🎧 You don’t have to be an artist to build a career in music.
In this clip, Carl Loben takes us back to the early days of carving out a non-performing career in the music industry, long before the internet made everything accessible.
From his first review at Melody Maker…
to teaching himself to DJ at underground parties…
to building knowledge purely through experience and instinct…
We get into:
📰 Getting your first byline — and the buzz that comes with it
🎧 How journalism and DJing fed into each other
📚 Learning music without Google, Shazam, or social media
🧠 Why deep knowledge used to be essential — and still matters
🔥 Finding your own lane in music without being a performer
Back then, there were no shortcuts.
No tutorials.
No algorithms.
Just curiosity, consistency, and figuring it out as you go.
🎧 Episode is LIVE now
📲 Listen here: https://linktr.ee/beatslearningmusic
📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify | 🍎 Apple Podcasts
Beats Learning
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Welcome to Beats Learning, the podcast where we dive deep into the journeys of the music industry’s most talented and inspiring individuals.
Whether you’re an aspiring musician or just curious about what goes on behind the scenes, this podcast is for you.
25/04/2026
The only photos I got but I can promise you The Prodigy and Carl Cox last night was epic… I danced so hard, I ripped my jeans! What an event, Coxy laid out a master class of 90’s rave which just hyped the awesome crowd ready for the Prodigy boys to simply smack everybody’s bitch up! Loved it
📰 When music journalism loses its identity… what happens next?
In this clip, Carl Loben takes us inside a pivotal moment in the evolution of Melody Maker — and how quickly things can change when direction shifts.
From legendary editors who lived and breathed music culture…
to sudden decisions that left writers asking: “Why are we doing this?”
We get into:
🎤 The fallout from competing with NME
🎸 Iconic moments like Oasis Knebworth concerts 1996 influencing editorial direction
🧠 The clash between passion-led journalism and commercial decisions
📉 What happens when a publication loses touch with its audience
🚪 Why key voices eventually walked away
It’s a fascinating look at how quickly a respected brand can shift — and how important it is to stay true to what made it matter in the first place.
🎧 Episode is LIVE now
📲 Listen here: https://linktr.ee/beatslearningmusic
📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify | 🍎 Apple Podcasts
15/04/2026
🚨 EPISODE LIVE NOW
What does it look like to document an entire music movement?
In this episode of Beats Learning, I sit down with Carl Loben, music journalist, editor-in-chief at DJ MAG, and author of Renegade Snares, to explore decades of dance music history from the inside.
We talk:
📝 Life as a music journalist
🎧 The evolution of rave and club culture
📚 Stories behind the scenes of dance music’s rise
🚀 How to build a career in music media
This one is a must-watch for anyone passionate about electronic music and its history.
🎧 Watch & listen now:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fc2YSSAoqT8
👉 https://linktr.ee/beatslearningmusic
👇 What’s your favourite era of dance music?
EP016 – Carl Loben: Writing Music History – A Career as a Music Journalist In this episode, we sit down with Carl Loben—a music journalist, editor, and author who has spent decades documenting the evolution of electronic music and c...
🎶 Who really built drum & bass?
In this clip, Carl Loben highlights a conversation the scene had to confront:
👉 Where were the Black pioneers in the story being told?
At one point, drum & bass coverage risked becoming a narrative dominated by the wrong voices — overlooking the very people who helped create it.
Carl reflects on:
🖤 The Black artists who pioneered the sound
🇬🇧 The impact of the Windrush generation on UK music culture
🔊 Sound system culture, reggae, ska, and their influence on British scenes
🎧 How Black music fundamentally shaped the UK’s musical identity
This isn’t just history — it’s about recognition, representation, and telling the story properly.
A powerful reminder that the UK music scene is what it is today because of the cultures that built it.
🎧 Episode live 15th April
📲 Listen here: https://linktr.ee/beatslearningmusic
📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify | 🍎 Apple Podcasts
🎤 Being first isn’t luck — it’s instinct.
In this clip, Carl Loben reflects on what it meant to be a music journalist at the birth of new scenes — spotting artists before the world caught up.
From writing one of the first ever reviews and interviews with Skunk Anansie, to tracking down Squarepusher for an early interview, Carl talks about being in the room when future headliners were still unknown.
It wasn’t hindsight.
It was instinct.
We talk about:
🎧 Catching groundbreaking electronic music early
📝 Writing the first interviews with emerging artists
🎤 Spotting stars before they headline festivals
📍 Being in the right place — but knowing what to look for
🔥 The role journalists play in shaping music history
Sometimes the job isn’t just reporting the scene — it’s documenting the very beginning of it.
🎧 Episode live 15th April
📲 Listen here: https://linktr.ee/beatslearningmusic
📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify | 🍎 Apple Podcasts
Help me choose... Day 3!!
Same guest.
Same brief.
3 different editors.
This is trailer 3 of 3 for Carl Loben — Editor-in-Chief of DJ Mag , with decades inside electronic music culture.
Now you’ve seen all 3.
Which one wins?
Vote in the comments.
Help me choose... Day 2!!
Same guest.
Same brief.
3 different editors.
This is trailer 2 of 3 for Carl Loben — Editor-in-Chief of DJ Mag, with decades inside electronic music culture.
Trailer 3 will be up tomorrow.
So far, which one’s leading for you?
Vote in the comments.
Help me choose!!
Same guest.
Same brief.
3 different editors.
This is trailer 1 of 3 for Carl Loben — Editor-in-Chief of DJ Mag, with decades inside electronic music culture.
I’ll be sharing the other versions over the next few days.
Which one hits hardest?
Vote in the comments.
⚡ From managing generators… to one of the biggest dance music brands in the world.
In this clip, Caitlin McAllister shares the completely unexpected path that eventually led her to Ministry of Sound Club.
Before electronic music…
Before nightlife…
Before Ministry…
She was working at the Commonwealth Games — literally looking after generators on-site.
And that’s the point.
Careers in music don’t always start in music.
We talk about:
⚡ Learning technical skills at major live events
🤝 The relationships you build along the way
🧠 How transferable experience opens unexpected doors
🌍 Moving from Glasgow to London
🎶 Landing at one of the world’s most iconic dance brands
It’s a reminder that there’s no single route into the music industry — just momentum, curiosity, and saying yes to opportunities.
🎧 Episode is LIVE now
📲 Listen here: https://linktr.ee/beatslearningmusic
📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify | 🍎 Apple Podcasts
🎧 Your music taste doesn’t have to start in one place.
In this clip, Caitlin McAllister shares her journey from early clubbing in Glasgow to developing an eclectic electronic music taste at Ministry of Sound Club .
What’s interesting?
She didn’t even join Ministry because of electronic music.
Instead, her taste evolved through exposure, genres, DJs, and club nights she may never have discovered otherwise.
We talk about:
🏴 Glasgow under-18s clubbing and early dance & R&B influences
🎶 Growing up with mixed music tastes
🌍 Discovering electronic music later through work
🎛️ Being exposed to countless sub-genres of house
🎁 Why working in music can reshape your taste completely
Sometimes your career doesn’t follow your taste…
Your taste evolves because of your career.
🎧 Episode is LIVE now
📲 Listen here: https://linktr.ee/beatslearningmusic
📺 YouTube | 🎙️ Spotify | 🍎 Apple Podcasts
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