Oblé Reed joins us for our final episode of Season 1 of the ANA Podcast. He brings insightful commentary on making your music stand the test to time; creating narratives that unravel in your music, and developing a community of family members rather than casual fans.

Oblé Reed:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4drP7GL5gdmNowIgcunWgn

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/obl%C3%A9-reed/1654558766

https://www.instagram.com/oblereed/

(0:00) Intro

(1:39) Lightning Round!

(2:01) What does Seattle sound like right now?

(3:26) What is Oblé's writing process like?

(6:32) What's Oblé's skincare routine?

(8:01) Pert's a thief

(10:20) What is LINDENAVE! about?

(13:19) Dealing with Imposter Syndrome

(15:42) Changing your rap name

(16:46) Story behind the cover art

(18:36) Crafting the narrative

(21:28) How Oblé builds community

(23:10) What personas are on the album?

(26:00) Making art that's Good Enough

(27:20) How do you ignore the numbers?

(28:17) The boys are scared by a bee

(31:01) Surrounding yourself with good people

(35:24) Game: Spotify Stats!

(43:10) Outro

We are a grassroots movement. If you'd like to support and interact with us more please consider joining our Patreon where you can access private discord channels with key members of Live2 and even be invited to zoom calls to chat with us further! patreon.com/livetwocreate We add 7 songs from undiscovered artists EVERY WEEK to this playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7GMd1iZwfZdYxnUgdrEvB2?si=c906388534224ac1 To request a Live2 production for yourself please fill out this form: https://www.livetwocreate.com/request-a-production Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/livetwocreate/?hl=en

We sit down with our good friend and A&R Hef who shares some hilarious stories on his previous 7 years in the industry. He touches on how the role as an A&R is changing today, his favorite discovery of a breakout artist, and winning fans over from TikTok vs. the real world.

Hef:

https://www.instagram.com/hefstradamus/

(0:00) Intro

(1:20) Lightning Round!

(1:45) How do A&Rs get compensated?

(2:43) Typical day in the life of an A&R?

(3:59) How have record deals changed?

(6:07) Favorite discovery moment?

(6:58) How Hef discovered Lil Nas X (9:03) What would it take to sign to a label?

(10:40) Biggest misconception about the industry?

(11:57) What would you change about the industry?

(14:20) Is TikTok a necessary evil?

(18:02) How McClain does laundry

(20:45) Can A&Rs exist without labels?

(23:37) Artist success stories with labels?

(23:42) Hef plays Fortnite with NLE Choppa

(28:22) How do you start as an A&R?

(31:40) Growing your audience thru live shows or TikTok?

(34:35) Will AI take over the music industry?

(36:54) How much do labels help with touring?

(40:13) McClain get geeked about Junior Varsity

(41:03) Spotify vs Apple Music

(45:25) Rap blogs are powerless now

(46:15) Game: Texting Tunes!

(50:06) Outro

We are a grassroots movement. If you'd like to support and interact with us more please consider joining our Patreon where you can access private discord channels with key members of Live2 and even be invited to zoom calls to chat with us further! patreon.com/livetwocreate We add 7 songs from undiscovered artists EVERY WEEK to this playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7GMd1iZwfZdYxnUgdrEvB2?si=c906388534224ac1 To request a Live2 production for yourself please fill out this form: https://www.livetwocreate.com/request-a-production Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/livetwocreate/?hl=en

Axel Tanner, a professional tastemaker who's made a career out of discovering songs and promoting them online, joins us on the podcast today. He answers questions like whether playlists really drive traffic, which platforms have the best conversions, and how he's structuring equity deals with artists to develop them further. Axel: https://youtube.com/@axeltanner4524

https://www.tiktok.com/@axeltanner

https://www.instagram.com/axel.tanner

(0:00) Intro (0:18) How Axel got into music tastemaking (2:39) Lightning Round! (3:06) Who have you discovered and impacted their career? (4:53) When did you know the switch from producer to curator was working? (5:57) We change locations for some reason (6:05) Does playlisting really drive traffic? (13:33) Out of pocket DMs? (16:53) Do other social platforms drive traffic? (20:27) How is Axel partnering with artists? (23:22) The Lofi Girl Equity Model (26:17) Plans of a label or a JV deal? (27:17) Would Axel ever manage an artist? (33:40) How did Axel find his style and strategy? (36:58) Does Pert ever try to please different Pert fans? (41:33) The Chart Challenge! (45:18) The Guys share their music guilty pleasures (47:01) Outro We are a grassroots movement. If you'd like to support and interact with us more please consider joining our Patreon where you can access private discord channels with key members of Live2 and even be invited to zoom calls to chat with us further! patreon.com/livetwocreate We add 7 songs from undiscovered artists EVERY WEEK to this playlist! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7GMd1iZwfZdYxnUgdrEvB2?si=c906388534224ac1 To request a Live2 production for yourself please fill out this form: https://www.livetwocreate.com/request-a-production Follow us on Instagram! https://www.instagram.com/livetwocreate/?hl=en