Kyle Hume: How I Went Viral, Turned Down Labels, and Bet on Myself

Sponsor Highlight: River City Mortgage LLC NMLS 142954 https://rchomeloans.com/ Call or Text: Nick Hunter 513-490-4235 SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE In this episode of the Risky Business Podcast, we sit down with Kyle Hume — singer, songwriter, and producer — to break down the real story from COVID era to now: how he used TikTok as a feedback loop, wrote songs from comments, went viral, and built a career without taking a traditional label path. Kyle talks through his background (Louisville → UK), his early days in computer science and internships at GE, the exact content experiments that worked, the moment a song blew up through other creators, and the business side of music — including why he turned down label deals and how he thinks about marketing music today. We also talk touring, album rollout, staying consistent, and what he’d tell a younger creator trying to make it right now. Kyle Hume Singer • Songwriter • Producer • Independent Artist Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2XhX0... New Album Release: March 27 Louisville native now based in Nashville. Known for: “If I Would Have Known,” “Fine,” and viral songwriting from TikTok prompts. Timestamps 0:00 Intro + meet Kyle Hume 1:40 Louisville/UK background + early path 3:00 Engineering → computer science + GE internships 4:50 Getting into music (remixes, producing, learning fast) 6:30 First song attempt + early momentum 8:15 Turning down the “safe job” route 10:00 Starting TikTok + testing content ideas 12:00 The “write songs about people’s Instagrams” idea 14:20 Turning it into an engagement machine 16:00 Viral relationship/IG match videos + first big spikes 18:00 Writing songs from comments (daily reps) 21:00 First big “risk” move + grinding while still in school 23:40 Flying to LA during dead week + learning the industry 25:30 The comment that changed everything (“never getting to say goodbye”) 26:50 Another creator blows it up + finishing the song fast 28:20 Labels start calling + getting a manager 29:45 Why Kyle turned down label deals (numbers, ownership, leverage) 32:20 Content strategy shift: don’t chase followers, sell the song 33:10 “Fine” blows up + going Gold 36:00 Output cadence (5 videos/week) + tour promo 37:30 Tour dates + Louisville show details + album release show 41:10 Advice for young creators: start now, take shots, choose voices wisely 45:10 Rapid fire: favorite song/video/restaurant 48:00 “Holy cow this is working” moment + numbers mindset 50:10 Perfect day in Nashville + wrap up