Aspiring songwriters shouldn’t jump into the industry, unless music is something you would die without, said longtime songwriterWarren teased her upcoming album during Wednesday’s keynote conversation during theEntertainment Industry Conference. While she cherishes her hit collaborations with artists like John Legend and Celine Dion, she said she wanted to create her next album as “DJ Diane.”
The Midwest native said she broke into Hollywood’s music industry as a delivery staff of Music Express, who’d hand over her cassette tapes to her producer clients. Today, the songwriter is known for her hit ballads like “I’m Standing With You” and “Because You Loved Me.” “There’s a cultural shift that happens in people’s minds that make them comfortable and more tolerant, and we have to do more of that,” she said. “We have to start telling those stories from underserved communities, because they can have a great effect on how policy is made that affects everybody.”