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The Unstarving Musician

The Unstarving Musician features interviews with independent musicians, songwriters, producers, and music industry professionals who share their experience and expertise on recording, touring, marketing, the business of music, and more. This is all intended to help you, the independent music artists create a sustainable and profitable music career.

347 Physical Products That Actually Make Money – Thom Skarzynski

68 hours 19 mins; March 20, 2026

346 Christal Hector – How Independent Venues Actually Evaluate Artists

47 mins; March 06, 2026

345 The Session Musician's 50-Year Career Blueprint with Johnny Thirkell

66 hours 43 mins; February 20, 2026

344 The Economics of Niche Markets for Creatives

23 mins; February 06, 2026

343 The Pre-Streaming Revenue Model: Dollars Before Pennies

33 mins; January 28, 2026

342 What I Learned in 2025

27 mins; January 02, 2026

341 Gratitude, Growth, and What I'm Learning (Holiday Edition)

20 mins; December 19, 2025

340 How to Conduct a Personal Royalty Audit and Recover Missing Money

22 mins; December 05, 2025

339 Missing Royalties: Revenue Recovery Strategies with Amani Roberts

65 hours 36 mins; November 21, 2025

338 Jesse Flores – Distribution Partnerships And Strategic Planning For Independent Artists

46 mins; November 07, 2025

337 Ezra Vancil – Business Systems: From Marketing Day Job to Sustainable Music Career

86 hours 3 mins; October 24, 2025

336 Community Collaboration: Turning Your Fanbase Into Creative Partners Without Losing Artistic Control

29 mins; October 10, 2025

335 Music Revenue Through Community - Moving Beyond Streaming

25 mins; September 26, 2025

334 Musician Podcaster Bree Noble – From Kitchen Recordings to Industry Authority

62 hours 31 mins; September 12, 2025

333 How to Build, Name, and Nurture Your Creative Community

30 mins; August 22, 2025

332 Eli Lev – Spiritual Growth: From 250 Shows to Finding Sacred Space in Music

56 mins; August 08, 2025

331 Musical Listening: The Art of Playing While Truly Hearing Your Band

26 mins; July 25, 2025

330 Skulk the Hulking – Merging AI Visual Production, Music, and Performance Art

72 hours 34 mins; July 11, 2025

329 Legal Mashups: Navigating Music Copyright and Studio Management with George Ajjan

53 mins; June 27, 2025

328 Christian DeWild – Multi-Art Creativity: Balancing Music, Books, and Painting While Building an Authentic Artistic Career

59 mins; June 13, 2025

327 Timothy Reid – Game Composition: From AAA Studios to Indie Freedom

75 hours 18 mins; May 30, 2025

326 Anmara - Music Funding Success: From $75,000 in Grants to Record Deal

58 mins; May 16, 2025

325 Music Collaboration: Tracee Perrin on Creative Partnerships, Life in Nashville, and Staying Healthy on Tour

55 mins; May 09, 2025

324 Abe Partridge - Touring Strategy, Recording, Collaboration, and Documenting Undocumented Folk

57 mins; April 25, 2025

Canadian Immigration: Essential Legal Guide for Touring Musicians with Maggie Stewart

57 mins; April 11, 2025

322 Creative Storytelling: Novelist Sofía Segovia on the Art of Narrative

64 hours 5 mins; March 28, 2025

321 Maximizing Video Promotion Impact: Andy Gesner's Strategies for Independent Musicians

60 hours 53 mins; March 14, 2025

320 Musician Health Strategies: Navigating Music Industry Relationships for Career Longevity

29 mins; February 28, 2025

319 Musician Well-being: Breaking the Suffering Artist Myth for Sustainable Success

8 mins; February 21, 2025

318 Music Business Essentials – A Musician's Guide to Copyrights, Contracts & Cash Flow

20 mins; February 07, 2025

317 Tour Planning – Essential Strategies for Independent Musicians' Success

14 mins; January 31, 2025

316 Home Recording: A Drummer's Guide to Getting Started

51 mins; January 16, 2025

315 Tony Harrah – Book Marketing, Sales Strategy, and Industry Independence

48 mins; January 10, 2025

314 Lyrical Poetry – Tony Harrah on the Parallels of Book and Music Marketing

33 mins; January 03, 2025

313 The Power of Imperfect Music Marketing: Getting Real with Your Audience

41 mins; December 16, 2024

312 Chris Taylor – Creative Resilience Through Music and Storytelling

42 mins; November 22, 2024

311 - Musician Finance: Building Your Safety Net (It's Simpler Than You Think)

10 mins; November 08, 2024

310 Creative Meets Commerce: A Musician's Guide to Revenue Stream Balance

22 mins; October 25, 2024

309 Harmony in Hustle: Blending Creativity and Business for Musical Success

27 mins; October 11, 2024

308 Wearing All the Hats: A Guide to Balancing Your Music Career

15 mins; September 27, 2024

307 Joe Patterson – Navigating Music Career Transitions And The Changing Music Industry

40 mins; September 13, 2024

306 The Road to Success: Mastering the Art of Touring for Independent Musicians

34 mins; August 30, 2024

305 Tara Brueske – Booking Tips Every Musician Needs And Creating Educational Content

68 hours 25 mins; August 16, 2024

304 YouTube's Hidden Payday: Tracking and Collecting Music Royalties

13 mins; August 02, 2024

303 Donations As A Monetization Option For Indie Musicians

20 mins; July 19, 2024

302 Music Composition & Master Recording Ownership, Royalties, And Income Opportunities

21 mins; July 05, 2024

301 Songwriting, Selling More Merch At Shows

17 mins; June 21, 2024

300 Find New Fans And Supporters Via Podcast Guest Appearances

23 mins; March 15, 2024

299 Selling Band Merch, Music, And VIP Packs To Deepen Fan Relationships

22 mins; March 08, 2024

298 How Musicians Can Create Gigs

19 mins; March 01, 2024

297 Leveraging Your Email List

15 mins; February 23, 2024

296 Julia A. Miller, Delmark Records – The Evolution of Delmark's Business Model, How Labels Can Serve As Business Partners To Musicians, And Practical Advice For Leveraging Your Record Label

48 mins; February 16, 2024

295 Tracee Perrin – The Evolution Of Her New Single (Poison In The Water), Nashville's Population Explosion, So Far Sounds, Self Care For The Voice, Musical Theater, 2024 Release Plans & Strategy

48 mins; February 09, 2024

294 Athxna – Upcoming Releases & Recording Projects, Signing A New Sync Contract, Working In The Music Business, Moving To Nashville, The Blues Music Dilemma, Style Influences, Social Media Strategy

51 mins; February 02, 2024

293 Ady Parzentny – Home Recording, Production Mentoring, Morocco, Ady's YouTube Channel, History of Mobile Recording, Arc of a Recording Career, Social Inequality and Misconceptions

56 mins; January 26, 2024

292 Terry Carleton – Remixing Vince Guaraldi Peanuts Cartoon Soundtracks, Bones & Knives Recording Studios, Meeting the Mendelson's, and the Arc Of Terry's Music Career

74 hours 15 mins; January 19, 2024

291 Jennifer Roig Francoli – Making Great Music with Ease, Alexander Technique, Getting Stuck, Performance Anxiety, Thinking Less, Over-Doing

60 hours 14 mins; January 05, 2024

290 Lars Deutsch – Boum Dans L'Espace, Collecting Sounds, Retro Sci-Fi, the Slightly Out of Tune, Storytelling Effect of Weirdness & Humor, AI in Music, Thinking Less

58 mins; December 22, 2023

289 Miss Velvet – Her New Album, Childhood In New York, George Clinton, Meditation, Working With Esjay Jones, Fashion Inspiration, And Led Zeppelin

48 mins; December 08, 2023

288 Johnny Burgin – Queretaro Mexico, The Queretablues Festival, His Guitar Masterclass And YouTube Channel, Moving to Memphis, Leaving Chicago, And His Forthcoming Album

47 mins; December 01, 2023

287 Andy McCluskey – The New OMD Album "Bauhaus Staircase", Stunning New Videos, Memories Of The First OMD Gig, Art, Politics, Dark Waves Festival, Liverpool F.C.

37 mins; November 17, 2023

286 The Vintage Yell – Working As A New Band, Writing And Recording New Music, Release Strategy, Mesquite St. Records

64 hours 2 mins; November 10, 2023

285 Johnny Burgin (Rewind) – Chicago Blues, Music Festivals, The Magic Of The Stage, Pinetop Perkins

50 mins; October 27, 2023

284 JR Richards – Dishwalla, His Tenth Album Forthcoming, Email Marketing, List Building, E-Commerce, Touring, Adapting To Changes In The Music Business, Spotify Discovery Mode

59 mins; October 20, 2023

283 Susan Rogers – The Neuroscience Of Music Preferences, Prince, Analyzing The Techniques Of Frank Sinatra, The Progression of Production Approaches, Leaving The Music Business For Academia, Working With Barenaked Ladies

72 hours 42 mins; October 13, 2023

282 Rory Kenny of Loudly – The Roll-Out Of Loudly, Inspiration For Moving Into AI, The Loudly Roadmap, Business And Hiring Challenges, Use Cases, Assembling The Ideal Team, Copyright, Future Of Music And AI

66 hours 51 mins; October 06, 2023

281 Garry Peterson of The Guess Who – A New Album, Touring, History of The Guess Who, Garry's Drum Gear, Facts or Fiction, Advice for Young Players

37 mins; September 29, 2023

280 Nichhole Wagner – Journalism, Photography, Moving To Austin, Rebooting Her Patreon, Drive-by Poetry, Perceived Roadblocks To Making Music, House Concerts

54 mins; September 22, 2023

279 Alyssa Trahan – Moving to Nashville, Sound Engineering, Endorsements, Sponsors, Crowdfunding, Marketing, Merch, and the Biggest Lesson She'd Learned in Nashville

55 mins; September 15, 2023

278 Kayana – Drip Release Strategy, Self Forgiveness, Dating, a Short Film Commission, and a Creative Retreat that Gave Her the Theme and Outline for Her Forthcoming Album

46 mins; September 08, 2023

277 Sam J Garfield – His New Song "Monsters," Getting Started as a Sound Engineer, and How to he Attracts Opportunity

41 mins; September 01, 2023

276 JJ Lovegrove – A New Album with Minus Cube, a Forthcoming Complimentary Film, Identifying as a Performer, Fighting the Spotify Algorithm, and Deep Connections on Twitter

67 hours 13 mins; August 25, 2023

275 Worth Weaver – Embracing EMO, the Heaviness of alltheprettythings, Learning the Studio, Changes in Recording Technology, and the Hard Work of Social Media

54 mins; August 18, 2023

274 David Lane – Discovering Music Composition, Collaboration, Teaching, and Podcasting

36 mins; August 11, 2023

273 Minus Cube – Capturing Recording Studio Processes, Maintaining the Joy of Making Music, Ongoing Journey of Learning Production, Recording Studio Setup, Collaborating with JJ Lovegrove

60 hours 48 mins; August 04, 2023

272 Max Frye – Lessons of a Working Musician, The Formation of Lost Hearts, Performing Unreleased Songs, Release Strategy, Record Label Interests, Merch, Striving for Improvement

51 mins; July 28, 2023

271 Brian Wolff – New EP "The Golden Age," The Value of Open Mics, Social Marketing, Mental Health Awareness, Economics of Music Tours, Songwriter Rounds, EPs or Albums

54 mins; July 21, 2023

Grant Tilbury of Openstage – Engagement Benchmarks, Advice for Music Artists & Artist Management, Fan Loyalty, and Openstage Case Studies

55 mins; July 14, 2023

269 Christine Smith – Musicians vs the World, Getting Paid Gigs as a Teen Pianist, Composing, Orchestration, Film Scoring, and the Arc of Her Career in Music, Film, and Sound Design

61 hours 45 mins; July 07, 2023

268 Frank Salazar On Why He Still Makes Music, The Problem With Not Being A Lead Singer, His Studio Recording Toolkit, And His New Single "Save Yourself"

50 mins; June 30, 2023

267 Ariane Paras – Dream Jobs Don't Equal Happiness, Burnout, And The Importance Of Finding Joy, Confidence And Happiness

40 mins; June 23, 2023

266 Alicia Van Sant – Happiness And Longevity Of The Wag, Singing Better In Heels, Performing Music Of The Beatles, Blue Bottles And Copper Coins, Making Merch With The Cricut, The Moody Blues, Star Trek, And Lord Of The Rings

45 mins; June 09, 2023

265 Cranston Dean – Songwriting Influence From Small Town Life And Jazz, Recording "Northern Town," Getting Started In Songwriting, The Value Of Open Mic Performance, Big Studio Lessons Applied To Home Recording

47 mins; May 26, 2023

264 Julieta Heredia – Fin Del Mundo, A YouTube Performance That's Changing Everything, The Evolution Of Live Shows, The Message In Their Music, And The Writing Process

46 mins; May 19, 2023

263 Krosst Out – A Changing Approach To Music, Unconventional Release Strategy, A Collaboration Wishlist, Songwriting Introspection, Tour Plans

54 mins; May 05, 2023

262 David Pedrick – The Working Musician Podcast, Balance Between Creative Vision And Career Demands, Financial Reasons To Control Publishing, The Beatles, And Rush

41 mins; April 28, 2023

261 Keldamuzik – Oakland's Hip Hop Scene, Child Acting, Merch, Modeling, Sync Placements, Content Strategy, Building A Press Portfolio, And Kelda's Social Media Jam

55 mins; April 21, 2023

260 John Templeman – Music Roots In Ohio, Touring Post Pandemic, Favorite Music News Sources, Concert Ticket Prices, Change Driven Marketing, Artist Contributions To Their Own Success, Jib Machine Records

49 mins; April 14, 2023

259 Daniel Stidham – Marketing Minds Of Raid The Quarry, Release Strategy, Co-writing, The Business Of Hard Rock, Audience Development, Making Videos (Rewind Episode)

36 mins; April 07, 2023

258 Zack O'Malley Greenburg (Rewind)–The Relationship Between Indie Artists And Fans, Rise Of The Super Fan, NFTs, Lessons From Hip Hop, And The Rising Significance Of Intellectual Property

21 mins; March 31, 2023

257 Joshua Van Ness – Marketing A New Release, Endorsements, The Wag's Mixed Business Model, Merchandising, And Social Marketing

53 mins; March 24, 2023

256 Carter Ray – Acting And His Accidental Start In Music, Headlining Gay Pride 2022, Merch Ideas, Tips on Getting Better Gigs, Social Media Marketing and Content Creation

46 mins; March 17, 2023

255 Shilpa Ananth – Overcoming Hardship To Find Success, Teaching At The Berklee College Of Music In Abu Dhabi, Songwriting Inspiration In Hard Times, Finding Calm, And Advice For Singers

48 mins; March 10, 2023

254 Wowashwow – Origins Of Her Artist Name, Humor In Music, Her Latest Single And The Forth Coming Album, Effects Of Social Algorithms On Indie Music Artists, Vulnerability And Connecting With Her Audience, Cannabis Advocacy, And More

49 mins; March 03, 2023

253 Tom Meny (Rewind) – Austin's Music Scene, Rejection, Writer's Slump, Songwriting Groups, Songwriting Advice From Cindi Lauper And Shannon Curtis, Email Marketing, Getting Paid

41 mins; February 26, 2023

252 Ryan Miller And Jay Lifton – Something From Tiffany's, Guster, Their Journey Toward Film Scores, The Value Of Film Festivals, Music In Video Games

56 mins; February 17, 2023

251 Drew Ryder Smith – Website Platforms, Nashville, Texas Ties, Growing Up In Tennessee, Pneumonia, Songwriting Vocationally, Touring, Recording, The Origins Of Robonzo, And Legendary Drummers

51 mins; February 10, 2023

250 Stacey Bedford – $100 Million In Commission-Free Sales, Bees, Lessons Learned At Bandzoogle, The Value Of Unplugging, Advice To Musicians, And The Importance Of Websites For Musicians

36 mins; February 03, 2023

249 Dariann Leigh–New Songs, Pursuits In Pop, Creating A Sound, Songwriting, Journaling, Documenting Lyrics & Hooks, Theatre, Being A Solo Artist, Media Features, Release Strategy

38 mins; January 27, 2023

248 Musician Websites – Choosing A Theme, Site Content, Search Engine Optimization, Email Forms And Incentives, Selling Merch, Music And Services, The Launch, And Continuity

28 secs; January 20, 2023

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The Unstarving Musician

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