Rob Sealy spent 30 years in insurance and financial services before he noticed something the music industry does that no other industry would tolerate: artists barely know who their fans are. So he co-founded Openstage to fix it, and now runs fan campaigns for some of the biggest artists alive. In this episode he gets specific on why your social reach has collapsed below 2%, why 10% of your fans drive 80% of your income, and why the tactics that work for a stadium act are exactly the same ones that work when you've got five fans. He's blunt about the mistake most artists make, leading with the ask instead of the relationship, and generous with what to do instead. If you're building a fanbase from scratch, this one hands you the playbook. Independent artists, this is the one to save.

Try un:hurd music here: https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod 

Sissy Ford moved to London on her own at seventeen and has spent six years turning bedroom recordings into a catalogue with millions of streams. She's breaking right now, and this conversation catches her mid-climb, which is exactly the most honest place to have it. She gets specific on why nothing in music happens quickly, why comparing your streams to everyone else's is a trap, why picking a single genre is a mistake, and why the aloof mysterious-artist act is finished. She also talks about building real connection with fans through weekly livestreams and treating supporters like friends rather than a follower count. If you're early in your own journey and wondering why it's taking so long, this one's for you.

Try un:hurd music here: https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod 

Nicola Gunby is a two-time founder who built and sold a beauty marketplace before she turned thirty, then set out to fix a problem she couldn't shake... how hard it is to actually meet people and build real community in a city full of strangers. That became Cliq. In this episode she gets specific on why your fifty thousand followers aren't a community, why most people quit building one right before it works, and why the smaller and more niche you go, the stronger the connection. She also breaks down the difference between an audience that scrolls past you and a community that actually turns up. If you're an artist trying to turn passive listeners into a fanbase that sticks, this one's for you.

Try un:hurd at www.unhurdmusic.com

Katie Debrah started exactly where a lot of you are now. Making music, uploading it, hoping someone on the other side of a screen would care. She ended up on the inside, spending years at Google and YouTube shaping creative strategy for some of the biggest artists in the world, before walking away to build tools for independent artists instead. In this episode she gets specific on why a million followers can still mean ten thousand streams, why chopping up your music video won't save you, and why your social audience is rented rather than owned. She also breaks down the thing most platforms won't tell you... that their "best practice" is built for their business, not yours. If you've ever felt like you're doing everything right and still not converting, this one's for you.

Keith Jopling has spent 25 years inside the music industry: IFPI, Sony, EMI, Spotify, MIDiA Research, sitting in the boardrooms and reading the data. He's the host of The Art of Longevity (80 episodes and counting) and the author of a new book, Riding the Rollercoaster, built from those conversations. His argument is blunt: the business is built on artists' work but run largely for everyone else's benefit, and the artists who last are the ones who worked that out early.

In this episode he breaks down why the metrics you're chasing were designed for someone else's success, why getting dropped is often the making of an artist, why you build your fanbase from day one now that a streaming hit only buys you six to twelve months, and what success actually looks like when you're not in the charts.

He's been inside the industry for 25 years, and he's on the artist's side, not theirs. If that's you, this one matters.

Try un:hurd music for 7 days at www.unhurdmusic.com

David Ronan is the founder of RoEx, which builds tools that give artists the confidence to release their music: corrective mixing, mastering and audio cleanup that clears the technical hurdles so you can focus on the creative part. He's got a PhD in music tech, was head of research at AI Music (the company Apple later acquired), and RoEx has now processed over 6 million tracks.

In this episode he breaks down the loudness mistake almost every independent artist makes, how to use AI on your music without crossing into the creative, and why an AI artist will never really have fans. Alex and David also get into the budget trap that leaves great music stuck at 100 listeners, why people still seek out authenticity, and the milestone that changed everything for RoEx (hitting break-even).

If you're an independent artist trying to get your music sounding right and actually heard, this one's for you.

You can try un:hurd music here: https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod 

Lump by James Holden - https://open.spotify.com/track/7udc4e7om5HGUT8Cguto31?si=bad55a017deb4c2c

Max Busin is the founder of GoToBeat, the live music company on track for half a million tickets this year across 16 European countries. His pitch to artists is a simple one: tour with us and earn around 40% more than you would with a traditional promoter.

In this episode he breaks down how that number works (lower costs, smarter data, the right rooms), why most artists quietly lose money on tour, and why owning your audience matters more than raw scale, a lesson he learned the hard way after a media business he'd built to the 45th biggest website in the world vanished overnight when one platform changed its algorithm. Alex and Max also get into AI as a tool rather than a threat, why one clear metric beats chasing followers, and the case for just putting the work out instead of overthinking it.

If you're an independent artist trying to build something that lasts, this one's for you.

Try un:hurd music with a 7 day trial at app.unhurdmusic.com

Maria Stavrou has been an optical engineer, a circus aerialist on three world tours, a therapist, and a festival producer. She's visited 52 countries and built everything from cabaret shows to 15,000-person events. The thread through all of it? Creating spaces where people feel safe enough to be themselves.

In this episode, Maria talks about how growing up in foster care pushed her to map out a 20-year life plan at 16, why the people you work with at 22 will still be around at 32 (so treat them accordingly), a 70-year Harvard study that proves feeling understood is the single biggest factor in living a long, healthy life, and why building community to tick boxes will always fall apart.

She also shares the simplest advice for managing pressure that nobody follows: check the facts, don't check the feelings.

New episodes every Monday.

un:hurd music gives every independent artist a fair chance of success. Start now: https://unhurdmusic.com

Lizzie Esau has gone from open mics in the Northeast to Radio One's Big Weekend and Glastonbury. No label. No viral moment. No shortcut. Just great music, relentless live shows, and zero-hour jobs to keep it all going.

In this episode, Lizzie talks about why she built her career on stage rather than on a screen (and why most of her community found her through live, not social), the preparation ritual that keeps her nerves in check before every show, what she learned from playing to two people and a dog in Middlesbrough, and why she stands at the merch table after every single gig.

She also shares the mindset shift every artist chasing numbers needs to hear: stop treating your music like a product. It should be a feeling you give someone. Then it becomes something people experience, not just buy.

New episodes every Monday.

un:hurd music gives every independent artist a fair chance of success. Start now: https://unhurdmusic.com

Ibrahim Kamara gave Nines, Brent Faiyaz, and J Hus their first ever magazine covers. He built Guap, one of the UK's most influential creative platforms, from a camera and a student overdraft. It took six years before the business made any money. Now, 11 years in, he's going back to his first love: making music independently.

In this episode, Ibrahim breaks down the independent artist model he thinks actually works (drop music, build products and experiences around it, tour, repeat), why community depth matters more than community size, what entrepreneurship actually costs that nobody talks about, and why you can't call yourself an artist in 2026 if you don't understand publishing, PRS, and the business side of your own craft.

He also shares the line that every artist needs to hear: if you're not treating music like a business, you just want an expensive hobby.

New episodes every Monday.

un:hurd music gives every independent artist a fair chance of success. Start here: https://unhurdmusic.com