We had the good fortune of connecting with Brianna Shelko and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brianna, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
The ability to follow through and follow up politely and strategically, while genuinely caring about the people I’m approaching, has undoubtedly been a key factor behind the success of my business and personal brand. While many individuals may articulate their intentions and plans, my consistent demonstration of taking concrete actions and delivering on promises sets me apart in this industry and has helped to establish a reputation of reliability, trustworthiness and authenticity.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Level Up Music Productions, Corp, is a non-profit created to empower, protect, and elevate songwriters. We coordinate sync songwriting camps across the country, providing talented, independent songwriters the opportunity to write for TV/film. This isn’t about ‘who they know’ or ‘how much money they have,’ but rather about letting their talent speak for itself and deserving a fair chance. We’re eliminating the ‘fake gates’ one city at a time, leveling the playing field for writing and placing music legitimately. Our goal is to raise the funding needed to cover the basics, ensuring artists can attend for little to no cost and focus on their songwriting, creating memories in our rooms.

Many songwriting camps charge hundreds, if not thousands of dollars to participate, but we want to offer opportunities to hardworking songwriters without money being a major barrier.

What excites me the most right now is that we hardly need to advertise our camps anymore. We receive numerous artist submissions, and the demand for more camps is becoming overwhelming, in a good way. This recognition signifies the great work we’re doing and the community of writers we’re building, where collaboration and support are paramount. We’ve even booked a custom camp for an artist in need of specific music for their EP in 2024, resulting in three additional LA-based songwriting camps being scheduled.

This journey hasn’t been easy. For the first five camps this year, I personally came out of pocket to make them happen, even after being laid off from my corporate job. Covering studio fees, travel costs, food, rentals, engineers, and more was a challenge, but we’re growing. Through constant networking and delivering great work, we’re now at a point where entities believe in our vision and sponsor us.

I’ve learned that what’s meant to be will be. No one can stop it, not even me!

Level Up was formed from opportunities I didn’t have personally. I was excluded from many opportunities for not fitting a certain mold. So, every songwriting room we plan is crafted from my wildest dreams. I invite music execs I never thought I’d meet, write with signed and Grammy Award-winning artists, negotiate record deals, visit cities I’ve never seen, and record in studios I never thought I’d be able to afford—all because others locked me out of rooms I deserved to be in. There is zero bias at our camps. We love everyone, and we accept songwriters purely on the merit of their writing abilities. That’s what makes us different.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would definitely:

Take a stroll down music row, eat at Tupelo Honey, Bastion, Amerigo Italian Restaurant and Pinewood.
We would stop on Broadway, go shopping and support local music acts every night!
Definitely have to swing by the Country Music Hall Of Fame and tour the Grand Ole Opry. Maybe even record a few records at Blackbird, Ocean Way or Dark Horse.
Then, after we’re good and buzzed after taking shots at Old Glory, we can head to Santa’s pub for festive karaoke.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Absolutely! Shout out to my husband, parents, siblings, friends and Level Up team! I could not be anywhere close to where I am without you all.

Website: https://www.levelupmusicproductions.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/levelupmusicproductions/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/briannaleveledup/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/levelupsongwritingcamps

Image Credits
no credits needed

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