The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

My guests today are Livia Tortella and Brian Popowitz of Blackbox, a marketing agency that has worked with artists like JP Saxe, Christina Perri, Jesse McCartney, and many others. Before Livia started this marketing agency, she was the co-president and CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) of Warner Brothers Records. Before that, she was the SVP of Marketing at Atlantic Records. And before Atlantic Records she worked at Island/Def Jam. And before Island/Def Jam, she was at PolyGram. She's been in the major label system for many years, but just under a decade ago she broke out and started Blackbox. Blackbox is a marketing agency that has worked with Andra Day, JP Saxe, Best Coast, Christina Perri, Dirty Honey, Jesse McCartney. They even worked on Kid Rock's faux Senate run. With JP Saxe specifically, they worked with him before his record and publishing deal and when he was completely independent. They helped take one of his first songs, "The Few Things," to over 20 million streams. They also helped Andra Day to acquire more than 250,000 social media fans. Brian and Livia break down their process, what they do, and how they help an artist tell their story effectively. They also give some really great strategies on how to tell that story. Quick links: 5:08 - What is Blackbox?10:38 - What is a narrative? Why is it important?12:15 - Does Blackbox function as a manager for artists? 15:40 - How Blackbox developed JP Saxe and helped him tell his story21:22 - What does the onboarding process look like? How does an artist tell their story?35:36 - How do you get an artist to communicate their story visually?39:38 - When does paid media advertising come into play in a marketing strategy?43:38 - Where are we at with paid media? What platforms is Blackbox using for its clients?46:40 - What is influencer marketing? How is it working in the space today?48:05 - How's TikTok marketing functioning right now? Is it effective? 51:15 - Ari's Take Academy student questions1:05:11 - How Brian and Livia define making it in the new music businessConnect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstandFacebook: https://facebook.com/ariherstandConnect with Blackbox:Website: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is Jessica Severn. She, for 7 years, worked at Scooter Braun's company, SB Projects, doing creative direction. She spearheaded the campaigns for Justin Bieber's stuff over the past decade. She also worked with Yungblud and Ariana Grande. If you look at Scooter Braun's roster you will see the kinds of campaigns she's worked on.Don't worry! We didn't talk about how to run a superstar campaign. We talk about artist branding. What does that mean? What is a design aesthetic, the importance of it, and why you should think about branding. How do you put together album, single, and music video campaigns? I think you're going to enjoy this conversation.--Quick links: 3:31 - When and how an artist should think about branding9:29 - The next steps after an artist fills out Jessica's "brand therapy" form and how to create a mood board13:20 - Why does someone do a mood board? What's the point? 17:39 - Why does anybody need to care about the brand aesthetic from a philosophical view? 20:54 - The importance of visuals and sonic branding remaining similar23:05 - How Jessica's packages have changed since marketing has become less "glossy"24:54 - It seems like the more money that is spent on social media campaigns, the worse it's going to do27:14 - Is it necessary for someone like Jessica to be involved in a project? 30:32 - Which platforms are catching and doing well for artists and brands? 33:18 - Does Jessica and her team help with TikTok strategy? 36:24 - How do you refocus an artist or brand that doesn't think a project is "on brand" for them (TikTok, for example) 38:22 - What platform is the artist "hub" or "calling card" these days? The website? Instagram? 45:03 - The "why" is the most important question when working on projects47:00 - Should you waste money on a high priced photo from a shoot or save them for a high profile press outlet that wants exclusive photos? 53:11 - Jessica's company Deadhappy and how the creative direction business works1:00:31 - What does a licensing agreement look like for the work that Jessica's company creates? 1:04:42 - What it means to Jessica Severn to make it in the new music business--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstandFacebook: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Winslow Bright is a music supervisor and music producer at Search Party Music. They primarily put music in commercials. They do really big campaigns like Sephora, Beyond Burger, Calvin Klein (the one that featured Justin Bieber and Lil Nas X), Mini Cooper, and many more. We talk about what that job is all about and how they decide what songs are going to get placed. Winslow shares information on what goes on behind the scenes when a song is placed. She also talks about how cover songs get placed. We also talk about how original music gets composed and scored for commercials, who those people are, and where they come from. Winslow has an interesting background. She's an actress and musician. She's currently working as both. She's in a Shonda Rhimes show called Inventing Anna. She discusses all of the hats she's wearing as a music professional and what it's like. --Quick links:4:45 - What Winslow Bright does at Search Party Music7:27 - When does Search Party Music get involved in a project?10:33 - What does a budget for original music look like?19:30 - Is a 50/50 split between master and publishing common these days? 22:08 - Are most favored nations clauses (MFNs) common? 24:23 - What's the process for placing cover songs? 31:29 - Is an existing cover used? 34:33 - How does Search Party Music approach lesser known artists? What's the process like? 41:22 - How Winslow Bright got into music supervision58:44 - How does Winslow balance and bounce between everything she does? 1:03:52 - What it means to Winslow to make it in the new music business--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm so excited to have Lindsay Wolfington on the show today! She is a music supervisor and initially broke into the music supervisor world when supervising for One Tree Hill. I feel very closely connected to this show because it was one of my first massive, massive placements. It changed the trajectory of my career once my song got placed. I tell the story of how it all went down and what came from that placement. She also works on Virgin River, Fear Street, and Warrior Nun on Netflix. She won awards for the music she placed in To All the Boys I've Loved Before and To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. Her music supervision list is long, and she is a superstar in the music supervision world. We had such a great conversation.At the end of this episode we brought in students from the Ari's Take Academy course Advanced Sync Strategies for Film, TV and Video Games to ask their questions. Learn more about Advanced Sync Strategies for Film, TV and Video Games: https://aristakeacademy.teachable.com/p/advanced-sync-strategies-film-tv-video-games--Quick links:3:45 - Music supervision being recognized in mainstream media and what the Guild of Music Supervisors is7:30 - What music supervision is according to Lindsay Wolfington11:00 - When and how Lindsay was brought into working on Virgin River13:12 - The process of clearing the sound recording and publishing16:43 - Lindsay's advice to independent artists when pitching music to make music supervisors' jobs easier 21:34 - How Lindsay prefers to listen and receive music23:08 - Ari's story of getting placed in One Tree Hill25:45 - How Lindsay works with budgets for independent artists and major label artists34:14 - Netflix's sleazy contracts on artists giving up their publishing rights41:23 - How Lindsay keeps her music library organized44:02 - What're the differences between a sync agent and a music library? 48:23 - Advice from Lindsay for people who want to become music supervisors54:13 - Questions from Ari's Take Academy students1:04:03 - What it means to Lindsay to make it in the New Music Business--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1?sub_confirmation=1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today my guest is DJ Swivel. He is a producer, engineer, songwriter, most notably for BTS, Beyonce, The Chainsmokers, Mary J Blige, Kanye West, Fabolous, Bow Wow, Redman, Jay-Z, Ghostface Killah, Mariah Carey. The list goes on.We talked a lot about getting started in the industry as a producer and engineer, and what it takes and what it means. He discusses diversifying your business and what it means to make it in the new music business, of course the final question I ask everybody. His answer was really interesting.We also go deep into the LA vs. New York vs. Atlanta vs. Nashville vs. Miami discussion. He gave some really great insight as to what the scenes are shaping up to look like and why he moved from New York to LA. I really enjoyed our conversation. I learned a lot. I think you're going to dig this conversation. DJ Swivel's Story Time on The Chainsmokers: https://youtu.be/XcYtTuHzv6Q-- Quick links: 3:16 - Working remotely and how DJ Swivel has accommodated9:26 - Co-founding SKIO Music and where his entrepreneurial spirit came from16:55 - Winning a Grammy does not mean you're set for life: advice for making sacrifices in your music career23:00 - Getting started as a producer in 2021 and being raised to treat money with respect34:20 - The ethics of unpaid internships46:18 - DJ Swivel's plugin business54:32 - How DJ Swivel has sought out feedback and criticism over the years57:35 - Why DJ Swivel left New York and what his thoughts are on the various music hubs around the US1:06:17 - What it means to DJ Swivel to make it in the new music business--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstandConnect with DJ Swivel: Website: https://djswivel.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djswivel/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuhOAJMCXD7BviDIWkPWHHwApple Music playlist: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today my guest is Felicia Bennett. She is an artist manager and formerly a tour manager. She now manages Tanerélle, the breakout R&B artist. This last year they've had an incredible year. Tanerélle toured with Ari Lennox over Europe. She had a massive sync in Insecure, which propelled her song to No. 1 on the Shazam charts. She was the December 2020 playmate of Playboy. She's also an actress and starred in Victoria Monet's latest music video. At the start of the pandemic, they did an amazing virtual live concert for Trillerfest. Tanerélle was also part Rihanna's Savage X Fenty lingerie line as a model. She has a very diverse career with many different facets, and I dig in with Felicia on how all of that happened, how they're making it work, and how they're planning out the trajectory for this interesting and diverse career. --Quick links:3:43 - How Felicia and Tanerélle's relationship started and what they've accomplished in the last year9:48 - Felicia's jump from a tour manager to an artist manager12:40 - Were Felicia and Tanerélle aligned when they first started working together?15:40 - What was Felicia's first things to do when she was brought on as the manager? 17:22 - Discussing the various headline moments that Tanerélle has had recently19:46 - Felicia's experience in what is 'moving the needle' - is it social media presence or music?23:04 - How women are reclaiming the Playboy brand and how Tanerélle landed the December 2020 playmate27:58 - How Tanerélle got a sync placement in Insecure and how it changed her career35:02 - Getting funding without a label (or giving up ownership)38:48 - Savage X Fenty and how the relationship came to be42:24 - Trillerfest and Galactica livestreams51:52 - What it means to Felicia Bennett to 'make it' in the new music business--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's guest is Ari Nisman. He is the founder and president of Degy Entertainment. They are one of the largest booking agencies for colleges and military. They have hundreds of artists on their roster and book thousands and thousands of shows every year. But in today's conversation we talk about how the college entertainment market works; how the military booking market works; how much they pay for all of that; and how much each booking earns. Surprisingly they're paying guarantees. You're not having to worry about promoting those shows. So we break all of that down. We also talk about how Degy Entertainment pivoted once live music was shut down and what the virtual space looks like, even ticketed ones they've been executing within the Degy market. We discuss Degy World, which is an avatar-based, virtual, interactive world that they've built. It's proprietary. This is how they're able to host festivals, conferences, concerts, and dating events.Ari also talks about the live entertainment world and what it's going to look like when it returns.-- Quick links:4:32 - What has attracted Ari Nisman to social media app Clubhouse5:58 - When is live entertainment going to return? What is it going to look like?11:30 - What is a middle man?13:54 - Why will college buying come back before anything else?16:55 - How does the college market work? 19:54 - Talking about the music and artists that work in the college market23:16 - Why do campuses push back against hip-hop music? 27:18 - Is Degy Entertainment booking more independent artists or bigger artists these days?29:09 - What can an independent artist expect for a guarantee on a military base? 30:30 - What are the buying opportunities for independent artists in the college market?32:49 - What are NAPCA and APCA?39:18 - How Degy Entertainment pivoted into the digital realm and what they're doing with Degy World44:58 - Working with FanFX to create a unique livestreaming experience and proprietary system48:45 - Has there been any work for artists livestreaming recently? 50:52 - Is the college market spending what they were spending pre-COVID?53:17 - What is Degy World? Where did the idea come from?1:05:38 - What it means to Ari Nisman to make it in the new music business --Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today we are re-running an episode. This is the first time we've ever done this. It's an episode that initially premiered last July with artist manager Jonathan Azu. This is in honor of Black History Month this month because Jonathan and I had a really illuminating conversation about how to repair racial inequities in the music business. We also discuss how our industry, at the executive level, is so white. Specifically in Billboard Power 100, there's only one black person in the top 50. Jonathan has some ideas as to why and how we can help repair those disparities.Jonathan Azu is also a member of the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), which I spoke about last week with Dina LaPolt who is one of the founding members. Jonathan also recently launched the Diversity in Music. It is the first ever employment talent directory for underrepresented women and minorities in music.Jonathan Azu is an artist manager for artists like Cory Henry, Luke James, Emily King, and Michelle Williams among others. He used to be the executive vice president and general manager of Red Light Management. He is also a two-time Billboard magazine 40 Under 40 power player. Over a year ago, he launched his own management company called Culture Collective.A Forbes 2017 article outlined that hip-hop and R&B genres are responsible for 25% of all music consumption and over 29% of all on-demand streams across the United States. However, executives of color are still relatively scarce atop major music companies. The top 10 out of 10 on the Billboard Power 100 list are all white, and there's only two people of color in the top 50. Azu breaks this down on why he thinks this is and how to fix it because it's a problem.--Diversity in Music: https://diversityinmusic.org--Quick links:3:14 - How Jonathan Azu and his artists have been doing since touring has been shut down11:44 - What Azu's artists are doing in quarantine - how they are staying busy14:59 - Artists doing live streaming events17:47 - About Culture Collective and Azu's journey to get to where he's at today28:01 - Advice to white colleagues asking for advice on curbing systemic racism in the music industry34:27 - About The Black Music Coalition38:09 - Lack of racial diversification in the Billboard Power 100 list40:29 - Shifting internships to paid internships and going outside typical recruiting tactics - should there be mentorship programs?42:12 - Would reparations be the correct route to approach racial injustices in the music industry?53:02 - Are people losing interest in the black lives matter movement?58:04 - Was having an all black roster for Culture Collective intentional?1:03:59 - Azu's artist Emily King two Grammy nominations--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Wow! Today my guest is superstar music attorney Dina LaPolt. If you don't know who she is, she is one of the most well respected, well known music attorneys in the world. The amount of awards she has is unfathomable: Hollywood Reporter, Billboard's Power 100, Variety, MIDEM, Recording Academy, GRAMMYs. She's also been the attorney for 2Pac's estate, deadmau5, 21 Savage, Britney Spears, and Steven Tyler. She co-founded Songwriters of North America (SONA) in 2015. They're an advocacy organization representing songwriters. She was also instrumental in getting the Music Modernization Act passed in 2018, which has done wonders for songwriters and artists across the board. The Music Modernization Act was the first major update to copyright law in decades. She regularly advocates for artists, musicians, and songwriters on Capitol Hill. This conversation was fiery. We got into it. I told the challenges that independent artists and songwriters are dealing with and how we rarely get a seat at the table. When drafting new laws, independent musicians need a seat at the table. Dina also talked about what she did with the CARES Act. She made sure musicians and songwriters were included in the CARES Act and HEROES Act. Additionally, she made sure that a mixed earners stipulation was added in the follow-up bill. She described what she's working on right now with the new Administration to make sure that musicians and songwriters don't get left behind.Dina is an absolute rockstar on the business and overall. It was such a pleasure and honor to have her on the show. I know you're gonna love this conversation. She does not hold back! --Quick links:4:57 - About the CARES Act10:55 - Dina breaks down the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and where it's at now21:35 - Major music publishers like UMPG always get the best deal while smaller independent artists get screwed26:58 - What is the solution from the Copyright Office? What is the ask from the music industry? 39:45 - About the Music Licensing Collective (MLC) and how it functions43:56 - How politics gets involved in music activism (and how to communicate with Republicans and Democrats)49:06 - What it means to Dina LaPolt to make it in the new music business --Get involved: Songwriters of North America (SONA): https://www.wearesona.com/Music Artists Coalition (MAC): https://www.musicartistscoalition.com/Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC): https://www.bmacoalition.org/American Association of Independent Music (A2IM): https://a2im.org/--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

My guest today is Brian Vickers. He is a music supervisor at Disney. Yes, thee Disney; Walt Disney Studios. He works on the in-house trailer department, which they call "The Hive." He's going to talk more about that. He's worked on a number of Disney films, 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.He has worked at other trailer house and music supervision companies. He actually got a start as a performer. He performed on The Sing Off, believe it or not.We dig into all things sync licensing, specifically in the trailer department because that is Brian's current specialty. But we talk about getting the sync licensing on both sides, so as an artist of course (always my angle). We spend a significant amount of time on how to become a music supervisor yourself. Brian gives some great tips for how to do that.--Quick links:3:11 - Working as a music supervisor for Disney since COVID-19 hit and quarantine started12:38 - "Custom spots" and what the conversations look like between music supervisors and musicians17:41 - How to find reputable trailer music production companies20:13 - 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 easier25:35 - 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 process33:59 - Brian's musical background42:28 - Music supervisor and sync licensing community45:40 - How to reach out to music supervisors50:30 - How to become a music supervisor58:00 - What it means to make it in the new music business--Connect with Ari’s Take:Website: https://aristake.comAcademy: https://aristakeacademy.comInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.takeTwitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTakeYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aristake/Connect with Ari Herstand:Website: https://ariherstand.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstandTwitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstandYouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstandFacebook: https://facebook.com/ariherstandConnect with Brian Vickers:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianvickers318/Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChadTheCoolcatIMDb: Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.