In honor of Women’s History Month, Atwood Magazine has invited artists to participate in a series of essays reflecting on identity, music, culture, inclusion, and more.
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Today, artist manager and founding partner of ARTIST VISION Katherine DePaul shares her essay, ‘Paula Cole, a Masterclass in Artistic Authenticity,’ for Atwood Magazine’s Women’s History Month series!
Says DePaul, “At this year’s SHE ROCKS AWARD, Paula Cole captivated a ballroom of industry peers with a keynote speech that distilled a lifetime of artistic authenticity into a simple yet profound mantra: ‘There is the trying, and there is nothing else.’ As an artist manager who spent a year learning from Paula, I witnessed firsthand her unwavering commitment to creative control, from making history as the first female Grammy-nominated producer to fearlessly crafting her latest album, ‘LO.’ Her speech resonated because it wasn’t just about music – it was about resilience, bravery, and the power of showing up, a message that all creatives, dreamers, and young people should carry forward.”
Katherine DePaul is one of the founding partners of ARTIST VISION. She has been Judy Collins’ long time manager and was nominated as a producer for a 2012 Emmy for the live concert JUDY COLLINS LIVE AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART as well as nominated as one of the producers for a Best Folk Album Grammy in 2017 and in 2023. Additional artists represented by Katherine are Elles Bailey, Paula Cole, Sophie B Hawkins, Malin Pettersen, and Tuvaband.
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PAULA COLE, A MASTERCLASS IN ARTISTIC AUTHENTICITY
by Katherine DePaul
In January, I found myself standing alongside many of my female music industry peers in the ballroom of the Anaheim Hilton for one of the many standing ovations given to Paula Cole for her keynote speech at this year’s SHE ROCKS AWARD.
I was not surprised by the wildly enthusiastic audience. I had spent close to a year learning from Paula Cole, the Berklee College of Music professor; someone who is curious and asks questions of herself and the people around her. I saw first-hand her willingness to learn and most importantly TRY in all aspects of her life and career. But before I get ahead of myself, I will rewind to March 2024 where I was on a zoom interview for over an hour.
I was told by a colleague that Paula Cole was looking for management and she suggested we speak. To be honest, I only really knew the tip of the iceberg in terms of Paula’s creativity – the hits! Where Have All The Cowboy’s Gone and I Don’t Want to Wait were songs that circled around my NYC life in the 90s. Songs I heard on constant rotation on my college radio station, in bars, and even in my local deli on West 83rd Street and Amsterdam. I was completely unenlightened about the depth of Paula’s back catalogue and the fact that she was about to release one of her strongest collections of songs to date – LO.An album, by the way, that was dropping in a matter of days of this very zoom. I instinctively agreed to jump in. I could see in my mind’s eye how I could be helpful and intuitively knew I was about to embark on a new adventure. What I didn’t know was that I was about to step into a master class in artistic authenticity.
As an artist manager, I have always championed artists to maintain control of their creative work. Paula is a powerful example of this. She made history in 1998 becoming the first woman nominated for the Producer of the Year Grammy for her self-produced album, “This Fire.” She has maintained artistic integrity by producing her own work from her 1994 breakthrough album Harbinger to her latest album LO, all with varying degrees of what the music industry deems as commercial success.
A career is an artistic statement that includes the bold moves and the compassion for the temporary lag on the ever-turning road of life. It takes bravery to look at a career that includes relationships, taking time off the road to raise children and staying resolute to one’s artistic vision. But the songs that come out of this creative journey are the real value – “I Am So Ordinary”; “Watch The Women’s Hands”; “Letter From A Quarry Miner”; “Green Eyes Crying”; “Strong Beautiful Woman,” and so many more. I invite you to do your own deep dive into Paula’s catalogue and come up with your own favorites.
Throughout the year, I was TRYING to keep up with Paula by examining her whole career and immersing myself in the music (not just binge watching the entire Dawson’s Creek again, which I did of course – who doesn’t still love the tale of Dawson & Joey?), at the same time being awestruck by Paula’s quiet boldness and unflappable belief about being authentic to yourself no matter the commercial outcome. What took me a year to learn took the audience a total of six minutes, the length of her acceptance speech to the SHE ROCKS audience.
Paula gave us all our new mantra….
There is the trying and there is nothing else.
It’s now my mantra for 2025.
It’s my favorite phrase as we celebrate Women’s History Month.
A phrase that all young women (all young people for that matter) should embody and have tattooed into the subconscious of their being.
A phrase that resonates for me personally as a parent and it’s what I want to teach my own ten-year-old daughter.
A phrase that opens doors for all creatives and non-creatives alike.
It’s a phrase I need day to day for jumping the endless hurdles of a music entrepreneur.
And a phrase that allows for grace within one’s life. To not only try, fail and learn; but to know it’s the key that opens the door to a Klondike amount of success.
And it was the reason the Anaheim ballroom attendees were standing on their feet for – the third time that night applauding Paula.
There is the trying and there is nothing else.
These are not my words; these are the words of Paula Cole’s. In an era where we might need these words the most, I share them with you in the belief that this simple sentence can profoundly change your perception of success and failure. For Paula, I am excited for what lies ahead. I see her heading into some of the most fruitful and creative years of her career for decades to come. It’s the trying that will make her victorious. – Katherine DePaul
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