Bringing a VH1 “Behind The Music” approach to podcasting, iHeartMedia is rolling out “Song Stories,” a new series in which chart-topping musicians share the backstories of their songwriting process, production collaborations and live touring tales. Hosted by Jordan Runtagh, a writer and executive podcast producer at iHeartRadio, the series launches July 20 with new episodes dropping every Wednesday on iHeartRadio and other podcast platforms.
Getting the artist-driven series out of the gate is Finneas, a behind-the-stars songwriter, music producer, and actor who rose to fame in the late 2010s for his contributions to the music of his sister Billie Eilish – both in the studio and on the road. He has since come into his own as a singer/songwriter with his “Blood Harmony” EP in 2019 and 2021’s full-length “Optimist.” On the podcast, he will offer an inside look into the creation of “Optimist,” an album shaped largely by the events of 2020.
“My connection with my fans is so important to me, and I’ve loved sharing my album with them,” Finneas said in a news release. “I’m so excited to team up with iHeartRadio to bring them into the intimate process of making the album through this podcast. It’s an important piece of me and I can’t wait for them to hear how it came together.”
The series is a natural for iHeart where music is the lifeblood for the majority of its nearly 900 broadcast radio stations. The company sees “Song Stories” as a natural extension of recent podcasts like “Inside the Studio,” which has featured interviews with legends like Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, Dave Matthews, Lenny Kravitz, Katy Perry, Saweetie, Bebe Rexha and more.
There is certainly room for growth in podcasting’s music category. Only 4.8% of podcasts are about music, or about 168,000, according to the podcast database Listen Notes.
“Music is the lifeblood of iHeartRadio, and we pride ourselves in connecting fans to the artists and music they love in a way that creates immersive, unforgettable experiences,” said Conal Byrne, CEO of iHeartMedia Digital Audio Group. “The extremely personal process of creating new music, putting it down on ‘tape’ and then touring the world with it is in-and-of itself a story that fans want to hear – and ‘Song Stories’ will do just that in podcast form, amplifying those stories even more through iHeartRadio’s massive broadcast, digital and social reach.”