What can a travel creator learn from one of the biggest guitar teachers on YouTube? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

Marty Schwartz is the creator of Marty Music, a guitar education brand with close to five million YouTube subscribers and thousands of lessons produced over nearly two decades.

Marty joined us at TBEX North America in Richmond, and although he works in a completely different corner of the creator economy, the similarities are striking.

In Part 1 of our conversation, Marty talks with Palle Bo and Rick Calvert about growing an audience before anyone really knew what a "YouTuber" was, turning free content into a sustainable business, and why creators in different industries should pay more attention to what they can learn from each other.

We also get into brand deals, the difference between free products and actually getting paid, how the pandemic transformed partnerships in the music industry, and why Marty deliberately chose an affordable Epiphone for his signature guitar rather than a more expensive Gibson.

And sometimes branding starts with something as simple as a hat.

In this episode

• How Marty rebuilt his YouTube presence from scratch and reached almost five million subscribers
• Why creators should learn from industries outside their own
• Free products versus paid brand partnerships
• How Marty turned guitar education into products, courses and recurring revenue
• Why his fedora became an instantly recognizable part of the Marty Music brand

Relevant links

• Marty Music
  https://martymusic.com
• Marty Music on YouTube
  https://www.youtube.com/@MartyMusic
• Free Marty Music Guitar Courses & Resources
  https://martymusic.com/free-courses
• Marty Music Community
  https://martymusic.com/memberships
• TBEX
  https://tbexcon.com

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With AI producing more content and Google constantly changing the rules, how does a travel creator actually stand out? Josefine and Dom of Red White Adventures have a refreshingly simple answer: be more yourself.

The Danish-Canadian couple has travelled together for more than eight years and turned what began as a casual travel blog into a full-time content business focused on outdoor adventures, slow travel, and the digital nomad lifestyle.

Recorded at TBEX Europe in San Sebastián, this conversation gets into the reality behind that journey – from learning SEO and affiliate marketing to working with tourism boards, building multiple income streams, and deciding to commit fully to the blog.

They also talk candidly about the uncertainty created by Google updates, why creators need to think long term, and why following every social-media trend can eventually make everyone look the same.

Perhaps their most useful advice comes down to something no algorithm or AI tool can easily reproduce: your own experiences, personality, and point of view.

In this episode:

• Why staying longer in a destination can lead to better travel content
• How Red White Adventures turned a hobby blog into a business
• Their approach to affiliate marketing, brand partnerships, and diversification
• Why community matters when the industry is changing
• How personality and authenticity can help creators stand out in the age of AI

Relevant links

• Red White Adventures: https://redwhiteadventures.com/
• Produced by RadioGuru: https://radioguru.co.uk
• TBEX: https://tbexcon.com/

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Can AI save travel creators hours of work without removing the personality, experience and human perspective that make people trust them?

At TBEX Eau Claire, Palle Bo and Rick Calvert sat down with content entrepreneur and author Julia McCoy, who had recently made a dramatic transition from outspoken AI sceptic to President of Content at Scale (now BrandWell).

Julia explains what changed her mind. Early AI writing tools produced generic, unreliable content filled with fluff. Then she discovered technology capable of researching, writing and producing content at a speed that forced her to reconsider what the future might look like for professional writers and content creators.

The conversation also explores the risks. AI can confidently invent facts, places and even legal cases, making human judgment and fact-checking essential. For travel bloggers, the bigger question is whether travellers will continue searching for blogs when an AI tool can build an itinerary in seconds.

Julia's answer is that personal experience matters more than ever. AI may provide information, but it cannot replace your stories, your observations or the trust created by a recognisable human voice.

In this episode:

• Why Julia changed her mind about AI almost overnight
• How AI hallucinations make fact-checking non-negotiable
• Where AI can save travel creators significant time
• Why firsthand stories remain a travel blogger's greatest advantage
• Whether ChatGPT and similar tools will take traffic away from travel websites

Update Since Recording

This conversation was recorded in 2023. Content at Scale later became BrandWell, and Julia McCoy has since left the company. She is now the founder of First Movers, which helps businesses implement AI systems, automation and digital-clone technology.

Relevant links:

• First Movers:
  https://firstmovers.ai
• Content at Scale – now BrandWell:
  https://brandwell.ai
• Julia McCoy on LinkedIn:
  https://linkedin.com/in/juliaemccoy/
• The Content Writer's Handbook:
  https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Content-Writers-Handbook-Audiobook/B0CX793N8L
• Transcendent Man documentary:
  https://transcendentman.com/
• Learn more about TBEX:
  https://tbexcon.com
• Find more Travel Matters episodes in your podcast app or at:
  https://tbexcon.com/podcast/
• Podcast produced by RadioGuru:
  https://radioguru.co.uk

Follow Travel Matters in your podcast app for a new conversation every Friday.