Break the Business

TOPICS: Ryan is reeling from the loss of his favorite actor, Patrick Stewart, who passed away on October 28 at the age of 86; our guest this week is singer-songwriter Harley DiNardo. Check out Harley’s new singles "Dandelion" and "Catskill Park", which dropped this month. Find out more by visiting www.harleydinardo.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on...

TOPICS: Ryan wants to try Diet Coke Cake; Netflix’s stock price is falling as short-form content becomes more popular; why artists should see themselves as philanthropists, not entrepreneurs; our guest this week is indie Christian artist GraceFrances. Grace’s new album, “Clothed with Dignity,” is available now, and you can learn more at www.gracefrancesofficial.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Br...

TOPICS: Artists are alleging that DistroKid is deleting their music in response to a UMG lawsuit; we answer a listener question about how artists can get acquainted with the creative community of a new city; our guest this week is multi-hyphenate artist-entrepreneur Keldamuzik. Learn more about our guest’s work at www.keldamuzik.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTune...

TOPICS: Ryan answers a listener question about the Olivia Dean copyright lawsuit; the Emmys are moving to streaming; this week's guest is TaQuan Williams, aka Engineer Flip, founder of SoundVision Recording. Learn more about our guest’s work at http://www.svrecord.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ ryanka...

TOPICS: Ryan and Lauren talk about the VMAs, and Ryan is obsessed with the Yung Leandance; Ryan breaks down the latest entertainment industry legislation in Congress and asks why Congress can’t make laws that help indie creators; California passes a law targeting political endorsements from influencers; our guest this week is DJ Self Born. Ourguest’s new book “SELF BORN: How I Made A Million Dolla...

TOPICS: Ryan is going to be a guest lecturer; Ryan is mad about Disney not bringing back The Muppet Show; Sherry-Lynn Lee drops by to give her thoughts on the Best Asian Pop Performance Grammy category; our guest this week is musician, spoken word artist, and professional psychic Lisa B. Lisa’s new album '60s Magic Now!: The Y-Verse is available now, and you can find out more about our guest’s...

TOPICS: Ryan wonders why The Muppet Show has not yet received a series order; Ryan and Zak talk about Miist’s Billboard editorial about her decision to submit her music to the Best Asian Pop Music Performance Grammy category; can AI help empower indie artists? Our guest this week is rock singer Tony Tripi. Tony’s upcoming album “Close to Fire: Roman's Anthology Release Part I" comes out on October...

TOPICS: More Dolly Parton discussion; what are legal experts saying about Suno’s chances to succeed on a fair use claim in its copyright cases against the major labels; our guests this week are Dr. Raina Murnak and Kayla Behforouz, authors of a recent paper on how musicians can be compensated in the age of AI. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher,...

TOPICS: Ryan and Zak Sloan spend the first segment giving a fitting tribute to music legend Dolly Parton, reflecting on her achievements as a musician, songwriter, and philanthropist while also discussing the lessons that indie artists can learn from her life. Our guest this week is Vered Benhorin, musician, music therapist, author, and founder of Baby in Tune. Vered’s new album “Adorable You” is...

TOPICS: Continuing our discussion of scam trademark and copyright emails; EllieGoulding sues her former managers; our guest this week is indie singer-songwriter PrimaApollinaare. Her new EP “23” is available now, and you can follow her on Instagram@themusiconmymind. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ ryankair and...

TOPICS: Katie Zaccardi’s movie review of “One Night Only”; artists and entrepreneurs putting up with junk mail; Spotify announces that it will disclose AI accounts on the platform; Claude is creating watermarks to uncover AI-generated text; our guest this week is JC Sanchez, founder and CEO of AI-native artist management platform Orphiq. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www...

TOPICS: Ryan and Zak Sloan talk about the loss of Oscar-winning musician Glen Hansard; BTS withdraws from Grammy consideration; our guest this week is Fritz Michel, frontman of the New York band Young Allies. Young Allies’ EP “Fingers Entwined” is available now, and you can find out more at youngallies.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, an...

TOPICS: Ryan and Producer Lauren talk about the latest in the Live Nation antitrust lawsuit and what creators can do to speak out about the pending DOJ settlement; we answer a listener question about transitioning from being a full-time to part-time creator; our guest this week is Gregoire Gensollen of Tucker Tooley Entertainment. His latest project is "Band of Strangers", a new online series that...

TOPICS: Ryan is confused about the “One Night Only” romantic comedy coming out soon; Ryan and Katie Z talk about the upcoming “I Am Rocky” biopic and how the story of the “Rocky” movie's production offers great lessons for indie artists. Our guest this week is Steff Agathis, the CEO of Vitalize Projects and Vitalize Records. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting vitalize-project...

TOPICS: Ryan and Gideon King have a belated celebration of the Knicks' NBA title; the UMAW launches the “Raise the Bar” campaign to get venues to pledge to adopt artist- favorable terms in their venue contracts; we answer a listener question about when a producer becomes a songwriter on a music project; our guest this week is Songproof CEO and co-founder Nadim Rahman. You can find out more about o...

TOPICS: By demanding that artists have established careers before signing them, are labels making themselves obsolete? Ryan answers a listener question about copyright registration; our guest this week is singer-songwriter Ammar Farooki. Ammar’s new album“Twelve” is available now! Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan...

TOPICS: Legendary music executive Clive Davis passes away at the age of 94; the NOFAKES Act passes the Senate Judiciary Committee; our guest this week is John Lister, the head of Content and Community at Rap Fame. John is here to break down Rap Fame’s new report about how underground and independent rappers feel about AI and the current state of the underground genre. You can find out more about o...

TOPICS: Can artists really get business opportunities through Instagram DMs? Congress is proposing a bill that would make the Register of Copyrights a President-appointed position, and Ryan talks about why that might be a bad thing; our guest this week is entrepreneur and singer-songwriter Nick Cain. Nick’s new album “Singled Out” is available now, and you can find out more about our guest’s work...

TOPICS: Ryan and Zak Sloan talk about “Obsession” topping the box office with less than a $1m budget; how to fix Spotify; our guest this week is music executive Russ Rieger. Russ is the co-founder of Not Dead Yet Media, a company that aims to give indie artists management, label, catalog acquisition, events, and content services under one roof. You can find out more about our guest's work by visit...

TOPICS: YouTube and Dropout are investing heavily in FYC Emmy campaigns—will the industry take note? ElisaRockDoc career update: our guest this week is musician and actor Martin Luther McCoy. His new album Welcome Back Love” drops on July 17th on his own Rebel Soul Records imprint. You can find out more about our guest's work by visiting martinluthermccoy.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break th...

TOPICS: What can artists do about rising fuel costs making tours more expensive? Boring bands don’t get booked; our guests this week are Kelly Breaks and Paul Mezier, developers of the Blue Frog Immersive VR Concert App for the Apple Vision Pro. We talk to Kelly andPaul about their app and the future of VR concerts for indie creators. You can find out more about our guests’ work by visiting https:...

TOPICS: Ryan and Producer Lauren talk about Taylor Swift’s latest trademark news, including her new “Hey, It’s Taylor” sound trademarks and the latest in her “Life of a Showgirl” trademark lawsuit; our guest this week is music producer, entrepreneur, and AIfuturist Caro Castilla. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.lovemyrobot.ai. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Bus...

Topics: Zak and Lauren run the show while Ryan is away celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary. Touring artists: Ticketmaster is causing artists Blue Dot Fever. Taylor Swift seeks trademark protection from potential AI threats. Chat with our guest, Singer/songwriter/producer, Maria Ellis. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Fol...

TOPICS: Is the music industry a good place for indie artists in 2026? We answer a listener's question about equity crowdfunding. Our guest this week is Sarah Nagourney, executive, songwriter, and host of the She Creates Noise podcast. You can find out more about our guests’ work by visiting www.sarahnagourney.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitc...

TOPICS: Ryan and Gideon King break down the April 15th jury verdict in the LiveNation/TicketMaster Trial; our guest this week is TV host and social entrepreneur Simonetta Lein. Check out the Simonetta Lein show and find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.simonettalein.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow...