Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

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.Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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 };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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 };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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 };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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 };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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 };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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 };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

My guest on this episode is Eric Boulanger, who’s the founder of The Bakery mastering studio as well as a professional studio violinist. A protege of legendary mastering engineer Doug Sax, Eric has mastered GRAMMY-winning or nominated projects for a variety of popular and legendary artists.Not only that, he’s a studio violinist with performances and recordings that range from orchestral and chamber music, Broadway musicals, contemporary pop music, and film/television scores.In part 2 of my interview with Eric, we’ll talk about his unusual mastering studio, installing a familiar piece of equipment, the reason for the vinyl renaissance, why he chose the gear in his studio, and much more.I spoke with Eric via Zoom from his home in Los Angeles.On the intro I’ll take a look at a band that made 6 figures from their AI-generated album, and the Cakewalk Sonar DAW is being reintroduced. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86600808, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

My guest on this episode is Eric Boulanger, who’s the founder of The Bakery mastering studio as well as a professional studio violinist. A protege of legendary mastering engineer Doug Sax, Eric has mastered GRAMMY-winning or nominated projects for Green Day, Hozier, Selena Gomez, Colbie Caillat, OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons, Neil Young, The Plain White T’s, Chris Botti, and many more.A classically trained violinist since the age of three with over two decades of professional experience, Eric has trained at such renowned institutions as The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music and Tanglewood. His performances and recordings range from orchestral and chamber music, Broadway musicals, contemporary pop music, and film/television scores.In part 1 of the interview we spoke about playing in the string section on Family Guy sessions, working as an intern at Capitol Studios with Al Schmitt, rebuilding the vinyl cutting room at Mastering Lab, having the legendary Doug Sax as a mentor, and much more.I spoke with Eric via Zoom from his home in Los Angeles.On the intro I’ll take a look at the class-action lawsuit filed against DistriKid over music takedown notices, and Sonible acquired by Audiotonix, and the Blue Microphone brand being sunsetted.In the upcoming part 2 of my interview with Eric, we’ll talk about his unusual mastering studio, installing a familiar piece of equipment, the reason for the vinyl renaissance, why he chose the gear in his studio, and much more. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86526804, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

My guest this week is David Packouz, who may have the most interesting back story of just about any guest I’ve had on this podcast. David is the CEO of Singular Sound and creator of the innovative Beat Buddy drum machine pedal, which gives guitar players easy control of drum loops and songs when they play live.But there’s a lot more to his story. Prior to starting Singular Sound, David worked as an major weapons contractor for the U.S. Department of Defense, which is a story in itself. In fact, his journey into arms dealing was the subject of the 2016 film War Dogs where his character was played by Miles Teller.After that adventure filled with international intrigue, David pivoted back to music and started Singular Sound thanks to an extremely successful crowdfunding campaign . Besides the Beat Biddy, Singular also makes looper pedals and controllers, all with the performing musician in mind.During the interview we spoke about navigating the dark world of arms dealing and how international politics plays a part (it's a great story), the key behind his super-successful crowdfunding campaign, why Beat Buddy has become the ultimate drummer in a pedal, and much more.I spoke with David via Zoom from his office in Miami.On the intro I’ll take a look at how physical product might lead to the major label’s downfall, and why music producers fear being replaced by AI. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 86468070, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/