Find Your Frequency

nnabel Stop It went from DJing on Twitch in her bedroom to playing Tomorrowland, and she's one of the most honest guests we've had about what that journey costs. In this short episode she explains why getting your finances steady comes first, and how a cycle of busy summers and quiet winters kept undoing her progress. She talks through going full-time the first time with no strategy and no cash runway, and why her Twitch audience didn't turn into live bookings. Answering a question from Paint Official, she explains why a career that isn't sustaining you yet doesn't mean you've failed. If you're weighing up leaving your day job, listen to this first.

Your task: before you leave your safety net, have a plan and a cash runway.

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Eden J Howells spent years chasing goals they couldn’t control: a manager, a booking agent, an editorial playlist, a follower count. In this episode they explain why they now set goals around only what they can do, and why the song you’re most scared to write is usually the one that connects. As someone who runs a social media agency, they’re frank about why they wouldn’t recommend a small artist pays a grand a month for a social media manager. Eden also talks about turning a 30-person group chat into Queer Creatives London, why vulnerability sits behind most of their viral moments, and why rest alone doesn’t fix autistic burnout. If you’ve been measuring your progress by numbers you can’t move, this one’s for you.

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Vinyl is the biggest income False Idah makes from music right now, and she’s blunt about what streaming pays. Jay has been a rock band singer in Northampton, a signed pop artist and Amaroun, and the fans she built along the way followed her over to her latest project. She explains how TikTok lives where viewers help write the songs built that loyalty, why her mailing list matters more to her than her follower count, and why she put around £2k of her own money into her last vinyl batch to help fund the next album. She also talks about juggling day jobs alongside music, her PRS Power Up funding and why she’d rather build the right team than chase a million streams. If you’ve got a small, real audience and you’re wondering whether it can pay for anything yet, this one’s for you.

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

Katie Debrah spent years in creative strategy at Google and YouTube, including two years with YouTube Music in LA, and now runs the creative tech company Halo and Echo. In this short episode she takes on the question labels bring to her more than any other, which is how content actually drives streams. She explains how an artist can have a million followers and 10,000 monthly streams, and why chopping up your music video rarely closes that gap. Using Flyana Boss as a case study, she shows how phone-shot content built around who you are can outperform a big-budget video, and why handing part of the process to someone else is how you keep up. If you've got the followers but the streams aren't following, this one's for you.

Your task: hand one part of your content process to someone else.

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

Matt Spetzler has spent the last decade investing in music, with around $5bn of deals behind him. In this short episode, taken from our full conversation, he does the maths on what a loyal fanbase is actually worth and explains why 10,000 to 100,000 fans who stick around can give you a real career. He talks through why owning your work is the closest thing an artist has to a retirement plan, and why splitting your rights for the first offer that comes along makes everything harder later. Answering a question from CJ Snail, he also points to the money that goes uncollected, starting with publishing. If you're independent and building for the long run, start here.

Your task: check you're collecting everything you're owed, from publishing to neighbouring rights and YouTube Content ID.

DJ Semtex has been the voice of hip-hop in this country for 30 years. He gave Drake his first UK interview in Hyde Park before anyone knew the name, he's been credited by Kanye and a long line of UK artists, and he's spent two decades spotting talent before the rest of the world catches up. In this episode he cuts through the noise with the bluntest, most useful advice you'll hear on this show: make a banger, and everything else falls into place. He explains why this is the best time in history for UK rap, why the "AI in music" debate isn't as simple as anyone claims, and why your first 50 fans matter more than any algorithm. If you're an artist trying to cut through, this one's a masterclass in keeping it simple.

https://go.unhurd.co.uk/spotifypod 

EKENE grew up in Lagos on gospel music and choir, moved through rap groups and poetry, and started sharing songs on Instagram because they needed somewhere to go. His debut EP Little Us is seven songs of genuinely honest writing, and this conversation catches him right at the start, which is the most interesting place to have it. He gets specific on why he measures progress by knowing his fans' names rather than his stream count, why honesty is the only growth strategy he trusts, and how he stays stubborn about his vision without shutting out good advice. He's also open about the vulnerable songs he hasn't released yet and why. If you're early in your own journey and building something real from nothing, this one's for you.

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

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.

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