“No one, no relationship, no role, no thing, nothing outside of you defines you. You have to define yourself, and then everyone around you reaps the benefits of that.”
Julie Horton serves as the executive vice president of Realsongs, the music publishing company of renowned songwriter Diane Warren, and oversees the Diane Warren Foundation. She spent fifteen years at the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) as the west regional head of membership, where she mentored many songwriters who went on to have hits in every market. She is the mother of a daughter and a son and resides with her husband in Los Angeles, California. (www.realsongs.com)
The Interview
Julie basically runs Realsongs, Diane Warren’s music publishing company, and I originally called her to request an interview with Diane at the inception of this project. Julie was very encouraging, which is so important at that stage of creating something. She also originally said she didn’t think she’d ever had an epiphany, but later that day I got a surprise email from her summarizing an epiphany she’d had after losing her first husband to cancer. This happens quite a bit— once you talk about the subject of epiphanies and get to thinking about it, you discover moments you might have forgotten or buried. What she said and the way she said it were very powerful for me (as well for many people who have read it now), so I requested her official interview too, and she and Diane both ended up in the book!
Julie Horton with her current husband.
