Episode 633 – Labels, Streaming, YouTube, And Gear News And Views

Music industry professionals still betting on major labels to develop artists should know the system has structurally exited that business. On this week’s episode I break down the data showing UMG and WMG now redirect spending toward catalog acquisitions rather than new careers. . . . . . have made AI licensing deals explicitly designed […]

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Episide 632 – Jeff Graves Talks LUFS Mastering

On this week’s episode, mastering engineer Jeff Graves talks about what happens when independent musicians upload masters that are so hot that they lose transient detail the moment streaming platforms apply loudness normalization. Jeff spent two and a half years measuring 214 audio fingerprints across 15 samples per genre to build a 24-stage AI mastering […]

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Episode 631 – Session Vocalist Darlene Koldenhoven Tells How She Charted Without A Manager Or Label

On this week’s episode, session vocalist Darlene Koldenhoven tells us how her music hit #4 on the Billboard classical crossover chart with no manager or label. The common assumption that a major-label infrastructure is required to chart is exactly what her story dismantles, and she walks through the specific decisions that produced number-one worldwide radio […]

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Episode 630 – Why Chasing Algorithms Is Killing Your Music Career With Keith Jopling

On this week’s podcast, I speak with Keith Jopling about what separates artists who last from those who burn out chasing the wrong metrics. Keith spent 25 years inside the business, including time at Spotify, before interviewing 80 artists and bands to write Riding the Rollercoaster. The creative director model he extracted from that research […]

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Episode 629 – Erasing Leakage But Keeping The Drummer’s Performance DNA With Dr. Bill Evans

On this week’s episode, I speak with Dr. Bill Evans, audio scientist, producer, educator, and inventor of the Performance Restoration methodology. Bill believes that drum recording has always involved a painful tradeoff, but it doesn’t have to. Most engineers accept mic bleed as an unavoidable character of a drum sound, questioning whether removing it could […]

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Episode 628 – How Female Producers Regain Control With Xylo Aria

Female artists who hire producers risk losing creative control before a single song is released. On this week’s episode, Xylo Aria, founder of Music Production for Women (MPW), tells us how she learned this the hard way, by paying for sessions where male producers overrode her vision, leaving her with music she never put out […]

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Episode 627 – Elliot Easton Talks The Cars, Guitars, And Interesting Tours

On this week’s episode, Elliot Easton, guitarist for The Cars and Creedence Clearwater Revisited, takes us through his journey with the band and beyond. Easton looks back at The Cars’ origins, from getting a label deal the old fashioned way, to connecting with famed producer Roy Thomas Baker, to recording the band’s initial albums, to […]

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Episode 626 – The Latest Music Business And Production News

Is the music industry heading into another major reset? On this week’s solo episode, I break down the biggest shifts happening across the music business and music production. In This Episode: And much more. Chapters: 00:00:00 – Coming up… 00:00:52 – Why this music business update matters now 00:01:13 – Are streaming subscriptions reaching the […]

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Episode 625 – Talking Postproduction and Music Licensing With Gary Gray

What matters more in the music business, mastering every plugin, or becoming the kind of person people want to hire again? On this week’s podcast episode, I talk with songwriter, producer, engineer, and educator Gary Gray about music licensing, post production, rhythmic integrity, AI, immersive audio, and the character traits that keep people working in […]

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Episode 624 – Rebuilding Les Paul’s Original Recording Studio

What can Les Paul’s original recording studio reveal about the way modern music production really began? On this week’s episode, I talk with with Tom Camuso, Director of Engineering at The Les Paul Recording Studio, and Michael Braunstein, 3rd Generation Les Paul Manager. We discuss restoring Les Paul’s groundbreaking recording gear, rebuilding his historic studio […]

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Episode 623 – Creator Of The Distressor Dave Derr

What makes the Empirical Labs Distressor such a lasting studio classic? In this episode, I sit down with Dave Derr, founder of Empirical Labs and creator of the Distressor. Among the things we talk about analog compression, product design, the birth of Nuke mode, FATSO, Mike-E, plugins, and the studio lessons that shaped his gear. […]

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Episode 622 – The Business Side Of Singing With Patrice Peris

What separates a talented singer from an artist who can actually build a career? On this week’s episode, I talk with vocal coach, singer, songwriter, and artist developer Patrice Peris about contemporary vocal technique, emotional performance, artist branding, music business fundamentals, and why independent artists need more than a good voice to succeed. Patrice shares […]

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Episode 621 – Saving Vintage Guitar Stores With Ben Montague

On this week’s episode, I talk with Ben Montague, founder and CEO of The North American Guitar Global (TNAG) about the business of vintage guitars. Among the things we discuss is TNAG’s acquisition of Carter Vintage and Norman’s Rare Guitars, music retail, guitar collecting, and the business of preserving iconic brands in the guitar world. […]

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Episode 620 – How a Commercial Studio Survives in the AI Era With Tom Weir

Can a commercial recording studio still thrive in the age of AI, home recording, and constant industry change? In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, Bobby Owsinski sits down with Tom Weir, Grammy-winning engineer and owner of Studio City Sound. We talk about how his studio stays busy by evolving with the business while […]

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Episode 619 – Why AI Can’t Replace A Mastering Engineer With Jonathan Wyner

On this week’s episode, I talk with Jonathan Wyner, mastering engineer at M-Works, Berklee professor, head of artistic technology initiatives for BEATL, and past president of the Audio Engineering Society . . . . . . about what AI can do in mastering, mixing, education, and music creation, and where the human element still matters […]

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