How A&R Has Changed - And Where It’s Going Next | Ex-Warner Records A&R Alex Peppiatt
Release Date: 10/10/2025
Music Maestro Podcast
Alex Jukes is the founder of Jukebox and The Tribes — two of the most influential marketing engines in global dance music. Through his work with 150+ festivals worldwide and a 40M-follower creator network, he’s helped shape how events, artists, and brands build audiences in the modern era. Now leading both a full-service creative agency and one of the fastest-growing influencer communities in electronic music, Alex is redefining what festival marketing looks like in 2026 — from raw fan-shot content to micro-raves, cultural storytelling, and algorithm-native campaigns. 🎙️ In...
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
Alex Peppiatt is a former Senior A&R at Parlophone / Warner Music, where he helped discover and develop breakout stars like PinkPantheress, Ashnikko, CKay, S1mba, and more. Now the founder of All Ways Dance Records, Alex is building a new wave of culturally-led music platforms and redefining what A&R means in today’s industry. 🎙️ In this episode, we explore his career journey, what makes a viral artist, how to build independent artist infrastructure, and the future of music talent discovery. 📌 Highlights: ◼️ What A&R really means in 2025 - and how it’s changed...
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineMusic Maestro Podcast
🎙️ This is the Music Maestro Podcast. A show that gets beneath the skin of the music business by speaking to the people that live and breathe this industry. In every show we deep dive into hot topics to explore what's happening right now and what the future holds. Plus we talk about career paths, music tastes and more. 🎵 Music Maestro creates content for the music industry working with labels globally across Sony, Universal & Warner Music.
info_outlineAlex Peppiatt is a former Senior A&R at Parlophone / Warner Music, where he helped discover and develop breakout stars like PinkPantheress, Ashnikko, CKay, S1mba, and more. Now the founder of All Ways Dance Records, Alex is building a new wave of culturally-led music platforms and redefining what A&R means in today’s industry. 🎙️ In this episode, we explore his career journey, what makes a viral artist, how to build independent artist infrastructure, and the future of music talent discovery. 📌 Highlights: ◼️ What A&R really means in 2025 - and how it’s changed ◼️ Why his label bets on niche, culturally distinct sounds ◼️ The difference between managing vs signing artists ◼️ What makes a song truly viral - and how to spot it early ⏱️ Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro 01:15 – What does an A&R actually do? 04:40 – From Sony to Ministry of Sound: Alex’s first breaks 08:50 – Discovering PinkPantheress: the real story 14:28 – Building All Ways Dance Records from scratch 18:10 – How niche, culture-led music wins in 2024 23:05 – Viral hits: what made “Rover” & “Love Nwantiti” work 27:33 – The rise of independent artist infrastructure 30:20 – Management vs Label: how artists choose 34:00 – Why “luck” is actually about readiness 39:15 – Tips for aspiring A&Rs and artist managers 42:00 – Which artist does Alex think will break in 2026? 44:30 – Final thoughts and industry advice 📲 Follow Alex Peppiatt: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexpeppiatt 🎧 Listen to the latest AWD Records releases: https://linktr.ee/allwaysdance 📲 Follow Dan Fisk: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danleonfisk TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@danleonfisk __________________________________________________________________ 🎵 Music Maestro helps artists and brands grow with music content fans love 🫶 🌍 Visit our website: https://www.musicmaestro.co.uk 📬 Join our newsletter: http://eepurl.com/gKhqHX 📽️ Watch our showreel: https://musicmaestro.box.com/s/vnzcu89ik251sic5uaojto7b1kql0zq3 #musicindustry #musicbusiness #musicmarketing #music #podcast