Making it in the music industry has never been easy, just ask anyone who has anyone who has done the pubs/clubs/live venue circuit hoping to get their big break.

But for upcoming artists today it’s perhaps that bit harder, with less emphasis on physical sales and more on playing live and social media presence.

Investment from record labels is understandably not as big and many artists have to engineer their own success before executives stand up and take notice.

Sam Scherdel is the perfect example.

After years of playing in bands around the South Yorkshire region, the Mexborough-born singer-songwriter got his big break just over a year ago when his self-penned track, Somewhere in the Middle, went viral on TikTok, achieving a million views in just four days. As of September of this year, it has now exceeded 3.3million Spotify streams and has seen Sam’s growth on the platform sky-rocket.

TikTok and Instagram, as well as other social media platforms, have now become routine for modern musical artists who now have to be much more than musicians, but content creators too and it’s something Sam has had to get on board with.

“I wasn’t comfortable doing it but I am now,” Sam explains over a cup of coffee in the centre of Doncaster. “The turning point for me was getting comfortable doing it, that’s when I started to see the results. Instead of doing one music video you do 40 tiny ones, that’s the way the industry has gone.”

The explosion of Somewhere in the Middle has led to a year of what Sam can only describe as ‘life-changing’.

The song was picked up by ITV’s Love Island and was used in one of their more tender moments on screen, which elevated Sam to an even larger audience.

“The Love Island thing was a ‘pinch-me’ moment,” beams Sam. “We heard whispers it was going to happen but we didn’t know when because it gets edited on the day. We got three hour’s notice and were actually at a gig in Newcastle so had to watch it when we got back.”

And Love Island were not the only ones to pick up on the song.

The Hull NHS choir, who have previously performed for King Charles III, had shortlisted the track as a potential choir song and went on to create their own arrangement independently. When a clip of the performance began circulating on TikTok, Sam discovered it and immediately recognised its potential to grow into something bigger.

“As a choir, we always tag the artists whose songs we sing on social media but Sam is the very first artist who ever replied,” says choir leader, Lucy Vere. “He told us how moved he was by our arrangement, and incredibly, within just six weeks of that original tagged video, we found ourselves in the studio with him recording our version together.”

After initial rehearsals in a hospital education centre, Sam and his band brought the track to life at Yellow Arch Studios, Sheffield alongside Mercury Prize-nominated producer Colin Elliot. The result is a spine-tingling, stripped-back but expansive version that captures the raw emotion of the original in a completely new way.

“I was just stunned seeing the song grow beyond anything I’ve ever released before,” adds Sam. “Honestly, it brought a tear to my eye hearing it performed like this. It’s something I never thought would be possible when I first put the song out.”

Further exposure for Sam came through a string of summer festival performances, which included the main stage at Tramlines in Sheffield and a support slot for Duran Duran at British Summertime in Hyde Park as well as appearances at Glastonbury and The Great Escape. He also supported the likes of Two Door Cinema Club and Ocean Colour Scene.

But perhaps the biggest performances of the year came in Austin, Texas where Sam attended SXSW (South by Southwest), which paved the way for him signing his first record deal.

Through Somewhere in the Middle and Spotify streams, Sam already has a significant following in the US as well as in Canada and Australia. He performed three times during the showcase, which is an annual multi-industry event for music, film, TV and technology, and met with Create Music Group (CMG) with whom he is now signed.

CMG have labels in both the US (Broke) and the UK (Ostereo) and Sam will be releasing two five-track EPs in 2027 whilst continuing work on his first album.

Fresh from the single release of Kyoto Snow in October there will be a second single release – The Boy Who Fell From Earth – this month before the first of these EPs is released in March next year.

The whole story feels like a ‘pinch-me’ moment for Sam whose gravelly voice has been likened to the likes of Joe Cocker, Paolo Nutini and Ray Lamontagne. It’s a far cry from where he found himself four years ago working as a building surveyor for a housing association.

“One day I got told I was being promoted and then the next I was made redundant,” recalls Sam. “That was a big moment where I thought ‘I’m not doing this any more’. I wasn’t happy, I wasn’t enjoying it, I was always good at music and that was the moment I thought I’d give it a proper go.”

Sam, now 38, got his first guitar for Christmas when he was 11 or 12 and is completely self-taught. He wrote his first song in 2004 and played in a variety of covers bands before making that significant change in 2022.

“Writing is one of the most enjoyable parts for me,” says Sam of the process. “Up until recently it was always melody and chords first, lyrics after but I’ve started writing songs now which are lyrics first and then putting music to, which is a very hard way of doing it.”

His music has been described as ‘rock-soul’ but Sam doesn’t like to be too defined by genre, he’d rather his voice be the central thing that everyone recognises.

“I’m extremely driven, this is what I love and what I’ve always loved, it’s become part of my identity now,” adds Sam.

In the run-up to Christmas, Sam will be playing two live shows – a warm-up gig in Newcastle (18 November) and a gig at Mexborough’s Gorilla Beer Hall (20 December), a venue he has performed at for the last few years.

These performances will be followed by a return to the US in March 2027 which a further appearance at SXSW as well as a showcase in New York. More summer festival dates are planned but are being kept under wraps – for now.

Sam cites his influences as ‘Bowie, Beatles and Motown’ and credits his favourite live venues being the Adelphi in Hull and the Leadmill in Sheffield, which is sadly no more.

Away from music he enjoys walking in the Peak District and is also planning to write a children’s book, which he was very secretive about, but said it would be loosely based around Somewhere in the Middle.

But music is definitely his focus right now and as big as 2026 has been, 2027 could be even bigger.

Follow Sam Scherdel on social media – Instagram: samscherdel, TikTok: samscherdel