current single: “I WISH YOU WOULD” featuring Midland

When Mackenzie Carpenter’s parents realized she had a passion for music and was eventually going to pursue it as a career, her father, very wisely, insisted she get her degree in Music Business at Belmont University, and that she focus on sharpening her songwriting skills to become a great songwriter before trying to get a record deal or launch her career. It turned out to be some of the best advice Mackenzie could have been given, because not only did she co-write every song on her debut album, Hey Country Queen, but Mackenzie has also co-written songs for other artists, like Megan Moroney’s “I’m Not Pretty” and her current single, “You Had to Be There.” Mackenzie explains how her dad had the knowledge about the music business to give her such great advice.

Mackenzie Carpenter – how dad knew songwriting important :48

“My dad actually worked in Nashville in the music industry before I was born. But my parents bought a house in Nashville, and then my mom got pregnant with my oldest brother and they never actually moved in. But he knew enough to tell me at that point in time the songwriters were like making the money. And so, he was like, ‘You don’t just move to Nashville and just record a bunch of cover tunes, you write the songs.’ And for me, that was like mind blowing because I hear Tim McGraw on the radio and I’m like, ‘Oh, he wrote this about his life.’ I had no idea about like legendary songwriters that are writing for these artists. And then, you know, by the time I got to Nashville, I started as a songwriter, and I continue to be a songwriter, even though I’m also the artist performing the songs I write.”