There used to be a system in the music industry that gave artists 2–3 years to grow before they ever had to prove anything. Labels funded that growth. They carried the risk. That system is basically gone now, and almost nobody talks about it.
In this episode of Make Belief, I sit down with Sal Oliveri — Nashville-based producer, songwriter, and artist development specialist who helped shape me early in my own career. His credits span pop, rock, R&B, country, Christian, and film, with a Grammy nomination and work connected to artists like Pink, Jack Antonoff, and Billy Joel.
We get into: - What artist development actually looked like before streaming changed everything - Why labels shifted from developing talent to demanding artists arrive “fully formed” - What gets lost — for the artist and the music itself — when that development never happens - What real self-development looks like when there’s no label footing the bill - What Sal saw in me early on that needed developing, and how he approached it
If you’re building something right now without a system behind you, this episode is for you. You’re not behind. The system changed — quietly — and you deserve to know what actually happened.