098: Today's Music Industry and Finding Your Fans, with Todd McCarty (Heat on the Street)

<p class="p1">Today we’re joined by Todd McCarty of the Heat On The Street blog where he shares insider insights on the music industry and how to find fans for your music.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">You might be wondering why we're discussing music industry stuff here on the Musicality Podcast, where we normally focus on the music side rather than the business side of being a musician. Well, we're not suddenly making a shift to focus entirely on career topics, but we were really keen to feature Todd on the show because we know that a lot of musicians, particularly hobbyists, would love to get their music heard - but are either intimidated or overwhelmed by the modern landscape of music publishing. Streaming services can in theory provide immediate listeners - but may not. And record labels are still doing what they did in the 1950s - or are they?</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">We wanted to ask Todd about the real story behind the successes in the music industry and what the opportunities are - not for the rare "talented" virtuoso, but for the passionate amateur musician who just wants to get some fans.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Todd was a professional drummer who went on to act as tour manager and promoter, run a record label and be a Senior VP of Sales at Sony Music. He has several platinum and gold sales awards to his name and so he's certainly a man who knows what it takes to make it in the music business.</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">In this conversation we talk about:</p> <p class="p1">• Todd's own background as a professional drummer and how a pivotal audition hammered home an important lesson about the music business</p> <p class="p1">• We find a polite way to ask Todd: What's the point of record labels these days?</p> <p class="p1">• And he reveals the one thing that musicians get absolutely backwards when it comes to getting fans</p> <p class="p2"> </p> <p class="p1">Todd has a refreshingly clear and frank perspective on the music industry, something that can all to