The Stephan Hogan Podcast

When the Dream Becomes a Business

https://www.gofundme.com/f/stephanhoganpodcast Stephan sits down with Mitchell Tenpenny for a real conversation about fatherhood, grief, losing a parent, anger, therapy, phones, social media, AI, fake validation, human connection, and why live music still matters in a world full of content. Mitchell Tenpenny is known for songs like Drunk Me, Truth About You, At the End of a Bar, and his latest chapter as an artist, husband, and soon-to-be father. Mitchell Tenpenny is a multi-platinum country artist, songwriter, and performer with one of the most recognizable voices in modern country music. But this conversation goes far beyond the songs. Mitchell Tenpenny opens up about becoming a father, losing his dad, trying to be present, and the strange weight that comes with chasing something you love. He talks honestly about anxiety, performing live, protecting his voice, and the mental side of walking on stage when thousands of people are expecting you to deliver. Stephan Hogan and Mitchell Tenpenny also talk about what happens when the dream starts working. The number one songs, the pressure to keep going, the expectations, the business, and the moment the thing you love can start to feel like something you have to keep alive. At the center of the conversation is a question a lot of people eventually face: What do you do when the thing you love starts to feel heavy? Toward the end, Mitchell Tenpenny dives deeper into songwriting, Nashville, country music, why some writers get caught trying to impress other writers, and why the best songs are usually the ones that feel honest, simple, and human. Subscribe to The Stephan Hogan Podcast for more conversations with artists, songwriters, music executives, entrepreneurs, and creative leaders shaping the future of music, business, and culture. Connect with The Stephan Hogan Podcast: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephanhogan https://www.instagram.com/stephanhogan https://www.facebook.com/stephanhogan Email: contact@mavericksmediaco.com Filmed in Nashville, TN Produced: Stephan Hogan Mavericks Media Co. Production

Inside the Music Business Playbook - Kent Earls

Kent Earls is one of the music executives behind the scenes helping shape the songs, songwriters, artists, and careers people are talking about in Nashville. In this episode of The Stephan Hogan Podcast, Kent Earls sits down with Stephan to talk about the business behind the hits, from his time as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville to becoming partner at Verse 2 Music, the publishing company built with Kane Brown in partnership with Sony Music Publishing. We talk about Ella Langley, Joybeth Taylor, Verse 2 Music, Kane Brown, Sony Music Publishing Nashville, Nashville music publishing, songwriter development, artist development, creative partnerships, and how leverage is really built in the music business. But this conversation is bigger than country music. Kent shares what artists, songwriters, creatives, entrepreneurs, executives, and decision makers need to understand about trusting your gut, owning your value, choosing the right partners, building relationships, and creating long-term leverage before the deal ever happens. This is an inside look at how high-level music executives think, how publishing companies bet on talent, and how careers are built behind the scenes in Nashville. Topics covered: Kent Earls, Ella Langley, Joybeth Taylor, Verse 2 Music, Kane Brown, Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group Nashville, Nashville music business, music publishing, songwriter development, artist development, music executive, country music, creative entrepreneurship, business leverage, strategic partnerships, trusting your gut, and building value. Subscribe to The Stephan Hogan Podcast for more conversations with artists, songwriters, music executives, entrepreneurs, and creative leaders shaping the future of music, business, and culture. Connect with The Stephan Hogan Podcast: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephanhogan https://www.instagram.com/stephanhogan https://www.facebook.com/stephanhogan Email: contact@mavericksmediaco.com Filmed in Nashville, TN Produced: Stephan Hogan Mavericks Media Co. Production

The Truth Behind 20 Years of Fame - Jake Owen

Jake Owen has lived a lot of life since “Barefoot Blue Jean Night.” The songs. The tours. The success. The public highs. The private lows. The reinvention. And all the things people search for when they want to understand the man behind the music: Jake Owen songs, Jake Owen tour, Jake Owen music, Jake Owen age, Jake Owen married, and yes, even Barefoot Blue Jean Night lyrics. But this conversation is about the part you do not always see. It is about what happens when bitterness starts taking up space in your life. When success does not heal what you thought it would. When the music business gives you so much of what you prayed for, but you still have to decide what kind of man you are going to become. In this episode of The Stephan Hogan Podcast, Jake Owen talks about letting go, staying grounded, faith, fatherhood, fame, country music, and learning how to stop carrying things that only make life heavier. From “Anywhere With You” and “Beachin’” to “Best Thing Since Backroads,” Jake has built the kind of career most artists dream about. But 20 years after fame, the real story might not be the hits. It might be the healing. Connect with The Stephan Hogan Podcast: Subscribe for more blueprints on creative wealth. https://www.tiktok.com/@stephanhogan https://www.instagram.com/stephanhogan https://www.facebook.com/stephanhogan Email: contact@mavericksmediaco.com Filmed in Nashville, TN Produced: Stephan Hogan Mavericks Media Co. Production

The Revision Blueprint: How the "57th Version" Rule Builds Empires

After a career at the summit of the music industry, most recently as the Global Head of Country Music at Apple, Michael Bryan reached a definitive conclusion: scaling without soul is a race to the bottom. In this masterclass on creative discipline and longevity, Michael reveals the Southern Drift manifesto, a blueprint for leaders and creators who want to build empires that last 40 years, not 40 seconds. If you care about ownership, taste, and protecting your upside in a world obsessed with extraction, this conversation is your field guide. In this episode, we break down: * Why Michael walked away from one of the most influential roles in music * What Apple taught him about restraint, integrity, and the long game * Why algorithms cannot replace taste, intuition, and human curation * How artists and leaders can protect their creative leverage in a culture built for speed * What it takes to build something meaningful, high trust, and built to last Connect with The Stephan Hogan Podcast: Subscribe for more blueprints on creative wealth. https://www.tiktok.com/@stephanhogan https://www.instagram.com/stephanhogan https://www.facebook.com/stephanhogan Email: contact@mavericksmediaco.com Filmed in Nashville, TN Produced: Stephan Hogan Mavericks Media Co. Production

Music Finance Expert Exposes Why Artists Give Up Too Much Too Early

The Truth About Music Royalties, Creator Funding, and Long-Term Careers | Alex Heiche Alex Heiche sees the creative business from a rare vantage point. As the founder of Sound Royalties, he works with songwriters, artists, producers, and creators at the intersection of money, ownership, pressure, and long-term career building. Founded in 2014, Sound Royalties is the world’s leading specialty finance company for the global creative industries, providing funding solutions to music professionals, YouTube creators, and TV/Film professionals, without risking ownership of their work. The company works with thousands of rightsholders across over 30 countries and growing, offering core products of royalty financing, tour financing, YouTube financing and, most recently, TV production financing. Sound Royalties closed a record-breaking year in 2025, with $135 million in funded contracts distributed directly to creators.  In this conversation, we talk about how creators can access funding without giving up ownership, why so many artists make short-term money decisions that carry long-term consequences, what separates hype from real career building, and how money, fear, ambition, and creativity all collide in the music business. We also get into publishing deals, distribution, catalogs, leverage, streaming royalties, YouTube monetization, financial literacy for creatives, and why the best careers are usually built by people who keep going without losing belief in what they are making. This is a real conversation about ownership, risk, faith, family, endurance, and the hidden financial side of the creative life. If you care about songwriting, music publishing, royalty advances, creator funding, intellectual property, YouTube monetization, Nashville, artist development, financial freedom for creatives, and building something that lasts, this one is for you. #AlexHeiche #SoundRoyalties #MusicPublishing #Royalties #Songwriting #MusicBusiness #Nashville #ArtistDevelopment #YouTubeMonetization #IntellectualProperty Connect with us: https://www.tiktok.com/@stephanhogan https://www.instagram.com/stephanhogan https://www.facebook.com/stephanhogan Email: contact@mavericksmediaco.com Filmed in Nashville, TN Produced: Stephan Hogan Mavericks Media Co. Production