At just 18 years old, Birta Dís is already navigating the music industry with a level of clarity, intention, and momentum that many artists only reach years later. In this episode of the Oktaves Podcast, Birta Dís talks openly about graduating high school, choosing music without a safety net, and stepping into the realities of releasing music professionally at a young age.The conversation explores songwriting as a form of self-reflection, music as emotional processing, and how Birta Dís developed her voice before feeling “ready.” She shares how her early songs came together, what it was like to reach out to producers for the first time, and how collaboration helped her move from private songwriting into public releases.

Birta Dís also explains how she applied for and received a music grant, what that validation meant at such an early stage, and how learning to write grant applications forced her to articulate her artistic direction clearly. She reflects on performing her own songs live, building confidence on stage, and understanding how songs change when played with a band rather than written alone.The episode goes deep into early career decision-making: balancing fear and ambition, learning how the industry works without formal backing, and resisting the pressure to rush or brand herself too early. Birta Dís talks about using TikTok as a creative testing ground, not just for reach but for confidence, and how sharing unfinished ideas helped her trust her instincts as an artist. Her inspirations being Elín Hall, BRÍET, Ásgeir Trausti, and Leith Ross to name a few.This episode is both emotionally grounded and practically useful. It offers rare insight into what it actually looks like to start a music career young: the uncertainty, the courage, the structure behind creativity, and the quiet work that happens long before momentum is visible.This episode is about starting early, taking yourself seriously, and learning how to grow without losing your sense of self.

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Welcome to the Oktaves podcast🎙️ Talks with musicians! Where we uplift local musicians voices.

This podcast is about chatting about and sharing with each other tips and tricks on how to succeed in the music industry as an independent musician, with an emphasis on branding and marketing, and overall management, whether your goal is to stay forever independent or get label-ready. We are very passionate about breaking the cycle of gatekeeping in the industry, so we strive towards bringing you conversations where these layers of the onion will be peeled one by one.

We are also here to uplift and shed light on independent (or previously independent) musicians in our community, who are so kind to share their struggles, their wins, successes, their strategies, and advice or some secrets possibly to how they got there.

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