232. Dustin Lynch: 10 Number one songs and a Vegas residency, the BTS of the ever-changing music industry, protecting artists & writers, and the money behind it all!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Trading Secrets - Episode 232: Dustin Lynch on the Music Industry’s Inner Workings and Financial Realities

Release Date: April 28, 2025
Host: Jason Tartick
Guest: Dustin Lynch, Country Music Star and Entrepreneur

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Introduction

In Episode 232 of Trading Secrets, hosted by Jason Tartick from Audioboom Studios, listeners are treated to an in-depth conversation with country music sensation and entrepreneur, Dustin Lynch. Recorded live at the vibrant Stagecoach festival, the episode delves into Lynch’s journey in the music industry, the financial intricacies of songwriting and streaming, the challenges of touring, and his innovative ventures beyond traditional music performance.

Dustin Lynch’s Career Beginnings

Dustin Lynch shares his early days in music, highlighting how his passion for country music and competitive golf intersected to shape his career. Starting with cover bands at local Nashville venues like Tin Roof, Lynch built his reputation by performing original songs alongside familiar classics.

Notable Quote:
"I started playing covers on Monday nights with just a guitar, and gradually, we built our following from there."
(04:44)

Understanding Record and Publishing Deals

Lynch provides a thorough explanation of the differences between record deals and publishing deals. He emphasizes that while a record deal involves the label funding the production and distribution of music (often acting as a bank), a publishing deal focuses on songwriters earning royalties from their compositions.

Notable Quote:
"A record deal doesn't mean much unless you have great success; it often means you've given away your songs."
(23:05)

Financial Realities of Streaming and Songwriting

The conversation shifts to the financial impact of streaming on songwriters and artists. Lynch discusses how streaming revenues are distributed, often disadvantaging performing artists while benefiting songwriters through royalties. He critiques the current streaming models, highlighting the struggle for sustained income amidst oversaturation.

Notable Quote:
"Streaming pays songwriters, not necessarily the artists performing the songs on the radio."
(14:34)

Navigating the Music Industry

Lynch shares his experiences with record labels, including a pivotal moment when he signed with an offshoot of Big Machine Music. He reflects on the challenges of trusting individuals within the industry and the importance of formal contracts over handshake deals.

Notable Quote:
"Don't burn the bridge because you never know when you'll need to cross it again."
(62:40)

The Economics of Touring

A significant portion of the episode is dedicated to the financial aspects of touring. Lynch explains the difference between soft-ticketed events (like fairs and smaller venues) and hard-ticketed tours (large-scale arenas and festivals). He outlines how promoters work, guarantees are structured, and how costs like travel, hotels, and merchandise impact profitability.

Notable Quote:
"Soft-ticketed events usually pay better because we don’t have to cover the extensive overhead costs of a full-scale tour."
(34:56)

Diversifying Revenue: From Touring to DJ Sets

Lynch discusses his innovative approach to diversifying income streams by incorporating DJ sets into his performances. This move allows him to perform in high-profile nightlife venues like Excess at Wynn Nightlife in Las Vegas without the extensive logistics of traditional touring.

Notable Quote:
"Playing DJ sets at clubs like Excess has opened up new revenue opportunities with lower overhead costs."
(43:32)

The Impact of Awards

While awards do not provide direct financial rewards, Lynch underscores their significance in branding and fan engagement. He likens winning awards to creating building blocks for long-term career sustainability, enhancing visibility, and reaffirming his presence in a crowded industry.

Notable Quote:
"Award shows are building blocks that keep fans engaged and remind them that you exist amidst the noise."
(39:42)

Leveraging Social Media and Brand Deals

Lynch highlights the critical role of social media in modern music careers. With substantial followings on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, he leverages these channels for brand partnerships and direct fan engagement. He emphasizes authenticity and consistency in content creation to foster genuine connections with fans.

Notable Quote:
"Being genuine on social media is key; it's about sharing parts of your life that resonate with your audience naturally."
(54:17)

Advice and Trading Secrets

In the concluding segment, Lynch imparts valuable advice for aspiring artists and industry professionals. His trading secret revolves around maintaining professional relationships and avoiding conflicts that could jeopardize future collaborations.

Trading Secret:
"Don't burn bridges. Let your logic serve you when emotions run high."
(62:40)

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Conclusion

Episode 232 of Trading Secrets offers a comprehensive look into the multifaceted world of the music industry through Dustin Lynch’s experiences. From the financial nuances of streaming and songwriting to the strategic diversification of revenue streams and the importance of maintaining industry relationships, Lynch provides listeners with actionable insights and candid reflections. His emphasis on authenticity, strategic partnerships, and adaptability serves as a guiding framework for both established artists and newcomers navigating the ever-evolving landscape of the music business.

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Key Takeaways:

• Record vs. Publishing Deals: Understand the distinct roles and implications of each, especially concerning song ownership and revenue.

• Streaming Challenges: Recognize the disparities in revenue distribution between songwriters and performing artists.

• Touring Economics: Navigate the financial complexities of different types of events to optimize profitability.

• Diversifying Revenue: Explore innovative performance formats like DJ sets to create additional income streams.

• Maintaining Relationships: Prioritize professional relationships and formalize agreements to safeguard future opportunities.

• Social Media Strategy: Leverage authentic and consistent content to build and engage a dedicated fan base.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "Don't burn the bridge because you never know when you'll need to cross it again."
  — Dustin Lynch (62:40)

• "Streaming pays songwriters, not necessarily the artists performing the songs on the radio."
  — Dustin Lynch (14:34)

• "Soft-ticketed events usually pay better because we don’t have to cover the extensive overhead costs of a full-scale tour."
  — Dustin Lynch (34:56)

• "Being genuine on social media is key; it's about sharing parts of your life that resonate with your audience naturally."
  — Dustin Lynch (54:17)

---

This episode serves as an essential listen for anyone interested in the behind-the-scenes mechanics of the music industry, offering both aspiring and established professionals invaluable knowledge to navigate and succeed in their careers.

Transcript

[Jason Tardick]

Foreign. Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. I'm your host, Jason Tardick, and welcome to the pre market trading segment where I'm gonna tell you a little bit about our guests and I'm gonna give you a little bit of a different type of intro. Right now, you could probably hear a lot of ruckus in the background. We are at Stagecoach right now. I'm looking at Andrew Spencer. I'm looking at Justin Glaze, Jo. John Gurney, Kelly Flanagan, Blake Horseman. The crew is here. The crew is loud. The crew is vibing. Now, this is a special episode in which we have Dustin lynch on country star, an absolute legend. And we just had two new people join the villa. So a lot of action here. But I'll tell you what, Dustin lynch is a force to be reckoned with. A businessman, an unbelievable country star. And you are gonna hear things about the industry that you have never, ever, ever, ever heard before. All made how it's made, the different shows, the different track, all the stuff. Now, before we get into this episode, we're doing a little tour here because the recap is a whole lot of action here. We got John Gurney here. John, how you doing?

[Dustin Lynch]

Doing good.

[Jason Tardick]

Stagecoach 1 through 10, how would you rate it? I would say so far we got an 8. We're going to bump it to a 10 tonight, though. Backstreet Boys are going to be there live. Andrew Spencer, we're on the intro right here. You got anything for anybody? Hey, I hope everyone has a blessed day.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

Did you have a good time this weekend? I had a great time. Should they listen to the recap? Absolutely. Stay tuned to the recap. Kelly Flanagan, how are we doing over here? This is the intro. Trading Secrets, Dustin lynch podcast. Hello. How are you guys? Have you had a good weekend?

[Dustin Lynch]

I've had a great weekend.

[Jason Tardick]

One out of ten, what would you rate it?

[Dustin Lynch]

Honestly?

[Jason Tardick]

A twelve. A twelve. Wow. All right, you guys got to stay tuned. It's going to be a great recap. Justin Glaze intro. How are we doing over here, man? I've been better, but I also can't complain. Why? You've been better, Man, I've slept more in my day. Yeah. I've gotten a better night's sleep. Okay. All right.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

If you had. What do you think light's going to look like in one year from now for you? I think I'm gonna be happy. I think I'm gonna be healthy. I think I'm gonna be successful. Successful. I think you're all those things already. I don't like when you're so politically correct. But that's okay. You're very dialed right now. You're very polished. I don't like the polish. Justin. And then Blake Horseman. You're eating a little double double. You performed this weekend. You'll tell us a little bit about the numbers this weekend. We're excited for you. But how's life, man?

[Dustin Lynch]

It's good, man.

[Jason Tardick]

Hanging in there, you know. Day three, feeling good. You a Dustin lynch fan? Big Dustin lynch fan. Saw him at Red Rocks last week. You saw him at Red Rocks? Yeah. Okay. We went to see him in Vegas this weekend. Stagecoach. And now he is on this episode of Trading Secrets. It is one you can't afford to miss. And let me tell you, this is the music industry uncovered. Welcome back to another episode of Trading Secrets. Today we are joined by country music singer and songwriter Dustin Lynch. Since his debut country album in 2012, Dustin has solidified his place as one of the country's biggest recording artists. With over 6 billion cumulative global streams, Dustin has earned 10 number one singles, four top five albums, 10 gold platinum and multi platinum certified singles. He's a member of the Opry and has earned several high profile awards, wins and nominations. We are going to chat with Dustin all about his successes, his failures in both music and business, and the unique path he took to get where he is today in this ever changing country music world. Dustin, thank you so much for being on Trading Secrets.

[Dustin Lynch]

Great to be here.

[Jason Tardick]

I gotta be honest, man. I was reading your resume. I'm like, this thing just keeps going and going and going.

[Dustin Lynch]

The best one I've heard, dude.

[Jason Tardick]

All right, I'll take. I got to keep you around that. Absolutely. A little hype guy.

[Dustin Lynch]

It's wild. Like, to hear all that stuff. I. I don't really focus on anything but what's next.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

You know, so to hear those back every now and again, it's pretty cool.

[Jason Tardick]

That's it. Because I just like barely scratch the surface if I got into it. Your hosting, your business components, your equity, I mean, we'll talk all about that. When you say you think about what's next, like personality wise, like, I've done some work on myself and an enneagram3. It's all about like never feeling enough. Like, what do you think from a personality type is wired in yourself to always be like, I don't think I've.

[Dustin Lynch]

Got to keep going, done that proper test. But I'm about the same.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, you think that.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, I just, I love competition. I think it kind of was. Was bred into me just based on who my dad and granddad are. You know, they're hardworking guys that get up and have a to do list every day.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Almost to a point where I don't like being around them too much because it's like, we got to chill out, man. But I think I get it naturally from them. And the music kind of just parlayed off of. Of. I grew up playing golf, competitive golf, and play collegiate golf, and that's every man for himself sport.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

You're only going to get better if you show up and work at it. And I think that has a lot to do with chasing songs in Nashville and. And that's really what. What launches, you know, it's the catalyst still. I mean, this far into my career, I'm chasing songs all weekend long with. With buddies, trying to figure out what's next.

[Jason Tardick]

I love it. You're still going moving 100 miles an hour. Even a residency in Vegas. We'll talk about that before we do. I want to go back to 16. You're playing at Bluebird Cafe. You then here. Like, you said, you played golf in college, so you could be tight to Nashville and stay in this circle. At what point did these dreams. Right. You started playing the guitar. So at eight years old, at what point did these dreams of, like, a long shot actually become a moment where you're like, wait a second. This is a reality. Like, I'm making money. This could be a career. Like, what was that?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, it was steps. So going to Lipscomb University used to be very strict. I couldn't leave campus. We had to check in and out of our dorm room after whatever hours. If we went to a friend's house for the weekend or to party at another campus, we had to lie about it, have our mom call in and sign in and out.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

So to have some fun, we would go down the streets of Vanderbilt and crash. I had a buddy from my hometown that was in a frat there, the ATO house, and I'd crash on that couch. But they would have. The reason I go there. They have cover bands come through.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

And at that time, you know, I was. I was. I had a high school band. We were having some fun, but we all went our separate ways in colleges, and I was looking for my next chapter of music, and I saw these cover bands. I'm like, man, I could do that. Y'all are paying them. What?

[Jason Tardick]

So, like, what did cover bands get paid when you're exploring that?

[Dustin Lynch]

They were like, it depends on who you were, but anywhere from like 2500 up to 5000. Damn cash.

[Jason Tardick]

I like the bars at these frat parties.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

Wow. Okay, the bars.

[Dustin Lynch]

No, we can get into that.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, we'll get into that.

[Dustin Lynch]

But that came a little later. But I'm like, okay, I gotta start learning some more covers. And what kind of band do I want to be? I love country music. They loved a lot of. A lot of Texas country, a lot of Southern rock as well. So I started going back to the, you know, in my off time that I had. Go back to the dorm and apartment and just learning cover songs, trying to get that catalog up to where it could be, you know, an option I could present whoever when I had the chance to do it. And, man, I just took a stab. And. And there was this band at 10 Roof Demumbrian street that played called Hendering the Seahawks. And I became friends with him through the years, and that was back when it was easy to get into Tin Roof. And he let me get up and sing a couple times with him. And then I had the courage just to ask the bar staff, hey, would you let me take a Monday night? You know, nobody's going to be there, but I'll bring some friends from Lipscomb. And they're like, yeah, take it. And that's where it started. It was just me and a guitar at Tin Roof on a Monday night. And it kind of just grew throughout the week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. And then we started playing regularly onto Mumbling street at those bars and kind of building our following from that. And then when visiting schools would come play Vanderbilt, they would see us play.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

At these college bars. And that's how it really started cranking in the Southeast for us, because all the SEC schools saw us play in Nashville and then would ask us to come play their events.

[Jason Tardick]

That's pretty cool. When you first started off at Tinder, if that's wild on a Monday night, were you doing covers or you doing your own music?

[Dustin Lynch]

It was covers. And then. And then I had my own music. We were pretty much an original band in high school, but the songs were terrible. Right. Just learning how to do it. And I'm trying to get better at that craft every chance I can. And when I got a couple things I was proud of, I would sprinkle them in. But you'd lose the room. Yeah, it's tough to hold a room with the original song.

[Jason Tardick]

Of course. Of course. Back in those days, Monday night you're playing, you're just doing covers. What do you get paid at something like Tin Roof.

[Dustin Lynch]

I don't think I was getting paid anything. Okay, I will say this. We went down to Lower Broadway and it was $30 for four hours.

[Jason Tardick]

30 bucks.

[Dustin Lynch]

30 bucks for four hours. Then you work for tips. Of course. I think that's gone up a lot since then. But Nashville wasn't what Nashville is today back then. Yeah, there's only a handful of bars down there that were doing business now.

[Jason Tardick]

Wasn't there like the old adage that if you played in Nashville back in the day, you could get picked up by a big label any day of the week? Has that changed and was that the case then or is that a rumor?

[Dustin Lynch]

I don't think it's changed. I think it's a lot harder now to make that happen because, you know, labels this day and age are watching consumption with the access you have. Anybody can put music up any day, and everybody is back in that day. It was really the only access you had to get mass consumption was through those labels. So I think they took a lot more chances on new folks. Now you got to kind of prove yourself that the market wants you.

[Jason Tardick]

It's crazy how distribution channels have changed in the music industry, especially when you think about TikTok and trends. The whole business is night and day from probably what it once was. When you guys build this following, you're going to secs, you got your band, you're doing your own thing. At what point did something, a manager reach out? Was it one song that popped? Like, what was the moment that you go from just a band that colleges are enjoying to this resume that we're reading today?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, it goes it really. I think my whole career is all about just full circle moments. One of my golf team members went to work for an insurance company down in Cool Springs, Tennessee.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

And one of his co workers, father in law, was a manager of a new artist named Justin Moore.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

Who I was familiar with. And he, he turned, he turned this coworker onto my MySpace page.

[Jason Tardick]

Stop.

[Dustin Lynch]

No kidding.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, my God.

[Dustin Lynch]

And the guy liked it. So he was like, well, my father in law is a manager. I'm going to send this to him if that's cool. And anyways, Pete, his father in law, ended up just cold calling me. And I went and met with him after I figured out he was, you know, a scam artist and went mess with him in his house, played him some songs. And it was kind of the first time I was playing originals and really hanging my hat on my original music. And he liked What I had to offer. And we were in a label like two weeks later.

[Jason Tardick]

Interesting.

[Dustin Lynch]

And from that meeting, it was, it was kind of a crazy meeting. From that meeting. The guy that I met with was head of Valerie music company. And Valerie was. It was an offshoot of Big Machine Music, which is where Taylor Swift was of course trying to think of the other artists that were there that were popping at that time. She was obviously the big one. So I was a big deal. I remember getting out of the car to walk in. I looked down and my flies open. I mean just from the get, man.

[Jason Tardick]

It was like nerves are crazy.

[Dustin Lynch]

I never played for an executive like that. I play for like publishers and stuff and writers rounds. But like a big executive on Music Grow and Taylor Swift's label, it was, it was a really nerve wracking experience. But so like my second song and he turns away from me and starts typing on his computer.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And I'm like, oh, this is not going well, man. What he ended up doing. The girls, his girls. His promo staff were sending him emails like, who is this? We can hear through the walls.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, wow.

[Dustin Lynch]

Don't let them leave without signing them.

[Jason Tardick]

Wow.

[Dustin Lynch]

So that. Yeah, I had a record deal and a publishing deal offer not long after that.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay, when you say record deal, published deal, we also heard the word scam artist. We'll get to that. But record, because everybody has a story. Record publishing deal, what is. To people that are listening, that are just curious about business, what does that mean? What does a record deal actually mean? In writing?

[Dustin Lynch]

In writing it means. Well, it can mean a lot of different things. Depends on what kind of deal you have. There's all sorts of deals. They've changed drastically since I've signed my first deal. I think that was 2009. Back then it was really. For me, I was trying to get out of working day jobs. I wanted just to do music full time and focus on music. So the record deal really did nothing at that time except lock me up with my creative, you know, depending on what the master structure is. And essentially your record label is a bank.

[Jason Tardick]

So you get like a guaranteed amount.

[Dustin Lynch]

You can get a guarantee. It could be structured where, you know, it costs right now, this day and age, if I'm doing a song for real.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

If we're going to release a song, it's about $17,000 just to get a song out there. Just to get it. Just to get a song sounding right.

[Jason Tardick]

Interesting.

[Dustin Lynch]

So you know, you look at doing a 10 song album. There you go, you know, 170 in right there. That's without. That's just to get it on the desk.

[Jason Tardick]

On the desk.

[Dustin Lynch]

When he promoted it yet.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

So they're your bank. And from that, you know, they get ownership in that product.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

Because at the end of the day is what we're doing, right?

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Putting something up, hoping somebody buys it.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay, so they're the bank. They help you put everything to life.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

Then the publishing deal. What is the. What is the role of a publisher?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, the role of a publisher is. Which is where I was. That's where a young artist and writer like myself that's trying not to do a day job and just write full time and make music full time. We lean on what's called a draw. So you essentially are selling your copyrights or a portion of them to a publisher that's going to exploit those to other artists, connect you with other creators, creatively steer you to other creators you think they think would make some magic. You get a drawback off of that. So, you know, you sign for. I don't know, I think my first draw was, you know, $28,000 a year or something. $20,000 a year, which you can get back then. Could get by on.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

Especially if, you know, I'm playing these frat parties and wedding receptions, making cash like I was. I was loving life. But I didn't have to have a day job anymore. You know, I had a guaranteed income from this publishing dollars allowed to, you know, write songs. And I still do have a publishing deal because it's such a. How do I. How do I. How do you track down, you know, money that's. That your music is making all over the world?

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Gotta have that network in play, you gotta have that admin in play and that collection and play. And so that's what publishers really. And that's a very broad stroke. But yeah, that's really kind of what. What the nuts and bolts of what that is.

[Jason Tardick]

So for the publisher deals, you're writing for the publisher. The publisher is then distributing those lyrics and what you're writing. And then if they sell them, you're making it back on your draw. And if you make more than your draw, then you're compensated in addition to whatever the draw is that.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. And we can hit on sell. And especially in country music, you're never really selling a song. Maybe to sync fee, like for TV or something, you can. Sometimes there's a lump sum sale, but for like country radio, like if, if I write a song and let's say Thomas Rhett records it.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

He's not buying that song for me.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

He's just recording it, and then we are hoping that he has success with it and making residual income off of that.

[Jason Tardick]

Interesting. So you'll get a percentage of the income that comes from that song as a writer. And usually what is the breakdown between artist and writer with a song?

[Dustin Lynch]

So, yeah, so it differs. So it's. Radios is structured to where the artist does not get paid on the place.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

Only the creators. The writers do.

[Jason Tardick]

Interesting. Which is bizarre. Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Very bizarre. Streaming and xm, everybody gets a percentage.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

So that. That's kind of a weird thing. That has always been the case.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

You think, oh, I'm hearing, you know, Morgan Wallen 100 times on the radio. If he's not writing those songs, he's not getting played for those pays. The writers are.

[Jason Tardick]

That's fascinating.

[Dustin Lynch]

If he's a writer on the songs, obviously he's getting a portion of that.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay, Gotcha. Obviously, there's money to be made elsewhere. We'll get into that a little bit. But I'm curious if we're talking about the early stages of your career. The frat party is so much fun hearing, like, those stories. But what was, like, the first check, the biggest dollar amount that you got? What were the age that you were there that you just said, like, this check changed my life. And what was it connected to from a career perspective? What either song or album was it?

[Dustin Lynch]

It would have been the first quarterly check I got for Cowboys and Angels because I was a songwriter on it.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

And that song was a big song and still is a big song.

[Jason Tardick]

Huge.

[Dustin Lynch]

You know, I'm still getting money from Cowboys and Angels, 104 million streams right now. And this was seven years before streaming became a thing.

[Jason Tardick]

Wow.

[Dustin Lynch]

And it still is already at 100 million, you know, so you think if it came out this day and age, it'd be way on up there, way bigger.

[Jason Tardick]

Well, can you say what that track was?

[Dustin Lynch]

I don't really remember what it is, you know, because in the life of a song, you're getting paid pretty much on chart position, so, you know, and it's delayed. Right. So, like, your biggest check from a number one will be the following year at some point following the year. Yeah. Because it goes up to number one, has all these plays, and then. Then you got to get your payment back. So I'd guess, like, you know, three to six months would be your bigger, biggest check from that number one peak.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, wow. Interesting.

[Dustin Lynch]

But you, you know, you get like, oh man, here's $15,000.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And then, oh, here's 60, you know. Yeah. And I don't know, it's rough math, but I think like a number one song total would pay, you know, a million dollars.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay. Interest total.

[Dustin Lynch]

And then, you know, you divide that between the writers and the publishers. And yeah, if you hit a big.

[Jason Tardick]

Song in this space, you hit one big song like a cowboys and angels at 100 million plus or you know, thinking about you 200 million plus in streams now, can you like live off that? Like if you hit one big one hit wonder off the royalties, is that sustainable? Does it create that much income?

[Dustin Lynch]

No. And I think, you know, we've got to find a balance with that, with streaming. You know, obviously streaming is very valuable to us as artists and us as songwriters, but I think, I think the songwriters are with album sales completely going away with consumption being so short lived. Yeah, you know, everybody, it's. Every song is just a flash in the pan now and then it's on to the next. And the release structure of the music industry isn't helping them at all because we're releasing so much music so quickly that there's another song by my artist that he put out that I forget about this one that probably would have had double the streams that it than it does this year.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

Seven years ago.

[Jason Tardick]

Oversaturation.

[Dustin Lynch]

Oversaturation is really, really crushing songwriters. And I think the way streaming is structured to pay the songwriters is not correct yet. I think we're working on it and doing our best, but we've got it. Nashville's got to figure out, the label's got to figure out a way to include the songwriters, the creators. There's no music without songwriters and artists. No matter what they say. We're what makes the world go round and we got to make sure we protect the guys and girls that create the songs.

[Jason Tardick]

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[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. Unsuccessful really?

[Jason Tardick]

Like on average. What do you think those songwriters are making? Like the good ones, the average ones in town, if you had to guess.

[Dustin Lynch]

I mean they're making a, they're making a good living. If you know, if you go, oh that's, that's a pretty good living because you're just doing music full time. But then you step back and you go, wait a second. You know, a billion people have done life to this song and you know, they're struggling to raise a family.

[Jason Tardick]

That's. That, that's asinine. That's crazy. Well, when you think about the numbers of social media right now and if someone is putting up a billion impressions, the amount of money that they're going to make off those billion impressions, if a songwriter is creating lyrics or touching a billion plus people, that should be. When you in the, in the world of marketing, that should be life Chang money.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. Well, you look, you look at, you know, if it's an impression. Let's say If I do YouTube content and I have a billion views on my.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

On, on this podcast. Right. It's a lot of eyeballs.

[Jason Tardick]

Wow.

[Dustin Lynch]

You think about a billion plays. That's a lot of plays. But how many people heard the, how many people in the room heard that play? You know, probably a bunch of people in that play. So it's, it's way more than that, consumption wise. Yeah, it, it is. You know, I'm an adv advocate for trying to figure out how to continue to get. I want to see these guys and girls that create the soundtrack to our lives and the world. I want them to be, you know, celebrated.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And be comfortable and not be struggling and you know, not to have to have their significant other go to work so they can live their dream. You know, and so I hope it swings their direction at some point.

[Jason Tardick]

I think so many people listening to this don't realize how many lyrics they hear aren't written by the actual artist that's singing. And what's crazy about living in Nashville, you get to go to Bluebird, you get to go to these writers circles, and you hear the stories from the people that are writing it. And it's so cool to connect the writer and the artist. And I agree with you. There's obviously a lot of work to be done in that space. One thing I can't overlook, and I gotta go back to. We've had a rod on the podcast, Sergio Garcia and Gronk. They've talked all individually about agency management relationships. All of them had. Had people burn bridges. You had mentioned the word scam artist. What in this space happened that, like, you got got. And what's your biggest learning lesson that maybe someone could take from home from someone that took advantage of you?

[Dustin Lynch]

That's a great question. Yeah. And I would say, like, with you mentioned burning bridges, but, you know, I mentioned earlier, I mentioned full circle. It seems like every time I've wanted to get mad at somebody in this industry, there's been a weird turn of events or circumstances where I come back around and work with that person in a different setting or an offshoot of something else. So I've learned that time and time again. You know, it's like, you know, you could burn the house down and burn it, burn it down, burn the city down if. Get mad at somebody or be ugly. But. But you never know. It's a small town, you know, creator. The creative industry is. Is small. And so that's a lesson I've learned and still, you know, try to practice. I think, you know, the biggest scam would be. Would be having people that are close to you that. That in your inner circle, you trust and you find out they've been taking your stuff.

[Jason Tardick]

How does that work, though? Like, how do you not have visibility to what they could be taking? Because you see movies, you hear it in podcasts.

[Dustin Lynch]

Like, well, you know, a lot of times you. Well, for me, you know, I want to protect my address and where I live and my residence. So, you know, a lot of thing. A lot of our business opportunities and partnerships, everything is sent to an office. You know, it's not. It's not sent to my personal address. So things go missing and. And so it's like, that's where, you know, you wake up and it's like, oh, all right. That Kind of stinks. You know, that was my deal. But you have half of it, so I would think that would probably be it. I don't know. There's been a handful of things where, you know, handshake deals have happened.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. And not followed through.

[Dustin Lynch]

And then. Yeah. Then people like to forget those.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. Which is sad.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. And when you, when you're under contract, you know, working with, with a group and, and you know, you do a handshake deal, you feel like it should be solid. But, yeah, to those out there watching, make sure you don't over paper your. Your handshakes. But if it's something you really believe in, get some paper written up on it.

[Jason Tardick]

We had someone that came on the podcast. She's a big wedding Dr. Designer and she signed a contract in which she actually signed her entire name away and didn't realize it.

[Dustin Lynch]

Wow.

[Jason Tardick]

And the company took her name. So she couldn't use her name, she couldn't say her name. She couldn't operate her Instagram, she couldn't operate in the space that she was competing in, like the wedding dress. She couldn't do anything. She lost everything. She spent like millions of dollars just getting her name back. So if there's one thing hopefully the people on this podcast have listened, have heard, it's like, be careful with contracts.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. While we're here, I just, I have to mention this because I feel like I didn't have anybody really to hold my hand and walk me through the music industry, other. Other artists buddies that have. And I envy that knowledge they had early on in their career and how they were able to structure their first contracts with leverage and realizing, no, hold up, you have something, you have more to give. Because whenever you go in and negotiate, you're a young artist, you're hungry, young songwriter, you're hungry. You just want it to happen. A lot of it is ego based. It's ego driven. You want to go back. I want to go back to Tullahoma, Tennessee, my hometown, and go, I got a record deal at Taylor Swift's label, you know, and you feel like you're an idiot if you turn that down. And it could be the worst deal in the world. But your ego gets in the way and you're like, yeah, but I want to go tell my friends in high school that I got a record deal. I did it right. And a record deal doesn't mean shit. It means that you have given away all of your songs. That's all it means.

[Jason Tardick]

Right.

[Dustin Lynch]

Until you have great success and they make the Majority of the money back, you make very little from it. And so for young artists out there that are like, I just need a record now here all the time still, it's like more so than ever with social media and how you can the technology of recording music at your home in a room like this you can make, I mean I record my album in a room like this. Like you can make great sounding world class music in a really cool, easy way this day and age and then it's up to all, all of the world overnight. And so you have the leverage and don't give that up too soon and don't get frustrated and go, man, if I, if I just had a deal I would get more impressions and, and my song would take off on Tick Tock. No it won't.

[Jason Tardick]

Interesting.

[Dustin Lynch]

It won't. You know, I, I'm a firm believer and you've got to build that traction organically this day and age. And if you can command attention on your own and you start getting impressions and views and listens and followers, you're going to walk into these meetings with record labels and they're going to get on their knees and, and make a life changing deal for you. And I have buddies that have done that, you know, and it's, I'm so proud of them that you know, they had the balls to stand there and go, man, I'm just gonna wait. You know, I think I'm worth more than this and I didn't have that.

[Jason Tardick]

So yeah, yeah, I love that. It's like create your own leverage, right? And without a doubt. And with today, with all the numbers and the transparency to it, with social media and everything, you can see the numbers and therefore you're creating it and building your community. Last thing I got on this topic and then I'll move off of it. We talk a lot about like different financial infidelity and relationships and financial cheating and all these things because we can learn from them. I'm just curious. One thing. When you found out that you're obviously mail was being sent him or whatever happened, one thing that, like how did you actually find out something was happening? Like so what was the one thing that you found out? Because maybe it's the way you found out. Someone listening to this can then find out that it's happening in their business partnership or the relationship or something.

[Dustin Lynch]

For sure. Yeah. It was just, you know, you kind of have that gut feeling and it was kind of a slip of the tongue on his part.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, interesting. Good liars have to have a good Memory.

[Dustin Lynch]

That's it.

[Jason Tardick]

All right.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, that's a good one. And that's literally what happened. And then. And then, you know, you just start kind of uncovering and asking questions and.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And, yeah, it's. It's unfortunate, but, you know, like I said, it's. I think especially in my world, you got to kind of take it on the chin and not really hold a grudge, but make a change, like. And then let go of it.

[Jason Tardick]

I like it. Okay, great advice from Dustin. We talked about streaming. I wanted to get into just some of the numbers. It's the biggest question that I got asked about this podcast. You hear, we were talking 200 million, 100 million, 350 million on small Town Boy. How do you get paid on a stream? How does the breakdown of it? Pays it like a penny per million. Like, how does this work? No one knows. It's a big moving target.

[Dustin Lynch]

It is a big moving target. Constantly moves.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

I forget what the. What the money is now. I think it's crazy. I think, like, maybe a million streams is 700 bucks or something.

[Jason Tardick]

It's wild.

[Dustin Lynch]

It's very bad. I don't even pay attention to it.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. Because it's. It's interesting.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. I just got to be. Because my. What's my. My record deal has to probably be the worst one in Nashville because of the timing of it. You know, when I. When I signed my record deal, streaming didn't exist. I remember going to these meetings the first few years, and it's like, why are we going to San Francisco to meet with this? What's a string? What's streaming?

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. How's that work? Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Napster's illegal. That's gone. Limewire's gone. What's Spotify? Like? Like, why are we going to Spotify? Like, what is that? And we kept going to these meetings. No one was using it. I'm like, I'm in the music business and I don't know anyone using this platform. And then boom, overnight. And what happened with my record deal? And here's another one while we're on the topic of kind of getting railroaded by your team. So the labels get into this big kind of crazy tailspin of, oh, no, we're not going to sell CDs anymore because that's how we were distributing our music before streaming. So at the time, the head of my label comes back in and goes, we've got to renegotiate all of your record deals because we're not going to make any money off of your music. Anymore because of streaming. And so a lot of record deals were reworked to where the labels got participation in touring money in merchandise sales on the road. So I was a whole part of that spin. And then to come to find out now labels are making more than they've ever made in their lives and guess what I'm stuck with.

[Jason Tardick]

Fascinating.

[Dustin Lynch]

This contract weren't going to make any more money off music. Yeah. So I don't really pay attention to the money I make off of music because I don't really make money off of music. It's crazy. Like I'm in the music business, but I'm not in the music business. Maybe as a songwriter I make good money, but as an artist, it's not really my focus.

[Jason Tardick]

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[Dustin Lynch]

Like, well, they're in a lot better space now.

[Jason Tardick]

Timing of it.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. Way more back in favor for the artist.

[Jason Tardick]

Understood.

[Dustin Lynch]

I would do anything that. To go into an office right now and.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And sign up for, you know, a modern day record deal with streaming that exists. Okay, think about streaming did not exist when I had a. When I that's was signing these papers and now it does and I'm just like, well, okay. I mean I love it because it's how my fans consume music and the whole world can consume my music versus you got to go to Walmart and get a cd. Which is when I Cowboys and Angels came out. That's what we did.

[Jason Tardick]

It's crazy.

[Dustin Lynch]

It's changed that much.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

In 12 years, you know. So yeah, as a young artist, I think you can get a lot more creative with your record deals now in your distribution deals. But yeah, I'm just kind of stuck in this weird bubble, working my way out of it.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. Okay. And so fascinating to hear the before, during and even current where you're at. You talked about touring a little bit. So there's non touring. Right. Without your entire band and then there's touring with your entire band. Let's talk about when you're touring with your entire band. How does the business component work of that? Because the costs of it are so significant. So is it like all. All ticket sales go to you and then based on ticket sales, you're paying off your expenses or is it an advance for a tour? Like what does that look like?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, a little of both. Ticket sales don't usually go directly to the artist. Most of our deals that come in are structured as there's a promoter.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

Whether it be for a whole tour or the one event or a few events. And the promoter is taking a chance on the artist. So he's gambling. He's the gambler.

[Jason Tardick]

Gotcha.

[Dustin Lynch]

So he's the buyer and he goes, hey, you know, Sandwich, Illinois fair, I want to bring in Dustin lynch and we're going to pay him this much. And the fair has employed this guy that they believe in to book the talent and hopefully see net profit after all this is said and done. So we usually get a guarantee. That guarantee usually comes 50% up front. And then after we complete the show that night and hit all of our marks, you know, whether it be, hey, you got to do this meet and greet hey, we need you to sign this many things, whatever is in our deal memo.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

You got to play this many minutes. Once we do that, then we go collect the second half of the guarantee. That's the majority of the deals we do on the softer ticket ticketed event. So your festivals, when we say soft ticket, it's kind of not built in crowds, but not, hey, it's Dustin. Let's just tour. I'm selling tickets to this arena Bridgestone type thing.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay. It's different than that. Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

That. That structure differently. You can have multiple promoters in that situation or one, and then those promoters are the gamblers again, going, okay, we're going to guarantee you this much money per night because they're hoping you sell the tickets to make back profit.

[Jason Tardick]

Of course. Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And then they're also getting to participate in beer sales, food sales and parking.

[Jason Tardick]

And do artists get for soft events? Do artists get any portion of that?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, sometimes there's back what we call back end.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

So there's a guarantee if you do this amount of, you know, if capacity is 10,000, if you do 80%, it's this amount. If you sell it out, it's. You can really, you know, it kind of compounds quickly. And then on the. What gets fun with it, with the harder ticket stuff is, you know, when you start getting to participate in parking and in food sales and in beer sales with the promoter. You know, for me as an artist, I love our show is a big party. So I'm like, I'm a build in another drinking moment. Yeah, maybe sell some more beers. You know, there's an interesting tactic I had to, like, talk my friends and.

[Jason Tardick]

They'Ll have more fun for sure. It's like everyone's winning.

[Dustin Lynch]

I had to talk a lot of my friends through this recent Morgan Wallen show because it was like, man, it's been an hour and a half. He's still not on stage. I go, y'all understand? He's participating in beer sales, like, and you've drank 2, 18 beers waiting on him to come on stage.

[Jason Tardick]

Like, that's incredible.

[Dustin Lynch]

That's what's happening right now. Wow.

[Jason Tardick]

I too, have fallen victim to that, but it's not a victim because I love it.

[Dustin Lynch]

It makes.

[Jason Tardick]

It makes the. The business that much better. So when you're doing. When soft events versus, like a hard tour, you're. You're. I assume you're making more money doing a hard tour, right? Or do you call it a hard tour? I just made that up.

[Dustin Lynch]

I would say, well, it depends on who the artist is and where I am right now in my position and my. I would say my class of artists.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

The soft ticket events are usually the higher paying nights and the more profitable nights because we don't have the hard costs usually, you know, at these big festivals, they have the infrastructure, they have the sound, they have most of the lights. So we're not having to provide that. On my hard ticket tours, I'm having to provide more trucks, more drivers, more techs. Because we've got to roll in there and hang all the sound, hang all the lights. Sometimes bring all the staging too.

[Jason Tardick]

Wow.

[Dustin Lynch]

So there's way more overhead. But the experience for the fan is we own the night and we're building that long term. Fan vs hey, I'm going to go get a corn dog and ride this roller coaster and go watch this guy sing a song.

[Jason Tardick]

And go watch this guy sing a song. Makes sense. Is it possible to go on a tour and lose money?

[Dustin Lynch]

Absolutely.

[Jason Tardick]

Really? And has that happened to you?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yes, believe it or not. We can get into that.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, I'd love to.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

And how much, like, how much did you lose? Like, I can't imagine. You go on tour, you're grinding your ass off, you're tired, you're shot, you're doing everything. You got fans going crazy dying for you to sign things and then you lose money. Like I'm trying.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. I mean, I always try to equate what we do to sports teams, right?

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And athletes. Can you imagine playing a full season of NHL hockey and then at the end of the year you're going, oh, by the way, you lost money this year.

[Jason Tardick]

It's insane.

[Dustin Lynch]

Well, I did it, so. And really, what the. And this happened to a lot of us and it was because of the scale of just the world and everything that's priced. The ticket price didn't go up after Covid, but travel tripled, hotels tripled, fuel tripled. And so we were kind of stuck in this weird window of we have to have this many people to make our show happen. We have to have this type of show to play these stages. You can't roll in there with nothing. The fan expects more. And then when all of that's the big three expenses for me is the travel, the fuel, and the hotels. I mean, when all of those triple. Bottom line is screwed.

[Jason Tardick]

Screwed. How much did you lose?

[Dustin Lynch]

Can you say it was right about a break even type thing? But that's okay.

[Jason Tardick]

It's still a loss. Yeah. You're playing a whole season and then it's not. Not. Not going anywhere. So that's. That's frustrating. Interesting, though, during COVID how. Right. Restrictions go up, so then costs go up. So that's. That's kind of fascinating. And then how. With merchandise. That's all worked into the. The system too. Like, how do you. How do you get paid on merchants as a percentage of.

[Dustin Lynch]

It's a percentage of.

[Jason Tardick]

And.

[Dustin Lynch]

And it. What's crazy. This is another one of those, like, really frustrating things. So most venues are. Are. Are owned by, you know, Live Nation or. Or a group like that, and they have what's called a house fee. So that's pretty much their. Their house tax. And usually the venue makes just as much money as I do at the end of the year on my T shirt.

[Jason Tardick]

Interesting. That's. That's.

[Dustin Lynch]

So your take home is usually about. We try to get about 30%.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

You know.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

But that's just one of those things, you know, you look at, you know, you. I think maybe you don't, but obviously I'm consumed with all this. But you look at, like, all the fees when you go to Ticketmaster and buy a ticket, it's kind of like that.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

And this is, you know, everybody getting their.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

What they think is their cup. But what are you going to do? Not so merch.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, exactly.

[Dustin Lynch]

You got to sell it. Right.

[Jason Tardick]

Interesting.

[Dustin Lynch]

So interesting.

[Jason Tardick]

It seems like a lot of optimization has to be done in this business, but it's also cool to hear about it when you're up there singing. You talked about how many minutes you might play in a festival. Do you know, I've always wondered, like, will you play more if, like, you're vibing out, like the crowd feels. Are you on a quick strict. Like, it's got to be the second if it's.

[Dustin Lynch]

If it's our show. Well, two things. If it's our show, we can do what we want, usually. Unless there's a hard curfew.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

Sometimes if you're outdoors that, you know, noise violations or whatever. I've been with some artists that are having such a good time, they'll pay the fine because they don't. They don't.

[Jason Tardick]

They don't care.

[Dustin Lynch]

They don't care. Yeah. That's great. That's a great night. That, you know, if we're headlined at a festival and there's not a curfew, we'll play longer. For sure. We have those moments. That's fun. They're rare.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Because usually there are hard curfews or we're direct Support. Last thing you want to do is play over for sure. You know, you want to. You want to be mindful of your time allotted and respect that artist behind you.

[Jason Tardick]

That's fair. I love it. Okay, let's talk about some awards. So single of the Year in 2012, American Country Awards. You have music video of the year. Yeah. Top new artist of the Year in 2014. CMT Music Award, MAL Video of the year. I could keep going. I'll stop there. With these awards, how do they impact your business? Do you get paid when you win an award? Does it have a big impact on the monetization, the branding? Like, how do you view awards in the world of. Of the country music scene?

[Dustin Lynch]

I love the award shows. No, you don't get paid directly. I would say, you know, if you win. If you win group of, say, let's take Old Dominion. If you win group of the year nine years in a row, they're probably making some ticket sales off of people going, we got to go see this.

[Jason Tardick]

I mean, it's been this long.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, right.

[Jason Tardick]

Legends.

[Dustin Lynch]

So that's awesome. Award shows cost a lot of money. Money to be a part of them. You know, we've got a team of. I mean, it takes. I'm not picking out what I'm wearing on a red carpet, you know, so I'm paying. I'm paying stylists. I'm paying whatever that suit costs to wear, you know, hair and makeup. Go, go. If you're on tv, that's. That's a must. And then you've got, you know, for me, it's like I'm paying a security guy. Whatever. Airfare and hotel, ground transportation. Same with late night television. Late night television cost an arm and a leg. Leg.

[Jason Tardick]

That's it.

[Dustin Lynch]

How morning television costing an arm and a leg. You know, it's all. It's all marketing expenses.

[Jason Tardick]

So you're like, when you say arm and leg, like a few thousand bucks? Five thousand.

[Dustin Lynch]

Oh. Back in the day when we were playing late night TV, it was like 30, 35 grand. No way out of pocket. Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

Dad, you don't have to pay to actually be on the show, though, do you?

[Dustin Lynch]

No, that's just what it costs.

[Jason Tardick]

It's just to just.

[Dustin Lynch]

I mean, you know, we're moving 20 bodies.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. Do you. Do you think you see the return, though? Like, so you gusnl or Jimmy Fallon or something like that? You think those are. To see the return?

[Dustin Lynch]

I think it's. I think it's building blocks, you know, I don't think. I don't think you play it. And unless you're Stapleton and if you have a Stapleton moment like at the CMAs where it literally changed the face of country music in his life.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

With, with Tennessee Whiskey, like that performance is a direct like boom. That one worked.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

I think it's building blocks, you know, through the years, it's, it's reminding fans that you exist and which this day and age is impossible to do. You know, there's so much traffic out there.

[Jason Tardick]

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[Dustin Lynch]

I consume country music every day, all day. And I was just looking at a playlist the other day on Spotify and I knew like four artists on it. Like it's unbelievable.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

How many people are able to get music out now. And it's great. It's awesome because you find like I found a band the other day I had never heard of and I been listening to them the last three days.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

So. And they're here in Nashville. So, you know, there's, there's, I guess upsides to all of that. And it's just building blocks. You know, I think it's investments just like any company. Like let's go back to we're selling a product.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

You know, if I made this candle, I'm not just going to make the candle and that's that. Yeah, you got to go get it on shelf some kind of way and get it in front of people some kind of way. And so you know these moments and these award shows. Are great ways to do that. Who watches award shows? You know, the audience skews a little older, but the audience is very engaged with who's on that show. And. And I know for a fact all of our super fans are watching those award shows. So they're big deals. You know, it's not even if, you know, even if the cube watch is 2 million people.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

Well, a lot of that, A big portion of that viewership is super fans that are for sure gonna buy country music tickets.

[Jason Tardick]

Wow. Blown away by how much you know about the demographic, the analytics, and the business behind all those moving parts. Like, insanely, insanely impressive. You mentioned building blocks. Another building block for you. A whole different curveball. You now have a residency in Ve Vegas. So if you guys are listening this, you can go see Dustin lynch crush it in Vegas. Tell everyone about this is the first ever country artist to perform at Wynn Nightlight residency. Like, tell us about how this came to fruition, because this is a different curveball.

[Dustin Lynch]

It is. It's different. I. Even my close friends, I'm explaining because people think, oh, residency in Vegas, you're at a theater, you're playing multiple nights all year long.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

It's not how this works. We're playing the nightlife.

[Jason Tardick]

You play the club.

[Dustin Lynch]

So we're playing the. In my opinion, the sexiest, biggest club is the most fun I've ever had in my life at Access.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. Which is like places I've been to.

[Dustin Lynch]

Clubs all over the world.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Excess at the Win is. Is up there for me. And I can't believe this. You know, we're having this conversation. It organically happened.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

I got asked by PBR professional bull riding to play.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

An after party for the world championship last October at Excess. And I'm going, how are we going to pull that off? Yeah, what do you want? And so call them. And they're like, well, whatever you want to do. We've never had country. And so I'm going, well, that didn't help me at all. But I've been in enough shows. I've been in enough shows. I knew I was going on really late. I knew I didn't just want to be this karaoke singer. I knew I didn't want to be just an acoustic guitar me. That probably would have been great. That probably worked really well. But I wanted to take a chance because I had a dream man of if I'm. I'm going to get to play Excess, my favorite club in the world once I'm going to go up there and just drop the mic and do something fun. And so I, I, this is crazy how this came to be. I played an event for Twin Peaks. It was like their, Their. Their world championship of the Calendar Girls in Nashville. We got booked to play the show. Best show of all time.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

150, like, of the hottest girls.

[Jason Tardick]

You guys need an extra invite or plus one? Let me know on there.

[Dustin Lynch]

It was unreal. So we played that in Nashville. And afterwards, of course, we have to go to the. An after party. So we roll into this club that's in Nashville, and. And this dj, like, intertwines a couple of miles, hits into rap music and stuff. And I'm like, how did he do that? That was impressive. And I went and got his Instagram, and that was a couple years back. Anyway, so I get, I get this wild idea to do a DJ show at Excess. One time only.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

And I find them on Instagram. I shoot him a message, and I, I gave him a call and I said, man, here's the challenge. We got a month to make this show for Excess. He's like, I'm in.

[Jason Tardick]

So he probably loved that car.

[Dustin Lynch]

And, well, I mean, to get to play Excess. Yeah, Come on, on. And so luckily, we had, in years past, kind of done some EDM tricks for our live shows.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

And for social media, just, like, sizzle reel stuff.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure. Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

So we kind of had a little launching point with those, and, and we kind of. We. We just found a. A way to intertwine those hit songs, add some new ones, do some new remixes in and out of the antics of, like, my Pool Situation brand. So I had that leg up, and I love to host and into hip hop, back into country. We just came up with this half hour of fun stuff, and we get to the win and the gm, and everybody's there, and they're like, so what do you need? You know, you got a guitar player or. I go, no, man, it's me and this DJ and my playback tech from my drum tech from the road. I need three mics. And. And instead of decks, and they're like, what?

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

So they're thinking, we're gonna karaoke, you know?

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And we do sound check, and I look over and I can tell they're like, oh. You know, and the night before that gig, I ran into Marshmallow at the. When We Were Young festival. This rock festival.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

He was in the booth with us watching My Chemical Romance. And I just asked him, I said, dude, I'm doing the Show. I don't know what to do. He goes, go. Just play Least Common Denominator. Sing alongs.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

Trust me. I'm like, okay, good. Because I had, like, I knew what we kind of had. Ready.

[Jason Tardick]

That was it.

[Dustin Lynch]

And in the queue, and he's like, I'll come. Like, yeah, okay, you're right. I look over during my set, marshmallows in the booth to the door.

[Jason Tardick]

No way.

[Dustin Lynch]

Watching this go down. So having him there with support and then head of nightlife with him and then a couple other guys, I got off and. And he's like, dude, you nailed it. That was awesome. Congrats. And the next day, we had a call from Live Miami. We had a call from this place in Toronto. And then not long after that, Access called us to come back with Diplo in a few weeks. And we. We knew we'd done something cool.

[Jason Tardick]

That is so cool.

[Dustin Lynch]

You know, word got out fast.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. I mean, it's different. It's cool, but it's the vibe. It's where people are going. It's where people are spending their money. It's where people are spending their energy at the clubs now. Like, that's the game.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

In that type of, like, from a business perspective, you got mics, you got three people. You don't have all this travel, you don't have all these bands. Can you make more doing a gig like this than you would at one of these soft events? You already explained us.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, so. So the net profit on those is a little better because we don't have the overhead. Right. Trucks, buses. We talked about travel being what murders me.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

On. On, you know, bottom lines. And. But also, we can. We can. We're now being able to promote a product to these promoters and buyers that can come at a, you know, not so big of a nut. Right. So the full band show is this.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

Or he can come do this DJ set for this. So it's opened up these opportunities. Like in a week or two, we're playing the grand opening for Baltimore Orioles, and they would. Would never be able to afford the full band show. They don't have the stage space to get us up there. But we've offered them now a new product with this DJ set where they can have. Have the same amount of hits. They can have a very unique experience for their fan base. And I can do it for that for a cheaper price because of the overhead and, you know, there's not much to travel with. And it just. I don't know, it's. It's really opened my eyes to this, this brand new space. So. And, and then really the dream of this is, you know, next year I'm already looking at festivals and curating my own after party tents at all these festivals to where if we're at a festival, you know, I'm already going to be at the festival for this price. But we'll play the after party attempt at the after party tent for an extra whatever.

[Jason Tardick]

That's pretty sick.

[Dustin Lynch]

And so we're kind of getting two parties in one and the promoters, they know they can trust us and we're already there.

[Jason Tardick]

That's pretty cool.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

I mean, your first album drops in 2012. It's 2025. You know, you already talked about how there's oversaturation, there's all these artists. It's tough to continue and sustain and have longevity. Based on what I'm hearing and your ingenuity and what you're doing in a space that's so hard to stay and continue to be successful, it feels like every year you're optimizing it more and finding more sources of revenue. Is it fair to say that, like your graph, when you look at like, let's just call it net income, not even gross income, but net income, is it moving this way?

[Dustin Lynch]

It is. Other than that one year where we.

[Jason Tardick]

Had to do some NHL year that you played at no cost. But like this year you'll probably make more than you've made before because of all these different options and avenues to find revenue and optimize the cost.

[Dustin Lynch]

And I think Too, you know, 12, 12 years in, I'm not the new kid on the block anymore, you know, so that flash in the pan, oh, this guy, this guy, this guy is. And now it's going. How can we continue to reinvent ourselves and make the brand sustainable as long as we can and grow the brand? And I'm probably what I'm most proud of, you know, with the pool situation brand kind of meeting with this DJ nightlife brand in addition to, you know, still having hit songs at country radio and playing these festivals, I'm most proud of keeping it fun for us, you know. Yeah, I could sit back and just put out a country song and go play, you know, our arenas and festivals and be fine.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

But man, the challenge of curating, you know, new shows and playing the biggest nightclub in Miami and playing my favorite nightclub in the world in Vegas and Encore Beach Club in Vegas, you know, it's. It's just a. I think we talked about building blocks earlier. It's just, you know, all these little things kind of you just figure out a way to put them together and it's kept it exciting. I'm 12 years into this and the most excited I've ever been to create music because the DJ set has now allowed us to look at this new wave of edm. And with the success that streaming has had across the world, the success that Morgan Wallen's had and Luke Combs has had, bringing all these new eyes and ears to country music, American country music. Now I've found a way to mix in a little dance music and collaborate with the songwriters behind the big dance hits and some of these big DJs. And I'm working on a project right now in that world. So it's going to allow us to really get out worldwide with a little bit of our music and sky's the limit.

[Jason Tardick]

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[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. First. First and foremost is. Is country project.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

And working hard at that right now.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

But also hand in hand. It's fun because I can go like. I mean, I'm writing like a madman right now because I'm so inspired, but I can, I can go in the right country one day and then the next day I'm with one of the top producers with big DJ writing for the dance record.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay. One question I got that I know everyone's asking about you Release this new music that you're working on right now. Once it comes out, obviously you have to deploy a social media Strategy now, which 10 years ago you didn't have to do. What type of things are you trying to do, like, on TikTok to, like, I'm sure it's crazy for a country artist of your caliber and longevity to be like, I can't believe I have to make a dancing track trend. But are you like, is that part of your strategy with this new music? What's it look like?

[Dustin Lynch]

I, you know, I. I think someone. I didn't start. If I was starting out now, I'd probably have to get into the dance game, like where I'm doing the thing. Yeah. But that wouldn't be genuine. For me, it's all about being, you know, genuine to yourself and true to yourself. And I think, yeah, I've got to navigate those. Those spaces, obviously. But there's. I think there's stuff. There's so much you can do content wise, that. That goes hand in hand with my brand.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

As a country artist. Right. I'll let the others kind of take it from there and hopefully we have a song take off that I would love to put out a song that becomes, you know, a dancing trend in every country bar for the rest of the time. That's like the biggest goal ever. Right. To have a. To have a line dance till the end of time is like, that's unbelievable. It's a great goal to have out there and manifest.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

So, yeah, I definitely. I love it. I love social media. I'm on Instagram the most just because I get caught scrolling and tick tock. I'm like, my main goal this year is to up my tick tock game and be more consistent on there. And that's a really fun spot because, you know, you can have something. Like the other day I was flying my plane and, you know, it was just like a cool sunset. I took a video and I threw it up there. Not doing anything fun or cool. Like, I've probably posted That a hundred times or for whatever reason on Tick Tock. Boom. It just popped. And it's like, okay, okay. So it's just consistency, you know, and that's original to me. Like that's me flying to literally eat Mexican with my parents one night and then fly home.

[Jason Tardick]

That's sweet.

[Dustin Lynch]

And you know, and it takes off and I get all of this, all these views and all these new eyeballs that follow me and, and now I think whenever it comes time to, to do, you know, a country release or our, our country EDM release, you know, I have all those new eyeballs that are going to see it.

[Jason Tardick]

That's huge. One of the last things I got for your social media, you kind of touched on it already. 1.2 million followers on IG. Go follow Dustin Lynch. TikTok 460,000 X. You got 850,000 YouTube, 825,000 subscribers. We've had people come on the podcast and with these numbers, they're making millions and millions of dollars. With brand deals, you have so many sources of revenue. Are you participating in like the creator influencer game as well?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, absolutely. In, in a lot of different ways. You know, there's direct partnerships we've done which are great. And, and I'll continue to do what define direct partnership. Like you're promoting, you know, John Deere goes all right for you know, the next six months. We need three posts.

[Jason Tardick]

Got it.

[Dustin Lynch]

We need you to have, you know, a meet and greet of at this, you know, dealership. Dealership, you know, whatever, Illinois for your show, that type of thing.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

The indirect partnerships are a lot of fun too defined indirect and there's a couple of indirect partnerships. So indirect would be, I guess, happy dad. And, and I think that's the genius of that brand is it's not hot drink a happy dad.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

It's just, you know, we did a deal and it's like, hey man, just we're going to send you product. We'd love for you to, to drink it, we'd love for you to wear a hat, we'd love for you to wear a shirt. Just make it a part of your life, you know, and, and so it's not as like, then there's a fee for it, there's a fee for it. And then also there's, you know, investment opportunities from that.

[Jason Tardick]

Got it. You know, get equity in the game. Yeah. I mean, without a doubt this is intentional. We just did a six figure deal to start bucks.

[Dustin Lynch]

Oh, nice.

[Jason Tardick]

So like. But they're not. There's no payment for this right now.

[Dustin Lynch]

Right.

[Jason Tardick]

But like, it's intentional, like with that. Right. So that's like, kind of a thought. But that's really cool how happy dad's doing that. Like, they'll give you product, make it. Make it natural, and then they'll give you the ability to get into the game from an equity perspective or potential cash.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, I love it so much because people just see it around and they want to know what it is because you're not telling them what it is.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

And if they ask you what it is and then you get to tell them what it is, then they're more connected to it. It. You know, and. And it's just in the background of pictures or photos, you know, or videos or it's not this hashtag ad.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

When I wake up. Yeah, here's my I drink a happy dad. That'd be a fun life.

[Jason Tardick]

Sound like a good time? All right, let's do a quick rapid fire, and then we'll get your trading secret. So this is kind of like a money fun topic and we'll touch on country music. But what is one thing that you spend too much money on? You know, you spend too much money on unless you go completely broke. Like, that area, you're like, I'm still going to spend on that. What is that area?

[Dustin Lynch]

Oh, my gosh, man, it's got to be. Honey.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay, if you had to guess, how much you think you spend on hunting?

[Dustin Lynch]

Oh, not annually. No, no.

[Jason Tardick]

But in total.

[Dustin Lynch]

Well, I just. I've bought so much farm. Farm around the hunt on. You know, at the end of the day, like, that's an expensive hobby. I literally got my pilot's license so I could fly to my farm.

[Jason Tardick]

Like, he has his pilot license, too. What the hell?

[Dustin Lynch]

Like, that's ridiculous.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, yeah. That's crazy. It's unbelievable. I love it.

[Dustin Lynch]

Okay, so hunting is. Is the hobby that.

[Jason Tardick]

That's a good one.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. And I mean, I think if. If you're like, if you take everything away from me, I'm still going to find a way to go hunt.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay. That's your thing. That's where you get out of there. Okay, let. Talk to me about this. Like, you have a. You have a blank check, and it's a dollar amount one day. Like, you dream to be worth this amount. Like, so. Now this stems from Jim Carrey when He went to LA, put a blank check in his wallet. He said, $10 million. I'm going to make $10 million in five years. And it was four and a half years later, that's when he got dumb and dumber and he got paid 10 million bucks. Like, that's where this comes from. Like your blank check. Like, what does it look like? What's the dream if you had to write it right now?

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, I would like to get. That's funny, because it's never going to end. I mean, this is how you and I are programmed.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

I do have a. I do have a goal to get to 100.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. And then when 100 comes, you're going to want to do 100.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. Because I love. Like, I've learned so much. Covid was such a big blessing for me because it allowed me to go, oh, shit, yeah, what am I going to do? And I really started looking into my money and going, okay, what am I doing with this cash in the bank? And I started finding opportunities because out of just desperation, of boredom, but also if. If we never get to go tour again. Because there was a point in time I was like, I don't know.

[Jason Tardick]

Sure.

[Dustin Lynch]

And I started investing in real estate.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, cool.

[Dustin Lynch]

And so I think if I get to the a hundred mark, I'm going to just have. I mean, I'm like, a lot of my day is. Is managing my investments, and I love. I love dirt. I just. As far as investing goes, I like to be able to touch it. I like to be creative.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

So either developing land or managing something or developing products. And so, like, I'm constantly. It takes up a lot of my bandwidth, and I would probably just do more of that at a bigger scale.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay. I love it. And you are equity owner and equity partner of Beard Club, too. So shout out to beer club. I was going to ask you if you could think like, one. One best investment, one worst investment. Okay, good one. You made. And what, like the worst one?

[Dustin Lynch]

Well, I think best investment will be some of my. My commercial real estate.

[Jason Tardick]

Sweet.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah, just. And being able to leverage, you know, some. Some good. Good. I guess, percentage points on some things.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah. That's great.

[Dustin Lynch]

Those are fun.

[Jason Tardick]

Worst investment.

[Dustin Lynch]

Worst investment. It's probably going to be. Well, yeah, to be determined.

[Jason Tardick]

So far, I have a T blow up in 2020. I don't know. Did you get involved in any of those messes?

[Dustin Lynch]

No, I haven't got involved in the crypto thing yet. Surely I've had something just go sideways. There's one thing I thought would be a home run, a part of this fund that was kind of a celeb, indirect marketing group.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

And a lot of Our stuff was restaurants, and. And so then covet hit Gotcha. And so, you know, it was like yoga studios, restaurants, all this stuff where it just business went. We thought it was going to grow to dead.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, geez.

[Dustin Lynch]

And so we took a big hit there, but we had a couple other things work, so we're kind of.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay.

[Dustin Lynch]

We got to cut water right here. Still got you that break even toy. I may sneak out of there even, but we'll see.

[Jason Tardick]

I love it. All right, here's the last part we got. It's. You can invest with them, you could play with them, and you can manage them. So there's one country artist right now that you can invest in. What country artist other than yourself are you investing in?

[Dustin Lynch]

Wow. Okay, say that one more time.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay, so this one is going to be invest all the country artists that are out there.

[Dustin Lynch]

Okay. I want to make sure I get this right.

[Jason Tardick]

You got all your cash. You can. You can buy a country artist right now. Like, you could buy. Buy stock in a company.

[Dustin Lynch]

Okay.

[Jason Tardick]

Who are you investing in right now?

[Dustin Lynch]

Luke comes.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay, that's a good one. Now you can manage someone. So you're like, all right, I'm going to be their manager. I can make 20, 10, 5%, whatever your percentage is. I see what's going on. I want to manage them this second. Who would you want to manage?

[Dustin Lynch]

I want to manage Zach Top.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay, that's. That's a hell of a one. And then the last one is play with. So you can write a single with any artist. Any artist. It doesn't even have to be country. Any artist in the world. Who's it going to be?

[Dustin Lynch]

This will be fun to say. Let's say I'm trying to. There's a million of these.

[Jason Tardick]

A million. A million.

[Dustin Lynch]

Because I. I have a huge crush on her. I would love to make. And I love. I love this type of music. I would love to make music with Tyler.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay. Hey. This is how. This is how Taylor Swift and Travis Kelsey got together. You never know. You never know. Last one I got is you're sitting at a table. You get to have a beer or drink with any artist, dead or alive. Who's it gonna be?

[Dustin Lynch]

Probably hag.

[Jason Tardick]

Okay. That's another good.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. Emerald Haggard.

[Jason Tardick]

Great.

[Dustin Lynch]

That's still. That's my. If my house caught on fire today I would run and grab. I got to sing on his tribute album, and I got surprised. He wrote me a print off a big poster, and he wrote me a really nice note on it.

[Jason Tardick]

Yeah.

[Dustin Lynch]

So that's What I probably would grab. I'd grab that and then all of my opera gear I have and run out of the house.

[Jason Tardick]

I love it. Awesome. Well, we gotta wrap with a trading secret. So it's a trading secret to your life. It could be financial. It could be professional or personal. Only based on your experience. You can't hear it in a TikTok tutorial or from a professor reading the textbook only from Dustin Lynch. So what trading secret can you wrap us with?

[Dustin Lynch]

With? Yeah, I think we've already hit on it. You know, know for a fact that I would say this. Let's keep it short and sweet. You may have to cross the bridge again. Don't burn it down.

[Jason Tardick]

Don't burn it down. That's a hell of a quote right there. I like it.

[Dustin Lynch]

And we're gonna happen to everybody, Everyone, at some point.

[Jason Tardick]

Everyone. And, you know, you talked about ego. Your ego will want to burn it down.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

But let your logic serve you there, I think.

[Dustin Lynch]

Watch who you date in your industry.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, we can do a whole different podcast on that. That's. That's a good one.

[Dustin Lynch]

You know what?

[Jason Tardick]

You want to elaborate on that?

[Dustin Lynch]

No, I've. I've. That was one of my packs I made early on in Nashville. Yeah.

[Jason Tardick]

You wouldn't do that.

[Dustin Lynch]

No.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, that's smart.

[Dustin Lynch]

Because you never know.

[Jason Tardick]

That's really smart.

[Dustin Lynch]

Right.

[Jason Tardick]

Because you might not even want to burn a book.

[Dustin Lynch]

You're at 10 roof playing an acoustic show. You're just, you know, just aspiring songwriters, and the next thing you know, she's running your record label in five years or 10 years.

[Jason Tardick]

Exactly.

[Dustin Lynch]

You don't want that going down. No.

[Jason Tardick]

You don't want.

[Dustin Lynch]

Yeah. Stay out of your industry.

[Jason Tardick]

That's a smart. That might be the best training secret we've ever had.

[Dustin Lynch]

All right.

[Jason Tardick]

That's a great, great way to wrap up. We know. I know you talked about some of your management failures, but we have red light management here, who is one of your successes. So thank guys for making this happen.

[Dustin Lynch]

Wouldn't be with them if it was.

[Jason Tardick]

Big thumbs up to them. And, Dustin, thank you so much for being on this episode. Trading Secrets. Ding, ding, ding. We are closing in the bell to the Dustin lynch episode, but we are live right here at Stagecoach out in the middle of California. And let me tell you, this is a sight for sore eyes. I got Jay Glaze to my left chugging down a body armor. We got Andrew Spencer in the house. John Gurney's here. Sam, Katie Blake, the DJ Horseman, and Evan Saar, the legend himself. We're gonna go to Justin Glaze here first. First. Before we kick it to Dustin Lynch, I want to ask, how's your stagecoach weekend, bad man? It was fire. Yeah. Why are you so tired right now? Because I don't. I don't do this anymore. Yeah, what do you. What do you mean? You don't do what? I don't go outside. I stay inside. Are you a country fan? Sometimes. Times. What'd you think about this weekend, one through ten? I like Shaboozi. Yeah? What do you like about shabuzi? I think he's really talented. Are you being so weird right now? I get awkward on camera. Okay, you're not on camera. You're just on audio. Yes, you are. John. Got a camera right here. Oh. Kelly Flanagan has just entered the room. Kelly Flanagan, how's your stage coach? Weekend been wild. These boys are crazy. Mr. Andrew Spencer. How you doing today? I'm good. Why are you so scared right now? I'm doing really good. How's your week? How's your week? How's your weekend? Oh, man, this has been so exciting. This is my first stagecoach ever, so I'm really happy to be here. What's been your favorite memory so far? I think was probably, you know, fall asleep with jalapeno chips last night. That's your favorite memory. Who's been the best? Who's been the best? Who's been the best performance you've seen this weekend? Shabuzzi. All right, back to back. I will say you look. You. You two are looking quite fit. You. You hitting the gym here for anything specific? I just. I just try to look good for, you know, Kelly Flanagan. Wow. Kelly. Kelly, how do you feel about Wild Remark?

[Dustin Lynch]

Wild.

[Jason Tardick]

We're going over to Blake. D.J. blake, this is. This is a crazy recap right here. Blake Horseman. How. How you feeling this stage coach?

[Dustin Lynch]

I'm feeling good.

[Jason Tardick]

I'm just happy to be here. I'm just happy to be here. You performed yesterday, right?

[Dustin Lynch]

I did, I did.

[Jason Tardick]

I performed. Yesterday was a good time.

[Dustin Lynch]

It was a vibe.

[Jason Tardick]

What'd you think about it?

[Dustin Lynch]

It was fun, man. It was fun.

[Jason Tardick]

It was. It was a fun little, like, activation from Malibu. So it was a good time. You just saw Andrew Spencer take his shot at Kelly Flanagan. What did you feel when you saw that? I've been seeing shots taken at Kelly Flanagan all weekend. You have in the house all the boys.

[Dustin Lynch]

We are in paradise, Right?

[Jason Tardick]

What advice would you give to Kelly Planigan? Don't.

[Dustin Lynch]

Don't.

[Jason Tardick]

None of the bachelor boys stay away from all the Bachelor Stay away from Bachelor Nation. Andrew Spencer is coming in hot right now. He is on his knee asking Kelly Flanigan for a date as we speak. Kelly, did you say yes? Wait. Justin Glaze is now holding Kelly's hand. What is happening in this villa at Stagecoach? It has gotten out of control. Let's talk. Let's talk. A couple dollars and cents. You make some good money yesterday? I did, actually. I had a pretty good weekend. Is this a. Is this, like. Do you sponsorships, too? Yeah, yeah, I got some sponsorships. And, yeah, they made DJ'd Coachella, and they made it up for me too, for paying me extra here. All right, so if we think about DJing, we think about brand sponsorships. Give me a number. 20 grand this weekend. No, not that. 10K. 10K this. Play Courseman in the house. Think about the days you were out in Stagecoach making mistakes, and now you're just cash in check.

[Dustin Lynch]

I'm the only one who didn't go.

[Jason Tardick]

To an afterparty this weekend. I have changed. I'm a fault. I'm a daddy now.

[Dustin Lynch]

You know what I mean?

[Jason Tardick]

I'm a daddy. Did you get PTSD being here? No, no, no. And what was your biggest f. Favorite memory? This. This. This podcast. Okay. All right. We're going to our attorney. Sophie, Justin and Kelly at a moment. What is happening? Get back. What. What moment did they have?

[Dustin Lynch]

I don't know how much I'm allowed to say.

[Jason Tardick]

Why is Justin sweating right now? Oh, he's coming. Okay, let's go. Wait, what? Justin, what's going on here? Can you confirm or deny? I'm confused. Andrew wants to take Cali on a date. I mean, she just said she's always had an eye for me. Cal, is that true? This is the first time I'm really getting to know Kelly, you know, and I was trying to hook you guys up, but she, like, I don't know, she's been coming on pretty strong.

[Dustin Lynch]

Wow.

[Jason Tardick]

All right, John Gertie, what do you think? I'm the only non bachelor guy. Yeah. Is scalding. So that was. That was laying next to them on.

[Dustin Lynch]

The couch when all this was happening.

[Jason Tardick]

Oh, my God. What. What is happening in this house right now? Holy hells. Get the producers of the Bachelor over here right now. There is a lot of action. Kelly has now left the room. We're gonna go shake her down right here. Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, Kelly, come in. Come in. Kelly. Kelly, what happened? Can you tell us what happened in that. What happened on the couch last night?

[Dustin Lynch]

Nothing. Nothing.

[Jason Tardick]

Andrew, were you part of this too? Yeah. No. You weren't here. So, Kelly, I know there's a lot of jokes flying around here and stuff, but, like, are you dating anyone right now?

[Dustin Lynch]

I'm not.

[Jason Tardick]

You're single. Interestingly. Why wouldn't you go on Paradise?

[Dustin Lynch]

I don't think it's for me. You know, I'm like in a stage.

[Jason Tardick]

Where I think I need to be single. Okay, all right. She is single and good at it. Does anyone. Dustin. This is the Dustin lynch episode. Just so you guys know a lot of interesting things there. John, you are a musician. What'd you take away from that episode?

[Dustin Lynch]

So, Dustin, I thought the coolest thing.

[Jason Tardick]

Was how each show is a product. So he has an acoustic show, an.

[Dustin Lynch]

EDM show, a full band show, how.

[Jason Tardick]

They can package each thing like, oh, Andrew Spencer almost just nearly died. Andrew, are you okay? That might be the wildest recap we've ever had on Trading Secrets. But you know what? That's fitting for Stagecoach. We're out here doing some work, we're out here having fun. But I really hope you enjoyed this episode. You know, Dustin lynch truly is a force to be reckoned with, not only in the country artist space, but as an entrepreneur, businessman and investor. And it's so interesting, interesting to hear more about him. And I will tell you personally, spending some time with him in Vegas this past weekend and here at Stagecoach, he is a really great guy, down to earth, humble, caring, charismatic. I can't say enough good things about him. So I hope you enjoyed this episode of Trading Secrets. And hopefully it was one you couldn't afford to miss.

[Dustin Lynch]

That money Living that dream Making that.

[Jason Tardick]

Money on me Making that money Living that dream.