The Reload Podcast

Stephen Pell from Pell Artists spoke to us about what he does as a strategic and business advisor with musicians in different stages of their career. Stephen helps artists make wise business decisions, covering budgeting, accounting and creating bespoke strategies and explained to us how a musician's mindset is fundamental to their success.

Episode 11 - We spoke with a representative from PRS for Music who told us a lot more on the matter and cleared up a few things. Dan’s job is to make sure artists are aware of PRS for Music and that they’re educated enough to know they could be making money from it.

Episode 10 - We spoke with Nathan Lilley, Director of Music from ELAM (East London Arts & Music), a full-time industry academy for 16-19 year olds. The academy is open to young musicians or creatives interested in pursuing carer in music, film, T V, production, game design and more and in its first 3 years of running it has seen its alumni take on roles in all of these sectors.

Episode 9 - One thing that can be very tricky for young artists is finding a space to record in or even rehearse. It doesn't need to be a headache, there are a few fantastic studios and spaces in London which provide not only the facilities but help from musicians themselves.

One of these places is Raw Material, located in Brixton, London, Raw Material whose missions is to improve the lives of young people, their economic position, their opportunities, progression and development have an open door policy to young creatives under 25.

Episode 8 - For an independent artist trying to find their way early on in their music career, any help is valuable. You’ve heard the stories or have peers that have secured a sponsorship or endorsement deal with an established brand, and you wonder to yourself, “how on earth did they secure such a ‘lucrative’ deal?” The thought of getting equipment at a discounted rate or even free is so enticing, but you just don’t know how,where or who to ask.

We invited our friend Kate Bond to join us on The Reload Podcast to discuss This Is Wired, one of London's best live-music shows. We spoke about how This Is Wired originally started out, how the team selects artists for the line up as well as the different platforms the show has been extended too. With 2017 set to be an exciting year, Kate is an industry specialist with a great eye for talent.

Episode 6. Getting involved with music and experiencing different genres and styles isn't something that's always available and accessible to everyone - this is something that The Midi Music Company works towards changing. TMMC provides young people - mostly between the ages of 5 and 30 with music seminars, after school events and affordable short music programmes amongst other projects with the aim of increasing their participation in various music industries. The goal is to create opportunities for audiences to integrate through music, exposing them to something new and giving them the resources to explore this further. The Midi Music Company aims to bridge the gap between music education and music business, helping young people make the transition from a hobby to a profession - something which can be daunting to the best of us.

Episode 5. We spoke with Joe from Music Glue for The Reload Podcast to find out more about what they do. In our talk, Joe explains that music glue is a free to use online marketing and e-commerce platform - which allows artists to connect directly to their fans (wherever in the world they are) and help maintain a relationship with them too. Music Glue puts all of your 'products' in one place - this means fans can reach your content directly and quickly without having to sign up to different websites and platforms. This is great because it means you can be from a small village in the UK but still sell your album around the world - and merchandise too.

Episode 4. The successful event, 'Ruby Sings' has been running for the past 8 years and has been showcasing unsigned and emerging talent right in the heart of Soho. It provides artists and listeners alike an intimate setting which showcases an eclectic mix of musical styles. From jazz to pop, to R&B to those powerful rock ballads, Ruby Sings is a great platform for any emerging artist to showcase their talent.

Episode 3. We spoke with the Founder & CEO of Unsigned Music Awards, Simon O'Kelly. He talked about how he created the successful televised award show that is dedicated to the independent artist and where he plans to take it.