The Helping Musicians Podcast

We think it’s fair to say in over 100 episodes of this show, one of the most common pieces of advice shared is ‘get a lawyer, even at the start’.  But, obvs lawyers can be expensive - so we’ve tried our best to find an absolute guru, to share some top tips to stop you getting screwed whilst you build up to that point. Danyel Semple has a badass job title - Director, Business & Legal Affairs at...

A gent with a very impressive CV - having worked with BMG, Warner, Ticket Master on the organisation side, and Kylie , KSI , and Craig David on the artist side. 👀 Sunjay Kohli has seen many sides of the industry - and now having set up his own business 'AAA Media' - we thought it was time to pick his brain about what you should be focussing on as a musician if you wanna make ££$$ from you...

A band that are the true definition of putting in the work. From unfathomable amounts of shows. Hours upon hours speaking to fans at every gig. And nurturing a really special online community, Tors are an amazing band to draw inspiration from as a musician. In this episode - Theo of Tors shares what they've learnt from those crazy support tours, all those fan interactions, plus why you should...

Episode 100 baby! We celebrate by having one of our most qualified, most prolific at making bangers, and most handsome guests - Joel Corry. Joel kindly invited us into his bungalow to chat everything from having a huge hit whilst still not having a manager, the importance of routine & health + fitness in this chaotic industry, plus why you should always try DMing artists you look up to. Oh, an...

An incredibly talented songwriter, performer, and now label owner - Kris Allen has seen many different corners of the music industry. From winning American Idol and that mainstream side, through to now being independent, running his own label, and just as we speak releasing his first album in eight years - 'Pole Vaulter '. On this episode Kris is very candid about lessons he's learnt a...

Where to begin? Jamie Dee Hart is a badass human being who has helped artists secure more than one million $ in unclaimed royalties, manages some incredibly talented artists at multiple different levels, plus someone really f*cking passionate about metadata (more on that later). This show is a goldmine if ya wanna make sure you're not missing out on things. Whether that's unclaimed royalti...

Sometimes it’s easier just to let the guest’s own one-liners do the talking, and in this case, Nik Cherwink has two that summarise what to expect from this episode. 👀 “I help artists get their sh*t together” “Your favorite DJ’s life coach” This episode is full of gems for any musician, not just DJs, that want to help themselves understand what they really want, how to put build a plan towards tha...

It's easy as a musician in 2024 to get really down on streaming. Feeling like it's ruined the music industry, and that your dream of making a living from music has never been harder. Well... it's all about perspective. And we try our best on this show to focus on the positives that streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music bring. Plus Sam chimes in with some social media bits tha...

In Sam’s opinion - ‘one of the most inspirational things he’s ever seen’ (🫣) - Haliey Welch - AKA Hawk Tuah girl - has easily been the most viral moments of July 2024. On the episode - we try and break down what a musician at the start of their career can learn from Haliey's success. Going from one moment - one short video - to a full time - LA based living as a creator. The episode you never...

A human being who has smashed pretty much every part of the music industry. A manager, A&R, agent, songwriter, executive producer, creative director, AND incredibly successful artist himself. Part of 40+ Billboard No 1s, 70+ Gold & Platinum certifications. CEO and Founder of The Hello Group - a very successful and respected music company who work in pretty much everything music business -...

An incredibly talented songwriter, performer all round nice dude. Lostboycrow (human name Chris) has had quite the musical journey this past decade. Like most of us, going through different sounds, aesthetics, and levels of success. On this episode, Chris is very open about the success, and the failures of that decade. Plus shares some awesome insights on how and when to trust your gut, how his 42...

A very sleep-deprived chinwag w Helping Musicians Podcast editor Tyler Odell - where we pick his brain for all of the social media editing, strategy, and ‘making a living from something you love’ wisdom. Yes we love Tyler cos he works with us on HMP - but he’s also an editor for huge artists, brands, and organisations with big scary legal teams which we won’t name. TYLER INSTA - https://www.instag...

Badass artist, songwriter, label founder, PLVTINUM has seen all sides of the music industry, including... NASA . Currently sitting at the best part of half a billion (!!) streams on Spotify alone, PLVTINUM (human name Michael ) has had a v diverse musical journey. On this episode he talks moving from EDM to dark-pop, the importance of data and how to take advantage of it, plus when a song is for y...

One of the main things we try and help musicians with on this show is Instagram , and how to smash it as a musician, which helps get your music out to as many people as possible. And just last week - the boss of Instagram sat down with the legends Colin & Samir, and shared 90 minutes of goodness on all the shizz ya wanna know BUT that episode is focussed on creators more generally, not musicia...

Producer, DJ, podcaster, Will Clarke basically has a PHD in smashing the make a living from cool music & creative shizz. On this episode we get into the nitty gritty of the mindset, platforms, and most importantly - skills - you need to do it yourself. All whilst playing a game of Beyonce Bingo. Episode Features:  - Patience. - Expectations. - And the importance of being 'good'. - Find...

BBC Radio 1 DJ, label owner, rockstar DJ, and so so much more. This week's guest is Sarah Story . On this ep Sarah essentially shares a PHD in ' getting your music heard by important music people-ology '. A bunch of awesome tips, insight and strategies to get that DM opened, get that track listened to, and why you defo defo defo not send Sarah a Google Drive or WeTransfer. Episode Feat...

Something a little bit different this week - we come to you live from Dot to Dot Festival in Nottingham where we speak to three badass artists across the genres, all who have recently smashed it. Antony Szmierek, Hana Lili and Alfie Sharp . All sharing the things they wish they knew a few years ago before things got proper. Plus a lot of excuses to eat donuts, so, ya know. ANTONY INSTA - https://w...

Your freelancer friend. Reese Hopper is very wise dude who is focussed on helping you make a living doing what you love. Having worked w The Chainsmokers, Adidas and DJI . Reese knows a thing or two about making $$ doing things he enjoys. And now, as we write / record this, he's put all that wisdom into a book dedicated to helping you make a living from that thing you love. So ofc we grill him...

A socials guru - literally - as he’s spent years working at every musicians favourite platform Tik Tok. George, now running his own badass agency (MYTHOSMKRS), answers every question you’ve wanted to know about how tf can you use Tik Tok effectively as a musician. Let’s go George! GEORGE INSTA - https://www.instagram.com/iamgeorgenikolaou/   GEORGE'S AGENCY - https://www.instagram.com/mythosmk...

Huge festival bookings, MOBO award nomination, loads of BBC Radio 1 plays and more. ALT BLK ERA have absolutely destroyed the past two years in the best way possible. Now, as they enter their next era (no pun intended), they share the things they wish they knew starting out, the best places to learn (for free), plus … ALT BLK ERA INSTA -  https://www.instagram.com/altblkera/ Episode Features:  How...

Founder of Impulse Artists - a PR / marketing org who handle press for loads of your favourite artists. For over ten years, Nate has been working with everything from old-skool magazines and blogs, through to new school socials and influencers. On this episode, Nate essentially shares a masterclass on wtf is PR in 2024, when is the time to hire PR for your own project, plus what things should you...

An incredibly talented producer, DJ, songwriter. 50 million + streams. Shows all around the world. And potentially most importantly - an incredibly lovely human being. This episode is almost a greatest hits of 'things ya need to know or think about to make a living from music'. All in less than 30 mins. LFG! DANNY INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/danny.quest/ Episode Features:  - Why...

President of Palm Tree Records (Kygo’s joint venture with Sony Music), manager of EMBRZ , plus an epic varied history w music journalism (including Billboard ), David Rishty - we’ll call him Dave from now on - has smashed many parts of the ‘making a living from music thing’. He shares lessons learnt from all those different sides of his career here, how to write the perfect pitch email, plus why y...

It’s obvs easy to spend a lot of time thinking about all the things you should be doing as a musician. Buuuut, sometimes, the more useful thing is to work out what not to do . What small things could you be doing that might have been the reason that DJ / A&R / Manager etc didn’t listen to your big boy banger. On this show we run thru a bunch of easy to avoid / fix mistakes that we’ve seen firs...

An Aussie rapper that takes the term of ‘ cooking ’ quite literally.  Ivan Ooze is an incredibly talented MC, singer and songwriter. He’s supported the likes of Wu-Tang Clan, Azealia Banks and Ice Cube. And is one of the best examples out there for trying loads of shit you like. Not just musically - Ivan - real name Ben has also built an incredibly successful / inspiring cooking / food project - Y...