Photo courtesy of Ashly Nicole
A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to speak with singer-songwriter Piper Page about her journey to releasing her debut album, “Based on True Events.” Music has always been an important part of Page’s life — she spent most of her formative years taking dance classes, performing in musicals and choirs and songwriting in her small Missouri college town. Despite her longtime passion for music, she did not consider it to be a potential career path for herself until quite recently. “Obviously I knew that people were writing, like, Beyoncé songs. But I was like no, there are people who do that, and then there’s me.” Page’s perspective shifted after she interned at a recording studio in her senior year of high school. The internship piqued her interest in the inner workings of the world of music business, a major she is currently pursuing at New York University. “The past three years have been me figuring out who I am as a musician,” Page, a rising senior, explained. She admitted that she did not make any music or perform during her freshman year, instead choosing to focus on the behind-the-scenes aspect of music business. Once the pandemic hit, however, and she had to move back home to Missouri, she realized how much she missed writing and singing, and shifted her focus back to performing. When she came back to New York City for her sophomore year, she started working on her music more seriously.
Some of Page’s biggest musical inspirations are Adele, Sinéad Harnett, Sasha Keable, Mahalia and Amy Winehouse. “In terms of power,” she said, “I aspire to be like Whitney Houston.” She described her own music as “powerful, fun, and relatable.” That vibe definitely comes across in the second single from her upcoming debut album “Based on True Events,” titled “Do You Want Me Or Not?” Page confirmed, as the album title suggests, “Do You Want Me Or Not?” was inspired by a personal experience. “I was seeing someone, then he left for two weeks, two weeks turned into two months with no communication … I was so annoyed, like what is going on?” A few weeks into him not speaking to her, Page texted him, “Do you want me or not?” She never got a response, but she did write a song about how she felt about the entire situation. “Lyrically, it hits pretty close to home. It only took a couple of hours to write.”
The entire album is based on Page’s journey of self-discovery through moving from a small town in the midwest to New York City to pursue her dreams, and the personal and romantic struggles that come with such a dramatic shift. “The album idea is about this dichotomy between expectation and reality,” Page explained. “So the reality is the song, the expectation is what I thought would happen — like any Hallmark movie, or ‘Love Actually!’” she laughed.
When asked about what advice she had for aspiring singer/songwriters, Page said to “just start.”She struggled with believing in herself as a songwriter for a long time, mainly because she felt like she had nothing substantial to say. “Just start with what you know. If you don’t have much going on in your life, write about that!” She also urged young artists to copyright their music, and ensure there is documentation of their creative process to protect their work. In addition to studying music business, Page is also pursuing the pre-law track. She emphasized the importance of young artists protecting their music legally — to prevent it from being stolen — because it happens more often than people would think. “It also mostly happens to women of color, and I hate that,” Page added. In general, she expressed, women of color always draw the short straw in the music industry, and she wants to be an advocate for them in a way that makes a tangible difference in how their work is put out into the world.
If given the opportunity to go back and start her career differently, Page wouldn’t change much. “I always want to say I would start earlier, but I think I needed that first year of college to not do anything in order for me to get to where I am.” She acknowledged her route was unconventional, but it was the best choice for her. “I realized I needed help,” she admitted, which many young artists struggle with accepting. All it took was posting a Facebook ad — Page is a big supporter of joining Facebook groups — and she found her all-women management team. “Now I have a manager, I have a PR intern, I have a marketing intern — I have an entire team that is helping me grow, and thank god for that because now I can just focus on my craft.” To artists who are full-time students like her, Page says to make sure to rely on the network they have access to — professors, advisors and classmates.
Page has high hopes for the future of her music. In the next five years, she aspires to sell out big venues and travel, either as an opener or a headliner. She plans on being at her fourth studio album by then. If her current track record is any indication, these dreams are sure to become a reality. “Do You Want Me Or Not?” is available to stream on Spotify and Apple Music. You can watch out for “Based On True Events” at @piperpage on Instagram and Tiktok!