SOUND ADVICE: HOW OLLY CARTER IS BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS FOR LIVERPOOL’S INDEPENDENT MUSIC SCENE

When Olly Carter first had the idea for Sound Advice, he wasn’t just thinking about launching another music podcast – he wanted to create a platform that offered real, practical guidance for emerging artists.

“So much industry advice is retrospective,” he explains. “It looks at artists who are already huge and treats their path as the only way to succeed. The problem is that doesn’t get into what it’s really like to be an artist on-the-ground, and there’s very little out there on stuff like how to get booked for local shows, work with a producer for the first time, build something on a budget, and so on. That’s who I wanted to make a podcast for.” As the show has grown, so has its scope, moving beyond grassroots artist development to explore broader topics like sustainability, music policy, and discrimination in the music industry.

Liverpool’s music scene is in constant motion, shifting with the rise of new artists and collectives. “One of the things that’s amazing about Liverpool’s music scene is that because it isn’t the biggest, it only takes a few artists to make waves for the vibe to completely shift,” Olly says. “Right now, there’s loads of amazing folk and Americana in the city, with artists like Astles, Toria Woolf, Grace Elizabeth Harvey, and Jensyn. The Narrative has played a massive part in that shift. And you can see the same thing happening with Moonfrog Presents and all the incredible, trippy, shoegazy bands like A Lesser Version, Dog Sport, Captain Crocodile, and Steel.”

Through Sound Advice, Olly has had conversations with a range of industry professionals, but one that particularly stood out was his discussion with Mark Davyd from the Music Venue Trust. “He talked about the new £1 levy on stadium show tickets that’s going to fund grassroots music, which is great. But what really surprised me was his idea of opening a wind farm to provide affordable energy to venues across the UK. He worked out that it could save grassroots venues up to £40,000 a year! It was refreshing to hear such a big-picture approach to making live venues sustainable both environmentally and financially.”

For Olly, Liverpool’s independent music community is unique, but it has its challenges. “It’s difficult to compare it to other cities because Liverpool is the only scene I’ve ever truly known,” he admits. “Obviously, the industry is still very London-centric. There’s very little in the way of record labels, booking agencies, or infrastructure up here, and it’s a shame because it means that so many artists feel like they have to move away to build their careers. Take Luvcat, for example – an amazing artist from Liverpool who’s signing record deals, touring Europe, and doing incredible things, but most of her success has come after moving to London.”

Despite the industry’s centralisation in London, Olly sees Liverpool as a great training ground for artists. “It’s such a friendly scene with an amazing community of like-minded creatives to collaborate with and be inspired by. Small venues and promoters actually take a chance on new artists and don’t charge the earth for tickets. I know a few people who’ve been able to go full-time in music through freelancing, but that’s twice as hard in London because of the cost of living.”

One of the biggest misconceptions he encounters from emerging artists is the idea that they have to be “ready” before putting themselves out there. “People think they need to have everything mapped out before they start making music or playing shows,” he says. “By all means, plan ahead. It’s good to be prepared, but if you don’t start until everything is perfect, then you’ll never achieve anything. You’ve got to just put yourself out there, accept that you’re bound to make mistakes along the way, and learn as much as you can from doing what you love.”

Beyond the podcast, Olly has organised live events like Nu Wave, which brings the local music community together. “It’s so great to bring everyone under one roof and get people talking. We wanted to put something on that had the benefits of going to a music industry conference but without the crazy prices. Sometimes those conferences are so extortionate that they exclude the artists who would actually get a lot out of them. Sound Advice has always been about democratising access to those industry voices, so it was lovely to create an event that filled that gap and allowed people to connect over the challenges they’re facing in the local music scene. That sense of community and collaboration is what makes Liverpool’s music scene what it is.”

Looking ahead, Olly hopes to expand Sound Advice into more live spaces, whether that means panel events, showcase gigs, or something that blends the two. “I’m keen to keep bringing in new, interesting guests and talking about different topics in the music industry. But in particular, I want to do more live stuff this year. It’s all about keeping the conversation going.”

And in a city like Liverpool, where independent artists, promoters, and creatives continue to build something special despite the challenges, that conversation is more vital than ever.

Written by Kieran Irvine