The way guest booking for the DiS podcast happens is often on instinct. It's usually me following my curiosity.
From the feedback I've had this year, it sounds like a lot of you are pushing me to go further and wider with my choice of guests, which has been brilliant (thank you!)
Of course I try to book the artists I love (we've had Idlewild, Maximo Park, Cliffords, Sofia Isella and more in recent months and we have Kelly Lee Owens and Gazelle Twin coming up), the activists and campaigners I am in awe of (was amazing to get Billie Eilish and Brian Eno's climate advisor Tori Tsui on a few weeks ago), but I also try to mix it up a bit and book the smartest people in the biz to talk on a topic that I feel needs more attention.
I saw this LinkedIn post from Hanna Kahlert, a senior analyst at MIDiA Research and immediately thought: yes, someone has finally written about this and I wonder if she's free for a natter on the pod...
"Imagine two 15 year old kids, growing up today. Both creatively inclined. Their entire cultural frame of reference is basically TikTok and YouTube and maybe some old albums their parents played them in the car from Spotify.
Kid A decides to start playing a video game, and post videos of themself practicing. Kid B decides to start playing the guitar, and post videos of their practice.
If they become reasonably successful, Kid A will get sponsorship deals, subscribers, payouts, and official partnerships with the game. Kid B will be waylaid almost immediately by a system of rights management and procedure so complex, industry professionals wince when it's mentioned."
Yes I wince when copyright is mentioned, as do YouTubers like Justin Hawkins from The Darkness and the internet's busiest music nerd, Anthony Fantano.
Anyway, it turns out that MIDiA's office is just over London Bridge from Shure Studios where we've been recording, so I invited Hanna on the podcast to explain this with actual data from the thousands of artists research surveys.
You can listen on Apple or wherever you get your podcasts. Or watch on YouTube:
The Data That Surprised Me
When MIDiA surveyed thousands of artists about their biggest challenges, the number one problem wasn't money or equipment.
It was time. As you may have heard musicians such as Self Esteem discussing, artists are often spending much much time on social media than making music.
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