Confessions of the Music Industry

On this week's podcast, we are joined by artist and producer Kyan, who began his music career from his bedroom as a kid. After impressing at a Battle of the Bands show, Kyan picked up interest from labels who touted him as the next big thing. Kyan was signed by a major record label for three years before things took a difficult turn. Within 24 hours, a long-term relationship and his record deal broke down, leaving him utterly devastated. On this week’s podcast, Kyan shares his journey through this difficulty, sharing the story of how he picked himself and ultimately put himself and his music in an even stronger position.

In part two of this episode, London hip-hop artist Louis VI offers his take on the music business; the pros and cons of the streaming and social media landscapes, and how artists can use their musical talents to make extra cash on the side. Also explaining how his improved mental health drove the themes of his latest album, Louis shares stories of his extremely unique recording and writing process. One of the most honest podcasts we’ve done to date, he also openly discusses how his label, distribution, live and management deals work, while offering advice to new artists.

On this week’s podcast, we are joined by London hip-hop artist Louis VI. Raised in North London by his Mum on a mix of A Tribe Called Quest and Outkast, Louis faked an ID to get on a music production course. Sparking his obsession with making mixtapes, his music career began. Joining rap collective Othasoul and eventually focussing on his solo efforts, Louis shares his journey from North London to America. Touching upon crushing mental health difficulties, which eventually became an outlet for his work, and the reality of affording to survive as an artist in London, Louis offers his top tips for building a career in music.

On this week's frtyfve podcast, we chat to Jonty Crowley. Breakfast & Station Producer for Capital XTRA, which reaches 1.7m listeners a week, Jonty rose through the ranks from student radio. With over 4 years experience in commercial radio, Jonty has a unique insight into the role that radio plays in the streaming age and how artists can pick up features.  Jonty talks about his journey from student radio station Burn FM, to the Capital XTRA Breakfast Show. We also discuss how radio stations scout for new artists, who decides what gets played and explore how artists can pick up airplay.

On this week's frtyfve podcast, we chat to Elise Cobain. A global playlist and streaming strategist and music content specialist, Elise has a unique insight into how playlisting and streaming actually works. Starting her career in radio, Elise worked alongside Zane Lowe at BBC Radio 1, before changing direction to focus on the rapidly growing streaming world. She joined Filtr, the world’s leading third party playlist service, and has since worked on projects for Vevo and become a professional speaker and University lecturer. Elise tells us how playlists are curated, which ones are worth paying attention to and how to get your music on them!

On this week's frtyfve podcast, we chat to South East London based R&B/Soul artist Only Girl. With millions of streams, over 80k monthly listeners and a growing social following, Ellen Murphy or Only Girl is the perfect example of a business-savvy artist. Having navigated the industry as an unsigned artist, she tells us about how she scaled from playing small venues in London to gaining influential blogger and playlist support, before signing an independent record deal. All of this happened alongside heartbreak after her now-husband Jamie was assaulted in an unprovoked attack, leaving him with life-threatening injuries. Both touching and inspiring, Only Girl shares her story so far.

'CAN I GET RID OF A WHOLE FANBASE AND THEY THEN FIND ME AGAIN AND LOVE ME WITHOUT KNOWING IT'S ME?' On this week's frtyfve podcast, we chat to South London based electronic artist HUNTAR. With millions of streams, over 550k monthly listeners and a combined social media following of over 110k, HUNTAR has experienced the journey of securing a record deal and being both a signed and unsigned artist in a streaming and social media first world.  Chatting about his humble beginnings as a songwriter, from selling CDs out of a rucksack to signing his first record deal, we delve into how the industry has changed for new artists and labels, as streaming and social media become core to its operation.