Breaking Into the Music Industry as an Interviewer

WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.360 --> 00:00:02.799
Hey, this is Matthew Ricks and today on the Music

2
00:00:02.839 --> 00:00:05.879
Business newsletter, you ever met someone who wants to break

3
00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:08.439
into the music industry not as an artist, but as

4
00:00:08.480 --> 00:00:11.519
an interviewer. Well, I got an email from a twenty

5
00:00:11.560 --> 00:00:15.039
four year old in North Dakota who wants to give

6
00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:19.120
me some stiff competition and interviewing artist. And he's wondering

7
00:00:19.120 --> 00:00:22.399
if he needs to pack up leave the frozen tundra

8
00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:25.879
of North Dakota for greener pastures in New York or

9
00:00:25.960 --> 00:00:30.320
Los Angeles or Nashville to make it happen. So let's

10
00:00:30.359 --> 00:00:33.640
talk about that. But before we dive in, if you

11
00:00:33.719 --> 00:00:35.640
have a question on the music industry that you would

12
00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:37.759
like for me to answer, just go to Matthewricks dot

13
00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:41.520
com click submit your question absolutely free. I don't need

14
00:00:41.560 --> 00:00:43.920
you to become a member or join a Patreon, or

15
00:00:43.960 --> 00:00:46.719
buy a book or book me as a private coach

16
00:00:46.799 --> 00:00:49.119
or any of that nonsense. Just go to Matthewrix.com

17
00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:53.479
com and click submit your question. Now for today's email,

18
00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:57.119
he says, uh, Hello, Matt, my name is Bob and

19
00:00:57.159 --> 00:00:59.960
I'm twenty four and I'm reaching out because I'm one

20
00:01:00.280 --> 00:01:03.000
to get into interviewing artists for a while now kind

21
00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:06.680
of like what you do, He says, funny enough, I

22
00:01:06.760 --> 00:01:09.599
actually didn't find you through the matrics minute, but through

23
00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:13.840
the interviews you've done with different artists. Well, I welcome everybody.

24
00:01:14.120 --> 00:01:16.439
We started first doing the matrics minutes, and then I

25
00:01:16.439 --> 00:01:18.920
got into interviewing artists just because I was working with

26
00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:22.159
these artists and I just wanted to give them a

27
00:01:22.200 --> 00:01:24.680
different platform because I was interviewing a lot of punk

28
00:01:24.719 --> 00:01:28.640
bands at the time, and a lot of people who

29
00:01:28.680 --> 00:01:32.719
interview punk bands they're just it's a lot. A lot

30
00:01:32.760 --> 00:01:34.439
of them do good work, but some of them are

31
00:01:34.519 --> 00:01:37.760
just absolutely brutal to listen to. And then I got

32
00:01:37.799 --> 00:01:42.159
into interviewing Christian artists and Christian hip hop artists, and

33
00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:43.640
it was kind of the same thing. It was like

34
00:01:45.359 --> 00:01:48.599
a lot of these guys just asked the same questions,

35
00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:51.760
and I wanted the artist I work with, or my

36
00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:54.439
friends or artists that I believed in to be able

37
00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.879
to have clips of them not being on script, to

38
00:01:57.959 --> 00:02:00.879
be able to take with them to post on their own,

39
00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:03.640
and because I do have a rapport with a lot

40
00:02:03.680 --> 00:02:05.640
of these guys, it was it made for some really

41
00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:07.719
great interviews and it did some really cool numbers and

42
00:02:08.159 --> 00:02:10.639
a lot of artists got some really cool traction from it.

43
00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:15.759
But the email continues, he says, I've watched a ton

44
00:02:15.800 --> 00:02:17.520
of your interviews, and I love how you get people

45
00:02:17.520 --> 00:02:20.759
to open up and actually talk, just not promote. When

46
00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:23.280
I have done interviews with artists, I like to ask

47
00:02:23.280 --> 00:02:26.719
them questions. I'm always aiming for them to go somewhere

48
00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:30.400
in the ballpark of that's a really good question, or man,

49
00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.280
I don't I got to think about that one. I

50
00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:33.960
always want them to do that. You got a lot

51
00:02:33.960 --> 00:02:36.680
of times where you'll interview artists and their publicists or

52
00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.240
their manager goes submit the questions ahead of time, and

53
00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:41.879
I'm like, no, I'm not going to do that, and

54
00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:43.719
they'll be like how come, And I'm like, because I

55
00:02:43.759 --> 00:02:45.800
don't want them to be scripted. I want them to

56
00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:48.919
be real. And then they'll be like, well, how long

57
00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:51.280
do you give us as long as the interview runs.

58
00:02:51.680 --> 00:02:53.360
I've hasked some artists not do an interview with me

59
00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:55.879
because I want to submit the questions ahead of time,

60
00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:57.479
and I was like, no, I'm not going to do that.

61
00:02:58.599 --> 00:03:00.599
He continues in the email. You've got a way of

62
00:03:00.639 --> 00:03:03.199
making it feel more like a conversation than an interview.

63
00:03:03.439 --> 00:03:06.039
I do that with everybody in my life, like I

64
00:03:06.080 --> 00:03:07.960
you know, I think some of the times with people

65
00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.639
doing interviews, like interviewers radio DJs are the same way.

66
00:03:12.240 --> 00:03:15.000
They don't really like people. It's just not their personality

67
00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:20.919
to really like just find people fascinating. I find people fascinating.

68
00:03:21.000 --> 00:03:23.840
I always have. I will talk to anybody. I can

69
00:03:23.879 --> 00:03:26.039
go to the gas station by my house. They know

70
00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.319
who I am because I try to make an impression

71
00:03:29.360 --> 00:03:31.680
with everybody I come in contact with. Us. Sometimes it's good,

72
00:03:31.719 --> 00:03:34.960
sometimes it's bad, but at least it's an impression. So

73
00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.439
as email continues, and that's exactly what I want to learn,

74
00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:40.199
how to do not just interview, but have a conversation.

75
00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:46.280
Practice on people who don't make you nervous, practice on

76
00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:50.759
people who you know you're not starstruck with. I was

77
00:03:50.840 --> 00:03:53.719
talking to I was talking to adults when I was

78
00:03:53.759 --> 00:03:58.039
ten years old, and so now when I do get

79
00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:00.800
to talk to artists that of like, well this is

80
00:04:00.840 --> 00:04:03.680
really cool or they're pretty big or whatever, it's just

81
00:04:03.719 --> 00:04:08.000
a conversation for me. I actually had one of the

82
00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:09.639
guys I go to church with who was with me

83
00:04:09.680 --> 00:04:13.159
at a festival recently and he saw me hanging out

84
00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:16.240
with the artist, and he said that Matthew is the

85
00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:18.879
same hanging out with artists as he is at church

86
00:04:18.959 --> 00:04:22.000
or serving or at the coffee shop. And that was

87
00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:24.000
kind of one of the highest compliments that somebody could

88
00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:26.040
pay me, is that it's just like I'm this same

89
00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:28.199
way all the time, which is just you know, it's

90
00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.240
got to love people and just find people fascinating. His

91
00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:35.720
email continues, Here's where I'm at. I live in North Dakota. Well,

92
00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:38.040
I bet it gets cold in the winter there, he says,

93
00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.279
which isn't exactly a hub for the music industry. I

94
00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:44.319
don't think it's anything for the music industry, but maybe

95
00:04:44.360 --> 00:04:48.920
a stop on a really badly booked tour, he says.

96
00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:51.519
But I've been thinking a lot about whether I should

97
00:04:51.560 --> 00:04:54.160
move to Nashville, New York or LA. Don't do that

98
00:04:55.560 --> 00:04:59.240
to really make this interview thing happen. Part of me

99
00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:02.240
feels like I don't get around where the action is. Well,

100
00:05:02.279 --> 00:05:05.319
I live in Nashville, and I don't go where the

101
00:05:05.319 --> 00:05:09.439
action is. I said this in a video I don't

102
00:05:09.480 --> 00:05:12.439
know a few weeks ago. I am the world's worst networker.

103
00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:16.959
I am the world's worst networker. I don't go to

104
00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:20.560
industry stuff. If I'm going to hang out with an artist,

105
00:05:20.680 --> 00:05:23.399
we're going to probably go have lunch or coffee. I

106
00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:27.519
just don't it's the action doesn't really impress me too much.

107
00:05:27.879 --> 00:05:29.759
He says that he's afraid that he'll just be stuck

108
00:05:29.800 --> 00:05:33.319
spinning his wheels out there in North Dakota. Bruh, you

109
00:05:33.439 --> 00:05:36.319
heard the Internet. You don't need to be Actually, it

110
00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:38.800
probably works to your advantage that you're not in one

111
00:05:38.839 --> 00:05:42.000
of those three cities. But let's continue with emo. He says,

112
00:05:42.040 --> 00:05:44.439
I've been trying to reach out to artists already very good,

113
00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.839
even some big name ones and another one crash and burns.

114
00:05:49.519 --> 00:05:52.360
He says, I've emailed their managers DMed a few of them,

115
00:05:52.920 --> 00:05:56.319
filled out contact forms on websites, and yeah, not a

116
00:05:56.319 --> 00:05:59.800
single one has replied. He says, I get it. I'm

117
00:05:59.839 --> 00:06:02.399
not a known name and I don't have a platform yet,

118
00:06:02.399 --> 00:06:04.040
but it's tough to know how to get on their

119
00:06:04.120 --> 00:06:08.480
radar without coming across as pushy or desperate. So let's

120
00:06:08.480 --> 00:06:11.040
break down this paragraph. You said you've emailed their managers

121
00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:14.079
DMD a few filled out contact forms on websites, and

122
00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:16.759
not a single one of them has replied that happens.

123
00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:22.879
That happens. Even some of my friends have not gotten

124
00:06:22.920 --> 00:06:25.800
back to me, and I'm like, what the crap And

125
00:06:25.839 --> 00:06:27.800
they're just like, oh, sorry, dude, like I was busy

126
00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:31.399
or whatever. And then they'll be like, yeah, I'll do it,

127
00:06:31.399 --> 00:06:33.399
it's fine whatever. I'm like, I'm trying to help you.

128
00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:34.879
What do you mean you'll do it? You should be

129
00:06:34.959 --> 00:06:38.160
excited to talk to me. I would be if I

130
00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:41.360
was you. But anyways, it's not about having a known name.

131
00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:44.040
What you need to do is start getting some social proof.

132
00:06:45.319 --> 00:06:49.560
And you did say that you've been reaching out to

133
00:06:49.759 --> 00:06:51.800
artists already, even some big names. You're not going to

134
00:06:51.839 --> 00:06:53.680
get the big names. They don't know who you are.

135
00:06:53.759 --> 00:06:58.240
You don't have artists always. And when I was when

136
00:06:58.279 --> 00:07:00.600
I would inter even now, when I interviewed artists that

137
00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:03.399
I they don't we don't know each other. But maybe

138
00:07:03.439 --> 00:07:05.519
I did come across their music and I was like, yeah,

139
00:07:05.519 --> 00:07:08.279
I want to give you some free promo. There's always

140
00:07:08.319 --> 00:07:12.480
that first initial. They're nervous. They're nervous of like I am.

141
00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:15.160
I'm gonna like ask him what their opinion is on

142
00:07:15.759 --> 00:07:17.920
tariffs or something like that, which I don't get into

143
00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:22.319
any of that stuff. But they're always nervous and what

144
00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:24.800
I have to and so what you have to realize

145
00:07:24.959 --> 00:07:27.959
is that because you're not a known name, neither am

146
00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:31.680
I like gonna You're gonna have to work your way

147
00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:34.759
up when it comes to you. Not you being afraid

148
00:07:34.759 --> 00:07:39.639
of coming across as pushy or desperate. H You know, dude,

149
00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:42.600
the squeaky wheel gets the oil like be pushy. I

150
00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.399
got to shout out Brenda and Burke with the Christian

151
00:07:45.480 --> 00:07:52.959
Music bro podcast. He is relentless, on on on hitting

152
00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.279
people up for interviews and he's gotten some pretty and

153
00:07:55.399 --> 00:07:58.800
Christian music. He's gotten some pretty good size interviews. And

154
00:07:58.839 --> 00:08:02.120
the reason being is because he will freaking send you

155
00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:05.600
ten messages before until you, like you will reply, just

156
00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.560
to get this kid off your back. I don't think

157
00:08:07.560 --> 00:08:10.480
anybody thinks he's desperate. I think everybody thinks he's very

158
00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:14.079
excited and motivated. So if you're if you're worried about

159
00:08:14.120 --> 00:08:17.360
coming across this pushy or desperate, you got dude. You

160
00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:23.839
The great thing about starting off is you're not anybody's radar.

161
00:08:25.279 --> 00:08:29.360
Nobody right here is expecting anything from you, So you

162
00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:32.279
don't come across as desperate I mean, if you're like begging,

163
00:08:32.679 --> 00:08:35.240
which I want it, But if you're just like, hey,

164
00:08:35.320 --> 00:08:37.279
I really want to talk to you. I really think

165
00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:39.559
we could have a great interview. I'd really love to

166
00:08:39.559 --> 00:08:45.039
introduce my audience to you know, your music or your story,

167
00:08:45.080 --> 00:08:47.960
and they might not get it because you know, some

168
00:08:48.080 --> 00:08:50.519
artists just get tons of messages. If you're going to

169
00:08:50.679 --> 00:08:56.080
DM a female artist about an interview, I bet that woman,

170
00:08:56.240 --> 00:08:59.159
if she's an attractive woman, she's getting one hundred messages

171
00:08:59.200 --> 00:09:01.320
a day on Instagram. So you have to just be

172
00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:05.320
relentless in that pursuit of that interview. I would start

173
00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:08.320
off with smaller artists because I'm gonna be honest with you,

174
00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:11.639
sometimes a smaller artist actually will do better for you.

175
00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:13.480
Like I'm doing right now. I'm doing these like new

176
00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:17.639
Artists showcases on this channel and I'm just interviewing you know,

177
00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:23.519
artists with eight hundred monthly listeners on Spotify. Well, I'm

178
00:09:23.559 --> 00:09:28.600
actually my watch time on those interviews is crazy. Why

179
00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:31.879
because they got you know, it might be their first interview.

180
00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:35.759
So everybody in their community, all their friends, all you know,

181
00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:40.240
all the all the ex'es and the family, they're all

182
00:09:40.279 --> 00:09:44.360
going to watch the interview, and then you can be

183
00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:46.759
in a situation like where I was two years ago.

184
00:09:46.799 --> 00:09:49.279
I interviewed the punk band the doll Heads because they

185
00:09:49.279 --> 00:09:52.039
played punk rock bullying a music festival, and I did

186
00:09:52.039 --> 00:09:54.639
the interview and I posted and nobody cared. Well, now

187
00:09:54.679 --> 00:09:58.200
they just got signed and they just released something with

188
00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.360
Fat Mike from No Effects. The interview is popping off

189
00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:05.000
two years later. Why because people are looking for information

190
00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:07.399
on the Dalhads. So I would go with up and

191
00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:11.480
coming artists because one, it's gonna be easier to work with. Two,

192
00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:14.440
it actually makes you a better interviewer because you have

193
00:10:14.519 --> 00:10:17.159
to you have to deep dive, and you just can't

194
00:10:17.279 --> 00:10:19.039
go type in their name and Google and get a

195
00:10:19.039 --> 00:10:21.279
bunch of information. But you're gonna have to deep dive

196
00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:23.919
how to do a good interview. Three, you're gonna get

197
00:10:23.960 --> 00:10:26.080
a lot of watch time from it. And four if

198
00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:29.120
that artist pops off, they people will always go back

199
00:10:29.120 --> 00:10:31.639
to that interview because it was like the first one.

200
00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:35.440
So he's got a couple of questions for me, so

201
00:10:35.559 --> 00:10:38.399
let's let's answer them and help him out. He says,

202
00:10:38.440 --> 00:10:40.600
my questions are Number one is moving out to one

203
00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:43.320
of the bigger music cities. Really necessary to get started

204
00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.039
in this kind of work. Not at all, Not at all.

205
00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:48.519
You do not You do not need to move to

206
00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:51.559
La Nashville, New York. You don't have to do it.

207
00:10:52.639 --> 00:10:55.480
Like I said, you not being in here probably might

208
00:10:55.559 --> 00:10:59.120
help you because if if everybody sees you just kind

209
00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:01.679
of lurking around at industry events or trying to get in,

210
00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:05.840
it actually decreases your value. He also says, how do

211
00:11:05.879 --> 00:11:08.159
I actually get the attention of artists or their teams?

212
00:11:08.360 --> 00:11:12.000
Start small? Because you might have you might have had

213
00:11:12.120 --> 00:11:14.200
artists who got your message and they went to your

214
00:11:14.240 --> 00:11:16.399
Instagram and they didn't find a YouTube channel, they didn't

215
00:11:16.399 --> 00:11:20.039
see you do any interviews. There's like no proof, and

216
00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.720
a bigger artist is not going to be put in

217
00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:27.000
a situation where they don't know what they're getting from you.

218
00:11:27.080 --> 00:11:30.120
So you got to build up your social proof. And

219
00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.200
the third question he has is and when's the right

220
00:11:33.240 --> 00:11:35.720
time to start asking for interviews? Should I just start

221
00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:40.720
locally or keep shooting my shot for bigger names. I

222
00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:42.919
don't think you have to do locally. I mean there's

223
00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:48.519
a huge gap between local North Dakota artists. You're going

224
00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:52.159
to interview local North Dakota artists. Was there like four

225
00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:58.720
North Dakota local North Dakota artists, Actually you should do that.

226
00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:02.360
There's probably an untapped mark. But there's a huge gap

227
00:12:02.399 --> 00:12:06.960
between local North Dakota artists and big name artists. You

228
00:12:07.000 --> 00:12:08.679
got you got the up and comers, you got the

229
00:12:08.679 --> 00:12:11.600
ones who are coming back down the mountain. You got

230
00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:16.679
sea level artists, you got low B artists there. Yeah,

231
00:12:16.720 --> 00:12:21.720
you don't have to go either bizmark artist or Taylor Swift.

232
00:12:21.879 --> 00:12:25.159
There's a huge gap in between those two. And usually

233
00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:29.279
the artists in the sea range and be low b's

234
00:12:29.559 --> 00:12:32.240
on their way up. They're gonna be easy to work with.

235
00:12:32.279 --> 00:12:35.320
They're gonna be super chill, if they have a manager,

236
00:12:35.320 --> 00:12:37.679
they're not gonna run you through the ringers, like send

237
00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:41.600
us your questions and all that stuff, and they'll probably

238
00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:43.399
just give you a really good interview and you'll probably

239
00:12:43.440 --> 00:12:47.720
get some super awesome watch time on it. He says,

240
00:12:47.720 --> 00:12:50.279
any advice you could share would mean a lot. I

241
00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:52.679
really want to do this the right way, and not

242
00:12:52.840 --> 00:12:56.240
just Chase Cloud. I mean, I'll be honest with you,

243
00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:01.279
like I've interviewed some bigger artists and some of the

244
00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:03.759
interviews have never even been released because it was brutal.

245
00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:06.919
You take an artist who's been around for twenty years,

246
00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:10.720
the interview is just they've they've almost I mean they've

247
00:13:10.759 --> 00:13:12.919
unless you're gonna try to play gotcha game with which

248
00:13:12.919 --> 00:13:16.759
if you play gotcha games, you have a very you

249
00:13:16.799 --> 00:13:21.159
have a very short shelf life interviewing arts because words

250
00:13:21.159 --> 00:13:23.039
we'll get out and you'll just nobody's gonna mess with you.

251
00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:26.320
But I've interviewed artists who've been around for twenty years,

252
00:13:27.480 --> 00:13:30.720
and you might get thirty minutes with them and you'll

253
00:13:30.799 --> 00:13:33.519
you'll tap out of twelve because they're just they just

254
00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:35.639
don't care anymore. Like it's not that they're rude or

255
00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:38.399
they're jerks. It's just like they've done this for twenty years.

256
00:13:38.879 --> 00:13:42.240
You are nothing different than what they know, and they're

257
00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:43.919
just kind of like, you know, let's get it over with.

258
00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:48.200
And they're usually not good interviews. And it's once again,

259
00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:50.080
it's not that they're rude, it's just that they've If

260
00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:52.360
you don't want to answer the same question for twenty years,

261
00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:53.840
I'd hate to come out here and answer the same

262
00:13:53.919 --> 00:13:56.919
question for twenty years. Do this the right way. You

263
00:13:57.039 --> 00:14:00.440
got to work on your chops as well. You got

264
00:14:00.480 --> 00:14:03.399
to work on how you interview people. So maybe you

265
00:14:03.440 --> 00:14:07.279
do start local and just get some social proof, work

266
00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:09.759
out which you know, what platform you want to use

267
00:14:09.799 --> 00:14:12.120
to record, and then figure out is it going to

268
00:14:12.120 --> 00:14:13.720
be just video, are you going to do audio? Is

269
00:14:13.720 --> 00:14:16.759
it just audio? Like, how do you do this? Don't

270
00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:20.919
ask the same questions that you know. Don't if you

271
00:14:20.960 --> 00:14:23.399
ask one question, if you ask one artist this question,

272
00:14:23.559 --> 00:14:24.960
you know you got a list of questions that you

273
00:14:24.960 --> 00:14:28.519
asked artists. Don't ask the same artists questions because it

274
00:14:28.679 --> 00:14:31.879
becomes very predictable for your audience. You want to build

275
00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:34.720
something that has purpose and brings real stories out of

276
00:14:34.759 --> 00:14:37.440
people like I do. Well, thank you for that. You

277
00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:41.639
got to just take an investment in people. People love

278
00:14:41.759 --> 00:14:46.720
talking about themselves, Okay, people love talking about themselves, and

279
00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:48.799
if you can break the ice with them, Like one

280
00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:51.159
of my things is before I do an interview, I'll

281
00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:54.679
spend fifteen twenty minutes off air talking with them and

282
00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:57.159
just break the ice, get them warmed up, let them

283
00:14:57.200 --> 00:14:59.360
know that I'm not some weirdo or I'm some fanboy

284
00:15:00.000 --> 00:15:01.679
that I do with new artists, and I'll be honest

285
00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:04.159
with you. I've made some really good friends in the

286
00:15:04.279 --> 00:15:08.840
music industry by doing that ahead of time, because they

287
00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:10.480
know we're just kind of cool, Like I'm not like,

288
00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:12.240
I'm just an equal, Like you know, if we go

289
00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:15.080
to have dinner in Nashville, I'm not gonna be fanboying

290
00:15:15.120 --> 00:15:17.279
over it. You know, if they give me their number.

291
00:15:17.799 --> 00:15:20.200
I've had artists who've given me their number and I'm like,

292
00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.120
I barely you know, like we won't text. I'm not

293
00:15:22.159 --> 00:15:24.720
texting them being like, oh you're amazing or whatever. Like no,

294
00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:27.960
So I would just start by. If you want to

295
00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:32.159
do something that builds purpose and has these artists break

296
00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:35.559
their character and just do real, real stories, then you

297
00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.840
have to just invest in them, and you have to

298
00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:42.080
take the time to let them open up and not

299
00:15:42.200 --> 00:15:44.759
just be firing questions off the same questions they've answered

300
00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:47.200
twenty times. And if you work with an artist who's

301
00:15:47.240 --> 00:15:49.200
never had an interview before, you need to warm them

302
00:15:49.279 --> 00:15:52.159
up because they're going to be incredibly nervous in the beginning.

303
00:15:53.320 --> 00:15:55.240
He says, thanks for taking the time to read this

304
00:15:55.399 --> 00:15:57.399
and for all the content you put out. It's been

305
00:15:57.480 --> 00:16:02.799
super inspiring. Signed by from North Dakota. Well there you go, Bob.

306
00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.960
I mean, yeah, I would start anybody wants to interview artists.

307
00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:08.360
I'm kind of all over the map, Like I've interviewed

308
00:16:08.360 --> 00:16:11.399
punk bands, I've interviewed SKA bands, I've interviewed hardcore bands,

309
00:16:11.399 --> 00:16:15.480
I've interviewed OI bands. I've interviewed Christian artists like contemporary

310
00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:21.000
Christian artists. I've interviewed Christian rappers. I've interviewed speakers, I've

311
00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:25.240
interviewed a chef, I've interviewed other podcasters, which we have

312
00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:27.240
a ton of interviews coming out here soon. I've been

313
00:16:27.240 --> 00:16:30.360
doing this week and next week I'll be recording dumb.

314
00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:33.720
I don't really want to be pigeonholed as one, which

315
00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:37.480
also heads up. It does mess with the algorithm because

316
00:16:37.559 --> 00:16:39.600
if you're interviewing nothing but punk bands and then you

317
00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:41.639
switch it up and go like Christian hip hop, which

318
00:16:41.679 --> 00:16:43.840
is on the complete other side of the spectrum, the

319
00:16:43.879 --> 00:16:45.879
algorithm really doesn't know what to do with you at

320
00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:48.600
that moment, so you do have to deal with that. Then,

321
00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:50.639
if you really want to get crazy with the algorithm,

322
00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:54.039
start reading emails from people in the music industry and

323
00:16:54.080 --> 00:16:56.799
answering it on the same channel, then the algorithm really

324
00:16:56.840 --> 00:16:58.960
has no clue. But you wait out the algorithm and

325
00:16:59.000 --> 00:17:01.799
you teach the algorithm what you're about instead of them

326
00:17:01.840 --> 00:17:06.079
deciding it. Yeah, I would just tell you just go start,

327
00:17:06.440 --> 00:17:09.559
just start emailing any B and C level artists you

328
00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:13.279
can get if they you know, they don't have to

329
00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:14.519
be signed, they don't have to have their song on

330
00:17:14.559 --> 00:17:16.799
the radio. A lot of these a lot of these groups, man,

331
00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:18.920
they got such an underground following. I don't know what

332
00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:20.960
kind of genre of music you want to interview. I

333
00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:23.519
would tell you to not stick with just one genre.

334
00:17:23.559 --> 00:17:27.119
I would tell you just open yourself up to whatever

335
00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:30.720
whatever inspires you and whatever comes your way. But also,

336
00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:32.759
if you really want to get your chops and you

337
00:17:32.839 --> 00:17:37.799
really want to get down interviewing, interview other podcasters because they,

338
00:17:38.279 --> 00:17:40.079
you know, they love to talk anyways, and they'll talk

339
00:17:40.119 --> 00:17:43.720
about themselves, and a lot of people don't interview podcasters,

340
00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:46.759
so you can get some pretty good views and watch

341
00:17:46.799 --> 00:17:50.160
time interviewing podcasters. But thanks for the email. And if

342
00:17:50.200 --> 00:17:51.920
you have a question on the music industry that you'd

343
00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:53.680
like for me to answer, just go to Matthew Ricks

344
00:17:53.759 --> 00:17:56.640
dot com click submit your question, give you as many

345
00:17:56.640 --> 00:17:58.960
details as possible, and we all answer it here on

346
00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:01.880
the channel. By the way, New metrics minutes coming out

347
00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:05.359
on social media this weekend, so be on the lookout

348
00:18:05.359 --> 00:18:09.440
for that. But until next time, I will talk to

349
00:18:09.480 --> 00:18:09.839
you later.