What's the Key? with Broadway B

Producer, engineer, and session drummer Tom Rasulo joins us to break down his career coming up under Rob Cavallo and Doug McKean at Warner Brothers. Tom shares behind-the-scenes stories engineering for Dave Matthews, My Chemical Romance, Gary Clark Jr., and Regina Spektor, while laying out the psychological tricks engineers use during vocal sessions, how indie artists can stop wasting money in the...

Independent artist Anne Reburn joins the show to share the exact story of how her YouTube cover of "Dream a Little Dream of Me" was discovered by music supervisors and placed on the hit show The Boys three separate times. We dive deep into her strategies for building a highly engaged fan community, moving casual viewers from YouTube over to Discord and Patreon, leveraging data to choose...

How do you hit 6 million streams on Apple Music, land sync placements on Netflix, Hulu, and Lifetime, and tour internationally—all completely independently without a major record label? In this episode of What's The Key?, award-winning singer-songwriter Jadea Kelly stops by the studio to break down the exact strategies behind her independent success. From utilizing digital distributors like T...

On this episode of What’s The Key?, we sit down with the phenomenal India Carney—singer, songwriter, arranger, and vocal coach for The Voice and American Idol. India takes us behind the curtain of the music industry's biggest stages, from turning all four chairs as a contestant on The Voice to returning as a vocal coach. We dive deep into the technical adjustments of transitioning from an ope...

In this special highlight reel episode of What's the Key?, we are tackling the million-dollar question every independent musician faces: How do you actually make money from your music? We’ve combed through our archive to bring you the absolute best, frontline-tested strategies from artists who have successfully unlocked multiple revenue streams. From building a sustainable, high-tier fan comm...

What happens when you stop measuring success purely by numbers and start measuring it by connection? In this episode, we sit down with multi-faceted artist, actress, singer-songwriter, and coach Rainee Blake. Rainee shares the incredible story of how a single house concert in the hills landed her a role on the hit TV show Nashville, and how she transitioned from a "hustle-at-all-costs" m...

Want to hear your music on Netflix, Hulu, or a massive nationwide car commercial? Music sync licensing is one of the most lucrative avenues for independent musicians today—but getting your foot in the door requires a lot more than just having great tracks. In this episode, we sit down with Chelsea Coy, co-owner of the sync agency TwoOhSix (https://twoohsixmusic.com/), music supervisor, and accompl...

In this episode, we sit down with Will Breman, a Season 17 contestant on The Voice and a powerhouse on the California Central Coast music scene. Will shares behind-the-scenes stories of working with John Legend, Usher, and Taylor Swift (and the intimidation of her platform heels). We dive deep into the "nerdy" side of the music business, including how Will used Python and web scraping to...

In this episode of What’s The Key?, we sit down with Just Liv, an incredible vocalist who has performed with huge names including The Jonas Brothers, Kanye West, Willow Smith, Duckwrth, Jessie Reyez, Inglewood SIR, and many more. Just Liv shares the "faith-based" reality of her career, discussing the pivotal moments that took her from the intimate stages of Leimert Park to performing at...

How do you go from playing for free to performing on Jimmy Kimmel 5 times and amassing 1 billion views? In this episode of "What's The Key?", veteran guitarist and producer Joel Van Dijk (Aloe Blacc, Mystical Joyride) breaks down the reality of the music industry. We discuss his early days in LA, the "Three Things" rule for taking gigs, the chaos vs. execution of D’Angelo...

Singer Chloe Bee breaks down how she has been able to land some big opportunities… from performing with former Nickelodeon star Drake Bell to building a residency in LA, to landing paid gigs in Vegas and Hawaii. We get into how to use your views and streams without becoming obsessed and spiraling, and why you shouldn’t be afraid of being “cringe.” Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wha...

One of the best ways to sharpen your skills in any arena is to get around the people who are already at the top of their game and learn their methods. Our guests have been in the rooms with huge names like Sza, Akon, Chaka Khan, Angela Basset and many more. They share the lessons they learned from these titans in entertainment.  Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whats_the_key/ Follow...

Tia Simone shares the real story behind building a lasting music career — from singing on Lady Gaga’s Chromatica and the film Sinners to performing on Jimmy Kimmel and touring globally with Postmodern Jukebox. She describes how she's been able to get big opportunities, the lessons she's learned from her experiences, and the mindset that helped propel her forward. A powerful conversation...

Juliette Irons shares how she built momentum as an independent artist – using Meta ads to trigger Spotify’s algorithm, how she managed to get 7000 streams in a day, and the mindset required to keep pushing when nobody’s listening. She also shares how a sync placement turned into a check big enough to pay her rent for a year, plus wild creative production stories (how she went all the way to Icelan...

Anne Reburn has over 380,000 YouTube subscribers and 10 million views on a single cover. In this episode, she breaks down the real economics of cover videos and talks about how Patreon became a financial game changer.  We get into converting viewers into paying supporters, using Discord for real community, and even how she gets people to pay her $100/month. Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagr...

BodaciousThang breaks down how she earned 800+ sync placements across major platforms, including Netflix, Hulu, BET, and national commercials. We talk relationships, briefs vs pitching, being “one-stop ready,” joining a PRO, avoiding perfectionism, and the real systems behind getting your music licensed consistently. What's The Key? is a podcast for musicians, powered by your peers who'v...

Kofi Agyei joins What’s The Key? to break down what it really takes to build a sustainable career in music. From winning a Grammy early in his career to landing major sync placements with the NBA, NHL, and top TV shows, Kofi shares lessons on collaboration, urgency, automation, and using AI to scale your music business. Kofi has worked with Chaka Khan, Ciara, Brandy, Nicole Scherzinger, Shinee, an...

In this episode of What’s The Key?, host Broadway B sits down with Brenda Carsey — independent artist, curator, and talent buyer — to demystify some of the most misunderstood parts of the music industry. Brenda shares her firsthand experience submitting her own music for Grammy consideration, becoming a Recording Academy voting member, and what artists actually need to qualify. She breaks down why...

Actor and musician Glenn Stanton (aka Six String Guillotine), has acted alongside Angela Bassett, Morris Chestnut, and appeared on The Walking Dead. But after the Hollywood strikes and a self-discovery journey, he found himself staring down the darkest moment of his life… and choosing between a 9mm and a six-string guitar. In this episode of What’s The Key?, we talk about: What it’s really like ac...

Maddi Fraser has lived multiple artistic lives — The Voice, America’s Got Talent, touring the country with Tom Sandoval, singing on stage with Dave Chappelle, writing comedy musicals, going viral on TikTok, and building a real career in Los Angeles. In this episode of What’s The Key, Broadway B sits down with Maddi for a brutally honest conversation about the realities of reality TV, surviving hos...

Matt Axton carries a family legacy that helped shape American music — and he’s forging his own path on the road today. In this episode, we dig into how his grandmother co-wrote Elvis Presley’s first million-selling hit (“Heartbreak Hotel”), how his father penned “Joy to the World (Jeremiah was a bullfrog)”, and why Blake Shelton’s first big break started… in a guest room over a garage. Then we get...

Roberto Horns joins us to tell wild stories and hard-earned lessons from being inside the rooms with TDE/Punch & SZA, Tricky Stewart & The-Dream during the making of “Umbrella,” an Akon surprise house visit, a Diddy writing camp, and assistant-engineering on Usher x R. Kelly “Same Girl.” But the real value is the blueprint: how to turn momentum into streams , build a community that actuall...

What would you do if your Instagram with 100,000+ followers got stolen? For Goner, it meant starting over — but he didn’t just bounce back, he leveled up. In this episode, we talk about how Goner grew a dedicated fanbase from scratch using live shows, anime music videos, and ultra-personal content. He opens up about hitting a million streams on Spotify, getting discovered on SoundCloud, building i...

Willow Stephens is an indie artist who’s making bold moves — from self-funding her music like a record label, to building a loyal audience on Twitch and going viral on Instagram. In this episode of They’re Good at That Sh *t, she shares how she took out a small business loan to fuel her music career while keeping her masters, opened for KT Tunstall in her hometown, and grew a true fan community on...

How do you go from janitor shifts and three-hour commutes… to engineering sessions for John Mayer, Freddie Gibbs, BJ the Chicago Kid, and Isaiah Rashad ? In this raw, reflective, and inspiring conversation, Sian McMullen opens up about what it’s really like to break into the music industry — without connections, while being underestimated, and while making every mistake you can make in your early...