“#1 music industry podcast to help keep you in the loop” -Spotify
“The 10 Best Music Business Podcasts of 2022" – Variety
Ari Herstand is the best-selling author of How To Make It in the New Music Business. Forbes calls him “The poster child of DIY music.” In this show, he deconstructs the brightest minds in the music industry, digging deep to find the tools, tactics, and strategies that listeners can use to run successful careers of their own. Ari offers straight talk with no fluff and doesn’t let his guests off easy. If there is a way, Ari will find it.
This week, on the New Music Business Podcast, Ari sits down with Louis Marks and Fabian Brown of Ropeadope Records, a label that’s been around in the jazz world for 25 years and has worked with Snarky Puppy, Christian Scott, Greg Spero, Terrace Martin, Questlove, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Taj Majal, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Sister Gertrude Morgan, and so many more. In this episode, Louis and Fabian talk about how most of their artists cannot make a living just from streaming revenue. They share the ways they’ve been evolving, as a label, to elevate and lift their artists in the ever changing landscape of the new music industry. This conversation discusses the ins and outs of streaming, social media, physical sales, downloads, bandcamp, touring, patronage, community, and so much more.
00:00 - Introduction
04:55 - The Mission of Ropeadope Records
18:43 - Rethinking the Value of Music
24:22 - Preserving Contemporary Music
31:32 - Re-Educating Fans and Focusing on the Connection
44:44 - The Limitations of Streaming Platforms
53:29 - Exploring Alternative Models for Artist Support
This week, Ari sits down with Jaylon Ashaun, a talented R&B artist currently based in LA via Atlanta and Houston. Jaylon found success by regularly releasing music and building a direct artist-to-fans community online. His song “Strawberries and Wine” took the digital music world by storm, with over 25 million streams of its various versions. Last year, Jaylon toured the US with major R&B acts Xavier Omar and Hojean. Ari and Jaylon discuss the importance of connecting with fans directly, how to capitalize on and move past viral moments to build a sustainable career, and how Jaylon has built his superfan community, Global Nomads, online.
Chapters:
00:00 Taking Risks and Putting Out Music
14:24 The Power of Regularly Releasing Music
19:37 Developing a Super Fan Community
27:52 Perseverance, Collaboration, and Artistic Identity
28:22 Building a Community and World Around Your Music
31:16 Engaging with Fans and Nurturing Your Community
33:06 The Power of Physical Merchandise
40:18 The Evolving Music Industry and the Importance of Adaptability
Subscribe to The New Music Business: https://aristake.com/new-music-business-podcast/
Ari's Take Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com
Watch more discussions like this: https://bit.ly/3LavMpa
This week, Ari is joined by David Rishty, the President of Palm Tree Records. They discuss Palm Tree’s partnership with Sony, the value of radio and satellite platforms like SiriusXM, and the many ways labels can help with artist development. Palm Tree Records is a joint venture with Sony Music, co-founded by Kygo and his manager, Miles. It operates as an indie label with major label resources, providing a small, tight-knit team and the support of a major label when needed.
David Rishty's journey in the music industry began as a writer, penning features for a variety of publications including Billboard. During his tenure there, he launched the Billboard Dance 100 artist ranking and partnered with top brands including SiriusXM and Apple Music. His passion for building a brand crossed over to artist development early on in his rise with the founding of Exchange Management. In the seven years since its inception, Rishty’s artist roster has collectively earned more than 600 million streams and performed at over 400 shows. He has since brought this management mindset to Palm Tree Records, providing a holistic approach to artist development and creating a boutique label experience. Palm Tree’s roster remains select at less than a dozen artists, yet has amassed over 750 million total streams to date.
Chapters
00:00 The Evolution of Dance Music and DJ Culture
05:14 The Role of Major Label Resources in Artist Development
09:04 The Importance of Radio Promotion and Other Revenue Verticals
11:24 Building a Brand and Fan Base with Palm Tree Records
24:00 Releasing Music and Establishing a Presence During the Pandemic
28:49 The Impact of SiriusXM and the Different Radio Landscape
35:18 The Power of Short-Form Video Content
47:21 The Importance of Trust in Label-Artist Relationships
Disney Music Supervisor, Brian Vickers, on Placing Music for Trailers
Season 3 · Episode 4
Wednesday, February 9, 2022 • Duration 58:48
In honor of Black History Month, we’re re-airing one of our favorite NMB episodes with Brian Vickers. He is a music supervisor at Disney. He works in the in-house trailer department where he developed a number of trailers including The Avengers, Star Wars: The Last Jedi & The Rise of Skywalker, Black Panther, Soul, Hamilton, Frozen II, Black is King, and many, many more.
Ari and Brian dig into all things sync licensing. They spend a significant amount of time on how to become a music supervisor. And they touch on how independent artists can get their music synced in trailers.
3:11 - Working as a music supervisor for Disney since COVID-19 hit and quarantine started
12:38 - "Custom spots" and what the conversations look like between music supervisors and musicians
17:41 - How to find reputable trailer music production companies
20:13 - Do these trailer houses have in-house composers or producers that they work with?
23:10 - Clearing tracks / staying away from samples and making supervisors' jobs easier
25:35 - Placing a song because it is perfect and then it doesn't work out when it 'goes up the chain'
28:39 - Breaking down the song placement process
33:59 - Brian's musical background
42:28 - Music supervisor and sync licensing community
45:40 - How to reach out to music supervisors
50:30 - How to become a music supervisor
58:00 - What it means to make it in the new music business
Addressing Mental Health in the Music Industry with Backline
Season 3 · Episode 3
Wednesday, February 2, 2022 • Duration 39:54
Hilary Gleason is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Backline, a non-profit that provides free mental health and wellness resources to music industry professionals and their families. In this episode, Hilary breaks down Backline’s positive impact within the industry, and the various programs they offer such as weekly support groups over Zoom as well as therapy through their Case Management Program. Learn more about Backline: http://backline.care
3:55 What is Backline?
6:25 Programs offered by Backline
7:11 Music industry culture
13:23 Other mental health initiatives and programs in the industry
15:04 Touring resources
15:36 Practical advice for artists
20:46 Social media comparison
24:33 Black Mental Health Alliance, Asian and LGBTQ+ communities
32:04 Therapy within Backline’s Case Management Program
36:54 How Backline is funded
39:09 Final question
Subscribe to The New Music Business: https://aristake.com/nmb
Ari's Take Academy (use code NMB for 10% off): https://aristakeacademy.com
Watch more discussions like this: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc1Fatf4celK3kYoJ6FUdN7qtYSCvAAMY
Connect with Ari’s Take:
Website: https://aristake.com
Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.take
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTake
How Glass Animals Went Viral on TikTok
Season 3 · Episode 2
Wednesday, January 26, 2022 • Duration 56:50
Griffin Haddrill is the co-founder and CEO of the leading viral marketing agency, VRTCL. Alongside business partner Sean Young, VRTCL was founded in 2019 providing marketing services for some of today’s most popular artists and record labels such as Universal Music, Warner Records, Sony Music, showing them how to best utilize TikTok and execute campaigns to optimize records performance and brand activity among its global user base.
Prior to VRTCL, Haddrill was a talent manager, signing songwriters and producers who worked with the likes of Karol G, Kevinho, Travis Porter, Riff Raff, among others. Haddrill also represented world-class DJs such as ATLiens and Tisoki who perform at major global music festivals, including Coachella, Electric Daisy Carnival, and Bonnaroo.
In this episode, Griffin breaks down how Glass Animals, Adele, Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X, and The Weeknd leveraged TikTok to crack the Billboard 100 with their new songs.
He also discusses the importance of indie musicians embracing TikTok, VRTCL’s approach to getting TikTok trends to catch, and how to get your music to go viral on the platform.
02:43 VRTCL's charting songs on Billboard
06:27 Influencers and viral marketing
09:23 Where VRTCL comes in
10:27 Working with Glass Animals
12:28 Business relationship with influencers
16:37 Influencers within VRTCL's network and rates
20:09 Micro vs. macro influencers
21:51 User generated content (UGC)
23:18 TikTok's hook
25:49 Choreographic trends
29:10 Working with Labels vs. Management vs. Artists
31:00 How to inspire artists to embrace TikTok
35:11 How to get your music to go viral
How This Vibraphonist Became a TikTok Influencer and Hit Songwriter with Justin Vibes
Season 3 · Episode 1
Wednesday, January 19, 2022 • Duration 01:23:05
Justin Vibes is a multi-platinum songwriter, producer, vocalist, and vibraphonist. Over recent years, the Baltimore born and Trinidadian musician found success in Los Angeles writing songs for Eminem, Chris Brown, Tyga, and Kodak Black. With the alternative pop duo, Capital Cities, he has performed at festivals such as Coachella and Lollapalooza, as well as different world tours under his belt.
In this episode, Vibes discusses how he went viral on TikTok, the uniqueness of incorporating the vibraphone into mainstream music, his career as both a solo artist and collaborator, and much more. Welcome to season 3!
05:25 Justin’s Story
08:04 Taking Song Requests
13:18 Going Viral on TikTok (Nickelodeon and ESPN)
19:52 The Result of Going Viral
26:45 Brand Deals and Partnerships
30:09 How Much Justin Makes
35:05 Writing Jingles
36:43 Brand Deals and Partnerships (Continued)
40:53 If a Brand Video Flops
44:57 Ari’s Acting Career
46:42 Advice for Musicians on TikTok
1:00:46 Justin’s Career As a Songwriter and Producer
1:10:00 Ghost Writing and Publishing Deals
1:15:32 What’s Next for Justin
1:18:58 Final Question
Subscribe to The New Music Business: https://aristake.com/nmb
Ari's Take Academy (use code NMB for 10% off): https://aristakeacademy.com
Watch more discussions like this: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc1Fatf4celK3kYoJ6FUdN7qtYSCvAAMY
Primary Wave Publishing on Sync Licensing Cover Songs and Legacy Recordings with Marty Silverstone
Season 2 · Episode 30
Wednesday, August 25, 2021 • Duration 48:54
Marty is Head of Sync at Primary Wave, overseeing licensing activity for Primary Wave’s music publishing and management clients. With staff in Los Angeles and New York, the dynamic Primary Wave Sync team is a key part of Primary Wave’s proactive marketing approach, constantly creating new opportunities and driving big ideas for music in film/TV, advertising, video games, and other visual media.
In 17 years in music publishing, Marty has worked with and secured placements in film, TV and advertising campaigns for artists such as Kurt Cobain, Smokey Robinson, Def Leppard, Hall & Oates, Aerosmith, Collective Soul, Bruce Hornsby, Kenny Loggins, L.P. and Foy Vance.He was recognized as one of Billboard Magazine’s Top Branding Power Players in both 2018 and 2019.
Ari and Marty discuss how cover songs work in sync licensing along with how legacy acts get their music licensed. They also touch on what kinds of music brands are looking for at the moment. The two are joined by Ari’s Take Academy students for a Q&A at the end.
Imogen Heap is Building a More Equitable Future for Musicians
Season 2 · Episode 28
Wednesday, August 4, 2021 • Duration 56:17
Self-produced British composer and recording artist for over 20 years, Imogen Heap has released five solo albums, another as one half of Frou Frou and collaborated with countless and varied artists including Taylor Swift, Nitin Sawhney, Deadmau5, Eric Whitacre, Jeff Beck and Jon Hopkins. Her compositions and songs pop up in blockbuster and indie films as well as countless TV shows, are featured in underground rap and dance music and covered by the likes of Ariana Grande. As composer and arranger for one of the biggest hits in theatrical history, Harry Potter and The Cursed Child, Imogen won the Drama Desk Outstanding Music in a Play award. As a sought-after speaker and performer, Heap hosted 2020’s Grammys Premiere Ceremony. Heap’s collaborative and multi-dimensional workflow attracts companies for commissioned works, leading to songs such as Tiny Human, the first song to distribute payments via a Smart Contract, and The Happy Song, a highly successful song for children in their early-years. Heap, recognized as an artist's artist, has won two Grammys and an Ivor Novello award. In recognition of her pioneering work at the intersection of music and tech, Heap has a hat trick of three honorary doctorates for the gestural music-ware 'MI.MU gloves' system and recently for ’The Creative Passport’, an integrated digital ID solution, empowering music makers to be the change toward a fair and flourishing music ecosystem.
In this episode, Ari and Imogen discuss NFTs, metadata and payment transparency and how to properly credit (and pay) creators using the blockchain. Overall, how to make the future of music more equitable for musicians.
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