Podcast 406 – Nashville Home Studio Defender Lij Shaw

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:55 — 45.7MB)

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PLUS: why the CD sales increase was just a mirage, and the end of the smart speaker era.

My guest this week is engineer Lij Shaw, who’s the owner of the Toy Box Studio in Nashville and host of the great podcast Recording Studio Rockstars. Lij has also been battling with the Nashville Metro Council since 2015 on behalf of home studio and home business owners in the city to keep their businesses open. 

The city of Nashville, which ironically has the moniker of “Music City,” had a zoning ordinance on its books claiming that a home studio or business is in violation if a customer comes to the house.

In July 2020 Nashville finally made home studios and other home businesses legal, but the win also included a sunset clause that would cause the bill to expire three years later unless they vote to keep the law active in January 2023.

In 2017, Lij and other Nashville home business owners filed a lawsuit in an effort to provide the right to work from home, which has now made it all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

During the interview we spoke about his legal battle with the city of Nashville, installing his new studio, auditioning the Phantom Focus system, selling his iconic console, and much more.

I spoke with Lij from his studio via zoom in Nashville.

On the intro I’ll take a look at why the CD sales increase was just a mirage, and the end of the smart speaker era.

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