The Music Lens Podcast
Two friends with mics, talking all things life in the music scene through the lens of independent artists.
The Music Lens Podcast is a vital weekly resource and commentary show for current and aspiring independent artists. Join hosts Alex and Katie—both successful indie musicians themselves—as they offer candid, boots-on-the-ground insights into the culture, history, and most importantly, the business that shapes the modern music landscape.
Tune in to learn how to navigate the industry:
- Music Business 101: Decoding topics like record label contracts, publishing rights, and licensing deals.
- Creator Economy: Examining the impact of AI artists, streaming royalties, and parasocial fan culture.
- Industry Commentary: Breaking down the latest Grammy buzz, news roundups, and music history deep dives.
If you're an indie artist looking for honest talk and practical tools to build your career, this is the community and conversation you need.
Episodes
90 episodes
2026 ACM Awards
This year's ACM Awards were filled with strong performances and record-setting wins! Join us as we discuss and give you a play-by-play of all the action.ResourcesRecord Setters at the ...
Blue Dot Fever
Blue Dot Fever: a music industry term coined to describe the growing list of cancelled tours. Are these cancellations from low ticket sales due to high ticket prices, artists booking too big of venues for their audience, or perhaps a bit of bot...
2000s Disney Channel Made Us Think Getting Famous Was Easy
If you grew up in the 2000s, odds are you've watched a Disney Channel Original Movie or two as well as Hannah Montana. Have you ever noticed how so many of those movies/shows made it seem like getting famous is incredibly easy? Join us as we di...
New Music: May 2026 Edition
Some incredible music came out this past month! Join us as we discuss new releases as well as music news, including the ACM Awards nominees.Music News:
The History of New Orleans Music
We recently took a trip to down to New Orleans, so we thought we oughta do a dive into the history of the city's deep music roots. From jazz and gospel, to R&B and hip-hop, to opera, brass bands, and rock & roll, join us as we discuss t...
Widening The Lens: Amanda McCarthy
In this installment of our Widening The Lens series, we're welcoming full-time independent artist Amanda McCarthy onto the podcast!Most people don't exactly plan to drop out of college, become a parent before the age of 21, and move to a...
Touring Terminology
Take a dive with us into the world of touring as we discuss various touring terminology that you may come across on the road!
New Music: April 2026 Edition
Join us as we discuss the latest music releases from the past month!New Music:SJ McDonald: “Blue Ridge Red"Hunter Hayes: EvergreenRussell Dickerson: Worth Your Wild EPGracie Carol: “Fa...
The Artist Inventory: Music Directors
We're taking you back into our Artist Inventory series to discuss another member of an artist's team: the music director. Join us for a discussion on what the role of a music director entails, how it's similar/different to the role of a band le...
Widening The Lens: Korie Burton Rott
In this installment of our Widening The Lens series, we're welcoming Korie Burton Rott from One Writer To Another onto the podcast!Born and raised in South Carolina, Korie moved to Music City at the age of 18 to attend Middle Tennessee S...
Sylvia Robinson and Mother Maybelle Carter - Women's History Month
Happy Women's History Month! We're celebrating two women who were both deemed mothers of their genres: Sylvia Robinson and Mother Maybelle Carter. Join us as we discuss these two pioneers and how Hip-Hop and Country wouldn't be what they are to...
New Music: March 2026 Edition
February (and end of January) was filled with new music! Join us as we discuss our favs!New Music:Ella Langley: "Dandelion" and "Be He...
D'Angelo and The Black Opry - Black History Month
Happy Black History Month! We're taking the time to highlight Black voices who have been trailblazers in the music industry. Join us as we learn about the pioneer of neo-soul, D'Angelo, as well as the Black Opry, a movement to raise awareness f...
Widening The Lens: Kristian Veech
In our second episode of our Widening The Lens series, we welcome Kristian Veech to the podcast!Taking a songwriter-centric to production, Kristian Veech is a Nashville based producer, and mixing & mastering engineer whose work cover...
Grammy Awards 2026
It's time again for our annual Grammy Awards episode! Join us for a recap and review of this year's looks, performances, and awards!
New Music and Music News: February 2026 Edition
We’re kicking off February with a roundup of new music we enjoyed from January, along with a few industry headlines, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees and a recent copyright case involving Drew Barrymore.Resources:<...
Producing Pioneers: Joe Meek and Sam Phillips
Before producers were household names, Joe Meek and Sam Phillips were quietly (and sometimes chaotically) changing the sound of popular music. In this episode, we explore how Meek’s DIY experimentation and Phillips’ work at Sun Records helped l...
Widening The Lens: Sammy Kay
Welcome to our new monthly series, "Widening The Lens", where we invite guests onto the pod to broaden our perspectives about different aspects of the music industry. Our guest for the inaugural episode is our good friend and collaborator, Samm...
How to Build an EPK
Welcome back to the latest part in the Artist Inventory series, a dive into how to build an EPK. EPKs are essential tools for artists looking to book gigs, gain press, and showcase their work to potential industry collaborators. Join us for a d...
2026 Kickoff
Happy New Year, everyone! We're kicking off our first episode of 2026 with a chat about new music and music news, including the Songwriters' Hall of Fame Induction nominees and more!Resources:
Year in Review: The Music That Moved Us
For our final episode of the year, we’re hitting pause and looking back on the music that defined it for us. We talk favorite albums and songs, artists we loved seeing live, shows we played ourselves, and the moments that made this year unforge...
From MTV to TikTok: The New Purpose of Music Videos
In this episode, we kick things off with a run-through of the history of music videos from technical invention to MTV to YouTube before getting into why they still matter today, just for totally different reasons. We talk branding, storytelling...
AI Artists
AI “artists” showing up on charts? Yeah… we have thoughts. We run through a few of the names popping up, why it’s frustrating to see them take up space, and why the chart they landed on isn’t even that important. Plus, we get into why AI can’t ...