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

Austin, appreciate you joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

The first time I knew I wanted to pursue a creative path professionally was when I was around 6 or 7 years old. I had gotten ahold of my grandfather’s RCA video recorder, and that’s when the spark for filming took hold. It was around the time Saving Private Ryan came out, so naturally, I became obsessed with making war movies. With no editing software, I had to get creative, using two VCR units to chop Hollywood explosion scenes into my home footage. That process of making something from scratch really got me hooked on the whole creative experience.

Then, at 12, I went to my first concert—Drowning Pool, Disturbed, and Stereo Mud. That night changed everything for me. I saw people filming the bands right on stage, and it blew my mind. The idea that you could capture the energy and intensity of live music through a camera fascinated me.

As I grew up and became a filmmaker, I found myself missing that connection to music. Music has always been a constant in my life, and I love talking about it. Over time, I started to notice that the Dallas music broadcast scene was overlooking fast-paced, alternative genres—the kind of music I’m passionate about. So, instead of just sitting around, I decided to get off my ass and do something about it. That’s how The Austin Young Show was born.

Austin, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For those who don’t know me, I got into podcasting because of my wife, Veronica. I spent years behind the scenes on her shows and projects, and honestly, that was my crash course in building a brand. She taught me everything about the art of interviewing and how to really connect with people. My filmmaking background helped me sharpen the visual side of things—marketing, storytelling structure, all that. It also drilled into me the work ethic to keep grinding, recording, and experimenting until I got it right.

What sets me apart? I’ve got a lifetime in the creative trenches. I’ve worked with every type of person and every background. I’ve been lucky enough to travel the world, seen some mind-blowing stuff, and also some straight-up horrible things. All of that experience gives me a depth of perspective that separates me from the pack. I bring it all to The Austin Young Show—to highlight musicians and creatives with raw, real, and fun interviews. It’s always about keeping it honest and bringing something authentic to the table.

One of the things I’m most proud of is winning the Dallas Entertainment Award for Best Podcast Host this year (2024). That moment of stepping on stage with people I’ve looked up to was surreal. But honestly, every day there’s something new I’m proud of—it’s all part of the hustle.

If there’s one thing I want people to know about my work, it’s that I’m all about giving a platform to alternative music that doesn’t always get its due. The Austin Young Show is a space to celebrate creativity in its rawest form, and I’m just getting started.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In my view, the biggest thing society can do to support artists and creatives is pretty simple—actually pay them a decent rate for their work. Creatives put in a lot of hours, passion, and energy into what they do, and they deserve to be compensated fairly for it. We also need to focus on affordable housing in artistic neighborhoods. Musicians and artists should be able to live in the same places they’re playing and creating in, not be pushed out because of skyrocketing rent.

Another big step would be establishing musicians and artists unions in every city. These unions could help set standard pay rates and offer healthcare—because let’s be real, the gig economy doesn’t come with benefits. On top of that, we need to put an end to the pay-to-play promoter practices that take advantage of artists, especially in the local scenes. The entire ecosystem thrives when artists are supported and given the space and resources to do their thing without being exploited.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

NFTs? Man, they’re like the ultimate digital snake oil. People are out here paying insane amounts of money for JPEGs that you can literally right-click and save. It’s like buying air, but with more hype and neon graphics. Honestly, NFTs feel like someone took the phrase “there’s a sucker born every minute” and turned it into a whole market.

I mean, come on—“digital ownership”? Yeah, I can digitally own a screenshot of my Spotify playlist too, but that doesn’t mean anyone’s paying me in crypto for it. It’s just a scam wrapped in buzzwords. You wanna support artists? Buy their actual work, go to their shows, grab their merch—not some pixelated monkey that costs more than a house.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.austinyoungshow.com
• Instagram: @theaustinyoungshow
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/jMi1gRZNuduwJFm3/?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Youtube: @theaustinyoungshow
• Other: Spotify:
  https://open.spotify.com/show/2jxdmNO7EYfr1A6Z5AKpEa?si=V6v4GF1XRRiZMcDwxliY2Q

Image Credits

Veronica Young
Elizabeth Miller Groom