Betty Keeping- She writes pop stories
Interview conducted July 02, 2020
By Dan Locke
Beth Keeping is a singer/songwriter from Surrey, UK. Drawing influences from both traditional country storytelling and modern pop music, Keeping delivers a fresh and modern sound of what she calls “pop stories”. Creating songs that speak about real situations, her honest lyrical approach and emotive vocals have been garnering attention from fans and critics across the globe.
Inspired into the music industry by artists such as Delta Goodrem, John Mayer, and Martyn Joseph, Keeping found herself traveling the world, writing and recording in the UK, Singapore, Ireland, Estonia, Andalusia, and America. Her debut EP Fool, which was recorded in Nashville, showcased her love for country music and its powerful ability to depict vivid stories through sound. However, her most recent work takes a move towards more mainstream pop, whilst reserving her signature authentic anecdotal lyrics
How did you first get into music? How did you start to write music?
I began writing music as a teenager after being inspired listening to artists growing up like Elton John, Delta Goodrem, Martyn Joseph – I loved that they wrote their own songs. I moved to London after university to pursue music and that was when I got into writing for other artists, and it all grew from there!
How was it to win the PRS Songwriting prize? What was your prize?
It was near the start of my journey as a songwriter so I found it really encouraging. The Mayor of London runs a busking competition each year and invites young people to play all over the capital. As part of the competition, PRS for Music sponsors a songwriting prize that they award to up to 5 songwriters. My song ‘No Hard Feelings’ (my first single) won and I received a specialist workshop with platinum-selling songwriters. I met my producer Kaity Rae that day, who also won!
How did you get your first guitar? Do you still have it?
Yes, my first guitar is the one I still play actually! I’ve recently bought my first piano and use this for writing and performing now more than the guitar.
What was your first performance like?
My first ever performance was with a friend at our high school leavers assembly years ago – we sang “Photograph” by Nickelback and made everyone cry! Neither of us had spoken much about our singing ability before so the other students were really surprised. A lot of the cool kids said how good it was – if you listen to the lyrics of my new song Cool Kids, you’ll see what ended up happening in the future!
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
I think it was called ‘You Will Never Change’. I had a demo of it on my SoundCloud for a while but my writing has improved so much since then that I was embarrassed about it and took it down…!
How was your time in Nashville and how has your time there influenced your music?
I love going to Nashville, they really value the craft of songwriting and everyone is so talented, so it’s a very inspiring place for writing music. I think my time spent their collaborating with different writers has improved my confidence in writing, and every time I come back, I find I have so many ideas for new songs and storylines.
Your latest single is “Cool Kids”. It is for anyone who has had an experience with bullying. How did you know you want to write about that topic?
I wanted to challenge myself to write about something a bit different. On the day I wrote Cool Kids I’d had a writing session for another artist where we wrote a song about her teenage diaries. After she left, I started to think about my own experience as a teenager and how I found out that some kids who used to bully me now listen to my music. So, I sat down and wrote the song in around 30 minutes, which is quite rare for me.
How do you stay healthy while touring?
Lots of water! And taking a bit of time out to enjoy the experience and explore places I’m visiting.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
I actually feel very positive about it – having playlists and recommended songs is a great way for listeners to discover new music they otherwise wouldn’t hear. I would like to see the royalties for songwriters and performers increase though!
Digital vs. vinyl?
Digital is a lot more practical, but you can’t beat the sound of vinyl!
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Also, what is the meaning that song means to you?
My friend Charlotte Campbell recently organized a Taylor Swift Tribute night Livestream to mark the day she was supposed to be headlining Glastonbury. She did a cover of ‘All Too Well’ which is one of my favorite songs of all time – that made me think about how Taylor’s Red album influenced me as a songwriter and also provided the soundtrack to my life the year it came out!
You are the founder of “Write Like A Girl”. Do you feel the Me-Too Movement has helped female performers?
It’s certainly given women more confidence to speak out about their own experiences and raised awareness that misogyny and mistreatment of women are very much alive today in the entertainment industry. It’s awful that the movement had to happen in the first place, but I think hearing so much higher profile women break their silence has helped other women feel more authorized and empowered to stand up to bad behavior and demand change.
What did you do for International Women’s Day?
I played our first Write Like A Girl show in Bristol – we had 6 female artists, 3 locals to the city, and it was an amazing night showcasing up-and-coming female talent. The music industry in the UK often feels very London-centric so it’s important for us to provide platforms for women outside of London too and support the live music scene in smaller cities.
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
I think it’s going to change a lot – we’ll work a lot more online and collaborate remotely and find new ways to connect with fans. I really hope that we’ll still be able to play live shows though!
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Lots and little! It’s been a challenging time where some days I feel in the mood to create and other longer periods where it’s hard to find inspiration and feel motivated. Before lockdown, I was spending a lot of time running Write Like A Girl and writing for other artists, so I’ve enjoyed using this time to focus on my own music as an artist, planning new releases and connecting with my listeners.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I’ve taught myself some basic music production, which has been a fun challenge! And I’ve also got back into baking and going on long hikes most weekends.
Lots of people are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. One of the things you did was send out postcards. How many did you send out? Moreover, why?
With the lack of in-person live shows I wanted to do something personal to connect with my fans, so I sent out about 30 postcards to people who sent me their addresses or fans who I wanted to surprise and bring a smile to!
Another thing that you did were some live shows and also reading your teenage diaries live on Instagram. Were your fans surprised about this? What about your family?
Yes! People loved my teenage diary readings! I’ve spent lockdown at my parents’ house so I found the diaries and they were so funny I thought it would provide a bit of light relief for people. I don’t think my parents tuned in, but my cousins found them hilarious!
With Social Distance being the norm. Do you feel that it might be the end of music festivals for the next couple of years?
I hope not! I hope that we might be able to hold outdoor festivals with safe numbers of people, but I know that may not be viable cost-wise for the festivals to sell fewer tickets. Perhaps we’ll see smaller pop-up music festivals spring up.
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
I hope I’m still doing what I love! I’d love to be writing for lots of other artists and see Write Like A Girl flourish. With my own music, I don’t have ambitions to do huge stadium gigs – for me, I love the intimacy of house concerts and smaller live shows, so to be able to play those sorts of concerts to fans across the world would be my dream.
Anything you would like to say in closing?
I really hope you enjoy my new single Cool Kids! I’d love people to find me on social media (@bethkeeping) and let me know what they think of the song.
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