The podcast about building an audience from zero. Artists. Founders. Investors. One shared obsession. We dive deep into how you go from zero to being a success, that anyone in the music industry can learn from. Episodes released every Monday.
BEST BITS | "Don't Rely on Music Videos" | EX- YOUTUBE, KATIE DEBRAH
Katie Debrah spent years in creative strategy at Google and YouTube, including two years with YouTube Music in LA, and now runs the creative tech company Halo and Echo. In this short episode she takes on the question labels bring to her more than any other, which is how content actually drives streams. She explains how an artist can have a million followers and 10,000 monthly streams, and why chopping up your music video rarely closes that gap. Using Flyana Boss as a case study, she shows how phone-shot content built around who you are can outperform a big-budget video, and why handing part of the process to someone else is how you keep up. If you've got the followers but the streams aren't following, this one's for you.
Your task: hand one part of your content process to someone else.
Try un:hurd music out today: https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod (https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod)
5 Oct 2026
BEST BITS: "Own your fans and collect what you're owed" | MUSIC INVESTOR, MATT SPETZLER
Matt Spetzler has spent the last decade investing in music, with around $5bn of deals behind him. In this short episode, taken from our full conversation, he does the maths on what a loyal fanbase is actually worth and explains why 10,000 to 100,000 fans who stick around can give you a real career. He talks through why owning your work is the closest thing an artist has to a retirement plan, and why splitting your rights for the first offer that comes along makes everything harder later. Answering a question from CJ Snail, he also points to the money that goes uncollected, starting with publishing. If you're independent and building for the long run, start here.
Your task: check you're collecting everything you're owed, from publishing to neighbouring rights and YouTube Content ID.
28 Sept 2026
Capital Xtra Legend | "It's The Best Time Ever For UK Rap" | DJ SEMTEX
DJ Semtex has been the voice of hip-hop in this country for 30 years. He gave Drake his first UK interview in Hyde Park before anyone knew the name, he's been credited by Kanye and a long line of UK artists, and he's spent two decades spotting talent before the rest of the world catches up. In this episode he cuts through the noise with the bluntest, most useful advice you'll hear on this show: make a banger, and everything else falls into place. He explains why this is the best time in history for UK rap, why the "AI in music" debate isn't as simple as anyone claims, and why your first 50 fans matter more than any algorithm. If you're an artist trying to cut through, this one's a masterclass in keeping it simple.
https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod (https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod)
Inside a recent episode
RoEx Founder | "You're Mixing Your Music Too Loud" | DAVID RONAN
Published 10 Aug 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] I export it. I send it over to you guys via the platform. I upload it to the platform and what I get back is a finished product that I can then upload to my distributor. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Brilliant. And AI. Actually, one thing we actually do as well is if you want to take it back into DAW, you can export it as an Ableton Live project file or Bitwig or Fender Studio One. So that means you can actually take it back. We will have loaded up with your unprocessed audio and then you can all the EQs compress. Everything is set. So you're like able to tweak stuff in the DAW, which is if you really like that stuff, go for it. […]
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
