Visit the deluxe show notes page: http://penfriend.rocks/mary

Read the text version: http://penfriend.rocks/mary-ts

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Thanks for listening!

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About my guest: combining her sultry voice and electric guitar to create rock songs infused with blues and soul, Mary Spender’s songwriting showcases her virtuosic style of guitar playing as well as her wide vocal range. Mary has amassed over 46 million hits on her YouTube channel, with nearly half a million subscribers watching her weekly videos, predominantly targeted towards guitarists and singer/songwriters.

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She also offers online courses in Ableton Live (with producer Rachel K Collier) and Fingerstyle Guitar for Beginners on her website maryspender.com.

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In this episode, we discuss finding a smarter way to grow your audience as a musician – opting out of the traditional singer-songwriter slog to make a full-time job of being a guitar nerd, what it takes to go from zero to half a million YouTube subscribers, how finishing John Mayer’s song for him led to a surprise package in the post and negative online comments – finding empathy for those who love to hate you on the internet.

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About your host: I'm Laura Kidd, a music producer and solo artist releasing music as Penfriend. Come and grab two free songs plus letters about art and music from http://penfriend.rocks/hello.

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Here's the direct link for my YouTube video about slaying your inner critic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3RQWj88Jck&t=1s

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AND my new album “Exotic Monsters” is out now: http://penfriend.rocks/exoticmonsters

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Recommended listening after this: Ep44: Ken Stringfellow (The Posies / R.E.M. / Big Star) on saying "yes" and Ep11: Skating Polly on the importance of dedication

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