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Let’s review Front Row’s top 20 podcasts for musicians. We’ll discuss:
(in no particular order)
Link: https://futurefriday.net/
Guitarist Tom May from American rock band The Menzingers hosts this podcast, which features conversations and stories with his musician friends and others at home and on the road.
Notable episodes include #10 with vocalist/guitarist Lauren Denitzio of Worriers, #17 with singer and guitarist of Broadway Calls, Ty Vaughn and #19 with Dave Hause (American singer-songwriter).
Link: https://www.twfps.com/
This show takes its name from San Pedro, California and is hosted by acclaimed bassist, vocalist and songwriter Mike Watt (NME voted Watt one of the “40 Greatest Bassists of All Time”).
Each episode begins with a John Coltrane song, and then Watt plays an “eclectic mix of underground music” and interviews guests about their musical history and other topics. Famous guests have included Flea, Barrence Whitfield and Peter Stampfel.
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/walking-the-floor-with-chris-shiflett/id725700990
Chris Shiflett, guitarist for Foo Fighters, hosts “Walking The Floor” where he engages a wide range of musical guests, writers and artists in one-on-one interviews exploring their creative inspirations, failures, successes and everything in between.
Notable episodes include #6 and #7 with Dwight Yoakam, #12 with Steve Earle, #73 with Lucinda Williams, #147 with Todd Snifer and #181 with Tommy Lee.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questlove_Supreme
Created in 2016, Questlove Supreme is a weekly podcast hosted by The Roots’ drummer Questlove.
A combination of interviews, humor, pop culture and music, the program normally features musical guests, such as Darius Rucker, John Densmore, Mariah Carey, Solange, Q-Tip, The Revolution and even Weird Al. Magazine Consequence of Sound summed the show up as a “music junkie's dream.”
Link: https://audioboom.com/channel/turned-out-a-punk
Damian Abraham, the lead singer of a Toronto-based punk band, created this podcast.
Each week, Abraham sits down and chats with an interesting person from the far-reaching worlds of entertainment to find out how their life was changed by the discovery of punk music. Guests are normally (not always) musicians, including Jason Williamson, Fat Mike Burkett, Steve Diggle, Dean Spunt, Mike Watt and Jay Bentley.
Link: https://brokenrecordpodcast.com/
The Broken Record podcast is hosted by acclaimed music producer Rick Rubin and features writer Malcolm Gladwell (of Blink and Outliers fame). In this podcast, “the musicians you love talk about their life, inspiration and craft.”
There have been interesting interviews with many famous musicians on this podcast, including Rivers Cuomo, Ben Folds, Jack White, Wyclef Jean, Flea, Bruce Springsteen and the Beastie Boys.
Link: https://www.sodajerker.com/podcast/
This podcast from the UK features interviews with some of the world’s most successful songwriters, including Jeff Tweedy, Lucinda Williams, Matt Berninger, Billy Ocean and Rufus Wainwright.
Hosted by UK songwriting duo Simon Barber and Brian O’Connor (Sodajerker).
Link: https://podcast.cdbaby.com/
DIY Musician features interviews with artists of all styles and backgrounds who have found a unique but authentic pathway to success, as well as in-depth discussions with music publicists, promoters, lawyers, publishers, talent agents and more.
This podcast is geared toward independent musicians who want to build a sustainable music career without giving up (too much) financial or creative control. Hosted by guitarist Kevin Breuner (Smalltown Poets) and pop lyricist Chris Robley (The Sort Ofs).
Link: https://www.canadianmusicianpodcast.com/
Launched in 1979, Canadian Musician is a magazine profiling musicians (usually Canadian ones), published bi-monthly. Their podcast was launched in 2013 and features many interesting interviews with musicians, including Brendan Canning, Randy Bachman, Dallas Smith and Jason Collett.
This podcast features in-depth conversations and insider information on timely topics from around the music industry.
Note: Front Row has contributed to Canadian Musician magazine; see article: INSURE YOUR GEAR: Unfortunate Examples of Instrument Damage
Link: https://somethingaboutthebeatles.com/
Something About the Beatles is an intelligent and entertaining examination of The Beatles' music and career. “Smart, funny and surprising; just like the Fab Four.” The podcast often features interviews with insiders who knew The Beatles well, including photographer Ethan Russell.
Robert Rodriquez, an award-winning author who has written extensively about The Beatles (including the book Revolver: How the Beatles Re-Imagined Rock 'n' Roll; Amazon Affiliate Link), hosts the podcast.
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/music-business-hacks/id1343284015
A music business podcast made for artists who are looking for clear information, inspiration and application for their careers. Ideas are broken down into steps that musicians can use to advance their career. The podcast is written and hosted by Simon Tam, founder of rock band The Slants.
Episodes include #356, which focuses on the world of k-pop, #341, which explores helpful fitness routines for musicians and #312, which is about record labels and demos.
Link: https://songexploder.net/
Song Exploder is a music podcast created by musician Hrishikesh Hirway, who hosted it from its 2014 inception until late 2018 and again from December 2019 onwards. This biweekly podcast features musicians talking about the creative process behind an individual song while "deconstructing" the song into its component parts.
The songs highlighted on the program have ranged from pop to hardcore punk to television theme songs, film scores and video game music.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_Opinions
Sound Opinions is an independent radio talk show and podcast based in Chicago. It focuses on the discussion of music genres, history, artists and albums.
This podcast is hosted by American music critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot and features interviews with musicians and industry figures as well as dissections of classic albums and musical movements. Kot and DeRogatis review recent record releases and under-the-radar albums.
Link: https://www.nytimes.com/column/popcast-pop-music-podcast
Popcast is The New York Times's pop music podcast about music news, new songs, albums and artists of note. Jon Caramanica, an American pop music critic for The Times, hosts this podcast. It covers the latest in popular music criticism, trends and news.
Past episodes have covered an eclectic mix of artists, including Taylor Swift, Mariah Carey, Ennio Morricone, Kenny Rogers, Post Malone, Prince, Kanye West, among others.
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Songs_Considered
All Songs Considered (a project of National Public Radio/NPR) is a weekly podcast launched in January 2000 by American musician and media personality Bob Boilen. This podcast is a source of discovery for new music of all genres.
The podcast has interviews with both emerging and established musicians, including Ed O’Brien, John Legend, Wayne Coyne and Cat Stevens. “Hear songs that can completely change your day, with humor, heart and (sometimes) a whole lot of noise.”
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-soundtrack-show/id1351960656
The Soundtrack Show is a look at film scores and soundtracks for some of the most popular movies, TV Shows, Video Games and Theater pieces of all time.
Notable episodes have analyzed the film scores of Home Alone, The Karate Kid, The Goonies, Casablanca, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rocky, Psycho and many others.
Link: https://songvssong.libsyn.com/
Hosted by Todd (in the Shadows) Nathanson and SyFy's Dany Roth, Song vs. Song pits two similar songs of an era against each other with controversial outcomes.
Some past episodes have featured “battles” between The Shins vs. Death Cab for Cutie, Korn vs. Limp Bizkit, Neutral Milk Hotel vs. The Magnetic Fields, Backstreet Boys vs. 'N Sync, Franz Ferdinand vs. Modest Mouse, Cher vs. Tina Turner, and many others.
Link: https://www.middleclassmusician.co/podcast
Candid conversations with the working force of the music industry. This Nashville-based podcast explores what it really looks like to make a living in one of the fastest changing industries in the world. Hosted by American singer/songwriter Andrew Galucki.
“The middle class musician is the music professional who is finding a way to make a living in the post-Napster world.”
Link: https://stickynotespodcast.libsyn.com/
Sticky Notes is a classical music podcast for everyone. Whether you are a beginner just looking to get into classical music but don't know where to start, or a seasoned musician interested in the lives and ideas of your fellow artists, this podcast is for you.
This podcast has interviews with top artists of today, in-depth looks at specific pieces from the repertoire, and deep dives into each era of classical music, plus much more.
Link: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/charlie-likes-music/id1493325429
Charlie Short, a Chicago-based musician, hosts this podcast. Short plays bass, guitar, sings and has played in and around the Midwestern US for ~20 years. On his podcast, he talks about recorded music through the lens of music that he likes.
Short covers the history of musicians and groups, as well other interesting facts about music. He tries to bring attention to music that many have not heard before.
If you’re listening to podcasts about music, chances are that you own some musical instruments; perhaps you’re even a musician yourself. And if you own valuable instruments, you should consider protecting them with musical instrument insurance.
Front Row’s insurance for musical instruments (Canada) is a good option for insuring your musical instruments, including guitars, violins, drums, etc. You can get a quote and purchase a policy online in just a few minutes, or read more about the coverages available on the instrument insurance site.
About: Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc. is an independent insurance broker that provides musical instrument insurance for a very low cost. Should a claim occur, Front Row works diligently with clients and insurers to expedite the payment of claims.
One of Front Row’s specialties is creating custom insurance packages for musicians. This can include tour liability and coverage for recording studios.
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