SCRATCH TRACK: Build a Fearless Music Career
Welcome to the podcast for grown-up musicians. This is your creative playground — a space for any artist ready to build (or rebuild) a music career on their own terms.
If you're balancing your music dreams with a day job, a family, or a full life, consider this your permission slip to ditch the grind-culture gurus, stop chasing algorithms, and start making smarter moves that actually fit your world.
Hosted by Chris Robley — veteran music marketer, critically praised songwriter, and award-winning poet — with 18+ years at the forefront of the indie music industry (CD Baby, BandLab, The DIY Musician Podcast, and more).
Scratch Track delivers short, sharp episodes packed with practical music promo strategies and no-BS advice.
Because you don't have to hustle harder or play by broken rules. Trust your own damn path, and take fearless steps toward the career you deserve.
Presented by DEMO — a great music marketing resource for indie artists looking to cut through the noise and work smarter, not harder.
- Update frequency
- every 4 days
- Average duration
- 16 minutes
- Episodes
- 10
- Years Active
- 2025
What the Hell Do I Even Write About (When Nothing's Happening)?
You stare at a blank screen. The cursor blinks. You know you should email your fans… but what the hell do you even write about when you don’t have a new song, tour, or video?
That’s exactly what we’r…
Before & After: How to Fix Your Music Emails
Let's put two real artist newsletters under the microscope for a “music email makeover.” With just a few simple tweaks, these emails could’ve gone from forgettable to fan-building gold.
Unfortunately…
The Secret to Emails That Don’t Suck (and Get Fans to Act)
Your emails shouldn’t read like random diary entries you toss into the void. They also shouldn't read like the front page of a newspaper. They should feel like treasure maps—leading your fans step by…
Get Your Fans Off Instagram (For Real) 🔥
Relying on Instagram likes and algorithm roulette isn’t a music career strategy — it’s a trap. In this episode, we’ll show you how to move your fans off social and onto an email list you actually own…
The Most Underrated Tool in Music Marketing
You’re sitting on a marketing goldmine — and you’re probably ignoring it. While social media dangles likes and algorithmic reach, this tool quietly outperforms it… by a lot.
In this episode, I’ll sh…
The Hard Truth About Spotify
Is Spotify the villain indie musicians think it is — or just an easy scapegoat? In this episode of Scratch Track, we break down the real story behind Spotify's controversial royalty model, its update…
What if they HATE my song?
You pour your heart into a song, feel that fleeting pride... then doubt sneaks in: What if people hate it? What if you look like a fraud?
This episode is about wrestling your creative fear to the gro…
“I Want to Remove My Music from Spotify — Am I Crazy?”
Musicians are saying it all the time: "Spotify sucks. I should just pull my music." And some of them — including notable acts like Deerhoof — are actually following through.
But is that a smart move?…
Why Artists Keep Getting Screwed — And Saying Yes Anyway
Musicians are beautiful dreamers — which is probably why we keep saying yes to things that devalue our work!
In this episode of Scratch Track, we dig into the psychology, pressure, and broken incenti…
Finally. Music Marketing for Grown-Ups. (Scratch Track Trailer)
Welcome to Scratch Track — the podcast for grown-up musicians who still believe in their music… but don’t have time to chase every trend, hack, or algorithm.
If you’re juggling jobs, kids, bills, a…