How Amy McDonald used Music + Talk to provide fans with context for her latest album

Here we look at how Scottish singer-songwriter Amy McDonald utilized Spotify’s Music +Talk show tool to give fans track-by-track insight into her latest release ‘The Human Demands.’

Guest post by Timothy “timmhotep” Cornwall for Spotify for Artists

The Scottish singer-songwriter is known for her emotive and relatable lyrics. Using the Music + Talk format, she gave fans a track-by-track breakdown of inspirations and experiences that inform the songs on her album, ‘The Human Demands.’

Amy Macdonald writes from the heart. Since beginning her career as a teenager in the mid-aughts with her breakout hit “This Is Life,” the now 33-year-old Scottish singer-songwriter has earned a loyal international fanbase while amassing 2 million-plus monthly listeners on Spotify.

Released in October 2020, The Human Demands is her most personal album to date — it deals with her maturation as a woman and as an artist. Macdonald’s intention in creating such an intimate album was to make something fans could relate to. The stories are personal, but the feelings and experiences they describe are universal. On the album, you’ll hear songs about falling in love, like “Fire,” which is dedicated to her pro soccer player husband Richard Foster; rock tunes like “The Hudson,” a nostalgic look back at the past inspired by her parents’ trip to the gritty New York City of the 1970s; and melancholy acoustic guitar-driven songs like “Statues,” which is about her childhood home and the bittersweet memories it conjures up.

If seeing is believing, then listening is understanding. To give her fans more context about the ideas, experiences, and emotions that inspired the album, Macdonald used the Music + Talk show format to record a track-by-track breakdown of the songs on the album. Spotify for Artists caught up with her to find out more about her reason for doing the show and what she wants to communicate to fans. https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/show/4FBEKEDuQ4vaclGR8A0hNU

Why is it important for you to show your fans the thought process behind your music/work?

I think people just love to hear the inspiration behind their favorite songs. Music is subjective, and people take completely different things from songs, but I think they still love to know where the song came from. One of my favorite things about performing live is chatting with the audience and telling them the background behind the songs. I haven’t been able to do that now for over a year [due to the pandemic], so it was great to have a platform like Spotify where I could tell those stories and engage with my fans like I used to do on stage.

What was it like to reflect upon the creation of your album while making this show?

It was really great to think back to the days spent writing and recording the album. I have so many wonderful memories of that time and it was really lovely to sit down and reminisce about it. I am also an expert in talking nonsense, so it was great to do that with purpose.

Your Music + Talk show has been well received on Spotify — how do you feel knowing that many of your fans will now listen to your record with the added context you offered up in your Music + Talk show?

I love that fans have all the info about my songs, but ultimately I’m happy for people to take whatever they like from my music. Music is so powerful. It can transport us back to so many different times in our lives and remind us of many different situations. It’s really cathartic for me to be able to sit and talk about the songs in an open and honest way without the worry that someone will take you out of context. I quite like that people can be totally surprised by the real meaning behind a song. I have loads of songs that were written about the most boring or inconsequential moment that it’s quite funny when people find out the true meaning.

Have you heard from fans regarding their reception of the show and the insight it offered them into your creative process?

Yes, I’ve heard from so many fans all over the world who have loved hearing the anecdotes behind all the songs. I write songs about life and there’s always a story to tell from every tune. I’m not a particularly prolific songwriter, so every song has its own unique story. As much as people seem to have loved the stories behind the songs, there is also a large portion who just want to hear my accent and have told me they’d listen to me reading the phone book—but I’m glad they got to learn the stories behind the songs as well as enjoying the Scottish accent.

What artist would you most want to hear do a track-by-track Music + Talk deep dive about one of their records?

When I was making my first album, I listened to the album Through The Windowpane by a band called Guillemots. I have so many memories from that record and it would be amazing to hear the background of the album.

If you’d like to connect with listeners and make your own Music + Talk show, you can do so for free with Anchor, Spotify’s podcasting platform. Anchor contains everything that you need to create and publish a show—from recording and editing the talk segments, to adding music tracks via the “Music” tool, to publishing your final product to Spotify and measuring the performance of your show.

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