HOOKED Episode 06 | Chad Hillard, Lance Goodman & the Data That Finds Stars First
Episode Summary
Episode 06 was the data episode. And the data didn't care about anyone's feelings.
Chad Hillard — founder of Before The Data and Hillydilly, the legendary A&R scout credited with the early discovery of Billie Eilish and Lorde — and Lance Goodman — Co-Founder and President of Spintel, the lethal architect of modern music analytics who runs radio airplay data and marketing campaigns for every major label on the planet — sat the panel and turned the meat grinder into an analytical machine.
The tone was set early: Hollis declared a drinking game — if the panel says anything nice about an artist, they drink. Nobody got drunk.
Chad dropped the AI bomb first. Joy Rhodes, a clearly AI-generated artist, had 1.6 million user-generated content pieces. His verdict: consumers don't care whether the music is human or not. The market has already spoken. The industry is fighting a narrative that's already dead. Then he turned to the artists in the room and stripped away every excuse: "If you're crying about that, don't be an artist." You either connect with an audience online or you die. Plan B is for hobbyists. Excuses don't stream.
"If you're crying about that, don't be an artist." — Chad Hillard
Lance matched that energy from the data side. When David Slayton stepped up, he got the raw math: posting 0.1 times a week isn't a strategy, it's a prayer. Bennett Keenan got the prize-fighter speech — trying to be an artist right now is a complete waste of time unless you're willing to fight for it every single day. Jamiriha Phillips played it safe on her first pass, and Hollis demanded she go deeper — the Erykah Badu performance that followed was night and day.
But Chad also dropped the biggest paradox of the show's run: the single most important thing an artist can do is stop listening to the panel. Fiercely protect your connection with the music and your audience. The advice, the data, the critique — none of it matters if you don't believe in what you're making with absolute conviction.
No gatekeepers. No playbook. No safety nets.
Episode 06 is LIVE. Hit play and #gethooked. 🪝
