Music
Ashley McBryde: An Artist Willing To Listen & Learn Could Save The Future Of Songwriting
Songwriter Soup is a frank discussion about how to make it in the music industry as a songwriter, hosted by 4x GRAMMY nominated songwriter Laura Veltz, financial advisor Tracy Hackney and producer Kevin Sokolnicki.
Songwriter Soup
Published 29 June 2026
Songwriter Soup / W!ZARD Studios

Making it in the music industry takes grit and a lot of patience, but also sound financial advice. Laura Veltz is a 4x GRAMMY-nominated songwriter and has teamed up with Tracy Hackney, a seasoned financial advisor for musicians, to bring you the tips and tricks of the industry. Joined by host and producer, Kevin Sokolnicki, the trio has interviews with some of the most prominent and up-and-coming songwriters and artists in the music industry.

Artist and genuine songwriter advocate, Ashley McBryde (“Girl Goin Nowhere”, “Martha Divine,” “Bible and a .44”) pulls up some couch this week to bring a massive, unfiltered perspective to the pod.

We go everywhere in this one - from Ashley's early days running loss prevention at Guitar Center and getting paid in chicken strips for writers' rounds. We discuss the difference between an artist and a star, as well as the multifaceted experience that comes with pandering to the radio... or not.

But the real crux of this conversation is a heavy, unprotected look at the business side of the artist-writer relationship. The crew breaks down the critical necessity for new artists to negotiate earmarked master points for their songwriters before signing a major label deal (or any deal really!

Indie deals, management deals, etc), and why having the humility to admit you don't actually know your own contract's point structure is (or how it works) might be the vital first step to fixing a broken ecosystem. Listen, learn, change it. IF THERE WERE MORE ASHLEY’s IN THE ARTIST WORLD, this could change EVERYTHING for us.

This is a must listen for anyone in the music industry - artists, songwriters, label people, publishers, managers. We have to change the way we think about a song and its value or songwriters will not be able to afford to be where they belong - in songwriter rooms.

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