Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

My guest today is Bill McQuay, who’s an independent audio producer, NPR contributor, National Geographic Explorer and founder of Eco Location Sound. Before starting Eco Location Sound, Bill was Supervising Audio Engineer for the Library of Natural Sound at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and an audio producer for the Lab's Multi-media group. Prior to joining the Lab of Ornithology, Bill was an NPR sound engineer and technical director for NPR programs including: Morning Edition, Weekend Saturday and Sunday, Performance Today and NPR's Radio Expeditions. Radio Expeditions is where he began his long time collaboration with NPR science correspondent Christopher Joyce, a creative relationship that continues today. Bill led NPR's early surround-sound recording effort and was its first technical director. He was also the mastering engineer for NPR Classics CD’s. He has also worked on many other 360 degree interactive projects. Along the way Bill has won the National Academy of Sciences award for the years best science reporting, a Grammy for the NPR recording of the Benjamin Britten War Requiem, The Alfred I Dupont-Columbia University Journalism award, and Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. During the interview we spoke about telling stories with sound, going around the world to capture audio, helping scientists use sound to understand the world, his setup for recording spatial audio, how sound is determining if insects are disappearing or not, and much more. I spoke with Bill via Zoom from his office in Ithaca New York. On the intro I’ll take a look at BMI being acquired by a private equity fund, and a look at the glut of new musical instruments and audio gear on market today. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87324464, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is holistic artist coach Wendy Parr, who’s personal and professional experiences led her to become a coach that helps artists lose perfectionism, overcome resistances, follow their inner vision, and curate a life and career they love. With over 20 years coaching top music artists like Melanie Martinez, Sara Bareilles, Marc Bassy, and taking A Great Big World from their very 1st vocal session to a Grammy award, The Parr Method has also the driving force behind Wendy co-writing “Dreams on Fire” for the soundtrack of Slum Dog MIllionaire, which also won a GRAMMY. The Parr Method empowers recording artists to develop their authentic voice for their ar t, brand and life from the studio to the stage. During the interview we spoke about doing gigs around Hollywood as a teenager, making music in India with some top Indian artists, how she's helped some of today's top artists overcome their personal roadblocks, developing her holistic approach to coaching, and much more. I spoke with Wendy via Zoom from her office in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at Ai copyright as we know it so far, and also if wireless speakers will find a home in our studios soon. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87259528, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is Sam Gribben, the CEO of the music learning platform Melodics. Melodics is a software platform that teaches you to play keyboards, pad controllers and electronic drums. Melodics uses gamification of practice to encourage you to keep working at getting better. Prior to founding Melodics, Sam was CEO of the DJ software company Serato, where he joined as employee #4 and eventually helped to scale the company into an industry leader. During the interview we spoke about how to keep the fun in learning music, why many DJs and producers want to learn how to play keyboards, how the term “musician” ruins music for many people, why music teachers have embraced Melodics, and much more. I spoke with Sam via Zoom from his office in Auckland, New Zealand. On the intro I’ll take a look at how gold and platinum records are determined, and Avid is acquired by the private equity company STG. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87169485, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is producer/engineer Ed Stasium, who was an essential element in the New York punk and alternative rock scene in the 70’s and 80’s, having worked on seminal albums by The Ramones, Talking Heads and Living Colour. He has also worked with a wide range of artists such as Mick Jagger, Pretenders, Soul Asylum, The Smithereens, Motorhead, Joan Jett and many more. Ed was one of my first guests way back in September of 2014 on Episode 23, and it’s always great to catch up with him to hear about what he’s doing. While in Part 1 of this latest interview we spoke about some of Ed’s history, in Part 2 we traded some studio stories, talked about his home studio, mixing in Atmos, and much more. I spoke with Ed via Zoom from his studio outside of San Diego. On the intro I’ll take a look at superfans that aren’t so super, and the return of Sunn amplifiers.

My guest today is producer/engineer Ed Stasium, who was an essential element in the New York punk and alternative rock scene in the 70’s and 80’s, having worked on seminal albums by The Ramones, Talking Heads and Living Colour. He has also worked with a wide range of artists such as Mick Jagger, Pretenders, Soul Asylum, The Smithereens, Motorhead, Joan Jett and many more. Ed likes to say that, “I’ve seen rock and roll grow up, “ and indeed it’s true, having recorded and mixed his first gold single in 1972 with Gladys Knight & The Pips “Midnight Train To Georgia.” After spending time on the staff of New York’s well-known Mediasound getting his feet wet in the music business, Ed became the first staff engineer at the famous Power Station where he played an intricate part in the design of the room and choice of equipment. In part 1 of our two-part interview we spoke about his early sessions as a musician with some recording legends, his first big studio break, working for Ampeg, and much more. Ed was one of my first guests way back on Episode 23 in September of 2014, so it was good time for a catch up. I spoke with him via Zoom from his studio outside of San Diego. On the intro I’ll take a look at some new data on current merch sales, and new findings on what makes a Stradivarius sound so special. Also, all podcast now include full transcriptions if you’d like to read along or find a particular place to listen to. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 87052387, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest on this episode is artist manager Zack Zarrillo. Zack is co-founder of Alternate Side, a full-service music company that represents over 30 artists in the alternative/rock/pop/electronic/metal genres. He also co-founded Bad Timing Records, and he began writing his popular music blog "PropertyOfZack" when he was just 16 years old. The blog became a go-to source for music fans and industry insiders alike. Zack’s Alternate Side management has a combined catalog of over 5 Billion streams, 10 gold records, and 4 platinum records. He’s also is a fierce advocate for artists’ rights, which is the ethos of his company, and offers mentorship and assistance in music ownership, career development, finances and mental health. During the interview we spoke about how management has changed over the last few years, where he finds talent, how TikTok has benefited his artists, the reason why labels today aren't signing artists, the current trends in the business, and much more. I spoke with Zack via Zoom from his office in Philadelphia. On the intro I’ll take a look at how we’re all paying too much for concert tickets, and Spotify and YouTube Music are raising their subscription prices. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86981157, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest on this episode is engineer, producer and avid gear collector Pete Min. Pete is owner of Lucy’s Meat Market studio, and Colorfield Records, a label where he collaborates with some of LA's best musicians to create one-off LPs made entirely within his studio. Pete’s worked with major artists, including Feist, Diana Ross, Strokes, Third Eye Blind, Orville Peck, Shawn Mendes, Ringo Starr, and many more. He also has a studio filled with not only vintage audio gear, but a fantastic guitar, bass, amp, drum, and keyboard collection that almost any musician would die for. During the interview we talked about doing jingles, buying vintage gear, hot-rodding guitars in the 90’s, his favorite mics and plugins, and much more. I spoke with Pete via Zoom from his studio in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at the new Threads social platform, and how music gear retail is in trouble again. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86899608, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest on this episode is Paul Sampson, who’s the founder and CEO of the music licensing service for creators, Lickd. Paul started in the entertainment business working for a small television production company, where he encountered difficulties licensing music multiple times, which made him want to understand the nuances and problems of music licensing that needed solving. That led to a job with the stock music company Extreme Music, where he rose through the ranks to become head of its U.S. operation. After a stint focusing more on commercial music and unsigned independent acts, Paul launched Lickd to help YouTube and Instagram creators legally license music for their videos. Lickd currently works with over 10,000 labels and publishers to help pre-clear their music for social platforms, games, and even the various metaverses. It’s the only licensing platform in the world where you can get over 1 million chart tracks for your videos without fear of copyright claims. During the interview we talked about the problem that creators can have with YouTube’s Content ID and music licenses, the nuances of music in the metaverse, how AI will affect production music, and much more. I spoke with Paul via Zoom from his office in London. On the intro I’ll take a look at Spotify DIY successes shrink, and famous guitar collectible prices soar. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86811969, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest on this episode is Vickie Nauman, who’s expertise crosses between music and technology, finance, gaming, and the digital business economy. Vickie’s built one of the first DMCA-compliant services at taste-making station KEXP in Seattle, developed music tech work experience in licensing at MusicNet, which was one of the first legal digital services, ran strategic partnerships for connected device manufacturer Sonos, started and ran the US business for global music platform 7digital, and did digital business in Europe and China as a consultant. In a previous life, she also ran marketing programs and produced live broadcasts in traditional radio in the NPR network. Vickie’s CrossBorderWorks music tech and consulting firm has worked with digital business and sync departments at Universal, Warner, Sony, Sony Publishing, UMPG, Warner Chappell, Merlin, Beggars, and many more labels, publishers, PROs, and distributors, as well as emerging sync platforms and rights administration services. During the interview we got a brief look at the beginnings of digital music, insights into Web 3 and the opportunities for music, why the metaverse is going to be more than just gaming and social activities, how AI plays into the creator future, and much more. I spoke with Vickie via Zoom from her office in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at carmakers leaning towards ditching radios altogether, and Tidal finally offers lossless streaming. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86738364, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest on this episode is Evan Price, who’s an artist manager, educator, branding specialist and CEO of Artist Collective. At age 14, Evan started his first promotion company, and eventually went on to managing rappers and 9-piece bands in Chicago. He launched Artist Collective out of the dorm room of Columbia College Chicago while obtaining his Bachelors Degree in Music Business. Since then he has helped launch 100+ music brands, transforming artists and musicians into "artistpreneurs". During the interview, we talked about thinking about marketing a release in advance, motivating artists to think more about business, getting artists to understand their branding, overcoming limiting beliefs, and much more. I spoke with Evan via Zoom from his office in Chicago. On the intro I’ll take a look at the power of a song placement in a TV show, and getting reimbursed to record in Iceland. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86660560, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };