Niki &The Dove are a Swedish indie pop/electronic duo comprised of Malin Dahlström and Gustaf Karlöf. They broke through in 2012 after placing 5th in BBC’s Sound of Music poll and their first album received widespread press coverage. I was able to speak with them about their initial success, being signed to one of Sweden’s biggest indie labels and what the last 15 years has been like for them.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

Having interviewed Peter Rafelson about his background in the music industry, this episode focuses on how we navigated the 80s after penning one of Madonna’s biggest records, “Open Your Heart”. Success is not without it’s pitfalls, and he faced opposition not only from his peers when trying to place the song, but also from music executives and lawyers after the song was selected.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

Peter Rafelson's music career spans four decades of being a songwriter, producer, studio owner and more. Penning Madonna's "Open Your Heart" served as the entrypoint to mainstream success, and he's since gone on to host recording sessions for the likes of Taylor Swift and Beyonce.

I had a chat with Peter about his career, how his biggest hit was made, and what he's up to today.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

Artists have been calling on Dan Wilson to help them write songs since the late 90s, leading to a steady stream of chart-toppers for artists like Adele (“Someone Like You”) to Taylor Swift (“Treacherous”). But prior to helping others to craft their songs, he had his own success as the singer in the band Semisonic, whose 1998 hit “Closing Time“ was ubiquitous on the airwaves.

Dan and I had a talk about his early career, the success of Semisonic, how he became a successful songwriter and who put him in the room with stars he’s worked with.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

This is Part 2 of my interview with Damizza, taken from The Record Business podcast. The previous one was from Music Is A Racket. The focus of the conversation is his radio background and thoughts on the current music industry.

Having played a key role taking hiphop global in the late 90s/early 2000s, Damizza retired from radio in 2004 whilst at the top of his game. He’s now making a comeback, so we talked about his journey thus far and his thoughts on today’s radio stations, AI in music and more.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

Though hiphop went mainstream in the 90s, it wasn't until the early 2000s that gangsta rap dominated all other sub-genres and effectively monopolized the landscape. This was in no small part due to support from radio stations like Power 106 in LA and Hot97 in New York. Damion "Damizza" Young had influence over both and was the Senior Director of Programming at the former. By keeping artists like Jay Z, Eminem, Ja Rule, Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre in constant rotation, he helped establish their careers and mainstream appeal. But this came with pushback from not just his employers, but even major labels who were uncomfortable with the power he wielded.

Damizza and I talked about some of the challenges he faced from 1997 - 2004 whilst employed at Power 106, from issues with the station's parent company to threats from executives at Sony Music to stop helping certain artists.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

Evan Bogart went from Interscope intern in the 90s that helped Eminem get signed, to a songwriter in the 2000s that penned hits for Rihanna and Beyonce, to the co-founder of a publishing company in the 2020s. He's currently the CEO of Seeker Music, which owns catalogs from artists like Run The Jewel, Jon Bellion, and Mark Morrison.

I had a chat with Evan about his progression in the music industry and the kind of work Seeker is doing to carve out a space for itself in the business.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

As one of the few Western executives with both work experience and language fluency in China and Japan, Gabe Bloch occupies a unique space in bridging the Asian and American music industries. He’s currently the Chief Strategy officer for Pony Canyon USA, one of most well-known indie labels in Japan and the producer of the anime Attack on Titan.

Gabe and I covered his work at Pony Canyon, his time working for TikTok parent company Byte Dance, as well as his thoughts on the Japanese music industry and how their artists are gaining traction abroad.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

After a successful radio career in the 90s, Rick Barker became one of Taylor Swift's radio promoters in 2004 and then her manager from 2006 - 2008. He played an instrumental role in the success of her first album as well as her transition to a star. Since departing that role, he's worked as independent consultant for artists and labels, showing them how to maximize their careers.

Rick and I covered his time working with Taylor, and in the full episode on The Record Business podcast, we also talked about his consultancy, Music Industry Blueprint, and how he helps artists with their careers.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)

As the son of a famed music executive who signed KISS and Donna Summer in the 70s, Evan Bogart was set on his own music path in his teens. He got an internship at Interscope and helped bring Eminem to the label after seeing him at the Rap Olympics in 1997. Until now, it's unclear why credit for Em's signing went to Evan's former colleague Dean Geistlinger, so I sat down for a chat to learn about what really happened and who really did what.

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Freeman's Music Biz is a summary podcast that offers 10 - 15 minute versions of Sam's hour-long conversations from his three shows. If you enjoy the clips, please check out the full podcasts, which are listed below.

Podcast #1 - Speakhertz (for talking to audio professionals)

Podcast #2 - The Record Business (for talking to music executives)

Podcast #3 - Music Is A Racket (for talking about the underbelly of the music business)