Aug 14, 2026
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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