69: A glance into SOUND ADVICE...
Every Tuesday, like-minded musicians, industry heads and gig goers gather together to catch the latest tips, stories and expertise on all things music industry... of course we are talking about the Sound Advice Podcast. Created and hosted by local muso Olly Carter, each week delves into the lives, works and opinions of promoters, DJs, songwriters and copywriters alike... but today we are here to delve into all things podcasting with Olly!
1) What is Sound Advice, and what inspired the project?
Sound Advice is a music industry podcast where every Tuesday we speak to music industry professionals and rising artists to get insights on the music business and growing your fanbase as an independent artist. We cover everything from getting gigs, marketing your releases, making merch, getting press coverage and wider issues in the music industry.
The idea for the project came from the privilege I’ve had in terms of music education. I’ve been lucky enough to study Popular Music at uni, which isn’t something a lot of people get to do, and I’ve been to loads of industry conferences where you get to watch panels of professionals who’ve worked with some of the biggest artists in the world talk about how to develop your career as an artist. Unfortunately these events can be incredibly expensive, and I wanted to make that experience far more accessible for independent artists, particularly in the current economic climate, so I decided to create Sound Advice as a way of bringing those experts onto a free platform where their advice is available to everyone.
We’re in such an amazing moment in popular music history right now because it’s easier than ever to get your music out there; you have everything you need to write, record, release and promote your own music available with a laptop and an internet connection. However, this also means that the space is more competitive than ever before, with over 100,000 songs uploaded to Spotify every single day. I want Sound Advice to give as many artists as possible the tools and knowledge they need to build a music career without needing a record label to give them permission to start.
2) You've got 20 episodes out so far, have any particularly stood out for you?
I’ve loved all of them! A big part of this project for me was to meet more interesting creative people and I’ve already formed so many friendships with the people I’ve interviewed. One of my favourites is definitely the episode with Joe Edwards, a marketing director at AWAL, because we used the episode to talk about the strategies he used to promote Bombay Bicycle Club, who are band I love and have listened to for years.
Another real highlight was getting to record an episode with Simon and Bryan of the Sodajerker on Songwriting podcast. It’s one of the first podcasts I ever listened to and I have done for years, so it was a real honour to record an episode with two of the biggest inspirations behind me starting own podcast.
3) The podcast and platform has had amazing reception from the local scene pretty much straight away, how does that feel?! Did you expect it?
I’m so glad that people have taken to it the way they have so far. I want to grow the podcast and its great that that’s been happening so far, but the biggest thing for me has been some of the messages and comments I’ve received from artists who are just starting out telling me how useful they’ve found some of the advice. That’s been the best thing because helping people navigate the industry is what Sound Advice is all about, so its an amazing feeling to know that the podcast is making a difference to independent artists.
4) If you weren't a podcast interviewer/music industry personnel, what would you be?
To be honest, I’d love to open an Italian restaurant because I love making pasta.
5) Is there a band/artist/industry head on your bucket list to interview in the future?
I think the episode I recorded with Joe Edwards from AWAL is the best example to give here, because the people I want to interview the most are the ones who’ve worked behind the scenes on projects for my favourite artists, like Joe has for Bombay Bicycle Club. But the problem with that is that I don’t necessarily know who those people are yet. So anyone who’s worked on things like touring, marketing or press for artists like Beach House, Kings of Leon, English Teacher, DIIV etc. would probably be my dream guest.
6) If you could give us a typical 'week in the life' of Olly as Sound Advice, what would it look like?
Its different every week because sometimes I’ll film 5 episodes in a week and then sometimes I won’t film any for a month! But the parts that happen every week mostly involve video and audio editing, distributing the podcast everywhere and making clips from each episode to share on social media.
7) Any upcoming plans for Sound Advice, that you can tell us about?
Nothing confirmed yet, but I’m hoping to put on some events in Liverpool soon. I really want to do something around a live podcast recording so that we can give artists the opportunity to meet some of the experts and ask them questions, so that’s something I’m working on at the moment.
TOP 3 WITH SOUND ADVICE
Top 3 local venues - Arts Bar Baltic, Future Yard and Kazimier Stockroom
Top 3 independent businesses - Buyer’s Club, Route One and Oro
Top 3 podcasts you like listening to - Colin & Samir, Sodajerker and Football Cliches
Top 3 events you've ever been to - Beach House at the Academy Manchester, Goat Girl at Future Yard in Birkenhead and Cage the Elephant at Alexandra Palace in London
Top 3 songs of 2024 so far - Sycamore Tree by Luna Roja, Nearly Daffodils by English Teacher and I Can’t by Captain Crocodile
An insight into the life of the person behind Sound Advice... what more could you possibly want?! Be sure to go and follow the platform over on socials (@soundadvicepod), and click on the trailer below to find all the episodes!
Review No. 69
by Meg Shaw, Local & Live Media
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