Lua, Merel and Guillermo dive into this topic together with our guest Yannick Tinbergen, the owner of Haarlem-based musicplatform and independent label Geertruida.

Joined by Tomas, a music technology and marketing expert with experience at Nettwerk, Warner, Sony, and Stomp NL, we discuss how artists can build sustainable international careers while staying true to their local identity. Discover insights on glocalization, audience growth, and the future of music in an increasingly connected world.

Through our conversation with producer and creative professional Max van Nol, aka Mazan Music, we dive into how artists use storytelling, social media, visuals, and authenticity to build stronger connections with audiences and develop a recognizable artistic identity.

Together with music marketing professional Thi Nguyen, we talk about the changing role of radio, television, live events, TikTok, streaming platforms, and social media in artist promotion. Drawing from his experiences at Topnotch/Universal and Warner/Atlantic, artist management, and campaigns with artists such as Nelg, SBMG and Kaya Imani, Thi shares insights into what makes a successful music campaign today and how the industry continues to evolve.

In this episode, we sit down with Mark who is an indie artist with years of experience in the music industry to talk about selling t-shirts, merch culture, and the realities behind making it work as an artist through a casual and honest conversation.

From hip hop and R&B to electronic music and jazz inspired productions, sampling has become a core part of how artists create new sounds, but it also raises important legal and ethical questions.

Joining the conversation is independent producer ProdByGen (Alfie), a young beatmaker who began producing music during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspired by his musical family and early experimentation with stems, MP3 samples, and digital audio workstations like FL Studio, Alfie shares how sampling became both a creative outlet and a way to collaborate with artists. He explains how manipulating sounds and transforming existing music can lead to entirely new artistic ideas while also discussing the realities of copyright, sample clearance, and the challenges faced by independent producers.

The episode also dives into whether sample length truly matters in practice, how platforms and legal systems impact creative freedom, and how AI generated music is beginning to reshape originality, authorship, and the future of the music industry. Alfie offers an honest perspective on balancing creativity with legal awareness, encouraging upcoming producers to experiment fearlessly while remaining conscious of copyright when working professionally.

Tune in as we unpack the balance between financial support and maintaining authenticity in live music events.