Alex Peppiatt is a former Senior A&R at Parlophone / Warner Music, where he helped discover and develop breakout stars like PinkPantheress, Ashnikko, CKay, S1mba, and more.Now the founder of All Ways Dance Records, Alex is building a new wave of culturally-led music platforms and redefining what A&R means in today’s industry.🎙️ In this episode, we explore his career journey, what makes a viral artist, how to build independent artist infrastructure, and the future of music talent discovery.📌 Highlights:◼️ How PinkPantheress was discovered and developed◼️ What A&R really means in 2025 - and how it’s changed◼️ Why his label bets on niche, culturally distinct sounds◼️ The difference between managing vs signing artists◼️ What makes a song truly viral - and how to spot it early⏱️ Timestamps:00:00 – Intro01:15 – What does an A&R actually do?04:40 – From Sony to Ministry of Sound: Alex’s first breaks08:50 – Discovering PinkPantheress: the real story14:28 – Building All Ways Dance Records from scratch18:10 – How niche, culture-led music wins in 202423:05 – Viral hits: what made “Rover” & “Love Nwantiti” work27:33 – The rise of independent artist infrastructure30:20 – Management vs Label: how artists choose34:00 – Why “luck” is actually about readiness39:15 – Tips for aspiring A&Rs and artist managers42:00 – Which artist does Alex think will break in 2026?44:30 – Final thoughts and industry advice📲 Follow Alex Peppiatt:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexpeppiatt🎧 Listen to the latest AWD Records releases:https://linktr.ee/allwaysdance📲 Follow Dan Fisk:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danleonfiskTikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@danleonfisk__________________________________________________________________🎵 Music Maestro helps artists and brands grow with music content fans love 🫶🌍 Visit our website:https://www.musicmaestro.co.uk📬 Join our newsletter:http://eepurl.com/gKhqHX📽️ Watch our showreel:https://musicmaestro.box.com/s/vnzcu89ik251sic5uaojto7b1kql0zq3#musicindustry #musicbusiness #musicmarketing #music #podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more.
Dan Fisk catches up with Lewis Newson, a seasoned Senior Digital Marketing & Audience Expert. In this episode, Dan explores Lewis's fascinating transition from a session guitarist on X-Factor to spearheading successful campaigns for No.1 albums from Hozier and The Last Dinner Party. With rich experience from his time at Warner Music, Universal Music, Ministry of Sound, and Cooking Vinyl, Lewis shares his insights on:
The Man. The Woolf. The Legend. Woolfie is a renowned figure in the music industry with decades of experience plugging some of the biggest acts on the planet. In this episode Dan Fisk chats with Woolfie to discuss what Radio Promotions actually is as well as finding out what it's really like to work at a major label like Sony Music. We also touch on some of his highlight campaigns plus delve into his ADHD condition - and of course, his formidable partnership as one half of the iconic duo Leighton & Woolfie.
Mike McNamee is our next guest as we discuss his time at Universal & Sony Music, his near death experience, social media's impact on the music industry and his new business venture Creative Collective Agency.
Creative Collective Agency is a talent management and creative marketing agency, who are obsessed with creating content with purpose and community chatter. Hit them up at info@theccagency.co.uk
Amy Collins was our last guest of the year and joined Dan Fisk to discuss her incredible journey - from her love of the Spice Girls & 00s RnB to presenting an award at the 2023 Women In Music awards. She has worked with some huge artists during her time at Your Army & Island Records as she now looks to the future with her newly launced marketing agency AMCO.
Dan Fisk sits down with Ed Pearson from Because Music - the man responsible for the marketing campaigns of global superstars Major Lazer and brains behind the re-release of dance classic 'Music Sounds Better With You' by Stardust.
This epsiode is the first and for our debut we have Benji Gershon - the founder of creative agency amitybloc and creative consultant for EMI.