Tag: Podcast interview

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Are There Too Many Podcasts? [Video]

too many podcasts

A new report sheds an alarming light on the number of podcasts in existence, but should the rising show count deter you from launching something new?

Podcasts are here to stay. Many have known that to be true for years, but the long-form audio medium continues to find new listeners with each passing week. Musicians, artists, experts, and random everyday humans from all corners of the Earth are creating shows that cover every topic imaginable, and several are finding massive success along the way. We’ve told you to start one before, and we still believe you should.

But a new report has some creators thinking twice about their future in podcasting. According to Chartable, more than 17,000 new podcasts were launched every week in 2020. That amounts to more than 800,000 new podcasts for the year.

Now we know what you’re thinking: That is a lot of podcasts. We felt the same way at first, but then we considered a few data points that Chartable’s report does now:

  • Many podcasts never have a second episode. They start and die overnight.
  • Those 800,000 podcasts cover hundreds of thousands of topics.
  • Not every podcast is available on every platform.
  • Not every podcast is available in every country.
  • All or most of those podcasts do not feature YOU.

Music podcasting is mainly non-artists talking about artists they love. Musicians and groups using podcasting to engage and develop their community are far rarer, and that’s a shame.

In this Music Biz update, host James Shotwell looks at the data and offers advice to anyone, especially musicians, that may be thinking twice about starting a podcast. He explains the benefits that podcasting can offer to artists of any size and even provides resources to help you start.

Music Biz is brought to you by Haulix, the music industry’s leading promotional distribution platform. Start your one-month free trial today and gain instant access to the same promotional tools used by BMG, Concord, Rise Records, Pure Noise Records, and hundreds more. Visit http://haulix.com/signup for details.

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Mina Caputo Appears On The Latest Inside Music Podcast

Life Of Agony founder Mina Caputo stops by Inside Music to discuss her new solo record and much, much more.

The goal of every musician is to develop a singular voice. Being the best of all-time barely compares to being your true self. Authenticity is something you cannot package and sell, but it does more for your soul than analytics or sales figures ever can. It’s the kind of thing people spend their entire lives pursuing, and even then, only a select few pull it off.

Mina Caputo is a revolutionary voice in rock. For more than two decades, Mina has consistently released engaging and challenging music that is hard to classify yet fiercely relatable. She touches on the pains of existence without wallowing in the despair of being. She writes songs that tackle the topics that matter to her, and she’s historically unwilling to compromise. 

Best known as the voice behind Life Of Agony, Mina is also a celebrated solo artist with numerous albums. These works provide Mina space to further explore her artistic capabilities while giving fans a steady stream of fresh content whenever LoA takes a break. It’s rare to find anyone capable of making two or more projects work, but Mina makes it seem easy.

Recently, Mina stopped by Inside Music to discuss her career, her critics, and how she became a vocal supporter of doing whatever you want with the limited time we have on this planet. Some may consider her views to be incendiary, but they are true to her feelings, which is what Mina aspires to achieve in every act of self-expression. Enjoy. 

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Rockers Pale Blue Dot Appear on The Latest Inside Music Podcast

Virginia’s Pale Blue Dot is not letting a global pandemic prevent them from becoming your new favorite band.

Last weekend, something I thought impossible happened. After spending months watching musicians I know and love perform online with various degrees of success and production, I found and discovered someone new because of a live stream. A group of musicians I had never heard or met was performing on Facebook, and I not only watched but made an effort to seek out and support their career. It gave me hope for a concert-less world, and I think they’ll give you hope as well.

Virginia rock band Pale Blue Dot knew 2020 was going to be a wild year before it even began. Their new album was nearing completion, people were starting to pay attention, and every week brought new press. Then the pandemic happened, and every plan the band had was ruined in a matter of weeks. That kind of abrupt change can derail anyone, but the members of Pale Blue Dot did not miss a beat. The group pushed their album release, explored new marketing practices, and started work on what would become their first live stream performance.

On this episode of Inside Music, Pale Blue Dot shares the lessons they’ve learned throughout this tumultuous year. The group explains how merely pushing ahead without acknowledging the impact of change is a weak recipe for success, and that taking the time to understand what you’re experiencing matters. The current pandemic is impacting everyone differently, and it’s okay to take the time you need to process the present moment. Others might be able to brush it off and move forward, but others cannot, which is perfectly fine! Pale Blue Dot knows you have to listen to your heart and body above all else, which is what fuels their exciting take on modern alternative music.

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Charming Liars appear on the latest Inside Music Podcast

California’s latest pop-rock stars, Charming Liars, stop by Inside Music to discuss the reality of releasing music in uncertain times.

Music has an uncanny ability to transport listeners anywhere the artists choose to take them. A great song can take you to the beach at the height of summer, the edge of the universe, or the inside of a car flying down a long stretch of empty highway in the dead of night. That power has never been as appreciated as it is in an age where no one can leave their home, which is why we need good music now more than ever.

Charming Liars create music that takes you places. Their songs are a highlight reel of life’s most compelling moments, with each one laid out in explicit detail to help listeners lose themselves in the moment. You can experience the rapturous joys of sex, the pains of heartache, the exciting uncertainty of new love, and more while enjoying the band’s catalog. The members of the group have made it their mission to showcase the beauty and wonder of existence through music, and we are the ones rewarded for their efforts.

2020 is an exciting year for Charming Liars. After trying their hand at traditional methods of promotion and releasing, the band is choosing to spend the year sharing a series of singles. Each track offers a different side of the band’s diverse talent. It’s a musical smorgasbord of ideas and melodies that makes a strong argument for the group to be one of the most talked-about names in music before 2021 arrives.

On this episode of Inside Music, host James Shotwell calls LA pop-rock group Charming Liars to discuss promotion and optimism in the age of coronavirus. The band tells James about their decision to pivot their release plans, as well as their feelings about quarantine concerts.

Inside Music Podcast · Charming Liars (Kiliyan Maguire)
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Charmer’s David Daignault appears on Inside Music Podcast #192

With the release of Ivy on the horizon, Charmer frontman David Daignault stops by Inside Music to discuss songwriting, Covid-19, and more.

On this episode of Inside Music, host James Shotwell chats with Charmer member David Daignault about Ivy, Covid-19, and more. David is a Northern Michigan resident with a unique perspective on songwriting that shines throughout Ivy. He spends the record simultaneously ending threads he’s been building for years and igniting new ideas that may very well carry forward into future releases. His storytelling, coupled with the band’s penchant for unpredictability, makes Ivy more of an experience than a traditional record, and far more special.

Charmer is the product of midwestern skies and long drives nestled between fields and small towns caught in the slow decline of the rust belt. Their music longs to capture and preserve every moment despite a clear understanding that all we are is fleeting. The journeys we take will be forgotten, just like all of us, but that doesn’t mean we should take anything for granted. Charmer celebrates the minutia of existence, from the salty sweat of summer to the raindrops that trickle-down windows, and how every interaction is an opportunity for growth.

Ivy, the band’s second album, builds upon the foundation of hopeful optimism found on Charmer’s previous releases with biting honesty. The record is a snapshot of the time in everyone’s life when they stop long enough to realize everything, including themselves, is changing. The tracks demand listeners let go of their collective nostalgia for the times they thought they would live forever, urging us to live in the present. It’s about moving on, for better and worse, while never losing sight of the things that matter most.

Charmer releases Ivy on April 3 through No Sleep Records. You can stream the album’s lead single, “Slumber,” below.

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Inside Music Podcast #187: Annie Schindel on Songwriting

Three years after her Inside Music debut, songwriter Annie Schindel returns to the show with stories from her life in the industry.

Success is not measured in comparison to others but in your sense of satisfaction with the work you pursue. That lesson is one every music professional must learn, often more than once, and it rarely easy.

Annie Schindel is not your typical singer/songwriter. After finding viral success online while still in high school, Schindel took a step back from the spotlight to focus on school and personal development. That effort lead her to rediscover her passion for songwriting, which eventually lead to behind-the-scenes role helping artists from all walks of life craft better material. She cannot speak the names of those she works with, at least not yet, but it is safe to say she has rubbed shoulders with serious industry players.

Now, three years after her Inside Music debut, Annie Schindel returns to our podcast with a series of stories and lessons from her life in songwriting. Annie explains how her lack of public output does not equate to a lack of work, as well as the plans she has for 2020. Annie also shares the story behind “Reminiscing,” the brand new single she released at the end of November. Take a listen below:

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Inside Music Podcast #183: Blue October (Justin Furstenfeld)

After twenty years in the music business, Blue October frontman Justin Furstenfeld makes his Inside Music Podcast debut with stories of triumph, loss, and recovery.

Malcolm Gladwell would classify Justin Furstenfeld as an outlier. The frontman of Blue October has shaped the sound of alternative rock for over two decades. In that time, Furstenfeld has released more than half a dozen records, toured endlessly, and written numerous hit songs. He’s also hit rock bottom, found a path to recovery, and lived to tell his story. Furstenfeld is a person who puts his all in everything he does for better and worse. He fully commits in every way, and that approach to living has made all difference in his career.

When you speak to fans of Blue October, there is a sense of community that is impossible to deny. Each listener finds themselves relating to Furstenfeld’s journey through life’s toughest times in a manner that breeds hopefulness. They are often lost souls in search of meaning and peace who turn to music when they believe there is nowhere left to turn. Furstenfeld has done the same, and he conveys the messages he wishes to hear whenever he sings.

Hours before a recent gig in West Michigan, Furstenfeld sat with Inside Music host James Shotwell on Blue October’s tour bus to discuss the lessons learned from his time in music. Furstenfeld shared his highest highs and lowest lows, all of which lead him to change his perspective on life. That shift produced a ripple effect that benefitted not just his band, but everyone he connects with through music as well.

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Inside Music Podcast #178: Art Alexakis (Everclear)

Ahead of his debut solo album, Sun Songs, iconic rock musician Art Alexakis stops by Inside Music to share how it all came together.

Art Alexakis is a rock and roll legend. There has rarely been a time in the last three decades where Alexakis’ creativity was not present in the world of pop culture. From his influential work with Everclear to his work on stage and screen, Alexakis has created a path in entertainment that is uniquely his own.

Some may think Alexakis has done everything a person in entertainment could hope to achieve. He’s had numerous singles top the charts of pop and rock radio, toured the world, and went platinum with songs and records in a time when people actually had to visit record stores to purchase music. He was billed as a rock star when the term still meant something, and he continues to hold that title today.

But with all that success and experience, Alexakis still seeks new challenges in his life and art. This October, he will release his debut solo album, Sun Songs, after years of telling himself he would see the record through. The album contains songs that infuse the songwriting and music style fans have come to expect with a wide range of sonic influences that are sure to keep listeners new and old on their toes.

To promote the release of Sun Songs, Art Alexakis recently called Inside Music host James Shotwell to chat about his career, his politics, and his recent infatuation with Bob Seger. The resulting conversation touched on the man Alexakis was when his journey in music began and the one he became through his experience in the spotlight. It’s a revealing look at a person who created the soundtrack to existence for countless millions, and it’s told as one he can tell it.

https://soundcloud.com/inside-music-podcast/art-alexakis-everclear

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Inside Music Podcast #174: Bad Wolves (Tommy Vext)

Bad Wolves frontman Tommy Vext stops by Inside Music to discuss his career in music and much more.

Tommy Vext is no stranger to the world of music. A twenty-year veteran to touring and recording, Tommy reached a new level of success in 2018 when his band, Bad Wolves, topped charts around the world with a cover of The Cranberries’ hit song, “Zombie.” The exposure, coupled with a relentless touring schedule opening for some of rock’s biggest names, has given Bad Wolves a lot of attention in a relatively small amount of time. The band is gearing up to release their Sophomore record this fall, but expectations are already high, and they’re likely to rise further before the album arrives in October.

But how Tommy find himself in this position? How did a former fan and venue security guard reach the heights of rock and roll success with only one album? And furthermore, where will he go from here?

On this episode of Inside Music, Tommy Vext sits down with host James Shotwell hours before taking the stage in West Michigan to share his journey in entertainment. Tommy tells James about his early singing career, his time as a security guard at the iconic Key Club in Los Angeles, and how he found himself helping other musicians live a sober lifestyle. The pair also discuss Bad Wolves’ new record, Bad Wolves Nation, and the expectations the band has for their future in rock.

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Inside Music Podcast #169: Static-X (Tony Campos)

Discussing everything from Wisconsin Death Trip to the legacy of Wayne Static, Static-X bassist Tony Campos stops by Inside Music to share his unique journey in music.

Most artists dream of writing one song that captures the attention of other people. If they can accomplish that, those same artists may dream of doing it again, and again, until one day they release an album. That album will determine the trajectory of their career, as will everything that happens after the record is in stores. There are no guarantees in music. The most successful artists know this is true, and they never forget it.

Static-X did not plan on being together in 2019. If you could return to 1994 and tell the four-piece metal band a record they would release in 1999 would become an iconic piece of work they would probably laugh. Wisconsin Death Trip is a gem of the industrial metal genre. Two decades after its release, people are still falling in love with the album’s hard-hitting sound.

In 2014, Static-X unexpectedly lost founding member and vocalist Wayne Static. The news hit hard with fans and members alike, leading many to believe the band was as good as dead. Five years later, however, the group is back in action.

The Wisconsin Death Trip twentieth-anniversary tour is currently entertaining sold-out crowds across America. Static-X has not replaced Static. Instead, the band is collaborating with a mysterious vocalist called Xer0 who wears a Static mask on stage. The vocals are similar enough to embody the spirit of the original material, all while keeping the legacy of Static front and center.

Recently, Static-X bassist Tony Campos sat down with Inside Music host James Shotwell to discuss the band’s unlikely reunion. Campos revealed the hard work that went into the band’s new tour, as well as the group’s plans to continue celebrating Static’s life through music. You can stream the conversation below.

https://soundcloud.com/inside-music-podcast/169-static-x-tony-campos

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