Interview: Austin Kramer joins Tomorrowland's One World Radio with 'UNreleased with Austin Kramer'

After leaving Spotify, being the Global Head of Dance &‌ Electronic Music, Austin Kramer has another venture up his sleeve. With more than a decade of experience, he has empowered artists across the board and has given them a platform which has allowed them to be exposed to millions of fans worldwide. Now, he’s joining the team at Tomorrowland‘s One World Radio for his very own weekly show. Called ‘UNreleased with Austin Kramer‘, each Monday at 18:30 CEST Austin will showcase ten tracks that are due to come out that same week. Giving the spotlight to the next biggest tracks in dance music that people haven’t heard yet, the 30-minute show will be the perfect launchpad for producers, both already established and newcomers. To get all the information, We Rave You spoke to him.

Hi Austin! Thanks for joining us. The first thing we have to talk about is your partnership with Tomorrowland’s One World Radio for your own weekly show ‘UNreleased with Austin Kramer’. Congratulations! How did this happen and why did you decide to do it?

I’m stoked to be joining the One World Radio team at Tomorrowland! I want to dedicate ‘UNreleased with Austin Kramer’ to working with and encouraging artists, producers, vocalists and instrumentalists – curating and pushing dance music education. The future of music is really about breaking and empowering new artists and continuing to evolve across typical boundaries, whether it be lyrically or instrumentally. My show will be the place to discover new artists and their records from all different genres for the first time, serving as the perfect launch platform for both established and breakthrough artists. One World Radio’s programming is very strong, unique and eclectic, both genre- and artist-wise – listeners really go from Jax Jones to Joris Voorn, seamlessly all day every day. Thanks to its diversity, impeccable mixing and 24/7 flow, One World Radio succeeds in bringing the magic of Tomorrowland and dance music to your home, phone and car – and I’m very happy to be a part of this!

The basis of your show is giving the spotlight to unreleased tracks being released that week. What is your basis for selecting the tracks? Do you have a specific criteria to go by?

Not really, it’s super broad, all subgenres of dance/electronic, but it has to be like OOFTAH that’s a goodie!

How would you like your show to grow and evolve as it goes on? What are your goals with it? 

Consider ‘UNreleased’ as dance music’s weekly cheat sheet with the 10 upcoming records you definitely should know about. We’ll be showcasing and premiering the coolest records live from all different genres in dance music – turning them into the tracks all People of Tomorrow around the world will want to get to know and dance to. ’UNreleased’ will have the goal of exploring genres and previewing new sounds and artists, but with the added creative spirit that Tomorrowland is all about. DJ sets, interviews, and special festival drops!

What do you look for in an electronic track? Do you think there are certain elements that are recipes for success?

Simplicity is key – it’s all about being able to communicate simply, combined with a melody and a beat to stir emotion.

As everyone will know, you were the Global Head of Dance & Electronic Music at Spotify. For producers looking to make it big on Spotify with their tracks, what advice would you give them? 

The secret to making a hit is making sure that your core goal as an artist is to express yourself and put your all behind it – it’s all about artists who believe in their art and create it with their heart.

What is the key to creating a successful playlist? 

Being consistent and creative. Define the set’s purpose/premise and stick to it. But also break the rules once in a while. Much like a DJ set, the audience have expectations but also appreciate surprises.

During the pandemic, there’s no doubt that streaming habits have changed, and Spotify saw an increase in users, many being paid users. What do you think of the change in streaming habits? How do you think this will change once things go back to normal?

Definitely, just like we’ve seen Twitch and Clubhouse livestreams boom last year, people want to be connected and hear the new tunes.

Finally, you’ve also started the Music-Maker Scholarship, encouraging producers to send you song ideas. Can you tell us more about this and why you decided to start this? What are you looking to achieve with it?

My wife Elisha works for Bold.org, like the gofundme of scholarships.  Thank you to her and the team! My goal with the Music-Maker and my past Music scholarship is to encourage students of all musical talents to focus on their love for music. I’m finding so many talented musicians and get inspired reading their biographies. They have so much going on!

‘UNreleased with Austin Kramer’ will be available from April 5, and you can listen to it here.