Latest / LOYAL TO THE CRAFT / We talk to the head of Brand Partnerships at DISTROKID

Transcript

We talk to the head of Brand Partnerships at DISTROKID · LOYAL TO THE CRAFT

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: On today's podcast, we've got Nathaniel, head of creative partnerships for DistroKid.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: We've got Nathaniel in the lounge talking all about the music industry, DistroKid's platform, some new teasers of some awesome new software that they've got coming up this summer.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: And we just go deep on chasing your dreams in music and getting your art out into the world.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: They're a huge partner for us and they allow us to do things like the Vans Warp Tour, create content just like this.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: So to have Nathaniel come to the lounge and hang and just chop it up meant a lot to us.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Hope you enjoyed the episode.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: All right, we're here with Nathaniel, who leads the creative partnerships over at DistroKid, a huge supporter of Loyal to the Craft, and we're so, so grateful for your support, helping us reach independent artists, and so excited to have you in the Loyal Lounge, man.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for making the trip.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for having me down here.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: This place is rocking.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's awesome here.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: So cool, man.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Happy to happy to connect in person.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, we've had a lot of conversations about our shared ambition of you know supporting the youth and chasing their dreams and music.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: And DistroKid is such an amazing platform to do that.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to dive in with you about all the things DistroKid offers.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm really curious about your background and what actually brought you to DistroKid.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: You're so passionate about it in the same way that we are.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Tell me where your passion for music came from and how you got into the DistroKid world.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh I uh, you know, always wanted to work in music and it was something that, you know, I was never talented as a musician.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: I tried piano, I tried playing all those instruments, but I never really could find my find my way in it.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um but I knew I really cared about independent artistry and I cared about really, really local scenes.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um so I was, you know, working, uh did a lot of work with artists and bands in Philadelphia at the time, and then slowly found my way to Distro Kit about three and a half years ago, um, where I started working uh in artist relations, uh, you know, helping artists get their uh songs out onto streaming platforms from a really, really like one-on-one level.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then moved over to the marketing team uh where now I lead up our creative partnership.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: So obviously working with people like you at Loyal to the Craft, um, among along with a lot of other really, really cool uh brands and artists that you know are really championing that independent uh artistry.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's what's so cool about the music industry that I try to talk to the youth about.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: I a lot of a lot of kids and their parents hit me up, whether we're at a show or sending me a DM asking how they can get in the music industry if they're not already in it and how they can kind of like pave that way.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: And something I always say to them is even if you don't play music, if you want to be in the music industry and you're not a musician, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs behind the scenes that you can help get music out.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: You can help be an accountant as a tour manager, lighting designer, there's a million things that you can do to be in the industry.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think the big thing too is, you know, there's always going to be a space where you can get involved, even again, especially at a local level, which is you know obviously what we're both super passionate about here too.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: But um, you know, showing up and doing photography at a concert, you know, just for free and saying, hey, I want to take photos of your band.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, or you know, finding ways to carve out your niche and just meeting people and meeting people.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we met each other through all these little networks too.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: And we were even talking earlier today about the way that this whole spider web even comes together too.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: So um, and you know, that even parlays uh into the actual artist side of things too, and you know, continuing to like make these connections and find these niches that you can that you can really operate in.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: So what drew you to DistroKid, you know, as a as wanting to be in music and throughout, you know, your career in music so far, what was it about DistroKid that made you want to work there on their marketing department?
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think the big thing is uh focusing on independent artistry, and that's always been at like the crux of what I really care about.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's never we're at this like really, really interesting time, I think, in music um where we're post that time where you need to be signed to that big label.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you can really do it yourself.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: And Districit has this like whole tool set um of tools that you can really use to get your music anywhere you want.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then you add that in with you know direct, which is our direct merch to fan experience, where you can sell t-shirts and mugs, um, and then you add in publishing so you can get your songs registered in publishing.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_01: So we've kind of created this whole, like I said, tool set or or tool belt that anyone can kind of walk into and you know make this, carve out their own niche for themselves outside of the you know the traditional norms of a label or this and that.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you know, in working with you guys, something that I've always loved and talking to you and Amanda and the team there is like we get to see the faces behind the logo and behind the brand.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: Not everybody gets to see that.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like what's so cool about you guys is you are an eclectic group of musicians, music lovers, people that just want to help the independent artists get out there.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: So building that toolkit and all those resources from the the publishing, I mean, that's huge.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: You can go right through that and share the dashboard with everything else that you're working on.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: For an independent artist, like making a band, making a business is not easy.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of different things that you have to do to have that all under one umbrella is massively important.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: What led you guys to developing that?
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Was it artist feedback?
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Was it internal feedback?
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: Like what developed, you know, what was the process of developing that?
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it was a combination of both, and I think we always look to see what artists are needing, and we want to meet artists where they're at too.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: And that's generally what I would say across the board is what we really, really care about is you know, making sure that artists have a way to accomplish all these things, and that's at the smallest scale and at the biggest scale.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: So we want to be able to serve the masses in that sense.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and the big thing that I really care about too, and I know that what I'm so passionate about DistroKid about is uh is making it super equitable and democratizing this whole landscape so anyone with a subscription to DistroKid can accomplish all these things, and that's you know, we've never been able to do that before in music, and you know, in in a lot of things online too.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: So really democratizing that is super, super special.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and how how has that evolved over the last few years?
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, especially with AI and all these other tools coming out that's making it way easier for people to just write music.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: You mentioned not really needing a label anymore.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what is the time frame, in your opinion, where that change really started to occur?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: And how does DistroKid like pay attention to that where you guys are developing those tools to either combat or assist and be a part of that whole ecosystem?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I I would I would say, you know, this goes back to before I was even at DistroKid.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but definitely COVID was this really, really interesting time where people weren't going on tour, and that's you know, from big artists to even local independent artists.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, people weren't going on tour.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um and they were just at home.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, with uh a DAW and your your simple drum machine or your guitar or your you know at home mic, um, and then with a district account, you could release your music.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that was really the big shift in my eyes.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that was even from an outsider before I was at the circuit.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that seemed to me like a really, really pivotal time when people were you know trying to find ways to still connect with people, um, releasing music through Spotify, Apple Music, um, Amazon music, uh, and you know, we're all at home.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: We all want to have this creative outlet.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: And that to me, you know, looking back was probably that time.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So as a as a young kid watching this, listening to this, or looking at a band thinking, I wish I could do that.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, really, it is that simple.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Just open up a distro kid account, start putting your music out there.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: What words of encouragement would you have for that musician that might be afraid, maybe they're not confident, maybe they don't want anybody to hear it, but they know they want to be in it?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: What's your mindset and the mindset of you know, your your uh fellow workers at DistroKid about just going for it and putting the music out there?
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is there a great time to start or should you just start and get it, get it going?
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, what what we always talk about in you know on our team is just we want people to get that first big I can do this, I can make my first release, you know, obviously getting that first account set up and getting all your all that in order, but then saying, I'm gonna release this, I'm gonna have my first release to build out this library over time of music I created.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_01: And that can be, you know, from the smallest scale of oh, I want my parents, my family, my friends, people in my you know, direct circle to listen circle to listen to it, or you can you can take that step step further and you know, I really want to promote this on social media and all that.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_01: So um the big thing that we always champion is you know, just start, just release your music.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's never been easier, and you know, you're only gonna regret it further and further down the line if you don't do it sooner.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean it does.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you it's it is, you're building a brand, you're building a business essentially, and starting that from the ground up.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: You have to obviously start somewhere.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: But I mean, what successes have you seen that you've enjoyed watching come to fruition from a small artist putting their music out on Distro Kid to then eventually touring and having a fan base around the world?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, that's always super, super rewarding for me to see, you know, artists who started at you know 10 monthly listeners, and then you kind of say, Oh, I really like this song.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: And you just hear it through the grapevine of of you know being behind the scenes, and then one day you kind of see them pop up on your algorithm on Instagram, and you're like, okay, there's some kind of traction, there's some motion here, and then one thing leads to another, and you're like, oh, they're you know on a bill at a festival, and it's kind of really, really uh again, like I said before, it's really, really reassuring to see that this is a viable option for for independent artists, um, both large and small, and that this ecosystem creates space for everyone to operate in, not just big artists, not just small artists, but everyone in between as well.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you don't necessarily, we touched on it a little bit ago, you don't necessarily need a label.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: You can get your music out there.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: What are your thoughts on the rest of the infrastructure that a band or an independent artist, solo artist might need?
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Booking agent, management, what's your thoughts on that?
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, I think like I kind of alluded to before as well, we're in this DIY age where you want ownership, you want full retention of everything you have.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh while that those can be really, really useful tools, uh it also doesn't hurt to just not dilute it and have it all, you know, in your own ecosystem.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: And again, that's what District Kid has done a really, really great job of is building this all-in-one encompassing tool that you don't need a manager.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, you don't need to go out and get this screen printed from there.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you can print your own t-shirts via District Kid Direct and it gets shipped directly to the people who buy it.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you don't have to go to a third party, you can do publishing.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_01: Do you do your publishing registration directly on District Kid?
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, again, you can release your music and uh get all your streaming royalties there too.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_01: So we've really cut out all the things that you used to need, and now if you really want to and you can you want full ownership of it, you can really just do it yourself.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, do you guys actually behind the scenes?
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm sure you can see a lot of data and you can see where somebody used to have, you know, 10 monthly streams and it's all of a sudden popping off.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: Are you looking at that stuff and do you have other like group chats within the within the DistroKid family behind the scenes of like, hey, check this artist out?
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what is what is a day-to-day life at DistroKid feel like?
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, we're we're a really, really lean team, especially on the marketing team.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's like a huge misconception is that you know we have um a really, really big uh user base, but our team at the end of the day is you know uh pretty small.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but we're all really, really engaged in the work that we're doing and making sure that we can support independent artists.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, there's definitely times where we'll hear songs even in the wild.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's more common.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um we'll hear songs in the wild and we're like, wow, man, I really love that song.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: I hope they release their music on DistroKid, and then you kind of go back and you're like, oh, they released their music on DistroKid.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: How can we like find a way to get in touch with them and you know learn more about what they do?
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's you know, super, super special.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's rad.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are some of the other things that you do under the creative partnerships umbrella?
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know, events, I'm sure, like what are some of your favorite things that you've worked on to date?
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh so I manage uh first of all all of our influencers.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: So all influencers that uh you know speak on behalf of District and sponsored posts, I I manage that.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I manage all of our podcasts as well.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then additionally, uh creative partnerships, like events, um, video series, um, everything kind of in that nature that lives online um where there's like a video component to it, uh, I definitely manage and do all that.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: So it's super busy, but really, really fun to get to interact with people from all different genres, different parts of the country, different parts of the world now too, um, as we really start to look towards international growth and and see what's kind of happening over there.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: That's awesome.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: What are some of your, you know, from a from a business metric standpoint?
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's been so amazing working with you guys because there are brands out there that make you they're you know, they distill it down to the to exactly what you should say.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Our our partnership is pretty pretty friendly, I would say, where it's like, hey, we want to do this.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Would you guys want to support?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's a video, something like popping up at the Vans Warp Tour, and you guys are just there to support.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it's like, hey, just mention DistroKid, have a QR code, we do the discount code.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, what do you guys look for when you're doing those kinds of events and looking at the return on your investment?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: What's the main thing you're trying to get out of a partnership like that?
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think, you know, a big thing for me specifically is, you know, we that I really care about being positioned as a patron of the arts, and you know, like you said before, we really care about this music and finding ourselves in places that uh that can be, you know, culturally stimulating, you know, places like Vans Warp Tour that has this really, really big pocket of really, really music-obsessed people.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um places like uh uh other ones, you know, a lot of festivals that we that we'll do, um artist meet and greets and stuff like that, or any kind of event that really positions ourselves um with artists um is where we want to be.
• 13:41
  SPEAKER_00: And is it mainly to is it mainly to let people know who DistroKid is from like a first touch point?
• 13:48
  SPEAKER_00: Are you trying to find the young musicians that don't know who DistroKid is, or is it like a second or third touch point of going, we're legit?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Or is it all of the above?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: It it's all the above.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_01: Uh like like I said before, I think there's a lot of confusion about like, oh, who's behind DistroKid?
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, I think showing up at places that uh you know are in touch with the culture and what and what's going on is really, really important.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_01: So for a lot of people, we will be a first touch point.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but for a lot of people, they already released the distro kid and they just want to see that uh we're still here supporting independent artistry and independent artists wherever they are.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, we we love talking about it, especially at Warp Tour last year.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: We had a lot of kids come up to us either saying they were already on DistroKid, but a lot of them were like, I've never released music before.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've been wondering how that even, you know, how to even do it.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like such a difficult thing to do.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: And we love talking about it where it's like obviously we have this partnership friendship where we're proud to talk about it, but seeing them send us a message or tag us a week later being like, I just released a song on DistroKid, thanks, I saw it, you know, at the Lults of the Craft booth, like we're helping these young musicians break down one barrier that could be in their way of chasing their dreams.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: And they're like, okay, that's set up.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now anytime I write music, I can focus on the creativity now, and I can write and I can put it online and I don't have to worry about that.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, this industry has been historically incredibly gatekeeped, as we were talking about before.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: And we want to tear down all of those walls and make it as accessible for anyone to do, you know, to follow their dreams and in music or just releasing music just releasing music in that sense too, which is also super important.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think people get caught up in this, you know, oh well, it's not gonna go anywhere, or you know, this and that.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: And that's neither here nor there.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: It's the fact that you're putting art into the world.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we just want to be a conduit for that and be a tool to help people do that.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's awesome.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: Besides labels, you know, the need to be on a label, because I remember when I was like 15, 16, I was like, my band's not gonna be successful, and I can't do this if we're not on a label.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that you needed to be on a record label to make that happen.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: Little did I know that once you get on a record label, there's all the other things that you're gonna need to do that could potentially ruin your band and actually get in the way of you chasing your dreams.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: What other misconceptions do you think that young or maybe even established artists have in the music industry today that are just so different from five or ten years ago?
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think, you know, especially with social media kind of coming into the picture, there's this idea that you have to play by these strict rules of playing the algorithm on social media and you know playing all these games.
• 16:20
  SPEAKER_01: And well, I think there is some there is definitely success with that.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: I think building out your own space that you want to operate in.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_01: You know, not everything's a one-size-fits-all.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: What works for artist A doesn't always work for artist B.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_01: So I think finding, you know, release strategies and everything that is, you know, uh genuine to who you are as an artist and that fits what you feel is comfortable with, I think is great.
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_01: And it's interesting.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: I was talking to my friend who's uh who's an amazing artist uh a few weeks ago, and he was telling me his ideas for how to release, uh, and it didn't even occur to me that those were ways because I just hadn't seen it before, you know, because we we see this very, very narrow idea of this is you know, you want to have single, or traditionally, you know, single, single, single album.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and now it's you know, you replay your song on TikTok consistently, consistently.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he had a completely different approach, which I was really refreshed by, and there really are no rules anymore, which is really, really cool, you know, especially as an independent artist, outside of a label where you can do whatever you want on your own accords.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_00: Talk to me about the release strategies.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: What what have you seen work and your friend that had a outside the box thought?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: What was that?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what are some release strategies that people should start thinking about that might even take them way further outside the box than they could go originally?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think you know uh kind of a step beyond release strategy is as we you know we were talking about this before, but um building local community, I think is like at the utmost thing.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: You know, uh I was talking about this uh a few weeks ago uh with six, uh the producer in LA, but you know, the idea of a hundred fans, and it's so so impactful to have a hundred fans, and if those fans are in your hometown, and that could be a town as small as you know 150 people or 100 people, yeah, or a town of five million people.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: But if you have a hundred people that you know will show up, um will stream your song, will buy your music, we'll buy your merch, then you have real foundation.
• 18:14
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that's where you know artistry and success really comes from.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_01: It's not from you know a million people listening to your song once and then forgetting about it, but it's really building uh community off it.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that you know will that compounds over time, over time, over time, where a friend brings a friend, brings a friend, and then before you look up, you're like, oh, that a hundred people, or even if you start at 10, that 10 turned to a hundred, that a hundred turns to a thousand, a thousand turns to ten thousand, and it really, really can spider web from there.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_01: So um uh building community in real life, in person, um, in your hometown, in your like really, really like micro communities is is of the utmost importance, I think.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that hasn't changed, that's always been right, like people just don't talk about that enough.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: And people strayed away from it a little bit too, they forget that you know, with the advent of all the social media and stuff, they forget that that's the way it's been, you know, going back to the Beatles, you know, they were just a band from Liverpool, yeah, and they built this little thing, it wasn't that little towards the end.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, and you know, a lot of like even the uh a lot of the rock bands you you know work with too.
• 19:16
  SPEAKER_01: They were, you know, dudes from California, you know, they're like skater dudes from California who just kind of kept building and building and building, and they just get further and further and further.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, literally it is that, and I even get into that mindset sometimes where I'm like, man, we need the we need more social media followers, we need this and the volume.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: But it is so true, dude.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like building the 10 people in your small community turns into a hundred, into a thousand, and they're they're diehard fans, they're gonna be with you throughout and not just like a one and done listen to it once or come to one of your shows.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: They're they're the diehards that are gonna turn and turn the masses into the army of your posse, essentially.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that people have really strayed away from that.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I was gonna mention the Beatles, like everyone thought, you know, they played on the Ed Sullivan show and all of a sudden they're huge.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_00: They had already done their 10,000 hours though, playing small clubs in Liverpool and throughout England and Europe, like to nobody, and then to 10 people and then to the hundreds.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, I mean that that strategy is something that's gonna be tried and true, I think, forever.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I hope so, because you know, I it it and like you're saying about you have those diehard fans, and I've seen some of my favorite bands in basements, you know, when nobody was was sit was was watching them, yeah.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: And now seeing them, you know, headline of Coachella or you know, mainstage of Coachella, you're like, whoa, this is crazy.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_01: I was there first, and I'll always hold on to that a little bit, and that's super special, too.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_01: So cool.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: And that's never gonna cease to exist.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_01: As long as we interact as humans, you know, we we stay present, we stay fit in the physical space, um, we can do that.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: Probably actually gonna come back to that even more.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I know a lot of people like Undereath is doing this road to warp tour tour, like they're doing it in a van, no barricade.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of bands and and you know, creative, uh creative musicians are trying to think way outside the box, going back to the basics like we did 10, 15, 20 years ago.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: The flyers from Kinkos and making the DIY, you know, just screen printing your own t-shirt kind of thing, like that vibe I think is coming back, which back to DistroKid, like being able to put your music out independently without the gatekeepers and without people having their hands in the pots.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you guys give 100% of the royalties back to the artists.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, that's a huge component.
• 21:21
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and you know, going on to that DIY thing too.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, one of uh one of the artists we work with, Conductor Williams, who's you know been an amazing, you know, friend and person throughout, you know, just music in general.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Uh what I've been do what's been super great about him and super interesting is he's really stripped the wall down between him and the fans.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um you know, he'll show up places, play a set, and he wants to interact with people and he wants to like learn about the way that they're making music and then give them pointers and stuff.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I think like that is so special.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that didn't happen overnight though.
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_01: You know, that was years and years and years and years of building, and you know, I there's countless of other artists that I've worked with that do.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_01: Similar things and it's and it's super special.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, even just kind of saying it now too, uh six uh the produce Logic's producer uh in uh in Los Angeles, you know, we had we had a camp there, um, and all these artists came and you know, we're they're all just getting game from him and stuff.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: So there's so many different ways where artists are again like breaking down that wall, yeah, interacting with people on this like super, super personal level, and they'll be a fan for life.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: And the artists that are doing that, and the artists that are part of the let's not be a gatekeeper, because remember when I was 13 years old, too, that's always been my mindset.
• 22:32
  SPEAKER_00: And in working in the drum industry and then the music industry as a whole, I've always been drawn to those musicians that are like, oh, a fan wants to meet me, cool, where are they?
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let me go give them a special moment, let me give them a drumstick or sign something or reply to a DM or send them a video.
• 22:47
  SPEAKER_00: The ones that don't do it, I'm like, what are you like why?
• 22:49
  SPEAKER_00: How are you ever gonna be inspired creatively to go even bigger?
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because when you meet those fans, I feel like it reminds you why you're doing this in the first place.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it, from what I've seen, inspires them to go way outside the box.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because these young kids or these fans that are like asking those questions, it's like making them think differently, which is different than the people that they may typically surround themselves with.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_00: Producers, managers all want one specific thing.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: You meet a kid or a fan that has like that innocence and in interacting with them is like, whoa, like now I remember when I wrote that and how it impacted you.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: Like that brought me back there, which I think is important and special and is so amazing that you guys support artists and in you know activations like that, because allowing those moments to actually happen uh is few and far between, and I think the world needs more of them.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: And and I think that's why, you know, again, going back to you now, with loyal the loyal uh loyal to the craft, I think you know, working with youth and uh giving them these moments that they can latch on to um is like of the utmost importance too, because that breeds this next generation of artists, and you kind of pay it forward in this way too.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I'm sure you've had people in your career too who you know paid it, you know, they who who gave you advice or gave you this one thing and now you're doing it back too.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's you know, anytime you get to work in those opportunities, and I'm super fortunate, you know, to be a district and be able to work on those moments too.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: Heck yeah.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: No, dude, for sure.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: I have very vivid memories growing up, whether it was going to the palladium in Worcester to go see a band and I didn't have a ticket and the owner of the Palladium kind of thing.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's what we were what we first connected on to at the Palladium too because that was like my favorite venue as a kid, too.
• 24:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and like, you know, all the way to venues that that allow punk rock, hardcore music to happen where maybe they're not gonna sell out, but they're still gonna have the show so that fans can go and enjoy the music and be a part of it.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I come from the world of like renting out VFW halls and Knights of Columbus and putting on my own shows and building that spider web of connections that way.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like if you want to make it happen, it's probably not gonna be an overnight success.
• 24:55
  SPEAKER_00: I think a lot of people are waiting for that overnight success thing to happen.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_00: And even if it does, I've seen that overnight success blow up in their face within a year, and there's not much sustainability there.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I would rather huff it for five to ten years and like really learn the ropes to build a sustainable career in music than be handed the golden ticket, you know, overnight.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_00: Completely, because you need like we said, we you need to build that foundation.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the whole thing can kind of crumble unless you have that foundation of these people who really care and that you care about too.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, there's art, and I'm even just kind of remembering all these stories in my head now, too.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, I was with this artist, and uh this guy came backstage with him and he was like, Oh, I saw you.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I I was with you uh on your first show in Boston.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_01: He was like, Yeah, that was 15 years ago.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: That people don't forget about that, and they need each other.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's there's this idea that it's not a symbiotic relationship, and that you know, we're we're praising these artists, but the artists need you and they respect you in that same way, too.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: And I think that's you know, like a really, really cool thing to see real time as well.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and props to the artists that allow that stuff to happen.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's obviously the artists out there that have the handlers and the keeping the gates as high as they can be, and I get it for whatever reason, but the artists that are out there that are willing to take the time and interact, whether it's a DM, I'm sure they get a lot of them, but at a show especially, something like that, is is really cool and special to see.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and loyal to the craft exists to try to make more of that stuff happen as much as possible.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_00: We try to be the link between the fan, a teacher, a parent, and the influential artist that's out there doing the thing so that we can help those connections happen to inspire the youth to go out and do it just like they are.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: And what are your plans, you know, coming up with Loyal to the Craft too?
• 26:36
  SPEAKER_01: Like what do you have coming up soon?
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: Man, we got a crazy year.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks to you guys.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: We got we got lots happening at the Vans Warp Tour again.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we've got School of Rock coming into DC, Long Beach, and Orlando, bringing the School of Rock kids in to perform.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_00: A lot more surprises.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: We had Derek Wibley from Sum41 come sing with the kids last year, which was awesome.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: We'll have a few surprise moments like that.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of workshops and clinics throughout the Warp Tour, bringing artists in to hang out with the band, the School of Rock kids and just jam, talk to them about music, exactly what we're talking about now, putting their music out, touring, management, all of that.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of different podcasts.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: We're on Adobe Radio now, so we've got different, you know, pods that we're doing there.
• 27:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, we're gonna go to Europe.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: We've got a couple uh great plans to do some workshops overseas, which is awesome.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks to DistroKid.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_00: And uh yeah, I mean, the future is bright for us.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_00: We've got we've got some big like 10-year plans that we want to tackle, but right now we're just in the festival circuit and getting as much, getting as many interviews out there as possible so that we can peel back the curtain on what it takes to be in music and really talk about the the struggles and the hurdles that these artists have gone through because I think a lot of people forget.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know, you see CEOs of companies, you see big musicians, and it seems like they have it all figured out and it's just super easy for them, but it's not.
• 27:52
  SPEAKER_00: They're human beings just like we are, and getting that raw direct conversation of like, yeah, you know, like we just had Zach Hansen in here talking about when he was 11 years old and Umbop came out and they were the biggest thing ever.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: But like, what was that really like?
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: Because it wasn't perfect, it wasn't exactly what you thought and saw on MTV and VH1.
• 28:13
  SPEAKER_00: So we're just trying to really give a really good peek behind the curtain and insight into this is attainable.
• 28:22
  SPEAKER_00: You can totally have a sustainable career in music, whether you're a musician, management, like we talked about earlier, working for a brand.
• 28:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and here's the tools and tips and tricks from artists that are doing it that can help you get there just a little bit quicker.
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: We're not trying to fast pass anybody because, again, overnight success, I don't think is sustainable, but we're trying to give a peek behind the curtain to show that it's actually possible.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, exciting year.
• 28:48
  SPEAKER_00: I cannot believe we're already halfway through 2026.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, and I can speak for everyone at District Kid.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_01: We're so happy to be able to work with someone uh like you and Loyal to the Craft in general, you know, that again is championing this like next generation of rockers and and musicians, and um that's like of the utmost importance to us too.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm super stoked for it.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, dude, New England feel like that whole that whole scene and like the the Northeast, I feel like.
• 29:11
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, I grew up there, so I was I was surrounded by you know Converge, Four Year Strong, Wilhelm Scream, like those dudes when I was growing up, and like seeing the collaborative, the collaborative energy that comes from just the scene that you're in.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I hear a lot of kids that are like, I come from a small town and there's nothing here.
• 29:29
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, dude, well, the internet right now, obviously you can reach anything, anybody and anywhere, but I'm sure that within a radius of like driving or like finding a ride, you could put on a show and have three or four bands from other local high schools come and like start building that 100,000-person fan base in your town.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like, proximity shouldn't be what stops you from chasing your dream.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: Totally.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, like I said, you know, I live in Portland, Maine, you know, which is a super small city.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but there is this kind of like collective of people uh who are all working together in this in this way.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's audio engineers who kind of live on this side of town, and then you have rappers who live on this side of town, and singers, songwriters.
• 30:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um and it all it really all takes, you know, just people kind of wanting to build that infrastructure together.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_01: And it doesn't have to be corporate, it doesn't have to be you know strict, but it is just getting people together and and and kind of collaborating.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.
• 30:26
  SPEAKER_00: Collaboration, man, it's the best.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: How important do you think for for an artist putting music out uh is consistency?
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: If they if an artist puts out a song a year, is that good enough?
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a frequency that really helps the algorithm or helps their chances?
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: Like what is what is your take on that?
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: And is there any data that you see that that could speak to that?
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I don't really have any data to speak on that.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_01: I think it really goes down to what your vision is for your project.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you release a song a month, uh a single a month, then you have an album by the end of the year that you can release.
• 30:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um if you want to do, you know, single, single, single, single consistently to really play that allegory in the game, we've also seen success success with that too.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it really goes down to you know how you want to your art to be viewed out to the world, and you know, Spotify, like I said, and Apple Music and Amazon all make it incredibly accessible for people.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really how much you want to share out.
• 31:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: And how important, I mean, obviously, allowing the artists to keep their royalties through DistroKid is massive.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Can you speak to that?
• 31:25
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what was the mindset behind that as a strategy for DistroKid?
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: And how how does that impact a young artist?
• 31:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, the strategy is artists first.
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_01: That's you know, plain and simple.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_01: We want to be there for the artist.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_01: We want to break down the walls that you can have your music music be heard um and it's a and it's and you're getting the money you deserve for those streams.
• 31:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um and what was the second part of that question, Tim?
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, just well, just what's important what you know, obviously like the importance of of the artist keeping that money is like go ahead and ownership is is everything now, especially as you see you know, um catalogs being sold for these really, really prolific artists.
• 32:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um ownership means something over your art.
• 32:04
  SPEAKER_01: And having that, you know, kept away is is always gonna remain, especially as we move forward, kind of the the most important thing.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: Love it.
• 32:11
  SPEAKER_01: And what's your favorite thing about working with DistroKid?
• 32:14
  SPEAKER_01: Uh the people.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I I'm I'm super, super lucky to work with I think some of the most talented, if not the most talented people in the music industry, uh in the tech industry.
• 32:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then getting to interface with artists, people like yourself, um, you know, getting to travel all around and and really, really talk about music, something that we all deeply, deeply care about.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um and you know, it's really fun to be able to share these these these moments in these people and come back and be like, wow, I, you know, I got to meet this person or I got to speak about this thing I really care about with a like-minded person, and that will never get old.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yo, what's up?
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Mike, and for the past 25 years, I've been building a career in music.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I know for a fact it is possible to chase your dreams in the music industry.
• 32:55
  SPEAKER_00: And DistroKid is an essential partner in making that happen.
• 32:58
  SPEAKER_00: Not only do they have a suite of tools to get your music and videos out to the world, but they support loyal to the craft.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: We want everybody to understand, from the youth to their parents, that music is a sustainable career path.
• 33:10
  SPEAKER_00: You never know where music's gonna take you.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's a beautiful thing.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to be in music, make sure you're following Loyal to the Craft.
• 33:16
  SPEAKER_00: You got a question?
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: Shoot us a DM.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: We are here to help you.
• 33:19
  SPEAKER_00: See you out there.
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: Young artists putting out music on DistroKid once a month, every other week, at a at a decent frequency, not getting traction, thinking they need a label for that marketing help, maybe in advance, maybe they can't pay their rent, seems attractive.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: What strategies do you think that they should start thinking about and instituting before they go with a record label?
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_00: Are there things that they can do to tweak on social media?
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_00: Should they change the way that they look?
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: Should they change the way their music sounds?
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like how how deep should an artist go in changing who they are if they're not getting traction?
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_01: I would argue don't change who you are at all.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_01: You know, this is who you are, this is the art you want to create.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_01: I think you can go about it in so many different ways.
• 34:05
  SPEAKER_01: Like we said, local community, you know, print CDs and give them to people, you know, like in New York City, like in Times Square, you know, 20, 30.
• 34:15
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know if they're still doing that in Times Square, but you know, like that.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um hit up venues in your local town to be like, hey, I just want to perform, open mic, you know, um even skate shops, even skate shops.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_01: Any any any local spot that might be open-minded?
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_01: Any opportunity to get your music in front of someone because you can't trust the way the algorithm will play, you can't trust this or that, but you can trust if I'm physically showing up somewhere, yeah, and and there's a person right across from me, they are hearing my song.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and that, you know, is nothing will beat them.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: So cool.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: Are there any things coming out in the distrokid toolkit that you talked about?
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: That you got publishing, you got obviously getting your music out onto the streaming platforms, you got merchandise.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: Is there anything that you can tease or talk about that might be coming up soon that that people might be stoked about?
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I'll a little teaser, but we're we're gonna be expanding the uh the direct store a little bit um with some new uh offerings there.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_01: So that'll you know just give you more options to sell direct to fans, um, which is again, you know, building those community, building that community, people owning something that is yours, um, which is really, really cool.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let me just ask you, you know, on the publishing piece, I remember when my band was getting signed and I needed to become a member of ASCAP or BMI.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I don't even think I still understand it completely.
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what made DistroKid get into that space of I don't even want to say competing there?
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's obviously another thing under the umbrella, it just makes it easier.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_00: But what makes it different than the ASCAPs and the BMIs and is the process just simpler because it's all under one dashboard?
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's the big thing.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: We we want to keep people, you know, within the system and having all your your entire catalog there, and you can pick uh which songs to register for publishing and you know, pick uh who are the who should be receiving the uh credits for that and stuff.
• 36:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I think having it all under one umbrella is you know, like I said, builds that whole toolkit so we can meet artists where they are.
• 36:09
  SPEAKER_01: We knew that was something that artists were talking about, and we wanted to build something that uh that could you know accommodate them and keep artists releasing music and making sure they were taken care of.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_01: Cool.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Nathaniel, thank you so much for coming to the Loyal Lounge here, man.
• 36:22
  SPEAKER_00: And DistroKid, thank you so much for the support of Loyal to the Craft.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: It means the world to us, and being able to spread the message of what you guys offer as a tool and a resource to independent artists is something that we really love talking about, and we've seen the impact firsthand, uh, allowing artists to go chase their dreams.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you so much, man.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: Really appreciate you.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.