‘I’m such an optimist.’ Bradenton native living his dream as music producer in Nashville
Nashville may mostly be associated with country music and the Grand Ole Opry, but there’s a reason it’s called Music City.
Bradenton native Ryan Wesley Smith just launched his own Christian music label, Big Future Music Group, in partnership with Sony’s The Orchard and Sony/ATV Music Publishing.
“I love Nashville because it’s truly about the songs,” Smith said via telephone from Music City. “You have everything from country and there is a huge Christian industry community, but you also have new pop artists and a lot of new rock artists are coming up in Nashville. That’s why they call it Music City.”
Smith has worked with other labels marketing Christian music giants like TobyMac, Matthew West and others. His first signing under BFMG is Christian pop artist Abby Robertson, whose debut song “Sanctuary” is being released Feb. 12.
“She’s incredible,” Smith said. “She’s a friend of mine who I met when she moved into town and I loved her heart and what she was trying to do. She just has a pure love of music and is a fantastic singer and songwriter. At some point we just looked at each other and had a vision and we believe in each other. We both have an underdog mentality and I’m really excited for her.”
Being an underdog is what BFMG is all about. Smith is excited to find new stars who have what it takes for success and groom them into artists. Robertson has been on the music scene for awhile and she’s toured the world performing in places like Israel and has opened for popular bands like Switchfoot and The Beach Boys.
Her debut single has something of a spiritual history.
“It’s a song about her testimony of uncertainty and hard times for her and her family,” Smith said. “Her dad was sick and they thought he wasn’t going to make it. They stayed at different hotels trying to spend as much time together as possible and they ended up in this hotel called Sanctuary. While there, her mom opened up the Bible and flipped it to a random verse that had sanctuary in the verse. It’s something that was so confirming to them.”
Robertson wrote the song years ago but with some expert help in Nashville, she has crafted it to perfection.
“I realized this is an important song,” Smith said. “That’s what I love about what I’m doing. It’s a very small community of people who believe in songs, the stories they tell, and want to be a part of growing this genre and sharing this music with the world.”
Smith has been in Nashville since 2014 after attending State College of Florida Collegiate School, 6-12 charter school in Bradenton.
While he has a little education surrounding his chosen career, it’s always been his love for music that has driven him into this next chapter. After five or six years of touring with big named bands, he brings, “more of a street experience, kind of a trial by fire into this, which all stems from a love of music,” Smith said. “A lot of people move to Nashville to make music, but I love music in my way and I can help these artists get their messages out.”
It takes a different musical skill set to be a producer.
“What we do is find music and try to identify the next big song,” Smith said. “You have to ask, does this song have a story to it? Can people connect to it? I work with those artists and help them identify their fans, but it starts with a story and a song and then my end is finding that connection.”
Smith isn’t looking to be the next big label. His vision for BFMG is truly an underdog story and he likes it that way.
“I think the label being independent and brand new, we are kind of an underdog and map that with the new artists with that same underdog mentality,” he said. “My partner Mike (McCloskey) and I want to break new artists. We could sign existing artists with an established track record and there’s nothing wrong with that, but from the start, we wanted to break new talent. I’ve always considered myself an underdog and so is our new label.”
Just having the term “Big Future” in the label’s name kind of sums it up.
“I’m such an optimist and such a man of faith,” Smith said. “Really, it’s all happening this way because as I was growing up this kind of music changed my life. I’m hoping to be a tool to share this music with more people. There is a testament in that Christian music changed my life and made me believe I can dream big. If there is a kid in Bradenton right now who is growing up and I can find one song that inspires their dream, then that’s what it’s all about.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2021 at 5:00 AM.