Today we’d like to introduce you to Sierra Hall.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Music has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. I started singing at four years old and grew up in a household where music was always playing, so my ear was being developed before I even realized it. As I got older, I became the person who was always finding new artists, making playlists, putting people onto songs, and paying attention to the details in music beyond whether I simply liked a record.
I eventually earned my bachelor’s degree in Music Business from Full Sail University because I knew I wanted my career to live somewhere within the music industry. But like a lot of creatives, my path wasn’t completely linear. I built a career outside of music while still trying to figure out exactly where I belonged within it.
Around my 30th birthday, I decided I didn’t want to keep waiting for the perfect opportunity to enter the industry. I wanted to create my own. That’s really where The Playlist Girl began. What started as me sharing my taste and talking about the music I genuinely loved has grown into a platform centered around music discovery, curation, reviews, independent artists, interviews and conversations about where music and culture are headed.
Over the last few years, I’ve been able to build relationships with artists, attend shows and industry events, interview creatives, discover incredible independent talent and have my work recognized by artists I’ve admired for years. Those moments have been amazing, but one of the things I’m most proud of is becoming a trusted ear for people who genuinely want to discover something new.
I’m still building, and I think that’s an important part of my story. I don’t look at where I am now as the final destination. The Playlist Girl continues to grow alongside me, and ultimately I want to expand what I’ve built into an even bigger space for music journalism, curation, artist discovery, interviews and eventually music supervision. At the core of everything, though, I’m still that girl who loves finding a great record and immediately wanting to tell somebody, “You need to hear this.”
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I think one of my biggest challenges has been building something I deeply believe in while still working a full-time job. There are days when I’ve already given eight hours of myself to work, and then I have to come home and find the energy to listen to music, write reviews, edit content, answer submissions, attend shows and continue building The Playlist Girl. It can be exhausting, especially when you’re essentially operating as a one-woman team.
There’s also the financial side of being an independent creator. A lot of what I’ve built has been funded by me, and figuring out how to turn something I genuinely love into something that can financially sustain me has been a learning process. I’ve had seasons where paid opportunities and submissions were consistent and other seasons where things slowed down, which can make you question whether you’re doing enough or moving in the right direction.
Rejection has been another part of the journey. I’ve reached out to publications and companies I would love to work with and haven’t always gotten the response I hoped for. I’ve had moments where I wondered why certain opportunities weren’t happening yet, especially when I knew how much work I was putting in behind the scenes.
Social media comes with its own challenges too. Numbers can make you feel like your work isn’t reaching people fast enough, and it’s easy to compare your chapter to someone else’s. I’ve had to learn that one post getting six likes doesn’t erase the value of what I’m building, just like one viral moment doesn’t define success.
But I think all of those experiences have made me more intentional. I’ve learned to keep creating even when the validation isn’t immediate, advocate for the value of my work and remember why I started in the first place. I genuinely love music, I genuinely care about artists, especially independent artists, and I believe there’s room for the kind of voice and perspective I’m bringing to music media. The road hasn’t always been easy, but every part of it has helped me become more confident in what I’m building.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m the founder and curator behind The Playlist Girl, a music discovery platform centered around reviews, curation, artist discovery and conversations about music and culture. R&B is definitely at the heart of what I do, but my taste stretches across genres. Through series like Playlist Girl Approved, R&B Is Not Dead and Let’s Talk Rap, I spotlight both established and independent artists while creating a space for people who genuinely love discovering music.
I think what sets me apart is that I’m a fan first. I can talk about the production, songwriting, vocals and musicality of a record, but I also care about how it makes you feel. I don’t just want to review music; I want people to discover something through me that they might not have found otherwise.
I’m most proud of the trust I’ve built, especially with independent artists. I’ve also had my platform recognized by artists I genuinely admire, including Kehlani, Muni Long, October London, Camper, Action Bronson, Isaia Huron, Ambré and Naomi Sharon. Seeing something I started simply because I love music grow into a platform that artists and listeners trust has probably been the most rewarding part.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I actually don’t have a traditional mentor, but I’ve been fortunate to have different forms of mentorship throughout my life. Growing up around the music industry gave me an early understanding of how things worked, and later studying Music Business at Full Sail University gave me the educational foundation to build on that.
When it comes to networking, what has worked best for me is being genuine and leading with the music. I’m not great at walking into a room thinking, “Who can I get something from?” I’d rather connect naturally, talk about the work and build relationships from there. Some of my best connections have come from simply showing up consistently, supporting people and being genuinely interested in what they create.
My advice would be not to get so caught up in finding one person to call your mentor. Pay attention to the people around you, ask questions, be teachable and put yourself in rooms where you can learn. Sometimes mentorship looks less like one official relationship and more like collecting wisdom from different people along the way.
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