What do you do if you're asked about your biggest musical influences in a music industry interview?

Be unapologetically honest and authentic. I am a big Mariah Carey fan and I share that often despite what others may think. I also like random groups (Whistle is a good example)who I also am proud to share. I can tell numerous stories of why these artists/groups have a big influence on me and I am happy to share these stories consistently.

When asked about your biggest musical influences in a music industry interview, be genuine. Highlight artists who shaped your sound and inspired your journey. Discuss how their creativity, style, and innovation influenced your own music. Emphasize diverse influences to showcase your versatility and depth as an artist. Ultimately, use this opportunity to convey your passion for music and your unique artistic perspective.

Sometimes you're grestest musical influences aren't musicians. Whenever I'm asked I always say one of my greatest musical influences is MLK.

I can't add much to what has already been written, but this: People can tell if you're not being honest! Be truthful and good people will see that and embrace you.

One thing that I found it helpful are the followings. firstly, When asked about my biggest musical influences in a music industry interview, it's essential to demonstrate a diverse appreciation for various genres and artists. one of the foundational figures that shaped especially on my Musical and repertoire Journey are the Classical Piano composers especially Chopin and Beethoven. the Key elements and the figures that Beethoven and Chopin used are the different textures and the dynamics and each of them has different feelings. for example, the Beethoven Moonlight sonata makes me peaceful. obviously, I agree that Honesty makes it great aspects for the Biggest musical Influence in the interview and ideally, it's always crucial to be honest.

Reflect on the styles and artist that caught your attention then determine if their music was the influence that paved the inspiration for what you like. Be honest with those asking and also with yourself. But also consider the fact that music is always changing so what you like today might not be what you like tomorrow. Remember music has influence on your heart thought and emotions it helps determine your choices and sets foundation for social acceptance and choices

IMO it's amazing when someone can tell you why they admire someone, and what influences them. There is so much you can learn from someone's influences. Not everyone has the same influences or even are influenced the same way by the same person. Sharing why, and how you resonate with your musical influences, might just get the interviews on a deeper and more interesting level.

another aspects of when asked for biggest Musical influences in the music industry interview is to feel relaxed, calm and be thoughtful when answering.

Personally, my work has been influenced by one specific mixing engineer. And the way I developed my thought process and my own way of doing things, was not by copying his work, but by analyzing what I liked in his work, and developing my own taste and skills. Knowing what I like and don't like, lets me connect the dots in my workflow and make things easier.

Your biggest musical influences don’t always have to be specific artists or albums. They could be other things as well - the person who bought you your first guitar; a film soundtrack that made you fall in love with a particular genre of music; the aesthetic or values of a particular era that made you crate-dig into the music of the time. It’s good to try to take a more holistic approach to thinking about how you have developed your musical identity. It’ll make for a more interesting answer than simply citing a list of artists you like. It’ll also help you think about your own positioning as an artist - the things that inspired you are also the things that will likely resonate with potential fans of your music.

@Andy Haggerstone so right. Musical influences are often teachers, adjudicators or colleagues: composers, other musicians you've performed with or rehearsed in detail with, who teach you how to interpret music, to lean on a note, to change your articulation, to be disciplined. They don't need to be in your own instrumental or vocal field. I know. I had 2 great bassoon teachers, a great piano teacher, 4 great accompanists, a great primary school teacher, a determined high school music teacher, a great choral director - but I also learnt from a great actor, a great musical comedy and opera director, a great jazz vocalist, a great cabaret director, a great choreographer (!), some great chamber music collaborators – and some wonderful authors.