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ACM Alumnus Andy Ruddy is taking the charts by storm.
Since completing his Higher Diploma here in 2012, Andy Ruddy has been working solidly to achieve his dreams as a successful independent artist. Well, he’s clearly on the right path as his album Everything Is In Order is currently sitting at #7 in the Singer Songwriter Charts. We caught up with Andy to chat about everything he’s been up to since graduating from ACM…
What course did you study and year of completion?
I completed an Songwriting & Artist Development Higher Diploma in 2012.
A bit about your background?
I’m from Bradford up in West Yorkshire. I studied Law at University of Manchester and after graduating and moved down South to pursue my music.
Tell us about what you’ve been involved with since leaving ACM?
Some of my best pals and musical colleagues I met in my brief time at ACM. They’ve been part of my live band ever since and I have done session and live work for many ex-ACM friends. Alex Stamp, Red Kites and Aimee Gould are all incredibly talented people I still work with. I made my debut album with Fraser Smith who has done a wonderful job producing and mixing it.
What are your aspirations for the future?
To do the album justice is my immediate priority. I’m very proud of what we’ve made – it’s been received warmly and signed to a licensing deal in North America. It has recently broken into the top 10 of the iTunes Singer Songwriter album charts which I was blown away by!
For the more distant future – I’m writing album 2, messing with a lot of different sounds and collaborating as much as I can.
Do you have any advice for those looking to get in to industry?
I am doing all of this unsigned, so the best piece of advice I can give would be to not lose heart or be discouraged by the rejection and radio silence you may endure from the music industry. Rejection doesn’t make your music any worse, getting signed doesn’t make it any better- it merely affects its exposure.
Knock-backs are absolutely inevitable when there are more great artists out there than there are major label signings. Don’t let any of that stop the flow and creation of your music. It happened to me for a while when my album was being pitched. It messed with my head but thankfully I’m through it and writing again!
ACM would like to thank Andy for taking the time out to chat with us. His album Everything Is In Order is available now. Keep up to date with Andy’s progress via his YouTube channel, Facebook page & Twitter account.
