Song Stories

I speak with Eric Gilbert, who is the co-founder and director of Treefort Music Fest, a music festival in Boise, IA. The festival proudly hosts indie artists from all over the country. It also shines a spotlight on regional music, literature, art, food, and beer. We talk about why the festival came to be and how it has impacted Boise's national reputation and local music scene.

Cortney Harding of Friends With Holograms talks about the state of VR and AR.

In this episode of the Music Biz Podcast Kyle Bylin talks with Heather McBee from Project Music, which is a music tech incubator, and the Nashville Entrepreneur Center’s leading action to support innovation within the music industry. They talk about the benefits of going through an incubator, some of the inherent issues music tech companies run into during start up, and why the music industry is so ripe for disruption.

In this episode of the Music Biz Podcast Cortney talks with Alex Mitchell of Audiokite, a market research tool for musicians. Audio kite allows musicians of all sizes to upload their own tracks, and receive feedback from vetted listeners. Cortney and Alex talk about how AudioKite got started, how artists are using the platform successfully, and how to find balance between art and market research.

Cortney talks to Per Emanuelsson about Soundtrap, a startup that allows people all over the world to write collaborative songs.

On this episode of the podcast, Cortney talks to Jeremy Wineberg, the co-founder of the Heard Well label. Heard Well produces compilations from YouTube stars, but in an usual twist, sells physical product and digital downloads. We also talk about Jeremy's past venture, the Music Tee.

In this episode of the Music Biz Podcast, we talk with D.A. Wallach, who is a musician, Spotify’s first artist-in-residence, and an adviser for several other technology companies. D.A. put out an essay last year titled "B​itcoin for Rockstars: How Cryptocurrency Can Help Revolutionize The Music Industry," w​hich discusses how blockchain technologies can help the music industry at large with tracking metadata, and moving payments. We talk to D.A. about his essay, his views on blockchain, and how he manages a career in music while also investing in technology companies.

In this episode of the Music Biz Podcast we talk with Tim Quirk and Bryan Calhoun the founders of Freeform, a new app development platform for artists. Tim Quirk previously worked at Google Play as head of programming, and was an executive at Rhapsody. Bryan Calhoun previously worked at Sound Exchange as the VP of New Media and External Affairs, as well as numerous positions at various record labels. In this episode we talk about the Freeform platform, how artists can use an app to connect with fans, and how artists can make money while giving their music to fans for free.

In this episode of the Music Biz Podcast, we talk with Stephen Witt, who is the author of the recently released H​ow Music Got Free,​a book about music piracy, the mp3, and the downfall of the music industry. We talk to Witt about his book, music piracy, streaming, royalties, and the future of the music industry.

In this episode of Music Biz Podcast, we talk with Mark Steiner of GigSalad and Kevin Breuner of CD Baby. We sat down and interviewed them at SF MusicTech 2015 on November 15. Tune in to hear a great conversation about how these two companies are creating new revenue streams for DIY musicians and building supportive community through their joint efforts.

In this episode of Music Biz Podcast, we talk with Scott LeGere and Jay Coyle, who are music business educators and entrepreneurs. Scott is the head of the music business department at McNally Smith College of Music. He has a long history of founding companies, teaching classes, playing music, and recording bands. Jay is the founder of Music Geek Services, a music marketing and digital strategy agency for artists. He also teaches music business classes at Berklee Online. The three of us attended the Future of Music Policy Summit in Washington, DC a few weeks ago. I sat down with Scott and Jay for dinner, we had a couple of drinks, and we recorded a podcast.

Steve Rennie has spent the last 30+ years in the music business wearing a number of hats: manager of Incubus, concert promoter, record executive, host of Renman Live, and now the founder of Renman U. Renman U offers an online course all about the music business, where Rennie's straight to the point delivery provides an honest look at what it takes to survive and thrive in today's music industry. In this episode, Alex May (@AlexmDrums) talks with Steve Rennie about his new online course, and how he's hoping to share his knowledge and experience with future music professionals.

In this episode of Music Biz Podcast, we talk with Phil Hutcheon, who is the founder and CEO of DICE, a live music discovery platform that allows fans to find shows and buy tickets without any booking fees. We talk to Hutcheon about the current state of the live music sector.

In this episode of Music Biz Podcast, we talk to with Ed Aten, who is the CEO and co-founder of Merchbar, a website and mobile app that allows people to purchase artist merch. We talk to Aten about his company and what he has learned running it. Make sure that you subscribe to Music Biz Podcast in iTunes or your favorite podcast app. You can also follow the show and get the latest episodes and on SoundCloud. If you like the show, I'd love for you rate us highly and submit a review in iTunes.

In this episode of Music Biz Podcast, we talk with Craig Watson, who is the co-founder of Soundwave, a popular music discovery app. They also make an SDK, called Shine, that helps developers learn about the mobile music habits of their user base and provide them with better recommendations when they first install a new music app. We talk to Watson about how Soundwave’s product and focus changed as they learned more about the mobile music sector.

In this episode of Music Biz Podcast, we talk to Farhad Mohit, who is the founder and CEO of Flipagram, an app that allows users to create musical slideshows with photos and videos. We talk to Mohit about Flipagram’s meteoric rise and his views on the future of music.

LANDR's automated online mastering service helps music creators get professional sounding masters. By uploading a track to LANDR, artists get quick results, and are able to choose from a few different styles of processing. In this episode, Alex May talks to Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Justin Evans about how this process works, and what it means for artists.

In this episode of the Music Business Podcast, we talk with MaryLeigh Bliss, who is a Trends Editor and Strategic Consultant at Ypulse, a youth market research firm. We talk to Bliss about the millennial generation. Who are they? How do they listen to, discover, and interact with music?

In this episode of Music Business Podcast, we are talking with Bryce Clemmer, who is the co-founder and CEO of Vadio, a Portland-based company that provides an online video platform to media companies. We talk to Clemmer about the state of mobile video and how it’s changing.

In this episode of the Music Business Podcast, we talk with Casey Rae, who is the CEO of
 the Future of Music Coalition, a non-profit research, education, and advocacy organization for musicians. We talk to Rae about the need for transparency in the music business.