An Interview with Jordan Taylor from Both Sides of the Barricade

Fandom is the backbone of the music industry, nevertheless it often gets a bad reputation. From racing to the front row at a show, to stan fights on Twitter, sure, it’s a world filled with hysterics, but it’s also what helps artists survive. Jordan Taylor’s podcast, aptly titled “Both Sides of the Barricade”, aims to demystify all of that by interviewing fans and artists alike. The first season of the show has included some noteworthy guests like singer Olivia O’Brien and Grammy-award winning producer FINNEAS. As a fellow fan and a student in music business, Jordan covers all the facets of the music industry with each episode leaving you dreaming about the day you’ll finally be able to be back in a crowd screaming all the lyrics to your favourite songs. In this interview, Jordan and I discussed her podcast, the joys of fandom and the influence it has on the music industry. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Where did you get the idea for your podcast?

[JORDAN:] It was kind of my senior project for my college, but I had the idea for a year before that. I thought about starting a podcast or a YouTube channel where I interviewed people and I never did it, but after realising that I had to do a similar project, I was like “Oh this is perfect.” It took me like six months to think of the name and designing everything. And then, to get the guests on, it was just asking people that I knew or from social media. So, it all kind of happened at once but the idea was brewing for a year. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] What have been the highlights of the podcast? Are there things that you’ve learned from the people you interviewed?

[JORDAN:] For sure. The highlight is just the fact that my favourite part of the week is recording the episode and learning from people that I’m friends with, have gone to shows with or people that make music that I’m a fan of. Every guest that I’ve had was someone where we’ve followed each other on Instagram or something, but I’m genuinely a fan of every artist that I’ve interviewed. So, it was exciting to do that and interact with people that I really love. I’ve learned a lot about the music industry from them because until you’re really in it, there’s a lot that you don’t know so I think that being a student helps me kind of get a head start in terms of that. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] What’s your involvement in the music industry?

[JORDAN:] I’ve done pretty much just freelance stuff, like internships that book pride events and concerts, researching data and demographics. I’ve done freelance marketing work for artists, helping them promote their EPs or albums. I’m trying to dip my toes in a bunch of different things. I love artist development, a lot of the artists that I’ve had on are just starting out or still smaller. I really love that stage; I think they don’t like it because they feel kind of stuck or not huge yet, but I think it’s really cool because they can really form bonds with their fans at that time. And, I also think it’s the most important time to get involved with their fanbase and I love that aspect of that.

[UNPUBLISHED:] How has being a fan or a stan influenced your involvement in marketing and managing artists?

[JORDAN:] Oh, it definitely helps. I think the reason people like me is because I know from that side what I like to see from artists, so I feel like I can kind of speak on both ends as a fan and from the music industry side. Also, just being a fan keeps me involved in new music that’s coming out. I’m always interested in hearing people’s new recommendations so I’m more curious about music and it makes me excited when I interact with artists. It’s still just as exciting as when I was a fan and just going to shows and I think the podcast has helped that because I can’t go to shows right now, so getting to talk to people through Zoom and still getting to have conversations like that is really awesome. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] On the other hand, do you feel like you get misconceived or viewed badly because you’re a fan?

[JORDAN:] Yes, even though I think it’s starting to change, the view that a lot of teen girls get in the music industry is not great. It’s still a male-dominated industry where these grown men watching the industry from their towers are looking down on teen girls and what they like even though we probably provide the most money for the industry out of any demographic. So, I think just taking teenage girls and young women seriously is a huge thing. I can definitely relate to that, being a young woman in the industry, feeling like my ideas aren’t being taken seriously so I have to make my own path. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you see any change happening in the music industry with fans being taken more seriously?

[JORDAN:] For sure. I mean with shows not happening artists are pretty much fully relying on merch sales and livestreams. So, in that way, you’re kind of providing a living for artists, which if you’re a fan, you just want to support them, you don’t really think about it but for artists, it’s a game changer. Because back in the day, a couple decades ago, they didn’t have to think of what the fans thought because they were mainly reliant on record sales so as long as their albums were selling, it was fine. But now because social media can make or break an artist’s career a lot of the time, it’s huge to listen to your fans and what they have to say even if you don’t necessarily do anything about it. It’s important to see what’s going on in their heads.

[UNPUBLISHED:] As a fan and someone in the industry, do you have any examples of artists that are handling their image and interaction with their fans perfectly?

[JORDAN:] When I was watching Billie Eilish grow as an artist, I thought she was doing a great job of just being herself on social media. She doesn’t have Twitter anymore, because it can be pretty negative. But Instagram, she kills it. Thinking of other artists I’ve had on the show, I think Olivia O’Brien is doing great. Even though she's kind of an Instagram model but also an artist, she plays both sides but feels personal and human. And a lot of the times, when you’re following an Instagram model, they’re not as relatable but she does a great job as keeping that relatability. Really anybody who just interacts with their fans is doing a great job and I think that pays off in the end when fans have memories of artists DMing them and that’s really important. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you think that fans have a real impact in influencing cancel culture and stopping artists from having a career?

[JORDAN:] Yeah, cancel culture is a huge thing. I think it’s fair when artists do something really bad. I saw a lot of bands this year get exposed for sexual assault allegations, grooming fans and things like that. And I’d like to think that they get some sort of repercussions, a lot of the times that doesn’t happen which is very unfortunate. In that case, cancel culture is important because it alerts fans that this is a problem that’s occurring and to watch out. However, in a lot of cases I think it’s kind of blown out of proportion so it just depends on the situation, but I do think there are times where it’s very serious and actual actions should be taken but other times it’s just jokes on Twitter so it really depends. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you think there’s a potential to come back from saying problematic things on the internet?

[JORDAN:] I think so. I think it obviously depends on the situation. When it comes to allegations, they shouldn’t, especially if they’re not getting any sort of repercussions for it. In terms of if someone says something stupid, I’m not always in the position to speak on this as a white person, to make that apology accepted but in terms of people who say stupid things and then apologize and try to learn from it. I think it’s a gray area where you can decide for yourself whether you accept the apology or not. But it’s hard because a lot of artists don’t think about it like that. They just think I’m an artist. I just make music and shouldn’t have to worry about stuff  but you need to realize at a certain point that you’re a role model and people look up to you in one way or another. 

[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you believe artists should or have the obligation to speak up on the issues that are happening in the world?

[JORDAN:] That’s the thing, with bigger celebrities, they don’t have to but they have a moral obligation to influence their audience in a positive way. I mean, I don’t know how the US election would’ve turned out because artists were influencing left and right to get people to register to vote. Young voters had a huge turn out that had never been seen before and that’s huge. In that way, it’s super important for artists to speak up and fight for something they care about. But I can understand why some people think it’s not up to them to do that, it depends on the person. You can’t ignore the fact that groups like BTS can influence society in so many ways.

The first season of Both Sides of the Barricade has just finished so you have plenty of time to catch up before Jordan interviews her next batch of guests for season two. And, once you’re done doing that, check out some of her great recommendations in this Spotify playlist.