This week, Ryan sits down with Matthew Adell, the co-founder and CEO of OnNow. OnNow is a new website where people can discover, share, and promote livestreams happening on platforms such as Twitch, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and even Zoom. OnNow could prove to be a valuable tool for livestreaming musicians to help their fans find their streams on one convenient platform. Matthew talks to Ryan about OnNow and gives some great advice on how artists can promote their streams more effectively. Y...
Aug 30, 2020•19 min
This week, Ryan sits down with representatives from the collaborative mobile recording app Audiobridge. As COVID-19 continues to disrupt the daily lives of musicians, it is more important than ever for artists to use the power of platforms like Audiobridge to keep creating and collaborating with others. Our guests talk about their platform and give advice on how artists can make their recording process simpler, more efficient, and more effective. You can find out more about our guests' work by v...
Aug 23, 2020•21 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Amplify X CEO Adam Cowherd. AmplifyX is a platform that allows investors to directly fund the careers of musicians while allowing musicians to retain control over their intellectual property and career decisions. Adam talks to Ryan about the platform and how direct musician investment could fix the flawed way that musicians' careers are funded today while also strengthening the relationship between musicians and the fans who love them. AmplifyX will be engaging in ...
Aug 16, 2020•15 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Venture Music President Chris Nardone. Venture Music is an acclaimed marketing company that specializes in creating custom-built marketing plans for musician clients. Ryan talks to Chris about Venture Music and about how musicians can use the social media video platform TikTok to create exciting content, build their following, and foster fan engagement. Chris shares some great advice on how musicians can be successful on the platform. You can find out more about ou...
Aug 09, 2020•19 min
This week, Ryan sits down with AIMS API co-founder and CEO Martin Nedved. AIMS API is an AI-based music similarity search tool used by production music companies, TV and film productions, record labels, and music publishers to help these users search for the right track from their catalogue fast, easy, and with precision. It is a powerful piece of technology that levels the playing field for independent composers because the search function makes it more possible for users of music to discover u...
Aug 02, 2020•17 min
This week, Ryan sits down with indie artist and Modern Musician founder Michael Walker. As a musician, Michael was able to build his fan base quickly through a technique that he calls “tour hacking.” It is a simple process and any musician can do it and find quick results. And even though his tour hacking practices took place at physical concert venues, Michael has created resources to help musicians bring tour hacking into the virtual world during COVID-19. If you are looking for a way to build...
Jul 26, 2020•24 min
This week, Ryan sits down with award-winning singer-songwriter and multicultural activist Raye Zaragoza. After a video of her song “In the River” went viral in 2016 and became a rallying anthem for the Standing Rock protests, Raye has dedicated her career to amplifying the voices of disadvantaged communities. Raye also truly embraces the “Break the Business” mindset through her inspiring work in starting her own record label using the Patreon platform. Whether you want to learn more about how yo...
Jul 12, 2020•30 min
This week, Ryan talks to Kai and Lyron of electropop duo Les Flair. Kai and Lyron talk to Ryan about how they were able to use the power of word-of-mouth marketing to sell out a string of shows across Europe before even releasing a single record. Kai and Lyron share their expertise on mastering word-of-mouth marketing. Listeners looking for advice on crafting an effective social media strategy and setting up performances to generate organic social media growth should definitely listen this week....
Jul 12, 2020•21 min
This week, Ryan sits down with vocal performance coach and Star Singer founder Tiffany VanBoxtel. The Star Singer Platform provides training resources for recording artists to help them improve their performance and run an effective music operation. Ryan talks to Tiffany about how musicians can achieve optimal vocal performances on livestreaming platforms and common general mistakes that performers should avoid in this medium. You can check out all of Tiffany’s resources and her Star Singer podc...
Jul 05, 2020•23 min
This week, Ryan sits down with artist coach and music business consultant Lindsey Kirkendell. An accomplished expert who specializes in working with female creatives, Lindsey talks to Ryan about her coaching philosophy, time management strategies for artists, and how she focuses on coaching the “whole person” when working with clients. Lindsey shares lots of excellent advice for indie artists along the way. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.lindseykirkendall.com.Rate/r...
Jun 28, 2020•27 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Zack Zalon, founder and CEO of Super Hi-Fi. Super Hi-Fi is an award-winning audio innovation company that uses AI to allow music services to transform the gaps between songs on digital platforms into relevant and personalized content for listeners. Ryan talks to Zack about his company and also gets his perspective on the future of music streaming and the potential opportunities and impact of that future for indie artists. You can find out more about our guest’s wor...
Jun 21, 2020•32 min
This week, we are joined by Canada-based indie country artist Drake Jensen. Fresh from being recently featured in Billboard Magazine and The Advocate, Drake talks to Ryan about building a successful music career as a member of the LGBTQ community in the country genre, and how he was able to find his voice and celebrate his community through his art. Drake has lots of great advice for listeners about building the right team to find success as an artist-entrepreneur. You can find out more about ou...
Jun 14, 2020•19 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Jack Forman, booking agent and executive vice president at Bicoastal Productions. We get Jack’s perspective on how COVID-19 is affecting the live music industry, the rise of online live shows, and how physical and online are blending together in the live performance space. Jack also gives some helpful advice on how artists can get a booking agent.You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.bicoastalproductions.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break...
Jun 07, 2020•23 min
This week, Ryan talks with James Landry and Elliot Tousley, the co-founders of the De Novo Agency. De Novo is an organization that partners with independent musicians to assist them in finding more business opportunities by utilizing data-driven marketing. James and Elliot talk about how indie artists should be using data, what sort of data is “overrated,” and how De Novo works with artist clients to achieve measurable career goals. James and Elliot also talk about their new distribution service...
May 31, 2020•16 min
What is the data telling us about how COVID-19 is affecting different sectors of the music business, and how are indie artists being affected? The answers may surprise you. We talk to our guest Jason Joven of data analytics platform Chartmetric this week to get some insight. Jason does a deep drive into the data and gives some great advice for indie artists based on his platform’s findings. Be sure to check out Chartmetric’s ongoing “How COVID is Affecting the Music Industry” series by visiting ...
May 24, 2020•21 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Bitfury Surround CEO Stefan Schulz. Surround is a platform that will offer an ecosystem of blockchain-based management services to provide transparency for the exchange and monetization of intellectual property in music. Blockchain can be used to strengthen music ownership, create smart contracts for music, facilitate efficient payments for artists, and much more. Blockchain has the potential of fostering significant growth in the music industry and our guest share...
May 17, 2020•16 min
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, independent musicians are continuing to embrace the diversification of their income streams beyond live performances. One important area of income for many indies is in the sync licensing of their catalogs to movies, TV programs, commercials, and video games. Our guests this week, Shellie Lewis and Cestjon McFarland, are executives at Syncfloor, a platform that aims to simplify the sync licensing process for rights holders and licensees. Ryan talks to Shellie and Cest...
May 10, 2020•16 min
This week, friend of the podcast Clarence Charron of Pop of Colour stops by. Pop of Colour is a brand management agency that provides marketing and consultation services for musicians and other creators. We talked to Clarence about his own experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic and support programs that exist for artists in his home country of Canada. Clarence also offers some great advice on livestreaming and and updating your brand as your career matures. You can find out more about our guest’...
May 03, 2020•24 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Katie Zaccardi. She is a musician, songwriter, and wellness coach that works with musicians in the areas of self-care, mental health, and time management. She is also the host of the podcast “Out to Be,” a weekly program featuring expert interviews on those areas. Katie talks to Ryan about self-care techniques that musicians can do during the pandemic, and the importance of building relationships with others during this challenging time. You can find out more about...
Apr 26, 2020•15 min
This week, Ryan sits down with friend of the podcast Ashley K. Stoyanov of Women Crush Music. Women Crush is a nationwide nonprofit organization that provides education and support services for women in music. Ryan talks to Ashley about the support services that WCM is providing for female musicians during the pandemic. Ashley also gives advice on the importance of building and fortifying your community as an indie artist during this challenging period. WCM is sponsoring a weekly virtual showcas...
Apr 19, 2020•15 min
Things are crazy right now and we all want to just relax and laugh, so we brought back our co-host Dave this week to update us on his life and talk pop culture. Ryan and Dave talk about Tiger King, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and more. Longtime fans of the Podcast will appreciate that we also brought back an old favorite segment, “Dave The Ultimate Arbiter.” For indie musicians looking for resources to move your careers forward and find support during the pandemic, check out the links below: ...
Apr 12, 2020•45 min
This week, Ryan sits down with friend-of-the-Podcast and CD Baby Marketing VP Kevin Breuner. Kevin provides some valuable insight as a musician and music executive on how artists can continue to move their careers forward during the pandemic. Ryan and Kevin talk about best practices in livestreaming and how to make the most of time spent at home. CD Baby has an excellent resource of helpful advice and links for indie artists during COVID-19, which you can find here: https://diymusician.cdbaby.co...
Apr 05, 2020•27 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Arnau Bosch, co-founder and CEO of the new social music collaboration and discovery platform Soundstorming. Soundstorming allows musicians to create with others on a smartphone-based app and it has some robust social and discovery features. Ryan talks to Arnau about the app and the role that collaboration technology will play for musicians during the global pandemic. You can find out more about the platform and our guest’s work by visiting www.soundstorming.com.Rat...
Mar 29, 2020•13 min
Recent copyright cases such as the "Blurred Lines" verdict have created concerns among songwriters who are fearful that they might accidentally write a song that could put them on the wrong end of an infringement claim. But with two pro-defendant rulings in the last few days in cases involving Led Zeppelin and Katy Perry, perhaps the pendulum might be swinging back. We talk to acclaimed IP lawyer Rick Sanders of Aaron Sanders PLLC to get his insight on the current music copyright landscape and w...
Mar 22, 2020•20 min
This week, Ryan sits down with Amadea Choplin, the COO of content monitoring platform Pex. Pex works with music creators to monitor online platforms to identify music to monitor consumption data, facilitate content takedowns, and to negotiate content licensing deals. Ryan talks to Amanda about how the platform works (and how powerful it is!), and how artists can use this technology to protect their music online and to obtain valuable data about how people are listening to their content. You can ...
Mar 15, 2020•14 min
This week, Ryan talks to Eric Nizgretsky, the lead singer of NYC-based indie band Loose Buttons. Loose Buttons released its debut album “Something Better” in February as a true DIY effort. The band managed every aspect of the successful release process, including producing their own release show and getting their album into New York City’s largest record store without a distributor. Eric has lots of tips for indie artists to share from his incredible experience. You can find out more about the b...
Mar 08, 2020•21 min
This week, Ryan chats with with Zack O’Malley Greenburg, the senior editor of media and entertainment at Forbes. Zack joins us this week to talk about his latest book, "A-List Angels: How a Band of Actors, Artists, and Athletes Hacked Silicon Valley,” which is available on March 10th. Zack talks to us about the emerging phenomenon of entertainment superstars capitalizing on their fame to obtain stakes in thriving tech startups. There are a lot of great lessons from that book that apply to indie ...
Mar 01, 2020•19 min
This week, Ryan sits down with DIY Media Group CEO Tony Van Veen. DIY Media Group is the parent company for music and book distribution brands Disc Makers, BookBaby, and Merchly. Tony and Ryan talk about Tony’s work in guiding Disc Makers and CD Baby through an economic recession and how physical and digital distribution platforms have adapted to changes in the music business. Tony also provides his perspective on the role that physical distribution in particular can play for today’s indie artis...
Feb 23, 2020•25 min
This week, Ryan sits down with the DeCarlos Garrison and Gleb Teper, co-founders of the music tech venture BandPay. BandPay is a customizable platform for indie artists that facilitates payments by setting up milestone-based compensation processes. The platform also provides a mediation feature to help artists settle payment disputes. DeCarlos and Gleb talk about their platform and provide advice to help artists earn a stable livelihood. BandPay will launch in app stores next month and you can f...
Feb 16, 2020•11 min
BTB Ep 214: Getting started in home recording with Dustin Speckman of Musician on a MissionThis week, Ryan sits down with the Dustin Speckman, the Operations Manager of home recording education platform Musician on a Mission. Dustin talks about how to get started in home recording, the best microphones to buy on a budget, developing efficient home recording processes, and much more! You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.musicianonamission.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the B...
Feb 02, 2020•18 min
