announcement

Progression: A podcast by Jane Shin is now live

I'm excited to share my new podcast today: Progression. It's a show centered on mental health, personal development and spirituality through conversations I'll have with artists and through my own reflections as a woman working in the music industry.

Listen to the first introduction episode and learn about how this project all came together at progression.fm/intro.

If you heard something that resonates with you, send a link to someone who’d be interested in tuning in.

Your continuous support means a lot to me, so thanks for being part of this journey with me.

So long, Spotify: Reflections on creating content and speaking my truth

And that’s a wrap. Today is my last day at Spotify. Since February 2017, I was a writer on the Originals Team that brought original audio and video content to Spotify for the first time. I worked largely on video content for RapCaviar as I watched it grow from 5 million to over 10 million followers as the second largest playlist on the platform.

I came into the role armed with my writing chops, my early foundation in journalism, and my most recent artist relations experience I developed previously at SoundCloud.

Video production though was a new world, so I was excited to learn as much as I could. I’m grateful for how much I’ve learned and grown, even bridging over to creative producing. I sharpened my skills in conceptualizing creative ideas, writing and pitching treatments, understanding the ins and outs of being on set, and interviewing artists.

Artist relations always went hand in hand with my role as a writer. Helping bring opportunities for artists and creators I believe in, especially emerging artists, producers, and women brings me joy. Big thanks to all those I’ve gotten to cross paths with, work with, and support throughout my time at Spotify. I’m proud of the work I’ve done and brought to the table. Some of my favorite memories include:

  • Covering the underground movement Denzel Curry started in Carol City that marked its place in Miami hip hop history and whose sound inspired a new generation of SoundCloud rappers

  • Bringing spirituality and hip hop together by inviting Imani, The Hood Healer, through to do Trippie Redd’s first spiritual reading and a special group reading for International Women’s Day dinner with City Girls, Kali Uchis, and Molly Brazy

  • Having 6LACK cook chicken wings for fans at his favorite American Deli in Atlanta

  • Telling the story of LVRN and their establishment as a creative, hardworking management company as they celebrated the opening of their new office and studio in Atlanta

  • Visiting legendary, solar-powered Tree Sound Studios in Atlanta, a special recording studio that reverberates positive energy and love because of the Tree Sound team and where artists like Outkast and Future have been recording in for years

  • Exploring the history of Go Go music in D.C. and its influence on GoldLink’s At What Cost

  • Bringing some of my favorite producers through to help tell their stories which contributed to the growth of the Visualize producer series and playlist: DJ Dahi, Take A Daytrip, Teddy Walton, ThankGod4Cody and Carter Lang

  • Organizing and hosting the first ever Women@Spotify LA panel and networking mixer event where I invited women filmmakers to share their experiences and advice in celebration of International Women’s Day

  • Concluding my final week and final video project on set in Philadelphia with Tierra Whack whose music and originality has inspired me to take greater leaps and to always be myself

I’m grateful for the challenges and learning experiences that remind me to always speak and stand in my truth. Perseverance and resilience continue to build my character and strength, and having integrity gives me the courage to move forward. Key takeaways and reminders:

  • Trust your gut, know yourself, and stand for what you believe in. I’ve shared this in previous takeaways, but it’s worth repeating.

  • Share your hard work and accomplishments to advocate for yourself, but don’t be so hard on yourself. I’ve been on a continuous journey of sharing my voice and consistently talking about the work I do. Sometimes I may want to lay low, and that’s okay. Don’t be hard on yourself if you don’t share every moment you’ve created and every contribution you’ve made. The work will ultimately speak for itself, but revel in things that you do want to celebrate and share with others.

  • Know who’s in your court, stick with them, and tell them you love them. I’m grateful for my supportive family and tight circle of friends who remind me that I am loved, supported, and seen. Congruent energy is key.

What’s next for me? I’ll be sharing more updates about my next moves soon in a few weeks. In the meantime, I’ll be decompressing and working on some projects I’m excited to build and grow.

You can get in touch with me by heading to the Contact page on my website or feel free to subscribe to my newsletter. If you’ve been following along with me on my journey in music since the early days, thank you for the continuous support. Here’s to new beginnings.

Welcome to my website: janeshin.co

Greetings!

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Here's my first official blog post on my first official website that I've launched into the world today. It's a special day because it also coincides with the rare Super Blue Blood Moon. It's been a journey creating version one of janeshin.co.

It took months of thinking, avoiding, processing and planning before I finally committed to a deadline I set for myself. Sometime over the past few months, I had even reached out to Korean-Canadian politician Jane Shin if I could purchase her domain, janeshin.com. While she was kind enough to respond, she said she would only transfer the domain if I had funds that she could comfortably retire on. Alas, janeshin.co it is.

Please have a look around here and hit me up if anything sparks. If you think someone would benefit from learning about me or would find my work and words interesting, pass them a link.

I will be posting regularly here on the blog and/or cross-posting from/to tinyletter.com/janewave, which was a great starting space for me to find a rhythm to write semi-regularly and share my voice. As a reminder, I started on TinyLetter to document and share reflections and musings on self-care and music when I made the big leap back to LA after spending 10 years in the Bay Area.

In the tradition of sharing takeaways on almost all of my past posts (revisit them on the sidebar), here are some takeaways from this website creation process: 

  • Building something on my own is an incredibly rewarding experience. I may end up leaning on external help if I want to get more slick with my design down the road, but for now, using the tools I have to get this done feels great.
  • It was fun digging up my past work because I could see how the dots have connected overtime. The Universe reminds me that I'm right where I need to be, moving at the pace I need to move at.
  • I'm grateful for supportive friends who took the time to share their feedback and well wishes. Many thanks especially to my brilliant, talented friends who are incredible at what they do, beyond being phenomenal people in general:

More to write and share soon.

With gratitude,
Jane