Whether it’s giving a welcome sprinkle of flavour to your commute, something to drown out the voices while you clean the house, or you’re desperately attempting to un-fry your brain with a fresh download of industry insight, I’ve collated a list of the most inspiring, energising, and info-packed podcasts for your listening pleasure; direct from a guy who has multiple shows on daily rotation.
1. Your Morning Coffee Podcast
First up on the list is the Your Morning Coffee Podcast, hosted by YMC Newsletter creator, Jay Gilbert. This weekly podcast news bulletin cuts down some of the biggest news stories of the week, and spotlights the opinions of a decent variety of music industry guests, with Jay Gilbert and regular co-host, Mike Etchart, getting their experienced takes on the top stories.
Gilbert and Etchart rather effectively guides the conversations into the corners of the conversation most interesting to the curious listener, and does this across two variations of the podcast: the aforementioned headline conversations and also through guest episodes, having recently interviewed the likes of Downtown’s Geoff Halliday, and Will Page, former chief economist at Spotify and author of Tarzan Economics. He talks guests through the biggest news stories of the week, and these industry professionals provide opinions on the big stories of the week, and predict how they might develop, taking into consideration the wider context of the music and creative industries, all in a welcomely concise 30 minutes (ish!).
Start Here: A Conversation with Will Page
2. The Business of Talent
A serious hidden gem here. Slightly sporadic episodes and series, but The Business of Talent (aka Music Business Podcast) is a hugely valuable listen. Previously showcasing a massive variety of opinions from almost every sector of the music industry on the Music Business Podcast (2019-2021), and now providing a relaxed and digestible insight into the ways the creative industries are broadening revenue streams and increasing number of ways labels, talent agencies and influencers are capitalising on popularity and online following in the Business of Talent Podcast.
Start Here: Is 2025 the Year Creators Earn More than TV & Legacy Media?
3. Sidetracked
This one’s for all of you who feel out of the loop. Really, really entertaining stuff; literally presented by a couple of the UK’s most pop-culture clued-up broadcasters, Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac. It’s like eavesdropping on a quick chat between your two most musically in-the-know friends. It’s fast-paced, hilarious, and seriously informative. Definitely for those of you who feel like you want to stay updated on current music culture, but don’t have the lifestyle, time to scroll, or the algorithm just isn’t serving you that kind of stuff – this will sort you out.
Start Here: Harry Styles Values Community, Robyn’s Purpose, and Is Bruno Mars a Hypnotist?
4. Music Ally Focus
This one offers a unique perspective on the recent evolution of the music industry beyond the day-to-day news cycles, as you might hear in MBW. It takes a step back to look at the bigger picture and brings on properly plugged-in industry guests to offer their perspective and experience on long-term trends, and to analyse recent successful campaigns. It’s one to convert confusing topics into clear strategies, without being too jargon-heavy.
5. Tape Notes
A really enjoyable listen – definitely more relaxed than the rest, and veering away from purely industry chat. Tape Notes takes the artist and the producer of their most recent (or most popular) album and then breaks down and highlights the decisions that formed the final version. A podcast for the true music fan, which unlocks some hidden gems and intriguing initial versions of some extremely popular tracks.
Start Here: CMAT & Oli Deakin
6. Hit Parade
If you’re always keeping half an eye on the official charts, this show is hosted by Chris Molanphy, author of Slate Magazine’s ‘Why is this song No.1?’ series. It delves into the reasons why songs and albums receive huge chart success, and compares historical chart trends with recent patterns, recently having discussed Taylor Swift’s new album’s fleeting chart success – bar one, despite claiming pre-release that it contained ‘all bangers’ and the concept of a ‘Song of the Summer’. Talent? Luck? Timing? All explained in Hit Parade.
Start Here: The White and Nerdy Editon Pt.1
7. The New Music Business with Ari Herstand
Off the back of his mega successful book release of ‘How to Make it in the New Music Business’, musician Ari Herstand has recorded an interview-based podcast about how to do exactly that. Winning a Webby award, and being described by Spotify as the #1 Music Industry podcast to keep you in the loop, I had to round off this list with a goodie! Ari tackles the struggles of DIY and independent artistry with some of the biggest industry challenges and trends, like the concept of superfandom, how mastering works, publishing, A&R, and much more.
Start Here: Is This the Future of Superfandom?
