#10 Talking Talent: Lanz Pierce talks storytelling, the magic of sound and touring with Snoop Dog,
Lanz Pierce is a New York music artist, rapper, songwriter, filmmaker, and entrepreneur.
- Lanz was raised in NJ and Queens NY, predominantly by her single mother and often back and forth staying with her father. Pierce dropped out of highschool at just 14 years old; shortly after leaving the 9th grade Lanz entered the world of music, still a minor Lanz worked long hours at an unpaid internship for the legendary Manhattan based Quad recording studio learning all that she could absorb. She performed weekly at nightclubs she was still too young to legally enter and was eventually signed at 16 years old after creating enough media attention for herself to a six figure deal at Universal Interscope records and Sony Music Publishing.
- Lanz toured with Snoop Dogg, she was the opening act on a multi-city tour throughout the US and mentored by the legendary music producer Nile Rodgers who's best known for breaking Madonna into a world wide star. Lanz won the BMI young “Songwriters On The Rise” award alongside the then budding star known as Lady Gaga and was managed by music industry veteran Dave Lory, former manager of Jeff Buckley, The Allman Brothers, and Courtney Love.
- In her early twenties she parted ways with the major record label system after experiencing the pitfalls of the big label machine. She in turn created her own record label “Innovators & Aviators” with her then business partner, and former A&R for Jay-Z ‘s Roc Nation. The entrepreneurial endeavor led Lanz to raise over 100K in funding from a female investor to launch the company. Pierce went on to release two independent albums & multiple music videos which she self directed under the “Innovators & Aviators” imprint. The two albums “Editors Eye” & “Los City” are available on Spotify and Apple Music, she received a great deal of press and critical approval from outlets such as Complex and VIBE .
- After years of directing her own music videos her path behind the camera took off with new opportunities to direct videos and film projects. Lanz has directed for other music artists including famous names like Latin music star Kat Deluna American rapper and pop star Nelly . Her work has been recognized by Billboard magazine and has brought her to new career milestones.
- Lanz made her film debut with "Hispanicus" a gritty coming of age tale about a young man growing up amidst the temptations and challenges he’s faced with living in the Bronx Ny during the tough era of the 1980's. Lanz was approached by the novelist of the story to adapt his book into film; the project which took two years to make wrapped in Spring 2019 and went on to see success.
- Lanz partnered with the Soho House to exclusively screen and premiere "Hispanicus" at cinemas across the US including in Nyc, La, Miami and Chicago & Internationally in theaters in both Canada and London. Lanz went on to tour with the film performing the soundtrack which she scored to the movie as well as doing speaking engagements on the filmmaking process.
- In 2018 Lanz founded Luminary LLC, her own creative agency; bridging her work as an artist and entrepreneur and expanding her talents further into creative content directing. Luminary takes a 360 approach to branding by crafting effective marketing and storytelling campaigns through visuals and commercial spots for luxury brands, beauty/wellness and tech companies. The success of Luminary has created a new paradigm for her as an effective business woman and creative voice.
Connect with Lanz: https://www.instagram.com/lanzpierce/