8 Podcasts To Inspire Your Music Career

Podcasts have completely changed the way we consume media. When done well, the right podcast can completely open your mind, transform the way you see the world, and inspire new ideas. It can offer clarity on details that have had you completely stuck, or new perspective on a problem you hadn’t considered.

What I’m saying is, podcasts are powerful. And when you’re armed with the right combination, they can help transform your mindset and career in ways you can’t even imagine.

We’ve put together some of our favorite podcasts for opening your mind and offering clarity in your music career. While there’s a good dose of music centric ones on there, there’s more than a few that have nothing to do with music whatsoever. Don’t be so quick to discount these—they’re on here for a reason.

Sometimes it takes stepping outside of what we know, getting out of our heads and away from the “music 24/7” mentality, and listening to something totally different that can truly inspire change.

Here’s 8 podcasts to help inspire your music career.

How I Built This

NPR’s “How I Built This” is one of my all-time favorite entrepreneurial podcasts. One of the key ingredients to an awesome podcast is having a strong host that’s relatable, easy to listen to, and has an intuitive nature to the way they interview their guests. NPR’s Guy Raz is exactly that. For roughly an hour each episode, you get an inside look into the mindset of a diverse mix of entrepreneurs. Their successes, their failures, and their learning moments all become part of your learning process.

Past guests include: Troy Carter (Lady Gaga’s ex-manager) Southwest Airlines, VICE, Five Guys, Airbnb, Carol’s Daughter, Burton Snowboards.

Music-Preneur Mindset Podcast

The Music-Prenuer Mindset Podcast is a refreshing addition to the music community, as it takes an angle not often talked about: mindset. Speaking directly to DIY musicians, host Suz Paulinski helps artists go from struggling DIY musician to confident Music-Prenuer, all while growing a sustainable career in the music industry.

The ManageMental Podcast

Hosted by Blasko and Mike Mowery, two experienced artist managers and industry professionals, the ManageMental Podcast brings you its take on an ever-changing (but always pertinent) list of topics that directly affects DIY artists. Blasko and Mowery offer advice on everything from growing your following, to public relations, booking, management, sales and expanding your reach. They even take fan questions, so you can submit your own topics!

Impact Theory with Tom Bilyeu

A business and mindset interview style podcast, Impact Theory aims to inspire greatness and educate its listeners with the secrets to success. Hosted by co-founder of Quest Nutrition and Former host of the viral hit Youtube series Inside Quest, Tom Bilyeu, this is one of those “fire you up” kind of shows.

Song Exploder

Song Exploder is such a unique podcast because it’s an inside look at the process behind some of your favorite musicians’ most famous songs. Guests of Song Exploder take apart their songs piece by piece on air, telling the inner most workings of how they were made.

Past Guests Include: Nine Inch Nails, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jack Johnson, CHVRCHES, Hozier, and Metallica

TED Radio Hour

Do you love TED Talks? Then you’re going to love the TED Radio Hour. Each week they focus on one theme, bringing together snippits of 3-4 different TED talks to highlight that theme, as well as exclusive interviews with the speakers. This is one of those shows that hosts a variety of topics that you never knew you were interested in—and it’ll definitely open your mind in the process.

Past Topics Include: Forgiveness, Decisions, Crisis and Response, The Right to Speak, Misconceptions, and The Person You Become

Wesam’s World

Get inside actor Wesam Keesh’s mind as he interviews actors, artists, athletes, and more. With injections of humor amidst serious life/craft talks, this is a great balance for those who want to be inspired without feeling too weighed down.

The Goal Digger Podcast

Catchy name, right? Host Jenna Kutcher leads this live-workshop style business podcast to help you redefine success, leave your 9-5, and chase your dreams.

Past Topics Include: Creating digital products, email lists 101,  Money Mindset, Business Automation

The Ground Up Show

With a tagline that says “A podcast about the journey”, you kind of know this one is going to be worth the download. Hosted by Award-winning filmmaker Matt D’Avella (Minimalism), The Ground Up Show chats with creatives about how to get things done—plain and simple. At over 2 million downloads, you’ll be in good company.

Music Industry 360

Had to throw in Symphonic’s very own podcast! In case you haven’t already tuned in, Music Industry 360 is a music industry podcast that aims to educate new and existing musicians about tools in the industry, while sharing knowledge to help artists take their careers to the next level. With a new episode monthly, it’s definitely worth checking out.