He Pulled Out The Band A Mere Five days Prior To My Album Release

I made a decision last summer that led me to approach building a music career in a completely different way.

From 2014-2017, I was signed to a local publishing label with the hopes that it would help bolster my music to a wider audience. After a rocky three years between arguments with the owner and making minimal progress towards how I pictured myself at the end of those three years I’d been signed, I decided not to renew my contract. In response, he pulled out the band a mere five days prior to my album release party for "My Glass Heart" in August 2017, stole my only reliable gig (the venue did not protest this since he was the label owner), and held onto the copyrights of my debut EP, "Gianre" despite contractual obligations to return them to me after the three-year contract expired.

After a very long back and forth with an attorney, I finally learned over the summer that I will receive my owed copyrights, and all of my previous works besides "Gianre" have now been copyrighted in my name, or are pending. Once he learned of his contractual obligation to re-assign the rights to "Gianre" to me, it 'mysteriously' disappeared from streaming services like Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube Music.

Before I was certain I would be able to attain the copyrights to all of my songs (to eventually re-record and re-release them, essentially starting three years' worth of work over from scratch), I wrote and recorded my EP "No Longer Silent,” which tells the emotional journey I went on through this split with my publisher and the venue where I had my steady gig.

No Longer Silent is a bundle of indie pop sass that takes you on a journey through unconventional pop, jazzy vibes, an anthem, and lands on a powerful ballad.

I've spent the last year contemplating how it is I want to tackle music by means as a career path. In the Springtime, I discovered music on Twitch.tv - a website dedicated to live streaming of many types of entertainment.

There is a beautiful music community on there, and I've been live streaming music since May 2018 under the username Anayume (Ana taken from “Giana” and “yume” meaning “dream” in Japanese).

I've been working tirelessly to build up a dedicated community through my streams. I play the piano and ukulele and provide a songlist where viewers can request songs; I'm also hoping to learn how to play the guitar and purchase a loop pedal over the coming months to spice up my streams even more.

Despite the bumpy road I've been on with my music, I'm reminded often why I love music so much. It's my best friend when I need somewhere to pour every emotion deep within me.

It's my voice when I don't know what to say.

It’s my way of sharing a piece of my story and my soul with others with the hopes that they can relate to it within their own story.

At the end of the day, I continue to aspire to inspire and create something to which people can escape and relax.