Photo Credit: Matt Freedman
Most people give up on their dreams when their plans crumble. They fail to explore and awaken the sleeping giant within them, leading them to live in regret.
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However, some people push themselves no matter what happens in their lives. They are optimistic that they can achieve something incredible despite whatever knocks them down. Matt Freedman falls into this category in spades, and has overcome all odds to make a name for himself in the ever competitive world of country music.
Matt Freedman is a music veteran who has been in the industry for 20 years. The country artist was once a great scholarship football quarterback until a knee injury squashed his career hopes, denying him the opportunity to turn pro. Instead of giving up, Freedman picked up his guitar and started selling out shows across the Northeast. He has played alongside Miranda Lambert, Brantley Gilbert, Brett Young, and many other artists.
Matt Freedman is also a signed Nashville songwriter. Together with his band, The Herd, they have been placed on over 5 Spotify country playlists, with their first single being played in over 90 country radio stations. But above all, he takes pride as the father of three young girls.
As an artist, Matt Freedman has achieved several notable career milestones.
His hard work has seen him win awards regionally. Freedman has also won several international songwriting awards. Being recognized and given an award is every artist in the music industry’s dream, except for Freedman who’s aspirations transcend awards and accolades. His goals are around being a leader as a father, a devoted husband and to enable his band and crew to be at their best every day.
Like any other person, Freedman has encountered many challenges getting where he is today. His knee injury was quite a big setback in his life, and the thought of not being able to play football was hard to overcome. However, he had to move on and concentrate on the other things that life offered. The pandemic was also a big challenge. Live music concerts were halted, which meant artists’ primary means of livelihood were compromised. But during this time, Freedman focused on writing his full-length album and pitching songs to famous artists through his publisher. He wrote over 300 songs in 18 months when the world shut down.
“Be yourself and run your music career like a business,” says Freedman.
Many artists need to recognize that this is a job unlike any other—they often fall into the trap of treating it like a hobby simply because they love what they do. When they fail to commit to treating their music careers as a business, they fail to make a living and a name for themselves in this industry. He urges other artists to treat those around them like family. Most importantly, remember that you are your brand’s CEO, and whatever you wish for your brand, it’s up to you to make it happen.
Freedman takes great pride in his band, crew, and team. He describes them as incredible partners. With this team in place, Freedman believes that as long as they can continue to innovate, write amazing songs, and keep the pieces together, there are no limits to where they can go. Freedman also has lots still in store for his fans and will be out on the road this year with acts like John Rich from Big & Rich, Chris Lane, Parmalee, and several others.