We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Successfully Unsigned a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Successfully, appreciate you joining us today. One of the toughest things about progressing in your creative career is that there are almost always unexpected problems that come up – problems that you often can’t read about in advance, can’t prepare for, etc. Have you had such and experience and if so, can you tell us the story of one of those unexpected problems you’ve encountered?

An unexpected problem we’ve had is time management. I mean, we of course knew that would be something that would be an issue, but we did not expect HOW big of an issue it would be. We started out the podcast very simply and it was more of a hobby. And then we soon grew more and more and it has now become like a second job for us. The issue is, we don’t always have time to devote a ton of work into the podcast because of our full time jobs and life in general. A really good problem we have is a lot of artists want to come on our show. When we started doing artist interviews, we honestly thought we were gonna have a really hard time finding people, but after just one post on a Facebook group, we suddenly had a ton of people reaching out asking to be on the show. Since then, we’ve had to waitlist people for months on end due to the fact that we just don’t have time for that many interviews. That being said, when we struggle with our time management, there is usually one of us who picks up the slack. We take turns. Perhaps one or two of us is out of town for an extended period of time, then the third person “saves the day” and sets up interviews, posts, etc. We have learned to work with each other really well and have great chemistry in order to create a good balance for our show when one of us is struggling to put in their 100% into the podcast.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Successfully Unsigned is all about helping small, independent artists who are looking to turn their art into a full time career. We ourselves are going through the same experiences and therefore have coined our mission statement to be: “Professional Music Advice from Unprofessionals.” Dale, one of our hosts, started his music career in his teens and ended up at Middle Tennessee State University for audio engineering. He has since graduated with his masters in the same field and writes music on the side. David, our other host, also got his audio engineering degree at MTSU as well, and has been songwriting since he was a kid. He attended Nashville School of the Arts and has had a passion for writing/performing ever since. Patrick, our final host, grew up as a theater kid and entered into the world of radio at his college radio station (also at MTSU), WMTS. He would create playlists as well as look for new artists/songs for his show and along the way, the three of us came together and saw a perfect opportunity. Dale looks at the artist career mostly through an engineer lens, David through an artist’s lens, and Patrick through an audience member who is passionate about finding new artists.

At Successfully Unsigned, we go through a new artist’s journey and how to eventually be successful, whether that be independently, or through a label. We help with writing styles, how to find your sound, how to work a crowd, how write your first song, etc. These all come from personal experiences, or from other artists that we have seen/know. This is where our interviews come in. We have about two interviews a month and talk to (mostly) independent small artists who discuss their experiences as well and what has/as not worked for them. We have had on a few signed artists who have given advice on how to get signed and we have been able to see a lot of these artists grow more and more. That is probably the best part of the job, because we are able to say “We knew them when…” and seeing someone’s career (most of whom have become close friends of ours) grow more and more successful is truly something special and inspiring.

We want artists and fans to see Successfully Unsigned as a place to talk about all the frustrations that come with being an artist, and then to let it all go and be encouraged by us and other artists. We have managed to create a small community in Nashville and meet so many amazing artists (either through interviews, mutual friends, or local shows) that have encouraged us to keep going as well. We are so grateful for our little community!

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

GO TO SHOWS AND LIKE/SHARE EVERYTHING. Part of the reason we have been able to create such a great community in such a short amount of time is our social media presence and strong activity in the local music scene. We typically attend about one local show a week and meet artists that way or we go to support one of our past guests/friends. It is very difficult to be an artist, especially in such an over-saturated environment like Nashville. So, showing up for artists means the WORLD to them and simply just taking a few videos and posting them on your story is really helpful as well. They are often very grateful. Additionally, we make sure to share new music, posts, reels, etc. on our socials in order to help other artists with their algorithm. Leaving a few comments and the occasional share on your story is so helpful and it starts a conversation between you and the artist whether you know them or not. We have had many instances where we will show up at a local show and an artist recognizes us or our name from Instagram because we constantly like/share/comment on their page. In return, they do the same for us. Even if you are not in the music business, recognizing these creative’s hard work is important to encourage them to keep going. So, if you love someone’s music or art, LET THEM KNOW! Small, free actions can go a really long way.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

Our goal is to help/encourage artists to keep going with their music and eventually make it their full time career, either through a record label or independently. Because of this, we would love for Successfully Unsigned to become more than just a podcast at some point. A long-term goal of ours is to eventually be a small record label and help those who are “Successfully Unsigned” to become “Successfully Signed”. Through this program we can shed light on our favorite unknown artists and boost their careers.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://su-podcast.com
• Instagram: @successfully_unsigned
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089372645880
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@successfullyunsigned
• Other: TikTok: @unsignedpodcast

Image Credits

Timely Photography