Ignore aiming for viral success, avoid accepted strategies, try "random acts of kindness", and other expert advice: How to market your artist in 2025
Ep. 170: We bring you a bumper episode of Music Ally Focus, with four true domain experts, all sharing their advice, insight and strategies for you to use. (UPDATE: we fixed a surprising number of audio glitches!)Music marketing is in a transitional era where traditional funnel marketing rubs up against wallet-draining superfan campaigns – and the desire to create deep, narrow direct-to-fan communities that will support an artist forever.So... what's the right path? It's about building a community of people who are thrilled to be part of a fanbase, and who love spending time with each other. But this kind of fanbase might not generate those giant social media or streaming numbers that labels love. So what needs to change? It's a combination of hard work, daring to look past old behaviours, and "random acts of kindness", our experts say. Our springboard was this article that guest Simon Scott wrote about music discovery and fan commitment: https://musically.com/2025/07/10/how-music-discovery-and-fan-commitment-are-inextricably-linked/Guests are, in A-Z order:Aaron Bogucki – founder of direct-to-fan services company Big Cookie Keziah Reed – Digital Marketing Manager, Artist Services, UK, at BelieveRobyn Elton – Head of Artist Strategy (Audience) at agency BlackstarSimon Scott – Founder & CEO of fan engagement technology company Push entertainment
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2025's global music business trends – with Stuart Dredge, Music Ally's head of insight
Episode 169: This podcast is aligned with Music Ally’s newest International Focus report, which pulls together the last year’s worth of Country Profiles which we publish, plus some extra exclusive analysis. So, we’re joined by Stuart Dredge, Music Ally’s head of insight, to discuss some of the burning topics when we look at the international music market right now in summer 2025.Stu talks to Joe Sparrow about:- The new dominance of local talent and genres in markets around the globe.- What are the current export trends, especially for local music which are increasingly reaching global audiences. And what about English-language acts in this newly-polyglot paradigm?- Collaboration as a strategy - now seen as a standard strategy in gaining momentum and reaching wider audiences. But will we reach saturation point with all these feats – or is there still miles to go?Music Ally's Reports - including this newest one – are available here: https://musically.com/category/reports And if you’ve not looked at the Country Profiles for a while, we’ve recently doubled the size of them to include lots of vital, on-the-ground marketing and audience insight – so that you, our premium subscribers can get the latest info from leading industry figures in each market. https://musically.com/countries
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Breaking your music business or artist into new desirable global markets – Symphonic's CEO talks about how they connected successfully with South America and SE Asia
Ep. 168: we speak to Jorge Brea, CEO of Symphonic Distribution, and Guji Lorenzana, Symphonic's Territory Manager, Asia, to talk about successful strategies for international expansion. We talk about:* What has worked well so far in their expansion into Latin America and Asia – and what didn’t go as planned?* When you're entering a new market what are the very first steps you take? What are the absolute essentials for making it work?* What are the key local insights they've uncovered that outsiders tend to miss?* How do you evaluate and build label/distributor partnerships in new markets? What does a good partner look like?* How do you manage the tension between “global consistency” and “local relevance”?* What are mistakes companies or artists make when they try to expand internationally?* If you’re a small-to-mid-level label or manager looking to grow in another country... what is the first move they'd recommend?* What one move should artists or companies make this year if they’re serious about international growth?Symphonic: https://symphonic.com/
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beatBread CEO Peter Sinclair on getting more options, insight and choices in music funding
Ep. 167: We speak to beatBread CEO Peter Sinclair – on getting more options, insight and choices in music funding, and how independent artists, labels and songwriters are getting better deals while retaining ownership of their music using beatBread’s game changing deal comparison tool. Peter chats to Music Ally Editor Joe Sparrow in this episode of MA focus, in collaboration with Beatbread.Website: https://www.beatbread.com/Deal Comparison Tool: https://www.beatbread.com/compareMusic Ally Co-Labs: musically.com/music-ally-co-labs
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Music Streaming in 2025 – what's the value of music today; and what do superfans want?
Ep. 166: Music Ally’s Head of Insight, Stuart Dredge joins Joe Sparrow to discuss two of the most meaningful topics relating to music streaming today: the value of music on DSPs; and the big DSPs' upcoming superfan plans.This podcast connects to Music Ally's latest Insight Report called the State of Streaming in 2025 (https://musically.com/category/reports). In this podcast we discuss:The value of music on DSPs – not just the ongoing subscription price rises, but the ad-supported tiers, and the increasingly loud grumbles around them.The big DSPs' superfan plans – superfans need to be super-served: so will the streaming platforms give fans and artists what they really, really want?
Analysing vital music business topics in detail, as they emerge: Joe Sparrow breaks down important stories with expert guests in about 25 minutes. It'll keep you on the cutting edge, and it'll take about the same time as making and eating a good sandwich! (We recommend doing both simultaneously for maximum deliciousness.)
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