But she’s sneaky- smart, and she’s used her brains along with her go-getter spunk to rise up the ranks of Nashville’s music industry, heading up her own successful publishing company, King Pen Music. King Pen’s roster includes Brothers Osborne, songwriter/producer Pete Good, artist/writer Brandon Ratcliff. and new songwriter Joshua Singleton. Kelly shares some of her insights and lessons from her over twenty-year career on music row with us today.
Did you always know you wanted to be in the music business? After I graduated college, I worked in marketing at a mortgage firm in Atlanta. It was a wonderful experience, but the paperwork and stuffy office atmosphere were uninspiring. I knew there had to be more out there for me. My parents encouraged me to get into the music business in Nashville since they knew music had always been my passion. I thought my marketing background might help me find a position on the business side of this creative industry, but had no clue where that would be or what that meant.
Tell me about your love affair with music. To my family, music wasn’t just a lyric and melody on the radio. It was an integral part of any experience. Music was in the background during every vacation, party, holiday, or just any ordinary day. Living out beyond suburbia, there wasn’t much else to do, and I listened to music all day, every day. My dad in particular loved country music. He was the one that taught me to appreciate the story behind the song. One of my favorite memories is driving to the beach and listening to the the entire Willie Nelson Red-Headed Stranger Album. My dad walked me through the whole concept album, explaining how each song worked together to create a sonic piece of art.
This taught me to appreciate talking about music at length, comparing viewpoints and how each song made different people feel. It was truly fascinating to me, and obviously still is.
So you were in Atlanta and your parents suggested you move to Nashville? Yes! But it wasn’t totally out of the blue, as I had family in Nashville, one of my aunts. She told me she only knew one person in the music industry, Merlin Littlefield. Her perchance acquaintance turned out to be one of the most serendipitous things to happen to me, because Littlefield was actually leaving ASCAP to start his own publishing company. He said if I could relocate to Nashville in two weeks, I could be his assistant. I didn’t really even know what a publishing company was! But I knew it had to do with songs and songwriters, so I was excited.
The company was called AVI Entertainment. Merlin would take me around and we’d have lunch with tons of great artists and writers, like Deana Carter, Michael Smotherman, and Marty Raybon. He knew everybody and everyone loved him. At the time, I didn’t know that he was scouting for talent to sign. I thought we were just having a good time. Finally, he explained to me that our end goal was to get songs CUT.
So I began listening to songs and making cassette tapes and calling A&R people to pitch our songs.
So essentially, you started song plugging? Yes, but at that time, I didn’t even know that “song-plugger” was a formal position in this industry. It was very organic. Eventually, I got our first cut with Merle Haggard’s son, Noel Haggard. AVI was a short-lived company, but it allowed me to get to my next phase.
And what was your next job? Hayes Street Music was the next company that I worked for.It was owned by Don Schlitz and Chuck Flood (partner in Flood, Bumstead, and McCarthy, a highly respected music business management company). They hired me as their junior song-plugger. Talk about music education! Hayes Street Music was where I learned everything that led me to become a real publisher. I always knew I loved the way music made me feel, and I loved the message, but working here, I learned more about the craft: understanding how it all comes together to make a hit. Also, as a business owner now, I can see that these two men taught me how to be strong and straight-forward, not wasting any money or time.
I would consider Don and Chuck my first mentors and they still have my heart.
Later, I got the opportunity to run Hayes Street for them, and it was a wealth of learning. I’m so thankful for that time. It’s what enabled me to get my job with Mark Bright who was currently one of the hottest producers in town. Mark hired me from Hayes Street to run his new publishing company called Teracel Music (a Sony co-venture). Right as I started working with him, we signed Brett James and Rascall Flatts.
Mark was a big mentor for me; he was an incredible song guy. I learned what a producer looks for, and how to make a song a hit. Learning his ear. Learning the difference between an album cut and a single. Different production aspects like how to make a song sound more country, or more pop. They eventually brought me in as a partner after we’d had an unbelievable amount of success.
You don’t think about it until you sit back, but I’ve had a lot of steps along the way. And I’ve had so many people play an integral part in my learning experiences, some really incredible ones.
Would you say the industry is more competitive now? Nashville still feels like a small-town community, but as the years have gone by I do feel as though our “family-esque” atmosphere has been infiltrated to the point that everyone has gotten very “campy,” protecting their own. I think that’s such a detriment to the industry because when it felt more collaborative, I think better, more diverse songs were being recorded. But it’s definitely more cut-throat at this point in time, harder to get a song cut, and to find your place in this town.
If someone wanted to enter the music industry as a career (not as an artist or writer), what would you tell them?I think the first thing to keep in mind is that it is very competitive. A lot of people forget that in any industry, you have to pay your dues. Even if you’re the most driven person in the room, if you haven’t paid your dues, you won’t necessarily soar to the top right away. A lot of people want to come in and be the CEO and run everything, or think that they know everything without experiencing the culture of the music industry first.
But the ones who want to be a sponge and show that they respect their more experienced peers, while also having some creative ideas to offer… those are the ones who will make a lasting impact in this town. People who have a great attitude, who are willing to listen and to do anything are the ones who are going to achieve what they set out to do. My best advice would be to take any internships available in the field you’re interested in and have people get to know you, because the cream always rises to the top.
What do you have to say about women in the music business? Nashville was definitely a “good ol’ boy’s” network for a long time, but it’s getting better. I think women have to go in and say “I’m a person; you’re a person — let’s make something happen.” The women who’ve done really well in this industry have never underestimated themselves, teaching others not to underestimate them, either.
Don’t get hung up on genders. Man or woman. We all love music and can absolutely make our own way.
And what about you personally, as a woman in the industry? There were definitely times I had to fight for the respect I deserved. I had to work a little harder to be recognized as capable. One of those times was in 2011, when creative differences within the company I was working for began to weigh too heavily on my personal and career aspirations. It was time to hit the reset button and forge my own path. Having run small publishing companies for years, I had learned enough and had garnered the confidence to go out and do it my way. I wanted to sign the writers I wanted to sign.
Sounds like you were a bird ready to leave the nest. Were you nervous at all, starting your own company? Yes, because at the time, the market was at an all-time low. I would joke with people that there were moments that I was on the verge of a full-on, fetal position breakdown. But it’s the best thing that ever happened for me. It opened me up to all this creative freedom and potential.
Those are the times when you pull yourself up by your bootstraps.
What really helped me was my “Jerry Maguire” moment of having TJ (of Brothers Osborne) take the leap with me. I told him, “If you give me two months, I will get you a publishing deal and we will do this together.” I so believed in TJ and John, and to this day, it means the world to me that they chose to trust me and go on this journey together.
Was he calling you up during that time saying “show me the money?” Well, I’d told him to give me two months and it took me three. But they were both amazing through that and I will thank them forever. A year later, they signed a record deal with EMI/Capitol, now Universal. That’s something I’m proud of because it can a very long time to get a record deal. But it took one year for the Brothers Osborne and one year for Brandon Ratcliff. That’s rare, so I’m proud. Obviously, it took some hard work on my part, but I can’t say enough about how they are all extremely talented and overwhelmingly special, which made my job easier than most.
So it was a thrilling yet nerve-wracking time, going out on your own? Yes, but I want to say something happens deep down inside of you at times like that — maybe it’s fear? Survival. You say, “I’ve got to do this.” Your brain works differently. You start thinking outside the box and having your most creative moments. You’ll be amazed at what you’re capable of. Trust yourself. I’m so thankful for all of my hard moments. Those are the times I truly learned the most.
Sometimes you need to be in your darkest moments for you to shine.
So now you currently have Brothers Osborne, Brandon Ratcliff, and Pete Good…Yes, and I have a new writer Joshua Singleton I just signed in partnership with Combustion Music. And I also do A&R for Joe Nichols, Trace Adkins, and Rascall Flatts. I’ve been with Rascall Flatts for over 20 years. I love those guys so much and we have great chemistry. Doing the A&R consulting has helped make me a better publisher, because I can see where the bar is and get turned onto all the new writers. It has also allowed me to connect with other publishers on a different level.
Is it ever hard to find the momentum to keep going? Because it can be a fickle industry? It is a rollercoaster. There may be very few highs, but when you get them, they sustain you.
You hear a great song, and you say,“Oh this is why I do what I do every day.”
And it will keep me going for a long time. It gets in your soul. But then I’ll have some dips and hear so many no’s. And then I hear another great song. Thank God there’s enough of them to keep me sustained.
Do you feel like you need a female writer on your roster to round it out? I’d love to find one. I have to hear something in them I don’t hear in anybody else: their style, their voice, their angle. Because it’s so hard to break. The good news is the ones who do break, they’re huge. In hindsight, when Taylor Swift came in, nobody was doing it. We weren’t smart enough to recognize it was a niche. That’s why I’ve become a better publisher. Because now I look for what’s unique. Don’t try to sign what’s happening, don’t chase it. The perfect example is when I signed Brothers Osborne, that was not happening. Everything was Bro Country. People would say, “what are you going to do with them? They’re not country.” But their being different is what excited me the most.
And damn, they can play guitar…Right? How can you deny great talent? Incredible voice, guitar playing, songwriting.. so it was like don’t think about what lane they’re gonna be in. They’ll create a lane. And it’s going to be amazing. So what I try to do is find someone who’s so uniquely different. Because they’ll find their place. There are other publishers out there who treat it like a science. They look at statistics, and what’s been played. I can’t do that. I have to just think about what do I love and what’s knocking my socks off.
What about your goals for the future? To keep doing what you’re doing? It’s been a fun ride so far. A bumpy one, but a fun one. I know I love it and as long as I keep getting excited about new writers, I’ll keep doing it. All I know is I still really feel the passion that I felt in my earliest years. I still consider myself a scrapper — nothing comes easily for me since I’m on my own (and not under a big umbrella). But I’m fine with that because it’s my baby and I have the control.