The Music Business Buddy

The music industry does not just need more songs and artists. It needs more people who understand how the whole machine fits together and who can help artists build sustainable careers. That is why I brought three of my former students onto the podcast: Natalie Brown, Lotty Evans and Chris Beswick. They have just finished their degrees at BIMM University in Birmingham (UK) and they already sound like the next wave of UK music executives. 
 
 We get into what they actually want from the next few years, from freelancing in music marketing and branding to artist management and...

When you approach crowdfunding with a plan, it becomes one of the most powerful tools an independent artist can use to fund an album, a tour, a music video, or the next career step without handing over control.

I am joined by Ella Kuijpers and Remy Van Leeuwen, the founders of Crowdable; a crowdfunding platform built specifically for music. Remy and Ella kindly explain why their work is as much about hands on strategic support as it is about raising capital, and what “success” looks like behind the scenes. We talk through the practical mechanics that many arti...

Episode 100 is a landmark for me, so I went back through the first 99 conversations and pulled out the 10 biggest lessons I want every music creator to use into 2026. If you make songs, release recordings, or collaborate with anyone at all, this is the practical checklist that helps you protect your work, get your royalties paid, and avoid the silent mistakes that cost artists money for years. 

We start with the unglamorous stuff that decides whether you get paid: song splits, ownership clarity, and registering the right rights in the right places. I talk through why works registration a...

Royalties don’t disappear, they get stuck. When the data can’t identify you, the system can’t pay you, even if the money has been collected. That’s why I wanted to bring on Amit Dubey from Beat Street Music and Publishing in Mumbai, India; a specialist in the unglamorous back end of the music business - rights documentation, metadata accuracy, publishing administration, royalty tracking, and recovery. 

We dig into how India’s music rights ecosystem compares with the UK and US, starting with the basics: composition rights, sound recording rights, and usage. From there, Amit explains th...

Confusing distribution with publishing is one of the fastest ways to lose time, miss money, and second guess every release decision you make. I’m Jonny Amos - host of The Music Business Buddy and I’m stripping it back to basics so you can clearly separate what a music distributor does from what a music publisher does, without the jargon and without the myths.

We start with the core distinction the industry actually cares about: the sound recording (master rights) versus the underlying song (composition copyright, meaning lyrics, melody, and harmony). From there, I explain how musi...

China can look like the biggest opportunity in music and the easiest place to get lost. I sit down with Jonathan Heeter, who runs Middle8, an outsourced China division for Western labels and artists, to translate what actually works on the ground and what Western playbooks get wrong.

We map the Chinese music streaming landscape through Tencent’s QQ Music ecosystem and NetEase Cloud Music, then dig into why discovery algorithms can feel more sophisticated while staying stubbornly opaque. The real unlock is measurement: when public streaming data is limited, engagement becomes the signal. Jonathan explains why co...

The fastest way to stall a music career is to build a following you can’t reach. I sit down with Jack McCarthy from IndieX to get practical about artist ownership: how attention becomes data, how data becomes relationships, and how relationships become reliable income that does not vanish between releases and tours.

We talk through a simple framework that turns the fuzzy idea of a “fan base” into something you can measure and improve: audiences on social platforms, contacts on your email list or text list, customers who buy directly, and repeat customers who come back. From t...

You can feel the right track in your bones, but finding it inside a giant catalogue can still be painfully slow. That gap between what we mean and what search engines can understand is where sync licensing briefs stall, temp tracks take over, and great back catalogue gets left behind. I'm joined by Tiangu Zhu, founder of Songpot, to unpack a simple but ambitious goal: building AI that truly understands music as a language, not just as metadata.

We talk through the real-world problems music supervisors and media teams face when words fail. Genre, mood and “danceability” are...

The leap from making songs to building a career isn’t magic — it’s momentum you can engineer. I pull back the curtain on how to launch a brand-new artist from zero data to investable, using a practical framework that blends creative clarity with disciplined execution. No hype, no guesswork, just a repeatable path that lowers risk and raises opportunity.

I start by nailing the lane: genre, subculture, and the core emotional promise that tells fans who you are at a glance. From there, we move into building in public, where behaviour beats vanity metrics. Watch time, commen...

Hits don’t happen by accident. They happen when the right singer meets the right song and a focused team executes without ego. That’s the throughline of my conversation with Pete Ganbarg—a two-time Grammy-winning A&R leader whose fingerprints are on era-defining records and publishing wins—spanning artist development, writer mentorship, and the power of aligned campaigns.

We start with the essentials: what makes an artist investable today. Pete is blunt about work ethic, output, and urgency in a short attention span world. From there, we bridge the recorded and publishing sides. He treats writers like art...

What if the power in music has already shifted—and you just need the receipts to prove it? We sit down with Nashville and LA veteran Jason Hollis to unpack a modern blueprint for building leverage, owning your audience, and turning proof into power. From MySpace-era heat maps to TikTok verse-to-chorus teasers, Jason shows how artists can create undeniable momentum that attracts partners on their terms.

We dig into the tactical steps that transform interest into leverage: mapping tours to real fan demand, stacking analytics you can walk into any negotiation with, and sparking buzz that leads to...

The path from rehearsal room to global stages is rarely straight, and Collette Williams shows how grit, honesty, and community can bend the line in your favour. I sit down with the session drummer and multi-instrumentalist to unpack the craft behind TV appearances, the leap from drum tech to the Blossoms live setup, and the mindset that turns fear into fuel when the brief suddenly changes.

Collette opens the door on the contrast between mimed TV performances and fully live broadcasts: the glued hi-hats, the choreography of movement, the pressure of one-take camera cuts, and the pure...

Your song is done. The artwork is perfect. Now what? We sit down with Adriano and James, the creators of Release Assist, to unpack a smarter way to launch music without drowning in choices. Their goal-led approach replaces vague hopes with a clear plan: define what success looks like, connect your data sources, and align every touch point—timing, metadata, pitching, distributor strategy—to the audience you actually want.

What makes their vision refreshing is the mix of human guidance and practical tech. Think of it like lane assist for your release: forecasting the best window by genr...

Money talks in music, but the language is changing—and fast. We dive into how fintech is rewiring artist funding, why streaming didn’t fix the economics, and how data has quietly turned songs and catalogues into investable assets with predictable cash flows. From real-world catalogue deals to creator-first banking tools, we unpack what’s happening on the finance rails beneath the industry and what it means for your next release, tour, or campaign.

We start by tracing the arc from the CD boom to the streaming era, highlighting the core problem: subscription prices set too low to sus...

What if the song that makes a trailer unforgettable could also launch an artist’s career? We sit down with music supervisor, consultant and sync creative Drew Sherrod to unpack the craft behind placing music to picture, the business mechanics that keep rights and royalties flowing, and the hard choices that separate a long career from a loud moment. From Nashville mornings to Los Angeles edit bays, Drew traces a path through publishing, his time at BMG, and a pioneering run in trailer music that helped push artists like Moby and Kanye West into new light.

We wa...

Identity isn’t a vibe—it’s a system. We dig into the practical steps artists can take to define who they are, where they fit, and how that clarity turns into real momentum. From choosing a primary genre and useful secondary tags to shaping a sonic identity you can reproduce live and across records, we share a toolkit that makes your music easier to find, understand, and support.

We talk about the evolution from influence to originality, and how scenes, culture, and technology leave fingerprints on your sound. You’ll hear why Auto‑Tune can be a pillar...

What if the biggest lever on your music’s success isn’t a new single, but the data behind it? We sit down with music catalogue specialist Robin Maddicott to unpack the hidden systems that decide where your tracks land, who discovers them, and how the money finds its way back. From artist-page mapping to remixer credit strategy, Robin shows how small metadata choices create outsized results on Spotify, Apple Music, and beyond.

We also lift the hood on catalogue as an asset class. Clean data isn’t just tidy admin; it’s enterprise value. Robin explains why veri...

Big‑league scores don’t appear out of thin air—they’re built through craft, collaboration, and choices that balance art and business. I sit down with George Warren and Nico Pacella; two composers from Hans Zimmer's award winning Composer Collective, Bleeding Fingers, to trace how high‑impact music for TV and film gets made. From spotting sessions and temp tracks to the custom sounds that turn a scene into a world; Nico and George break down when they write to picture and when they build suites in advance, how they bank ideas for later, and why sound design has become...

Money changes the music you can make, and control changes the way you make it. I sit down with Duetti’s Head of Growth, Elliot Bahmoul, to unpack how music creators can sell a slice of their catalogue for upfront cash and pair that capital with genuine marketing muscle. Instead of waiting on a label advance, we explore how creators can fund albums, tours, and studio upgrades while choosing their own collaborators and keeping their options open.

Elliot breaks down why music IP has matured into a credible asset class, how streaming stabilised royalties, and why catalogue de...

Great music doesn’t have to start from scratch every time. We sat down with Ryan Dickinson, Creative Director at made by ikigai, to unpack how he creates brand-defining music for Adidas, Nike, Samsung, and beyond—without losing the human spark that makes a piece unforgettable. Ryan’s approach starts with clarity: deep questioning, grabbing storyboards, and, when possible, a quick call to surface what clients actually mean. Then he puts sound to picture early. By cutting rough edits that hit narrative beats, he replaces guesswork with evidence and turns subjective taste into a shared decision.

The heart...

A single headline sent me down a rabbit hole: Napster, the name that once shook the music world, is now pausing streaming to chase AI companions and immersive experiences. We unpack what that actually means, tracing the arc from MP3 file sharing and courtroom showdowns to corporate hand‑offs, VR concerts, blockchain detours, and a bold new pitch about social music.

We start with the 1999 shockwave that rewired discovery overnight and explore why the industry struggled to catch up. From the lawsuits that ended the original service to the lost decade before streaming stabilised payouts, we map th...

What if three notes could carry an entire story? I sit down with Erik Reiff, CCO of Black Cat White Cat Music, to unpack how composers build sonic identities for global brands and screens without losing the soul of the music. From Nike to sci‑fi dramas, Erik shows how a tight brief, a clear arc, and a few perfectly chosen sounds can do the heavy lifting that visuals alone can’t.

We dig into the real difference between scoring long‑form narratives and crafting short‑form hooks for social feeds, where you have seconds to win attentio...

Want to understand why some young artists accelerate while others stall? We sat down with Mike King—VP of Enrolment Management and Marketing at Interlochen Center for the Arts and longtime music marketing educator—to map the through-line from community and craft to career momentum. Mike shares what makes Interlochen unique: a culture where students “find their people,” learn to live and create at a high standard, and step onto stages with top orchestras and icons.The result isn’t just prestige; it’s a repeatable pathway where skills deepen, networks form, and artistic identity hardens through real-world pressure.

We...

What if your next song could jump from idea to radio‑ready with world‑class musicians in the time it takes to finish a coffee? We sit down with Musiversal Co‑Founder and Chief Growth Officer, Xavier Jameson, to unpack a model that flips the remote studio on its head: live, unlimited sessions with a curated roster of elite players and engineers, all inside one membership.

Xavier walks us through the workflow that makes the difference. You browse a handpicked roster, book in a couple of clicks, join the live session, direct performances in real time, and get fi...

Year’s end is the perfect moment to trade myths for evidence. We brought together the most useful ideas from the season—data that flips audience assumptions, a calmer path to releasing music that actually moves your career, and a funding shift that weakens the old “advance or bust” story. Keith Jopling spotlights how streaming data exposes who really listens and why waiting until the songs and live set are undeniable saves you from burning momentum. We carry that thread into the studio with a reminder that great records are team sports—writing, performance, production, recording, mixing, and mastering each compo...

This episode is a Q & A session where I take questions from listeners and provide answers. A range of topics are covered and explored. 

Tension sits at the heart of modern music careers: protect your rights, move faster, and still make work that feels like you. We take that knot apart with practical guidance on AI, publishing, growth, and the day-to-day moves that actually change your trajectory.

First, we separate AI’s ethics from its utility. Training models on copyrighted catalogues without consent or payment is unacceptable, but opt-in, time-saving tools can rem...

The dream is the music. The longevity is the paperwork. We dig into the real steps that turn a tight-knit band into a professional, protected business without draining the joy that brought you together. From first royalty registrations to company formation, we walk through the decisions that keep friendships intact and revenue flowing when momentum arrives.

We start where money actually tracks you: collection societies. Learn how to register with your local PRO for songwriting royalties and with neighbouring rights organisations to capture income from recordings played in public. Then we move to your identity. A band...

What if you could stop guessing your audience and start growing it with proof? I sit down with Waylon Barnes—entrepreneur, musician, and CEO of C2 Management—to map out how modern artists turn attention into a real business. We dig into the mechanics of audience discovery using data and social listening, why so many campaigns miss the mark when they rely on hunches, and the practical steps that make every pound work harder.

Waylon pulls back the curtain on a quiet industry shift: labels increasingly outsource marketing to specialised teams, which means independent artists can access the...

What if a 97-year family legacy held the blueprint for making songs travel further, earn more, and outlast the hype cycle? I sit with Ralph W. Peer, Managing Director at peermusic UK and Australasia and VP for Africa and the Middle East, to explore the legacy of a a century-old global publishing powerhouse. From post‑war royalty runs to today’s data firehose, Ralph opens the black box of publishing so creators can see where value is built.

We dig into the art of cross-cultural collaboration and why place still matters. Ralph shares how Australia’s first intern...

The safest place in music is the middle of the road—and that’s exactly why Russell C Brennan never stands there. We welcome the multi-platform creator behind Future Legend Records to unpack how he built a lasting indie label, broke new artists with daring strategy, and kept control when the majors came calling. From selling 10,000 units in a month by phoning record shops to turning cult TV and film themes into a launchpad for fresh talent, Russell shows how a clear idea and relentless follow-through can bend the market to meet the music.

We explore the blue...

Ready to turn your music into a steady income without losing your creative spark? I sit down with Lara from The International Musician, to break down the real world of cruise ship performing: who gets hired, how much you can earn, and how ship life can supercharge your skills in months. From orchestra pits to high-energy piano bars, we unpack the roles that exist at sea and the qualities agencies actually look for.

Lara explains the pay landscape in plain terms: around $2,000 per month for many roles, up to $6,000 for strong solo entertainers, tips on some American...

If you’ve ever wondered what a great artist manager really does—and how to know when you’re ready for one—this deep-dive lays out the playbook with clarity and zero fluff. We break down the day-to-day reality of management across business strategy, creative development, and the soft skills that hold a career together when schedules get messy and deals get complex. You’ll hear why the best managers behave like translators and tacticians, connecting A&R, booking, PR, marketing, and finance into one focused plan that preserves your voice while growing your audience.

We talk timing and...

What happens when award-winning music supervisor Frederic Schindler takes on the challenge of modernising a broken licensing system? The result is Catalog - a groundbreaking platform that's transforming how music gets paired with visual media.

Frederic Schindler has seen it all in his two-decade journey through music supervision. From his early days promoting French culture abroad to winning the Association of Independent Music's 2025 Music Supervisor of the Year Award, he's crafted soundtracks for iconic brands like Chanel, Hermès, and Prada while supervising acclaimed films including Jim Jarmusch produced "Uncle Howard." 

The disconnect between today's co...

The age-old belief that viral social media moments convert seamlessly into genuine fans may be crumbling before our eyes. Drawing from some outstanding research by MIDiA titled "All Eyes No Ears: Why Virality is not building fandom," this episode explores the troubling disconnect between social media visibility and actual music consumption.

For years, the music industry has operated on a seemingly logical assumption: create viral content, convert those views to streams, and transform casual listeners into devoted fans. But what if this funnel is fundamentally broken? The research reveals that nearly half of consumers never stream music...

Meet Anya Jasmine, a remarkable young musician who's mastered the art of social media growth while building an impressive multi-faceted career. What started as consistent guitar content on Instagram unexpectedly blossomed into viral moments and a substantial following that's opened doors throughout the music industry.

Anya breaks down her accidental social media success with refreshing honesty, describing how she treated posting like "putting lottery tickets in" - the more quality content shared consistently, the greater the chances of algorithm success. After years of persistence, she began seeing patterns in what worked, particularly with trending audio clips that...

The world of music production has undergone a remarkable transformation. Gone are the days when producers were confined to traditional recording studios, working exclusively with signed artists. Today, the landscape offers a rich tapestry of opportunities that extend far beyond conventional production work.

In this eye-opening episode, I dive deep into the multiple pathways available to modern producers, revealing how diverse the role has become. One fascinating aspect we explore is how the same title—"producer"—can encompass wildly different responsibilities depending on the project. For some artists, you might simply polish an existing demo; for others, you...

Unlocking the secrets of the East Asian music markets requires insider knowledge, passion, and a forward-thinking approach. Join host Jonny Amos as he speaks with rising music industry professional Kristin Hurst, who serves as A&R for K-pop, J-pop, and C-pop at both DWB Music and ARC Music Publishing.

Kristin's remarkable journey began with a university K-pop songwriting camp that caught the attention of industry veterans, launching her career at the intersection of Western songwriting and Asian music markets. She shares invaluable insights into the mechanics of pitching songs internationally, including the critical importance of keeping all...

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Are we witnessing the death of the influencer age? The creator economy is rapidly evolving, and musicians who understand these shifts can position themselves for sustainable success beyond streaming revenues alone.

The landscape has dramatically changed since the TikTok boom of 2020-2021, when seven and eight-figure deals were being offered before artists even met with label executives. Today, labels are taking a more measured approach, focusing on where artists might be in three, five, or ten years rather than trying to capitalise on fleeting viral moments.

This shift coincides with changing audience preferences. The SXSW...

What does it take to build a successful independent music publishing company in today's global market? In this captivating conversation, Greig Watts—the "W" in DWB Music—reveals the unexpected journey that transformed a three-person songwriting team into an international publishing powerhouse.

Greig shares the fascinating story of how DWB discovered untapped opportunities in the East Asian markets, particularly Japan, where understanding cultural business protocols proved crucial to their success. "In Japan, it's honourable and loyal," Greg explains. "If someone sends you an invoice, you pay it." This approach to business helped DWB become the leading UK inde...