Many student artists have to find a balance between their music and their studies; Raven Hinchey is no different. Not only is she a signed artist with Match Records, MTSU’s student-run record label, but she is also graduating this May with a degree in commercial songwriting.
Hinchey took an interest in music from a young age, with her father being a musician and her mother a former dancer. At just four years old, she was a part of a choir and took up piano. She continued both until she turned 14. Later, she began learning to play guitar with the sole reason of being better at it than her sister.
However, music wasn’t her only interest. At 12 years old Hinchey wanted to be an author, going as far as writing and self-publishing her own book.
“I was like, wow, this takes a long time and I’m an impatient person, but still, I want to tell stories and I like music. So, I taught myself how to write songs,” Hinchey said.
She also enjoyed acting early into high school and began straying away from music. But junior year she came back to music, leaning into producing, which led her into some internships at house studios to further her knowledge.
Entering college at MTSU with her experience in producing, she decided it would be the best major for her. However, after two years she knew it wasn’t the one for her, so she shifted gears and changed her major to commercial songwriting.
Hinchey typically does solo work, but she also works with a backing band under the name Raven and the Crows.
Her songs are handwritten and made personally, then once she’s ready she talks with The Crows. She shares her ideas and they give feedback, making it a collaborative effort to make the song the way they want it. The rest of the band plays a big part in composing their individual parts for their own personal instruments. Then they come together and bring their vision to life.
Last summer, Hinchey took the opportunity to tour with her friends and fellow Match artists Sav. and Caroline Bowling. The “Rock Paper Scissors Tour” started mid-July and ended in Aug., taking place across seven states.
Hinchey’s most recent release was back in Oct. 2025 with her song and music video “Lately Baby.”. The video was made with the help of some of Hinchey’s friends and Anomaly Bay — a video company that specializes in video, photography, graphic design and more.
The team and Hinchey met when they watched her perform at the beginning of last year and offered to help her make a music video. She got to tell the group all of her ideas and then got to see them make it happen.
“It was just really cool because I like acting and film,” Hinchey said. “I kind of got to tell my buddies what I wanted to see, and how I wanted to execute it, and they were able to do it, which was really cool.”
The video won Best Music Video at the Southern Oasis Film Festival this year.
Raven Hinchey is a name to look out for. If listeners want to hear more from her, one of her upcoming performances is May 1 at the Laundry Room.
Upcoming releases, shows and announcements can be found on her Instagram, YouTube, and Spotify page.
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