Maggie Andrew wants people to know she feels most like herself when she’s making music. “When I’m creating art, I feel like that’s my most true form. It allows me to nurture all the sides of myself and embrace them.” This means turning her life into music and finding the lines and songs that let her listeners experience the highs and lows with her.
For Maggie, this is an honest art form, but in her latest song, “How to Sing for Money,” she takes a different look at her passions. The track is an ironic earworm, a guide to creating a song that will draw listeners in, addressed to an ex.
Taking her own music industry experience and adding in inspiration from a long history of “singing for money,” Maggie encourages us to laugh alongside her as she outlines the formula for a heartbreak-turned-hit. We talked to her about “How to Sing for Money” and its music video in this behind-the-scenes interview.
Showstopper Magazine Online: What inspired “How to Sing for Money”?
Maggie Andrew: There’s a book from 1939 that’s actually a guidebook on how to sing other people’s songs for money. We thought it would be a funny and interesting concept to write the opposite of that. As songwriters and artists, it’s our job to write songs, and I usually draw from my own experiences and emotions. A lot of the time, that’s meant writing about sadness or hurt. So we thought it would be fun to flip that idea on its head, and the concept really stuck.
SMO: The song takes such a sinister look at art and the music industry. How do you challenge the (all too common) idea that the best art comes from pain?
Maggie: I don’t necessarily think I challenge that idea. From my own experience, some of my best songs have come out of the darkest times of my life. I don’t think I would be where I am today without going through the bad things that have happened to me.
SMO: Do you think there’s a line between expressing feelings and “exploiting” (for lack of a better word) experiences to create art?
Maggie: I think that as a true artist, when you’re drawing from your own experiences and speaking from a genuine place, the creative energy you put out is never negative. I write songs and make music to express myself, and I’ve never felt that it came from an exploitative place.
SMO: The music video for “How to Sing for Money” is a cool visual for the “education” you’re giving your listener. Can you tell us about how it came together?
Maggie: I make a lot of mood boards and vision boards when I’m thinking about the visuals for my music. I knew I wanted my friend Brendan Lyle (@moosecanfly) to direct the music video, so we talked through a bunch of ideas until we landed on one clear concept. We imagined this empty, soulless bedroom where I’d be in an old nightgown with curlers in my hair. As the video progresses, movers start bringing in colorful furniture and decor behind me, slowly filling the room with life. I actually designed the set myself using pieces from my own bedroom and other thrifted finds. By the end, the room is fully transformed—vibrant, dreamy, and full of life—and so am I.
SMO: How would you describe your character at the beginning of the music video? Who is she by the end?
Maggie: At the beginning, she’s in an empty room imagining what could be. There’s a sense of hopelessness, but also a quiet hopefulness underneath it all. By the end, she’s full of confidence, standing in a room that finally feels like her. She’s surrounded by icons, vibrant colors, and energy, and there’s warmth and life in her eyes.
SMO: Would you call “How to Sing for Money” a breakup song? Or is it something else?
Maggie: No, I wouldn’t consider it a breakup song. It wasn’t written as one, nor did the original idea for the song stem from that. I think at its core, it’s just a fun song that’s not supposed to be taken too seriously!
SMO: What do you think the value is in performing any emotion, painful or otherwise?
Maggie: I think that’s just how humans express themselves in their rawest, most honest form. Performing or expressing your emotions allows you to take control and, in a way, rewrite your own ending. Not everything has to stay terrible; something good can come from the bad—it just might take a while.
