Abbey Road Studios is the most famous recording studio in the world, renowned for its creativity and technological excellence. It is a global icon that for the last 90 years has been the musical home to artists such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Ella Fitzgerald, Radiohead, Ed Sheeran, Kanye West, Lady Gaga,, Amy Winehouse and Adele. We wanted an insider take on this sacred studio so we could learn about the art of mastering and remastering music. Our studio guide is Simon Gibson. Simon is one of t...
Aug 15, 2023•42 min•Season 1Ep. 81
At Beatseeker, we love music and we love games, so combining them in interesting ways is bound to get our attention. Our guest today blurs the lines between music creation and video games and he has even developed an arcade-style ‘Beat Machine’ which puts musical creativity at the centre of any private or public space. Meet Tim Shaw, AKA Tim Exile, a producer and performer of electronic music spanning drum and bass, IDM, breakcore and gabber. A classically trained violinist, Tim began experiment...
Aug 01, 2023•43 min•Season 1Ep. 80
If administered correctly, can music be used as medicine? We reached out to a fascinating company called MediMusic for some answers. MediMusic creates individualized playlists that reduce heart rate and influence the Vagus nerve to stimulate a positive physio-endocrine response. The software uses algorithms to automatically create playlists based on a range of academic data on how people consume music –like age, gender and nationality – that prompt a positive physiological and emotional response...
Jul 18, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Ever get the chills when listening to some amazing music? It used to be something that occurred accidentally but is now being engineered by artists and influencers into a more potent form called ASMR. ASMR or Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response, has captured the attention of the Internet with millions watching viral clips of whispered voices, delicate hand movements or tapping. Our guide to ASMR is Giulia Poerio, an associate lecturer at the University of Sussex. Dr. Poerio is a world-renowned ...
Jun 27, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 78
The vast majority of people go to YouTube for video content on the web, but when it comes to music videos, Vevo is the OG. Jointly owned and operated by the big record labels, Vevo specializes in streaming music videos and artist-exclusive content. Even when you stream a music video from YouTube, chances are that it was served up by Vevo. Taking us inside the company is JP Evangelista, Vevo’s Senior Vice President of Content, Programming & Marketing. JP oversees Vevo’s original content, pro...
Jun 13, 2023•27 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Music and other media are becoming increasingly globalized. Not so long ago, it was rare to discover music that originated far from your home. But now it’s increasingly easy to discover music, movies and TV shows made anywhere in the world. We now watch shows like the Korean hit Squid Game and listen to Puerto Rican sensation Bad Bunny without giving it much thought. To explain the rapid globalization of music and culture, we reached Srishti Das in Mumbai. Srishti graduated from Berklee Valencia...
May 30, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 76
The pandemic caused many of us to work from home. For most people this wasn’t a big deal but if you’re a world renowned composer who needs to collaborate with a big symphony, a zoom meeting just isn’t going to cut it. Today you’ll hear about a very unique work from home story that inspired a novel workaround. Like many pandemic innovations, it turns out this workaround had lasting benefits long after things have returned to normal. Joining us today are the duo that developed this technology, Jod...
May 16, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 75
It seems like there’s little room to enter the music streaming market with companies like Spotify, Apple, Amazon and Tencent dominating global market share, but innovators always seem to find a way in. Tuned Global is a B2B streaming technology provider that helps companies launch their own streaming services. Their technology has been used by some of the big names, including the UFC, Warner, Universal and Sony Music Group. Joining us today is Con Raso, the founder and Managing Director of Tuned...
May 02, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 74
Live streamed concerts gained some momentum during the pandemic, but will people keep attending now that things have returned to normal? To help us answer this, we spoke to the industry leader in live streaming - Kiswe. Kiswe’s two-way video technology enables audiences to both consume and contribute to live digital content. They have delivered the world’s largest digital pay-per-view events and serve some of the top sports, media, and entertainment companies. Joining us today is Glenn Booth, CE...
Apr 18, 2023•28 min•Season 1Ep. 73
Music is an important tool for sports teams to get fans - and players - amped up for a game. The tunes need to rock the arena to keep the energy level high and a DJ needs to pick the right song to match each game situation. We wondered what it must be like to be a pro sports DJ: what’s involved in preparing and what it’s like to spin tunes for a big game. Taking us behind the scenes is music producer and DJ, Cale Granton. Cale has performed alongside top musical talents including Snoop Dogg, Lil...
Apr 04, 2023•35 min•Season 1Ep. 72
The launch of Napster in June of 1999 ushered in a new era for the music industry. Music was pulled kicking and screaming into the digital era and the demise of the CD format was not long off. The subsequent collapse in revenues for music, caused the industry to reluctantly embrace streaming platforms like Spotify it also caused far reaching ripple effects we are still living with today in both music and culture at large. Here to explain is Dr. Aram Sinnreich. Aram is a Professor and chair of th...
Mar 21, 2023•44 min•Season 1Ep. 71
The connection between music and human beings runs deeper than you might think. Humans are innately musical beings - and our relationship with music has been deeply intertwined since the homo sapiens first emerged. Our guest today is Michael Spitzer, who boldly makes the case that music is the most important thing we ever did; and is in fact a fundamental part of what makes us human. Michael is a British musicologist and professor of Music at the University of Liverpool. He is the author of four...
Mar 07, 2023•29 min•Season 1Ep. 70
At Beatseeker, we’re constantly looking for new ways to discover good tunes. HotDrop is a new app that guides music lovers and discoverers through a feed of underground indie music. In their words, HotDrop “... keeps your music taste fresh with millions of new songs you've never heard before.” Here to tell us how it all works is HotDrop’s CEO Max Goldberg. Max and his co-founder Steven Segel founded the company in their Indiana University dorm room. Max is a self-taught app developer and sold hi...
Feb 21, 2023•21 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Any concertgoer will tell you that good tickets are hard to come by, cost an arm and a leg and charge an obscene amount of service fees. Ticketmaster has a firm stranglehold on the business of concert ticketing and ever since merging with promoter and venue operator Live Nation in 2010, critics have pointed to an unfair marketplace for consumers. Here to break down the problem is Krista Brown, one of the people fighting to break up the monopoly in an effort to put an end to their unparalleled in...
Feb 07, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Classical music is making a big comeback. More and more people - including the younger generation - are enjoying music that was written hundreds of years ago. Do recent tech developments, like streaming and social media have something to do with reawakening these age-old works? Here to help us understand the classical revival is Jess Gillam. Jess is the first ever saxophonist to be signed to Decca Classics and her debut album “Rise” shot to No.1 in the Official UK Classical Charts. She became th...
Jan 24, 2023•24 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Today’s episode is our year end wrap-up where we look at the biggest tech trends impacting music and we contemplate where things may be headed in 2023 and beyond. We wanted to discuss the music metaverse, the state of Web3, the increasing popularity of old material and ‘streaming fatigue’. We discuss these developments with legendary storyteller Alan Cross. Alan is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. Based in Toronto, he is best known natio...
Jan 10, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Can the music industry come together to lower our carbon footprint and save the planet? A unique organization is working to transform the music industry to address our climate emergency because in their words, there is #NoMusicOnaDeadPlanet”. Here to tell us about the initiative is Fay Milton. Fay is co-founder of Music Declares Emergency, a group of artists, music industry professionals and organizations that stand together to declare a climate and ecological emergency and call for an immediate...
Dec 30, 2022•42 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Nashville. Seattle. New Orleans. These are but a few examples of cities that have organically developed incredible music scenes. But in fact, any city can encourage their local music scene so residents can benefit culturally, economically and in a host of other ways. Today we speak with Shain Shapiro who helps cities understand these benefits and create the right policies to enable them. Shain is the founder of Sound Diplomacy and a globally recognised thought leader at the convergence of music,...
Dec 13, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Biology would teach us that animal noises are purely functional - the sounds animals make for attracting mates or warning of danger are evolutionary adaptations necessary for surviving in the wild but nothing more. Our guest today contends the story is more complex than what you learned in bio class. Animals can make music and it’s even possible to jam with them. To help us sort out this musical jungle is David Rothenberg - a professor of philosophy and music at the New Jersey Institute of Techn...
Nov 29, 2022•33 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Heavy metal music might not conjure up images of positive mental health, but research shows that for some people, a little metal might be just what the doctor ordered. It’s time to challenge those negative stereotypes and learn about the health benefits of metal. While we’re at it, we’re going to find out why sharks love heavy metal too. Joe Daly is an award-winning music journalist who joins us today to explain the healthy metal paradox. Joe regularly contributes to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, ...
Nov 15, 2022•23 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Social media influencers have massive audiences that can help catapult a budding musician's career. The challenge for artists is how to get their attention. Unlike Coke or Pepsi, they can’t afford to pay for placement. Our guest today was working at a record label when she stumbled on a brilliant idea, why not create a matchmaking platform to connect these groups together. Enter Thematic, a platform that connects content creators with artists across YouTube and other digital platforms. Launched ...
Nov 01, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Most dating apps use sophisticated algorithms to help singles find compatible mates based on common interests and backgrounds. One company taking an entirely new approach is Beatmatch, the dating app that helps music lovers find love connections by matching people with similar music tastes. Our guest today is Chudi Iregbulem, the founder and CEO of Beatmatch. Chudi believes your music taste speaks volumes. Everything from how you talk to how you dress to how you think is influenced by the type o...
Oct 18, 2022•18 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Stadiums, amphitheaters, bandshells, nightclubs - every live music venue offers a different type of experience. How about attending a performance in someone’s home? Musicasa is a startup that is helping facilitate such performances: intimate home concerts hosted by music lovers supporting independent and emerging musicians from the comfort of their house, apartment, or loft. Here to walk us through the story is Beatriz Ayala, the founder and CEO of Musicasa. Beatriz comes from the advertising an...
Oct 04, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Before the death of Buddy Holly, the conventional wisdom among record companies was: ‘stiffs don’t sell’. Times have certainly changed and the estates of some artists have become massive money makers. But how did this trend come about - and how might the artists feel about the posthumous commercialization of their work? Our guest today is Eamonn Forde, an award-winning music business writer and author. Eamonn has been writing about all areas of the music business since 2000 in publications inclu...
Sep 20, 2022•46 min•Season 1Ep. 58
The linkage between music and math is not well understood. People tend to think music is creative and math is perhaps the antithesis of the creative arts. But when you think about it, music is full of mathematical concepts: time signatures, sets, loops, patterns and recursion to name a few. There are even studies that show that children who play musical instruments are better at solving complex math problems. Helping us understand the music-math relationship is Marcus Miller. Born in New Jersey,...
Sep 06, 2022•35 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Back before streaming services, and before the internet ushered in widespread distribution, great music could be overlooked for one reason or another. Enter The Numero Group: an archival record label that researches and preserves musical gems by artists and entrepreneurs who found little commercial success upon their material's initial release. Numero creates compilations of previously released music, reissues original albums and creates album reconstructions from a variety of musical genres. He...
Aug 23, 2022•41 min•Season 1Ep. 56
This episode features a special guest, Barclay Crenshaw also known as Claude VonStroke. Claude is the founder of one of the hottest EDM labels - Dirtybird Records. He’s also world-renowned EDM DJ and artist, performing at virtually every major festival and club across the globe. We start with the origin story of Dirtybird: how it started and how the label has evolved. Then we discuss the rave scene over the years. As you’ll hear, Dirty Bird is not your typical label and Claude isn’t your typical...
Aug 09, 2022•29 min•Season 1Ep. 55
We all know that music can be soothing; it can reflect your mood or enhance it - it can even change it. But did you know that it can be used as therapy for a wide range of conditions? We wanted to learn about music therapy and how it works, so we reached out to Dr. Joy Allen, a licensed music therapist and thought leader in the field. Joy is an accomplished clinician, researcher and educator with extensive experience in psychological health, pain management, and trauma-informed education and sup...
Jul 26, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 54
The artist-to-fan relationship is constantly evolving. In the old days, middlemen at the record label used radio, TV and other marketing channels to promote an artist. Then, new tools and technologies emerged which enabled artists a direct relationship with their fans - or a ‘direct–to-fan’ model. Now things are advancing again towards a ‘fan-to-fan’ model - where the fans themselves become the key to reaching and engaging new fans. Our guide today to this evolution is Tatiana Cirisano. Tatiana ...
Jul 12, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 53
Social audio has gained some attention in recent years, with platforms like Clubhouse and new offerings from the likes of Twitter and Spotify. But what is Social Audio - and can it provide new opportunities for the creator economy? Today we’re speaking with Ryan Star, CEO and founder of Stationhead, a social audio app that enables anyone to start their own social, global radio program. Ryan is a recording artist that got his big break playing at CBGBs in New York and then opening for Bon Jovi wh...
Jun 28, 2022•28 min•Season 1Ep. 52
