Music Production Podcast

Ari Herstand is a musician, blogger, and author. In December 2016, he released How to Make It in the New Music Business. The book is currently high on the Amazon charts for music business books and is used in university classrooms. Ari takes his experiences, successes, and failures and turned them into one of the most informative books you can get on creating a career in today's music business. I had a great conversation with Ari, who was full of energy and enthusiasm. Ari dispels some common myths about the music industry and delivers an often much-needed wake-up call to artists of any genre. I love Ari's tone and delivery. His book and blog, as well as this conversation, are a straight-forward, occasionally harsh, but always-inspiring kick in the pants. He makes points that we all need to hear, and he does it with the purest of intentions. Enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play This episode is sponsored by Splice. Splice is the creative hub for modern musicians. Head over to splice.com/afrodjmac and use the code: AFRODJMAC to get a free month of Splice Sounds. Show Notes: Official Site - Ari's official web site and main hub to all of his work. Ari's Take - A wide variety of advice for musicians, producers, and performers straight from Ari's own experience. How to Make It in the New Music Business - Indispensable and essential book for anyone looking to make a career with music. I recommend the audio book version, read by Ari himself. Brassroots District - Ari's new musical project, a throwback soul-funk band. Definitely take a look to see the clear and intentional "artistic message" of the project. Digital Distribution - Ari's extensive breakdown of the various ways to digitally release your music. How to Get Hired or Fired - Important read if you want the job. How to Negotiate - This is an important skill to learn for your career. Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don't forget to visit my site AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and Ableton Live devices. Brian

Madeleine Bloom runs the site Sonic Bloom for "all things Ableton Live, Push, and Max for Live," and the site is truly a treasure trove for tutorials, downloads, and more. The site grew out of her experience as Ableton tech support, and makes for an interesting story of the unpredictable path life often gives us. Madeleine's music is a beautiful combination of the organic and the electronic. It's interesting in both emotional and technical perspectives. I had a great and very wide ranging conversation with Madeleine. The show actually starts off with an extensive discussion about health and fitness, often one of the first things we let go of as workloads grow. From there, we get into making music, workflow, and more. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play This episode is sponsored by Splice. Splice is the creative hub for modern musicians. Head over to splice.com/afrodjmac-music and use the code: AFRODJMAC to get a free month of Splice Sounds. Show Notes: Sonic Bloom - Madeleine's web site for "All Things Ableton Live, Push & Max for Live." Official Site - Learn about Madeleine's music and read her blog. Bandcamp - Check out Madeleine's releases. Patchwork - Madeleine's 2012 album EP. Max for Cats - Powerful and unique Max for Live devices. Ableton Live Skins - Madeleine will give your Ableton Live a complete makeover. Dr. Rhonda Patrick - Joe Rogan interviews Dr. Rhonda Patrick, expert on nutritional health. Nutrition Facts - Madeleine asked me to post this link as an alternative perspective in response to the Dr. Rhonda Patrick link above, who Madeleine disagrees with. Matthew Walker - Joe Rogan interviews Matthew Walker, sleep expert. Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don't forget to visit my site AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and Ableton Live devices. Brian

Peter Nyboer works for Sensel, a company that produces the Morph, a multi-touch, pressure sensitive USB and Bluetooth controller. The Morph is used for music producers, artists, gamers, and developers. It features easily swappable overlays for those many different applications. Peter also worked for Livid Instruments, makers of custom MIDI controllers and instruments. Peter and I discussed the Morph and his experience with Sensel, Livid, and various music-focused tech companies. Peter lays out the challenges of developing hardware in a rapidly technological world. It was great talking with him, enjoy! Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Sensel - Makers of Morph, multi-touch, pressure sensitive, USB and Bluetooth controller. Morph - Details about the Morph controller. Ableton Live Control Surface Script - Use this to make Ableton Live immediate recognize and understand Morph. Livid Instruments - seriously awesome music products for live performance, electronic production, and DJs. Mod Devices - Makers of MOD Duo audio effects, instruments, and more device. Sensel Morph Kit - Free Ableton Live Pack I made for the Sensel Morph (works with or without any controller though). Factory Instruments and Percussion - Two Free Ableton Live Packs I made with samples from the Livid Instruments factory. SoundCloud - Check out Peter's music, under the name Slambassador. Redactive Audio - Big thanks to Scott of Redactive Audio, who has helped me clean up some audio files for the podcast. Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don't forget to visit my site AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and Ableton Live devices. Brian

Cristofer Odqvist is an audio engineer, sound designer, and the author of Making Sound: Creative Music Production Tips and Philosophies. Making Sound is a valuable resource for producers because it gives actual techniques you can put to work in your projects. Behind each technique are philosophical ideas and guidelines which will further guide your work in the future. In this episode of the Music Production Podcast, Cristofer talks about his beginnings as an engineer and how he learned to improve his craft. We talk about his book and some of the techniques and philosophies it uncovers. It was a great conversation with many valuable lessons that will certainly help in the music making process. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Making Sound - Cristofer's book of Creative Music Production Tips and Philosophies. Twitter - Cristofer's Twitter feed is loaded with quick tips and inspiring ideas for producers. The Pro Audio Files - A collection of tutorials Cristofer has written. Thank you for listening. Please consider giving the Music Production Podcast a review on your favorite podcast provider. And don't forget to visit my site AfroDJMac.com for music production tutorials, videos, and Ableton Live devices. Brian

Alessio Santini is the founder and lead developer of K-Devices. K-Devices specializes in music creation devices for Max for Live and iOS. Their slogan is "colorize your sound" and they focus on devices that have smart user interfaces, are easy to use, and have light CPU usage. Recently K-Device released their second batch of OOG, or Out of Grid, Max for Live devices. This series specializes in adding some variety and fluidity to your music and exploring rhythms that deviate from the musical time grid that so much music is bound to. On this episode of the Music Production Podcast, Alessio talked to me about the philosophy behind his programming, how the design and limitations of our instruments influence the music we make, and his background as a doom-metal guitarist. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: K-Devices - Max for Live and iOS devices created by Alessio and his team. Shaper - K-Devices first iOS app for audio effects. OOG Series - OOG stands for Out Of Grid. A collection of sequencers and tools for interesting timings. Blog - Keep up with news on K-Devices Kenter - Alessio's new EP. Love the guitar and drum work here! Elli - Alessio's record label. Thank you for listening. Please visit my site AfroDJMac for music production tutorials, videos, and Ableton Live devices. Brian

Tim Webb has gone to great lengths to bring us the latest and greatest in iOS music making news. His site Discchord.com covers all the latest releases, updates, and relevant YouTube walkthroughs, jams, and reviews of music making software for iPhone and iPad. In a refreshing blast of honesty, Tim is not afraid to tell you what apps suck and are not worth your time. He has been a faithful supporter of developers and app users worldwide for the better part of the last decade. Tim was kind enough to sit down with me for a in-depth discussion about his work, developing apps, and creating and maintaining a one person business. He offers important lessons on discipline and sincerity that are applicable to all kinds of pursuits. Tim has been extremely supportive of my own work and the work of many creatives who put themselves and their art on the web. It was a pleasure to finally speak with him and learn some important lessons and viewpoints on running a successful music-based business. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Discchord - Tim's website, dedicated to covering all things iOS music making. Buy your apps through his affiliate links to help support Tim's work, at no cost to you. YouTube - Check out Tim's videos on iOS apps and music production tutorials. Twitter - Follow Tim's work on Twitter. Patreon - Support Tim on Patreon. Everyone Can Play Music - A great video series, and the one that helped me learn my Korg MS-20. Thanks Tim! Let's Play with Apps - Tim explores a variety of iOS music apps. API Hack - Tim's own app for doing things I don't understand! Cassini - One of Tim's favorite synth apps. Foodman - We spoke about this article on Ableton.com about Foodman's unique approach to music making. Expanding Sound - Music production tutorials, sound packs, and music from my good friend, Mike Longo. Thanks for listening! Be sure to head over to AfroDJMac.com to follow my work. If you've enjoyed the show, please consider leaving a review where you get your podcasts! Thanks, Brian

Christopher Postill runs the web site Sounds Like an Earful, where he offers music for podcasters, video makers, and anyone that needs professional quality music for their creative projects. Christopher runs a podcast editing business and works as a graphic and web designer. Christopher's work interests me because he is taking his passion for music making and sound editing and turned it into a successful business. In this episode, Christopher discusses his work and balancing it with a day job. He talks about staying focused and disciplined, while avoiding burn out. I especially enjoyed his perspective on setting clear and attainable goals, which he can use as personal landmarks for his success. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: Sounds Like An Earful - Christopher's site where he licenses his music for creative projects. The Community Roadmap - Christopher is very open and clear about his goals for his work, and he shares those parameters here. Twitter - Connect with Christopher on Twitter. Sleep With Me Podcast - Bedtime stories to help adults fall asleep. Thanks for listening! Please visit AfroDJMac.com for more podcasts, music production tutorials, sound packs etc…

Matthew Fecher is a music software developer and part of the AudioKit Pro team. AudioKit Pro provides free and open-source audio software for developers to use in their apps and software. He and an enormous team of developers and collaborators just released Synth One, a free and open-source iOS synthesizer. I had a chance to talk with Matthew about the release of Synth One and the entire AudioKit Pro project. Matthew discussed working on a long term project and dealing with difficult setbacks. He explains how sharing ideas and working with others can lead to tremendous growth for an entire community of people. Matthew's enthusiasm and ability to think big is truly contagious, and the lessons he has learned can be applied to all types of projects. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: AudioKit Pro - Free and open-source audio development toolkit, powering millions of app installs. Synth One - The powerful and beautiful sounding Free and open-source iOS synthesizer app. FM Player - Free and open-source iOS sample player, featuring sounds of classic DX FM synthesizers. Matthew's Website - follow Matthew's work here. AutoPad - iOS for playing background pads, made with AudioKit Pro. AudioBus Forum - A great community for developers of music apps. Ego is the Enemy - Ryan Holiday's book about the enemy within.

How do we take an 8 bar loop and turn it into a finished song? It's probably the question people ask me most. As my students at Berklee are putting the finishing touches on their final project, it has been a major point of discussion. Then I received an email from a listener named Ed, who was seeking some advice on how to finish tracks. In this episode, I discuss the issues we all face in finishing songs. This is definitely not an end all be all - there's certainly room for a part 2 and 3 and 53 - but this episode answers attempts to answer the particular problems that have come up in the last few days. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: DREAM KEYS Ableton Live Pack - a collection of bedtime, mellow synth-keys instruments for Ableton Live. Check out the free DREAM KEYS Lite Pack. Making Music - Dennis DeSantis's absolute must-read book of 74 creative strategies for electronic music producers. A Simple Mistake That Will Ruin Your Mixdown - A 2 minute Ableton Live Tip that shows how to end your tracks smoothly. How to Make Music Like Marshmello - Using one song as a guide can be a powerful education experience.

Do you really need that new piece of gear? The truth is, probably not. Our modern day smart phones have more music making power than state of the art studios from just a few decades ago. In this episode, we talk about gear lust and how it gets in the way of our creative process. Plus I offer a few challenges you can give yourself to overcome the urge to buy new gear, accomplish goals, and perhaps reward yourself with a new toy when appropriate. Listen on iTunes or Stitcher or Google Play Show Notes: AfroDJMac Music Production Club - My monthly subscription service that gets you a download every month, as well as LOTS of other cool stuff when you join. You Already Have Everything You Need to Make Music - My article for Berklee Online's Take Note Blog. Peaceful Synths - Ableton Live Pack of softer, mellow synth sounds. Use this link (or input the code: podcast) to get it for half price. SUBS - A collection of sub bass synthesizers or Ableton Live. Take Note - Berklee Online's Blog. Lots of great information, tutorials, and interviews about making music. Take Note Podcast - Berklee's podcast. This is the episode with Marlon Williams. Waterfalls - My 150th Free Ableton Live Pack, made from samples of the waterfalls of Norway's Fjords.