Butternomics the Business of Culture
iHeartPodcasts·112 episodes·Weekly
Butternomics: The Business of Culture takes a deep dive into the intersection of business and culture, showing how brands, entrepreneurs, and tastemakers use culture level up. Join serial entrepreneur, thought leader, and CEO of Butter.ATL, Brandon Butler (@mrsuperbran), as he brings you exclusive interviews, trends, insights, and more.
Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or a seasoned pro, Butternomics is for you.
Episodes
Latest Episode
June 9, 2026 · 52m
Atlanta calls itself the Black Mecca. But ask who actually owns the city, who gets pushed out when the money moves, and who benefits from all this growth, and the answer gets complicated. Nathaniel Smith has spent his life on that question. He's the Founder and Chief Equity Officer of the Partnership for Southern Equity, and he grew up in Kirkwood watching the Olympics, gentrification, and the crack era reshape the neighborhoods he loved. He started with one $500 check and built a 16-year movement. In this episode, Brandon Butler sits down with Nathaniel to break down what equity really means, why the Beltline put people in position to fund their own displacement, and how Atlanta built its Black wealth in the first place. They get into tax allocation districts, why organized people matter as much as organized money, and why he believes Atlanta is the place that has to get it right. This one is for anybody who loves this city and wants to see it work for everybody in it. So goes Atlanta, so goes the South. So goes the South, so goes the nation. See for privacy information.
More Episodes
Jun 3 · 48m
Steve Canal builds the thing most people can't: culture that actually pays. On this episode of Butternomics, Brandon Butler sits down with Steve Canal, co-founder of One Venture Group and part of the team behind ONE Musicfest and TwoGether Land, to talk about how Atlanta actually works. The city moves on relationships, and Steve has spent his whole career proving it. He breaks down how he built by leading with one question: how can I help? He explains why trust compounds when you show up for people before you need anything, why the door in this city opens when somebody vouches for you, and how he turned that into real brand partnerships and real money. The conversation gets into what it takes to align big brands with cultural moments that feel authentic, why reading culture is a skill most people never develop, and how Steve picks the partnerships worth saying yes to. He's a two-time bestselling author who has been recognized by the Ebony Power 100 and the Inc. 5000, and he keeps it direct about the work behind all of it. If you're building something in culture, this one will save you years.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 27 · 29m
Mandii B pulled up to Butternomics and broke down the real podcast money blueprint. Most creators chase a network deal thinking it means marketing, studio time, production help, and guest booking handled for them. None of that is guaranteed. A network deal is really just you licensing your content so they can sell ads against it. The expenses, the editing, the booking, the studio, all still on you. The real play is diversification. Patreon brings Mandii a quarter million a year by itself because subscriptions hit different when your audience actually believes in the work. Live shows start small but build a real connection with the people who already ride for you. Merch is a slower bag, but it's another lane when the demand is real. The lesson is simple. Stop waiting on somebody else's deal to validate your show. Build the audience, own the income streams, and let the network come to you on your terms.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 21 · 29m
Tendernism didn't start on the internet. It started 50 years ago in a kitchen in Robbins, Illinois, with a young Walter Johnson cutting wingtips off chicken wings for his brother's restaurant. 50 years. 50+ states. Casino kitchens, backyard cookouts, and every Southern state he could get to so he could learn what the old folks knew about a pinch of this and a pinch of that. By the time the camera found him, the craft was already there. The world just hadn't caught up yet. In this episode, Brandon Butler sits down with the man who invented Tendernism to tell the full story. How the word actually got named (an oxtail, the sun, and meat that peeled off the bone like an orange). Why he calls oxtails "Black Diamonds." How he ended up on the phone with Snoop and Ron Isley. And the Muhammad Ali line that made him realize this was bigger than food: "Ali shocked the world in '65. I shocked 'em in 2025." Walter is proof that your time is your time. The meat was just the entryway. Tendernism is the movement. ▶ Subscribe: https://youtube.com/@butternomics?sub_confirmation=1 #Butternomics #BusinessOfCulture #Tendernism #WalterJohnson #BlackDiamonds #AtlantaPodcast #BlackEntrepreneurs #SouthernFood #BBQ #AtlantaBusinessSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 12 · 53m
It costs $300,000 to $400,000 a year just to protect voting rights in Georgia. The SAVE Act would charge you $33 to $130 for a new ID just to vote. DEI rollbacks are cutting off SBA loans and grant funding to Black businesses right now. Attorney Gerald Griggs sat down with Butternomics and unpacked the economics of civil rights, how legislation is quietly hitting Black wealth, and why Georgia has the highest rate of people under state control in the entire country. He also dropped a number that should stop every Black professional in Atlanta: 2.2 million registered voters. A governor's race takes 1.9 million.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 5 · 29m
Walter Johnson cooked for 50 years across 50 states before a single camera found him. He started cutting wingtips off chicken in his brother's restaurant in Robbins, Illinois. He worked casinos, restaurants, and backyard cookouts across the South, collecting seasonings and techniques from every state he passed through. Then a video went viral and the world learned his name. Forbes wrote about him. Snoop Dogg invited him to the compound. Now he's building a seasoning line, planning a national food festival, and turning a lifetime of craft into a brand empire. He calls it Tendernism. The rest of us call it proof that your moment comes when it comes and not a second before.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 30 · 54m
On this episode of Butternomics, Rev. Dr. Jamal Bryant sits down with host Brandon Butler to break his silence on the Target Fast and reveals exactly how 40 days of strategic economic pressure stripped $12 billion from Target's valuation. From a 9.7% drop in foot traffic to forcing the first-ever HBCU business pipeline, Bryant pulls back the curtain on the full strategy, the demands, the negotiations, and what the Black community actually won. He also shares the vision for New Birth City, a 300-acre development bringing micro homes, senior housing, and Black-owned businesses to one campus, and drops a masterclass on why boycotts without demands are just cancel culture in disguise.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 28 · 44m
The average non-technical founder loses $50,000 and years of their life trying to build an app. Amanda Spann knows because she's coached thousands of them. Her first app cost $40,000 and took 18 months. Her sixth one took weeks. The difference was a framework she built after documenting every mistake, every bottleneck, and every dollar wasted. She sat down with Butternomics and broke down why most app ideas fail before they launch, why AI won't build 100% of your startup no matter what anyone tells you, and why talking to 300 people before writing a single line of code is the move that separates the founders who make money from the ones who lose it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 28 · 49m
On this episode of Butternomics, Mayor Andre Dickens pulls back the curtain on how Atlanta really runs. With the World Cup bringing 4.5 billion eyes to the A and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Act reshaping the south and west sides of the city, the 61st Mayor of Atlanta delivers a masterclass on how to tap in before the world shows up. He breaks down the low-interest city loans most entrepreneurs don't know exist, the $5K and $10K micro-loans being handed out through Showcase Atlanta ahead of the World Cup, and the anti-displacement programs under the Neighborhood Reinvestment Act paying $30K to keep legacy homeowners in their homes. He gets into Invest Atlanta, the tax allocation districts that built Atlantic Station and the Beltline, the cautionary tale of Black entrepreneurs who lost everything during the 96 Olympics, and the 4,000 appointees who really run Georgia. If you live in Atlanta, run a business in Atlanta, or want to own anything here, this is required listening before the world shows up. 📲 Listen and Subscribe to Butternomics Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/butternomics-the-business-of-culture/id1758759040 🎙️ Be a guest on Butternomics: https://www.butternomics.com/guests 📌 Follow Butternomics on Instagram: / butternomicspod 🎬 Follow Butternomics on TikTok: / butternomicsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 21 · 37m
Pastor Troy has been independent for over 25 years. He signed with Universal, watched them hand Nelly $5 million on a $90 million return, and made a decision: if he ever came back, it would be as a label, not just an artist. He left by choice. His first independent album after the deal sold 60,000 to 70,000 copies at $8 each. He sold his master to the bootlegger for $25,000 before the album even dropped. He turned 60-second radio jingles into a monetized marketing play that BMI still pays on. Now he owns a vinyl store on Peter Street, runs his own streaming platform, and operates a TV network. This is not a music conversation. This is a masterclass in ownership.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.