Rising Star Jenny March On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Music Industry

Never doubt your own ideas. Listen to them and stand up for them. Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure leads to success. You can do it all. You don’t have to rely on anyone. Be patient. Set realistic goals.

As a part of our series about rising music stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jenny March.

Based in Los Angeles but originally from Ohio, pop artist Jenny March is currently building her presence in the music industry, featured on PAPER, Wonderland, NYLON, EARMILK and FLAUNT who expressed that listeners can expect “an abundance of badass female energy”. In 2020, Jenny became a SAVAGExFENTY brand ambassador and did virtual performances for iHeartRadio, EARMILK, Bandsintown and more.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

I was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. A pretty secluded small town outside of the city, where everyone knew each other. It was very comfortable there and it felt safe, but I felt like I was missing something out of the world. Even from a very young age, I felt that. I think that part of the reason I felt that way was because I had traveled so much with my parents around the country and even had been to a few places outside of the U.S by the time I was 10. I could tell as a middle schooler/freshman in high school that there was more to life than the typical life of the people from here, which was to go to an Ivy League College, join a sorority, get a job, move back home and start a family, etc.

I somehow convinced my parents to take me to StageDoor Manor theatre camp in the Catskills of New York for 5 summers starting when I was 12 years old. I met so many cool people, people that grew up with such different lives than me. After experiencing that, I really wanted to move to a big city and meet new people and pursue my passions. What I did learn from growing up in Cincinnati, which I will always cherish, is respect, morals, manners, and that family is everything and they will always be there, no matter what.

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

I was always different growing up. I was picked on because I wasn’t like everyone else. I was friends with everyone. I didn’t like bullying others and my friends were jealous of me. I was pretty good at everything I did and I’m not trying to be egotistical, but I really was just naturally talented, and girls and boys didn’t like that because I was their competition. Even though I was hurt by my so-called friends, I still never stopped and it gave me even more motivation to want to be better. Those experiences led me to write secret songs in my bedroom at night and eventually move out of Cinci to LA at 15 years old when the unimaginable happened. My mom told me it was her friend that told her she should have me join an acting agency in Cinci, and I’m glad she did it. An LA manager named Nick Roses, came to do a workshop at my agency at the time, Heyman Talent. He taught us basic things like how to slate and then we did an improv scene with a partner. If you could sing, you sang 1–2 songs too. At the end of the workshop, in both the kid and adult class, he picked 1–2 people. He picked me to sign and asked my mom if she thought we’d want to move to LA and start auditioning. Because of the troubles at school I was having with the other kids, I was already looking for a new school at the time, so it just seemed perfect. Somehow my dad agreed with the plan (he’s the most supportive to this day) and my mom and I moved to Los Angeles.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

I went on my first radio tour back in 2018, which was soo much fun. I went up east down to the midwest to my home state, and down to the south and hit two stations in California. My song “Talk To Me” was played on 107.1 KISS FM, the radio station I grew up listening to growing up in Cincinnati along with a bunch of other cities. It was so crazy to hear it in my hometown, let alone have old friends hit you up saying they heard it too. It was a surreal moment for sure.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Never date a coworker. Lol In my case, a producer I was working with. My dad warned me about mixing business and pleasure and I should have listened! I went down a road where I lost myself and had to find myself and my self-confidence all over again. All I wanted to do was help him (my ex) — by changing him, and a toxic year later, I finally realized that he can’t be changed and I would never be happy. He would never make me happy. Kinda funny?

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

I just released my first ever official remix to my song “SCREAM”, remixed by Disco Fries. It’s electrifying and will 100% make you want to dance. This song was originally on my debut EP, “Madness”. It’s really exciting to have the remix out. I worked so hard over the past few years, not having a manager and doing the business side of things myself so it’s really exciting to have this remix come out, that I coordinated myself and with a DJ duo I love so much.

I’ve of course been writing more songs and recording and I’ll be releasing some singles following the remix and possibly another EP. Stay tuned :)

We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?

1. Promotes inclusion and acceptance

There has been a lot of misrepresentation in the history of filmmaking, shaping American culture. The misrepresentation of many different cultures in filmmaking spreads false narratives and stereotypes around the world. Equality is important. Diversity is important. We should teach and show children, through education and film and television at least, that everyone is equal and no one ethnicity is greater than another. It shouldn’t be a thing. We should teach more acceptance rather than exclusion.

2. Gives voices to the voiceless

A lot of the underrepresented communities have no voice. The film and television industry can give voices to those who are voiceless by sharing their stories across the world through their films. Recently we have started to see more of this in the industry, but there is still so much more that can be done. Without these voices being heard, there is no way, besides the news that sometimes won’t get published, to find out about it. There are people making false assumptions because they don’t have the right knowledge about the culture and there are people actually suffering, who deserve to have their voices heard and their stories told. Sharing more diversity in TV & film will only make a positive impact on many lives.

3. It brings everyone a few steps closer to understanding one another’s differences.

Everyone has a different background, culture, upbringing and being able and allowed to work with others, you are able to learn and grow. Film and television have the ability to do this at a large scale, sharing diverse friendships, relationships, and stories onscreen across our world, that can give the needed information to benefit the people.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Never doubt your own ideas. Listen to them and stand up for them.

Throughout my journey as an artist, I’ve had a lot of people tell me things like “oh this will sound cooler” or “that idea won’t come across well to your audience”, etc. Listen to your intuition and your heart. Sometimes that’s hard because you haven’t figured out who you are yet, but really try listening to that gut feeling. Most of the time it isn’t wrong. Your ideas are good! You know yourself better than anyone else who tells you otherwise. If you are in a room full of people you look up to or have had a lot of success, don’t doubt your own worth. If you don’t agree with something, say it. Stand up for yourself. It’s ok to have a different opinion than someone else. I struggled with this for a time because I thought, “oh they know better than I do, because look where they are now”, but really they don’t know me and they don’t know what type of person and artist I am. Only you know who you are. The most successful artists were true to who they were and they outshined others with their uniqueness because of that. Remember that!

2. Don’t be afraid to fail. Failure leads to success.

If you’re someone like me, you don’t like to be wrong. You love being right and hate making mistakes. That can bite you in the ass! I remember holding back on releasing my first single for months because my manager at the time told me to and I really just wanted to put it out, but I was afraid it wouldn’t perform well if I didn’t have more content together. It would have been a more fresh sound if I had just released it, but I didn’t and then I had grown so much when I finally released it, and I wasn’t as in love with it. Take chances, risky chances. You won’t know if something will work unless you try it. The more you fail, the more you learn and then you can adjust your strategy and make whatever changes you need to from there.

3. You can do it all. You don’t have to rely on anyone.

When I started doing this, I felt like I had to rely on so many people to help me. Part of that was because I started at such a young age and I really did need to rely on some people for some things. Relying too much quickly became a bad habit I had to break, in order to fully break out into who I was as an artist and be 100% confident in knowing my worth. It was tough and it still is sometimes, but I’ve been working on it. When you are told that you need this person and that person, “oh they’ll help you”, “you need them”, you start to hold yourself back and wait around for others. No one will know what you want to do, more than you and waiting around gets you nowhere. LEARN as much as you can. DO your research on all aspects of the industry and you can do anything. Trust yourself.

4. Be patient.

I have been in LA for 10 years. I’ve seen a lot of people come and go and give up on their dreams. You know why? Because they don’t have patience. Let me tell you, it hasn’t been easy and I have had family and friends ask me “are you tired yet?” “why don’t you just come home and get a job?” I always said “no” even if I sometimes doubted myself, I wanted to prove to myself I could do it. I’ve stayed working on my artistry because I love it. There is no such thing as an overnight success. It may look like some are, but the ones that stay around have been at this for longer than you think. It can take 20+ years for some people in the entertainment business! Just be patient. Focus on yourself and your business. Try not to get too distracted from your path and truly pay attention to the now, and live in the moment. Your time will come. My time will come, I just have to be patient and work hard. (:

5. Set realistic goals.

Once you have an idea of how to go about making it in the music business, start writing down your goals. Write detailed lists and give yourself a timeline. What things could you achieve in 1 month, 5 months, 1 year, 5 years, etc? Be precise about what will be beneficial to you and what won’t be when presented with opportunities. It’s easy to lose sight of what you need to do when they aren’t written down. If you make detailed lists of things that will be beneficial to your career and in what time period, it will be easier to get rid of the negatives.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Surround yourself with a good team, one you can trust and that you know has your best interest at heart. I’ve heard so many horror stories of adults in the industry taking advantage and overworking younger entertainers. Learn to know yourself and know when your body is tired. It’s ok if you can’t do as much as someone else. Eat healthy, exercise, take time to relax and rest your mind and body. I’m sure I will learn more tricks down the road on how to keep healthy and energized while on tour. I’m almost there!

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’ve always loved what the Boys & Girls Club of America does for adolescents. I have volunteered a lot there. I would love to help kids that come from less fortunate families and help them have a better future. I’m not sure what that would be exactly, but maybe starting with going back into helping the Boys & Girls Club would be a good start. This movement is something I am very passionate about, as well as my family and I think it would bring a lot of good to the world.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents. Hands down. They have been my biggest supporters since day one. I am extremely lucky to have parents that let their daughter move across the country in order to pursue her childhood dreams. I know a lot of parents who didn’t approve of this unique way of life, the way my parents did and they had to make it on their own so young. I am so thankful for their love and support of me. Even though he isn’t the best to go to for advice on writing a song, my dad has been tremendously helpful with creating my own business and being a CEO. I would have probably got caught in situations I wouldn’t want to be in if it weren’t for his knowledge about running a business and what is right and wrong.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Success is where preparation meets opportunity”. — Not sure who it’s from because google says it’s by a few different people, but this quote is my dad’s favorite and one he passed on to me that I will never forget. It took me a while to actually put this quote into action and I’m not sure why, but I really didn’t like preparing. I think it was probably because things had come so naturally to me as a kid that I didn’t think I had to practice and I got used to that. Now that I am older, preparation, putting in the hard work, really is the difference between getting what you want and standing out in front of other people who want the same thing.

When I was in middle school and high school, I remember auditioning for different roles in shows and some I would get and some I wouldn’t. Want to know why I didn’t get some of those roles? Because I practiced for only a day or 2 before, thinking I had everything memorized and ready to go, until audition day came and my nerves got the best of me and I forgot the lines. The opportunity was there, but the preparation was not. If you work hard and practice consistently, the opportunity will appear and you will be ready for it.

Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)

Miley Cyrus. Growing up and still to this day, I am a huge Miley fan. I admire her and her family. I love how close and open they are with each other about everything and you can just see the love glowing. Miley would have amazing advice for someone like me, as she has been in this business since she was 13 years old and has navigated her way through this tough business, growing into herself and her artistry, and receiving all the success she has had. The way she carries herself in interviews and speaks is really enticing. She will shock you if you only think of her as the crazy girl who sticks her tongue out and says dirty stuff in her songs sometimes. I have that crazy side of me too and get misjudged sometimes, so I think we are similar in that way and it would be amazing to be able to have breakfast or lunch with her. Probably brunch with Mimosas would be it though.

How can our readers follow you online?

You can find me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube at @jennymarchmusic and @jennymarchmusic_ for Tik Tok. I’m most active on my Instagram! I love to talk to everyone, so hit my dm’s :)

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!