Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

My guests this week are Ritch Esra and Eric Knight of Music Business Television. MUBU TV takes music business education out of the classroom using interviews with music heavyweights to help artists empower their careers. Ritch is a former A&R executive at Arista and co-founder of the Music Business Registry, the music industries leading contact directories for personnel in A&R, Music Publishing, Film/Television Music, Music Law and Artist Management. Erick Knight is a musician, teacher and entrepreneur who’s new venture Symbiotic Nation aims to reinvent the entertainment industry by becoming its version of Google. During the interview, we spoke about how labels struggle to break their own artists, the depth of knowledge that artists need to be effective today, the music business journey, the latest trends in the music business, the idea behind MUBU TV, and much more. I spoke with Ritch and Eric via Zoom. On the intro I’ll take a look at the Metaverse might be further away than we’ve been told, and Marshall Amplification has been sold to a longtime partner. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85901075, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Dr. Martin Clancy, who’s a musician, academic, and events producer focusing on AI ethics. Martin completed his PhD on AI's financial and ethical implications in 2021 at Trinity College Dublin, and is the editor of Artificial Intelligence and The Music Ecosystem, a new book on trans-disciplinary AI ethics and human creativity. Martin is also a Certified Ableton Live 11 Trainer who founded the Irish rock group Tua Nua and, as a solo artist, had a series of top 40 hits in the US Billboard Dance Charts. His music is featured in the 2022 Sinead O'Conner Nothing Compares to You Documentary, and recent releases by his melodic techno group Valleraphon have appeared in Beatport Charts. During the interview, we spoke about having unexpected success as a solo artist, being a certified Ableton trainer, the practical use for AI in music, how AI affects copyright, how difficult it is to legislate AI, and much more. I spoke with Martin via Zoom from his studio in Ireland. On the intro I’ll take a look at how a TikTok ban might change the charts, and the most influential digital keyboard. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85832693, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Jennifer Freed, who founded Trevanna Post in NY after working as a Production Accountant on major motion pictures on both coasts & internationally. Trevanna Post has been the gold standard for Post Production Accounting for more than 26 years, and has grown from a 2 person office in NYC’s historic Brill Building to a firm with offices in NY, Los Angeles and London, staffed by over 50 people. The company has worked with every major, mini-major and independent studio on over 800 film and television shows. Trevanna Tracks was born out of Jennifer’s unique perspective on the need for more efficient collaboration between those responsible for getting music licenses negotiated, paid and delivered. Jennifer’s access to veteran Film and TV industry experts enabled her to create this new software platform for researching, budgeting, tracking, paying and delivering music licenses. During the interview, we spoke about how she got into film accounting, how film and TV shows set their budget for music licensing, why music supervisors won’t use a track that doesn’t indicate the songwriting splits clearly, the many reasons why temp tracks don’t used, the need for standardized data when it comes to music licensing, and much more. I spoke with Jennifer via Zoom from her office in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at the fight over copyrighting a rhythm, and drummers are smarter than the jokes about them. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85767142, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Chris Dunnett, who’s helped artists like The Rolling Stones, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan and Iron Maiden sell their merch products. Chris knows what sells, why it sells and what doesn’t, and he’s put together his Rock Your Merch bootcamp to make sure that artists and bands make their merch stand out and not make some common mistakes. During the interview, Chris and I spoke about working in Taylor Swift’s warehouse, what most artists don’t get about merch, how to market your merch, how merch has changed through the years, the most important thing you can do to sell merch, and much more. I spoke with Chris via Zoom from his studio in Nashville. On the intro I’ll take a look at how most songs online are never played, and a new life for a famous console. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85321857, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is the On-Demand songwriter and mastering engineer Mitchell Dyer, who’s on a mission to help other songwriters eliminate their mental blocks and turn their songwriting struggles into a revenue-generating career. With nearly two decades of songwriting and mastering experience, thousands of artists songs reviewed, and hundreds of songs personally recorded, Mitch has helped dozens of artists break out of their own mental jail. During the interview, we spoke about what causes songwriters to get stuck, how imposter syndrome can cause writers block, the importance of challenging the listener, learning how to master, and much more. I spoke with Mitch via Zoom from his studio in Utah. On the intro I’ll take a look at how AM/FM radio is changing, and what you need to know to set up your subwoofer. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85284044, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is the Head of Partner Marketing & Strategy for Video & Sound Products at Sony Corporation of America Jordy Freed. A talented sax player who considered becoming a professional musician, the Philly native got his start as a music publicist for DL Media, held marketing and PR roles at Blue Note, and made a quick foray into advertising at the top firm Grey. Upon returning to Blue Note in 2016, he partnered with Sony on the creation of NYC’s Sony Hall, which was the first venue to feature Sony’s immersive music experience, 360RA. This led to an in-house position at Sony, where he became the first U.S. employee on their Brand & Business Development team. In this role, he’s overseen collaborations with Doja Cat, Pink, Lil Nas X, Pharrell Williams, and Alicia Keys, struck deals to reimagine the David Bowie catalog in 360RA, led the company’s partnership with Amazon Music, and much more. He now leads marketing and business development for 360RA, as well as global branding activities for a host of sound products. During the interview, we spoke about getting started in music PR, working at the famous Blue Note club, the latest on the Sony 360RA immersive format, and much more. I spoke with Jordy via Zoom from his office at Sony. On the intro I’ll take a look at who’s making money from Spotify, and how the LinnDrum became a big part of the sound of the 80s. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85244275, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guests this week are Robina Ritchie-Barker and Scott Barker, who’s TrackStage sync music management app is taking the sync world by storm. TrackStage not only helps you get your songs and cut-downs get organized in one place, but it helps you keep track of contracts, split sheets, licenses, reversion dates, pitches and deadlines. Plus it streamlines and manages all of your important metadata as well. The app lets you spend more time creating and less time administering the business side of your sync music career, while helping you do a better job of it at the same time. During the interview, we spoke about the frustrations with the many sync tasks that was the genesis for TrackStage, how difficult it is to keep on top of all the admin work involved with sync, targeting and pitching publishers, and much more. I spoke with Robina and Scott via Zoom from their office in Vancouver. On the intro I’ll take a look at Tidal’s new royalty program getting canceled, and the costs of studio furniture. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85187191, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week again is legendary engineer/producer Ken Scott, who was one of the five engineers for The Beatles, producer/engineer for four of the most revered David Bowie albums, and engineered or produced seminal albums for Elton John, Supertramp, Duran Duran, America, Missing Persons and many more. Ken was also instrumental in giving the sound of progressive jazz a harder edge with his work with Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham. As I said during the Part 1 last week, I was lucky enough to work with Ken on his memoir Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust, we even did a project in the studio together, so I didn’t want to cover old ground again during the interview. In Part 2 of the 2 part interview, we spoke about the acts he turned down that went on to become huge, the influence George Martin had on him, working with Bowie, watching Elton write "Rocket Man," how today is like the pre-Beatles era, and much more. I spoke with Ken via Zoom from his home studio in the UK. On the intro I’ll take a look at TikTok limited major label music in Australia, and Guitar Center in financial trouble again. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 85109398, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is legendary engineer/producer Ken Scott, who has a list of accomplishments and credits that are almost too long to list. After getting his start at Abbey Road Studios as a teenager, Ken went on to become one of the five engineers for The Beatles, as well as for solo projects for John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. Ken was the producer/engineer for four of the most revered David Bowie albums, along with hit albums for Elton John, Supertramp, Duran Duran, America, Missing Persons and many more. He was also instrumental in giving the sound of progressive jazz a harder edge with his work with Jeff Beck, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Cobham. I was lucky enough to work with Ken on his memoir Abbey Road to Ziggy Stardust that outlined his illustrious career. We even did a project in the studio together so I got to know him pretty well. A lot of the typical questions that Ken would get we already covered in the book, so I tried to go in a slightly different direction during the interview. In Part 1 of the 2 part interview, we spoke about him going back to Abbey Road Studio 2 to record again, his views on immersive audio, finding Bowie outtakes, working in the box, his favorite plugins, his feeling about Autotune, and much more. I spoke with Ken via Zoom from his home studio in the UK. On the intro I’ll take a look at how Bandcamp has become a major music platform, and how Universal Audio disconnected its plugins from its hardware. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 84986682, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Kelli Richards, who’s been a trusted Advisor to legendary musicians, tech executives, leaders and innovators. During her 25 years as a consultant she’s worked with artists like Paul McCartney, Todd Rundgren, Stewart Copeland, Prince, Michael Jackson and even Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs. While she was still in high school, Kelli approached Steve at a local cafe in Cupertino, and he accepted her request for him to be her mentor, which started a relationship that lasted over 30 years until his passing. She put herself through college by working at GPI Publications, (the home of Guitar Player, Keyboard & Bass Magazines), and then moved to Hollywood where she landed a job as an A&R exec at EMI Music. Kelli eventually headed back to Apple, and was in charge of the company’s early forays in music, as she was largely responsible for making Apple computers the go-to computer for creatives everywhere. Since Apple, she has worked with a range of disruptive, innovative start-ups, and Fortune 100 companies as an advisor, consultant, and sometimes as an acting VP of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships. During the interview spoke about getting Steve Jobs as her mentor as a teenager, laying the foundation for Apple in the music and film communities, helping Todd Rundgren build Patronet, working as a young A&R exec, moving into the roll of trusted advisor, the future of digital music, and much more. I spoke with Kelli via Zoom from her office in the heart of Silicon Valley. On the intro I’ll take a look at how we now live in a 32 hour day, and how to clean and disinfect a microphone. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 84901026, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };