Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

My guest this week is Paul Kopf who’s the product manager for the go-to orchestral sample library for most film composers - the Vienna Symphonic Library. A composer, producer, musician and singer, Paul has been a staff member of VSL since the year 2000 when the company was founded, and is an expert for the world’s largest orchestral database with several million recorded samples. As a Product Manager, he’s responsible for product design, beta-testing, presentation and documentation and is closely involved with customer support. Paul also does many of VSL’s numerous video tutorials, and travels around the world holding clinics and presenting the latest products at music events. During the interview we spoke about the secret behind what makes VSL so popular, the process of recording the samples for the library, virtually placing the players on the stage, the piano robot, and much more. I spoke with Paul from his office in Liechtenstein. On the intro I’ll take a look at a new short run vinyl presser, and an update on the AKM audio chip fire. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82758946, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Also, how TikTok royalties works, and what will happen to musical instrument sales after the boom during Covid. My guest this week is Ceri Thomas, who’s responsible for content and studio enablement for Dolby Music. He works with engineers, studios and record labels to ensure that they can create music using Dolby’s Atmos Technology. After 15 years in the film and television industry at companies like Danetracks, Todd-Soundelux and Twenty Four Seven Sound, Ceri started as an applications engineer in virtual reality at Dolby. He then made the jump to working with Atmos in 2015, so he has vast experience on the subject. During the interview we spoke about how to get into Atmos mixing, the vast number of devices that are Atmos capable, Dolby room tuning, what makes a great immersive mix, and much more. I spoke with Ceri from his office in Burbank. On the intro I’ll take a look at how TikTok royalties work, and what happens to musical instrument sales after the pandemic. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82732238, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

PLUS: why the CD sales increase was just a mirage, and the end of the smart speaker era. My guest this week is engineer Lij Shaw, who’s the owner of the Toy Box Studio in Nashville and host of the great podcast Recording Studio Rockstars. Lij has also been battling with the Nashville Metro Council since 2015 on behalf of home studio and home business owners in the city to keep their businesses open. The city of Nashville, which ironically has the moniker of “Music City,” had a zoning ordinance on its books claiming that a home studio or business is in violation if a customer comes to the house. In July 2020 Nashville finally made home studios and other home businesses legal, but the win also included a sunset clause that would cause the bill to expire three years later unless they vote to keep the law active in January 2023. In 2017, Lij and other Nashville home business owners filed a lawsuit in an effort to provide the right to work from home, which has now made it all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court. During the interview we spoke about his legal battle with the city of Nashville, installing his new studio, auditioning the Phantom Focus system, selling his iconic console, and much more. I spoke with Lij from his studio via zoom in Nashville. On the intro I’ll take a look at why the CD sales increase was just a mirage, and the end of the smart speaker era. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82692478, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Plus, why the prices of streaming audio should be increased, and the world's fastest cybernetic drummer. My guest this week is Martins Popelis, who’s one of the founders of Sonarworks. The company was one of the first to provide room and headphone calibration software that’s within the reach of the average home studio owner. During the interview we spoke about measurement mics why they’re all different, the company’s consumer offerings, how to get the best results with Sonarworks, the difference between Sonarworks and room modeling, and much more. I spoke with Martins from a studio in Los Angeles that he was visiting. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82669940, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Also, the top music moneymakers last year, and some plugins that can do more harm than good. My guest this week is the legendary guitarist Wayne Kramer, who may be one of the most unappreciated but exceptionally influential guitarists in rock. He was a co-founder of the seminal MC5, a band that many would argue started the punk rock movement almost a decade before it became popular. In fact, The Clash even wrote not one, but two songs about him! Wayne has collaborated with a who’s who of rock’s most elite artists over the years. As a matter of fact, the list is so long that you can read about it here. His scoring work can be heard on Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down, ESPN’s 5-4-3-2-1, In My Own Words, and Under The Lights, and even for the “Unlabeled” Jim Beam commercial. Wayne is extremely passionate about his work with Jail Guitar Doors, a program that provides guitars and music lessons for inmates at more than 50 penal institutions throughout the United States. He regularly plays concerts with an all-star band at prisons around the country. During the interview we spoke about . I spoke with Wayne from his studio in Los Angeles. On the intro I’ll take a look at how the top music earners compare to youtube earners, and some plugins that can get you into trouble. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82645835, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Plus on the intro, a look at how CDs increased for the first time in 17 years, and how voiceovers are being disrupted by AI. My guest this week is Avid Solutions Specialist Jeff Komar. Jeff grew up around music and recording so he naturally gravitated towards the tech world. He joined Digidesign in 2000 before it was bought by Avid, and he’s specialized in helping creators solve problems ever since. Since there have been so many questions lately about immersive audio, I thought I’d get the info from someone directly connected to the technology. During the interview we spoke about what’s required to get started in immersive audio, where to find sessions to practice with, the difference between bed and object tracks, the different mixing approaches, how it’s affected production, and much more. I spoke with Jeff via Zoom from his home studio. On the intro I’ll take a look at how CDs actually increased in sales last year, and how voiceovers are being disrupted by AI. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82612661, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is Grammy-nominated mastering engineer Michael Romanowski, who’s the owner and chief mastering engineer at Coast Mastering in Berkley, CA. Michael has over 30 years of experience mastering in stereo, but he’s been a pioneer in mastering for immersive audio, complete with a new purpose-built 9.1.6 room. Michael’s immersive credits include the original motion picture soundtrack for Dune, Hans Zimmer, three albums by Alicia Keys, Eagles “Live From The Form”, and quite a few others. During the interview we spoke about what people expect from immersive mastering, how the loudness wars are creeping in again, the tools he uses and the tools he'd still like to have, what makes a great immersive mix, and much more. I spoke with Michael via Zoom from his studio just in the Bay area. On the intro I’ll take a look at Apple Music finally converting its full catalog to lossless, and the top 20 computer audio interfaces. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82587791, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

It's that time of year again to take a look back at the influential music business stories from 2021, see how the predictions from last year fared, and have a look forward to the trends and predictions for 2022. Among the things I'll discuss in Podcast 401 include: Music centers shifting to new places on the globe The $9.99 streaming price Spotify getting into video TikTok peaking The future of immersive audio The move towards hi-res audio Artists and their streaming numbers The next big trend in music Music NFTs As always you'll hear not only my outlook on these topics but what I'm seeing that makes me think that way. Here's to the last podcast of 2021. Once again, thank you for your support. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82562793, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Yes, it's an old picture, but I thought Edward Colver did a great job taking it We've hit a milestone today with Episode 400 so I'm going to change things up a little. There's new theme music (I'm not sure if I like it - if you have something better please send it), and the upcoming episodes this year will be more theme-based. First up will be a deep-dive into immersive audio as soon as the new year rolls around. By popular demand, this episode is dedicated to a few of my personal studio horror stories, although some are actually about some good experiences (like the Frank Zappa stories) too. During the episode I covered some early sessions that did not go well (and how I handled them badly too), dipping my toe into commercials and jingles, fun times with Frank Zappa, having some songs on a hit TV show (but paying the price), a true Hollywood TV star moment (not), not getting paid and not getting credit, celebrity tapes exploding, and much more. Thank you kindly for all your support and for listening all these years. I hope to see you back for the next 400! var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82531207, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is my good friend for many years Dennis Moody, who also appeared on the very first episode of the Inner Circle Podcast as well as number 100, 200 and 300. This is episode #399 and I’m going to be changing things up starting on episode 400 so I wanted to bring Dennis back on to close out an era. Dennis is known as the “drummer's engineer” having worked on projects by master drummers Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, and Michael White among many others. He’s also one of the few studio engineers that also excels as a live concert engineer, having mixed at most of the major U.S. venues from Carnegie Hall to Madison Square Garden to The L.A. Forum, as well as most of the major concert venues throughout Europe including Wembly Arena, Royal Albert Hall, and other venues for shows having up to 250,000 in attendance. He has also mixed thousands of Broadway style musicals, large and small orchestral shows, plays, and live broadcasts worldwide. During the interview we spoke about working during Covid, some of his recent interesting gear finds, working with Missy Elliot, the future of recording studios, and much more. I spoke with Dennis via Zoom from his studio just outside of Hollywood On the intro I’ll take a look at the genres not on this years Billboard year-end charts, and the state of sampling and how that affects the hits we listen to today. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82435386, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };