Canadian Musician Podcast

First up, Mike chats with Steve Kenny (3:55), an artist manager, co-founder of Traverse Music Management, and author of The Ascender (Traversemusicmanagement.ca/theascender), a blog and newsletter for artists looking to grow their career in an effective and sustainable way. Steve recounts his winding path from musician to a corporate job and then into artist management. He offers a refreshing perspective and mind for the music industry and in this conversation, he discusses his belief that artists should actually focus more on the fans they have than on growing their fanbase, and that they should also focus on providing value for their audience rather than on “how can I monetize my audience?”

Then, after his chat with Steve, Mike then shares the wonderful conversation he had with Canadian producer, platinum-selling singer-songwriter, and four-time CCMA nominee Tebey (34:40). Tebey first came to prominence as a songwriter for both pop and country artists. His pop credits include One Direction, Fifth Harmony, Flo Rida, Cher, and more. No slouch in the country music arena, Tebey has been nominated for four Canadian Country Music Awards, including Album of the Year for his 2018 hit EP, Love a Girl, and his hit single “Denim On Denim” was recently was certified platinum and he nabbed a gold certification for his co-write for “Just Got Paid” by Emerson Drive. He and Mike chat about writing his new album, ‘The Good Ones,’ the differences between writing country and pop songs, coming of age in the music industry, the fun and hassles of co-founding his own record label, dealing with the uncertainty of the near future, and more.