UPRAWR Podcast

Pearce Macca from The Clause joins us to talk about the reality of being in a UK indie band. From getting signed by Universal at 19 and being dropped during Covid, to selling out the O2 Academy independently, Macca breaks down the highs, lows and brutal financial truth of chasing the band dream. We talk major labels, Spotify, touring, selling 16,000 tickets, the Birmingham music scene, Oasis, and...

In this episode we sit down with Sue Buckler who has spentdecades inside the music industry, helping promote records from Britney Spears,Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Justin Timberlake, Steps, Prince, The Stone Roses andmore! we talk about how songs became hits before TikTok, whatradio pluggers actually did, how Jive Records became one of the biggestindependent labels in the world worth over 2 billion!,...

In this episode we sit down with Jayler, the young UK rock band being compared to Led Zeppelin who are blowing up before they’ve even released an album  We talk about how they went from open mics and pub gigs to playing huge stages, touring with legendary bands, building a classic rock image in a modern scene, and dealing with the pressure of releasing their debut album while people are already ca...

This week we’re joined by Stef Pascual, VP of Audience Development and Paid Media at Concord. We talk about how bands actually break online, why going viral doesn’t always mean you’ve built real fans, and what happens behind the scenes when a song suddenly starts blowing up on TikTok.  We also get into the campaigns behind Ghost, Pierce The Veil and Ice Nine Kills, how labels decide where to spend...

In this episode, we sit down with Dannika Webber, one of the Download Festival talent buyers to break down how one of the UK’s biggest festivals is actually booked. From headliners and budgets to why some bands never make the lineup, this is a proper behind-the-scenes look at how it all works.  We also get into Limp Bizkit’s resurgence and how they’ve worked their way back into headline territory,...

In this episode, we sit down with a former Creation Records insider Tim Abbot to break down what really happened during the rise of Oasis. From having just £78 in the bank to buildin one of the biggest bands in the world, this is the unfiltered story of how it actually played out.  We talk chaos, near collapse, Vegas stories, and what Noel and Liam were really like behind the scenes. Plus, the rea...

Today’s guest is one of the UK live music industry’s most experienced agents, with a career spanning more than 30 years and a roster that has helped shape rock, emo, punk and alternative music across the world.  We talk about how he discovered My Chemical Romance and helped grow them from tiny club shows into a global stadium band, his decades-long journey with Sum 41 from the very beginning, and...

Today’s guest is Mark Fuller, the man behind some of London’s most iconic nightclubs, including The Embassy Club and Sugar Reef which he started with Marco Pierie White  We talk about how he built clubs with no money, what nightlife was really like at its peak, and how it went from culture to cash. Most importantly, what actually killed the nightclub?  This one’s full of wild stories.  Let’s get i...

Today’s guest is Liam Cromby, former We Are The Ocean frontman and now a solo artist rebuilding his career on his own terms. After growing up surrounded by music, Liam went from local bands and MySpace auditions to playing huge stages, releasing major records and touring with bands like Muse. From the outside, it looked like the dream but behind the scenes, the pressure, burnout and declining ment...

Today's guest is Dante Bonutto who is currently the director of A&R at Spinefarm a subsidiary of Universal Music! Dantes responsible for signing Sleep Token and working on “Take me back to Eden” where he watched the band break in real time!  We chat with Dante about how he got his start in music over 40 years ago - starting out as a journalist and actually becoming editor at Kerrang! super ear...

Today’s guest is Stuart Galbraith, one of the most influential promoters in the UK live entertainment industry. He is the founder of Kilimanjaro Live, the company behind major tours and events putting on shows like Ed Sheeran and festivals such as Sonisphere. Today, Kilimanjaro sells millions of tickets every year! we wanted to know what it really took to reach that scale.  Stuart shares his journ...

Today’s guest is Adam Sagir, founder and head of The Noise Cartel, one of the biggest PR companies in the UK. If you’re a fan of heavy music, you’ve definitely listened to one of the bands he’s worked with. Adam has been in the industry since he was 16, starting at Century Media, where he spent eight years working his way up to head of the label’s UK division.  We spoke to Adam to about finding hi...

Today’s guest is  Roy Davis , a music industry veteran with over 40 years of experience. Back in the 1980s, Roy signed two major record deals with his band  SHY,  contracts worth millions at the height of the era’s excess. In this episode, Roy breaks down what the music industry was really like in the ’80s, how big those deals truly were, why things didn’t work out the way he hoped, and what event...

Today’s episode is all about how Jack has managed to run a nightclub for 15 years without ever going out of business! Ever wondered what it really takes to start a club and how you adapt as times change? We talk about how the club began, how he’s kept it alive for a decade and a half, and why switching to a weekly night actually  saved  the club from going under. 

We recently threw a Five Nights at Freddy’s themed clubnight that went a bit viral online. Some of the posters pulled in thousands of likes (and millions of views), but they also attracted a fair amount of hate. So we decided to talk about it. lets get into it!

Today’s guest is Dean James, who’s had an incredible journey in music. He was one of the co-founders of the MAMA Group, which at its peak operated some of the UK’s most iconic venues and festivals including the Hammersmith Apollo before eventually selling the business to HMV.  We spoke to Dean about how and why he got into live music, how he went on to build the MAMA Group, and what eventually hap...

Today's guest is Steve O'G, the creator behind a thriving YouTube channel dedicated to alternative music and reaction-style content. His channel continues to grow, and we wanted to know the secrets behind his success  We dive into how Steve monetizes music reaction content, what the industry thinks about it, and the real value of his reactions. Steve also shares his journey into music, spe...

Today’s guest is Luke Morton, the editor of Kerrang! one of the biggest rock magazines in the world!  We talked to Luke about how he got his start in the industry, from his early jobs at places like Front Magazine , where he first experienced the chaos of creative work environments, to writing his debut book - Standing Like Statues , the official Enter Shikari biography.  We also discussed how he...

Today’s guest is Mark Orr, the head of LAB Records, which he’s been running since 2005. In recent years, LAB has found major success with artists like The K’s, South Arcade, and many more.  We spoke with Mark about how he discovered and signed South Arcade, what it felt like to achieve LAB’s very first number one album with The K’s, and what the future holds for the label. From the sounds of it, t...

Welcome back to the Uprawr Podcast!  Today’s guest is Mat Welsh, guitarist for one of the UK’s biggest rock bands, While She Sleeps. Alongside playing guitar, Mat also manages the band and takes care of the business side of things.  We spoke to Mat about how While She Sleeps first started, the tipping point that turned it into a full-time career, and why staying DIY has been so important to their...

Today’s guest is Tim Bailey, currently Head of Label for International Affairs at Frontiers Music Group. Tim has had a long and varied career in the music industry, starting out as a promoter for over 15 years before eventually moving to the label side by joining Earache Records. We spoke with Tim about how he first became a promoter, why he dedicated 15 years to it, and the many challenges that c...

Today’s guest is Nelly Liger-Edinger, a driving force behind rock and metal’s presence on national radio. Nelly works at The Noise Cartel, one of the biggest PR companies in heavy music and she's the reason you’ve heard bands like Architects, Parkway Drive, Ghost and many more on BBC Radio 1. We talk to Nelly about how she got her start in music from teaching at a university in France to writing f...

Today’s guest is Dan Shepard, Studio Manager on the graphic design team at Live Nation and the Creative Lead for Download Festival. Yep, most of those iconic Download posters? He designed them. Ever wondered what it takes to be a professional graphic designer in the music industry? Or how the politics of festival posters work, like why some band logos are huge and others tiny?   We talk about: How...

Welcome back to the Uprawr podcast! Today’s guest is Lais martins Waring who currently works for LD Communcations one of the biggest PR companies in the world! We spoke to Lais about how she got started in music, how she ended up working at LD communications and what the job entails. We talk about what it’s like working on Download Festival & how you go about getting creators like TPD TV invol...

Welcome back to the Uprawr Podcast! Today’s guest is Eric Tobin, Executive Vice President of Business Development & A&R at Hopeless Records — a label that’s been pivotal in the careers of All Time Low, Neck Deep, and even Avenged Sevenfold. Eric shares the story of how he moved to California with no plan, landed a job at Hopeless Records without any prior industry experience, and went on t...