Break the Business

This week, we are joined by show favorite, entertainment lawyer Cassandra Spangler. She talks to us about the rise of indie hip hop artists and why hip-hop and EDM producers should always get 50% of the publishing on the songs they help create. She also gives her thoughts on the recent copyright lawsuits involving artists like Katy Perry and Robin Thicke. You can find out more about her work by vi...

This week, Ryan is joined by music entrepreneur J Bonilla. J is the co-founder and creative director of The Elements, a music licensing and sound design company based out of LA and London. The Elements specializes in the creation of “minirecords,” or record-quality original music for brands (music that sounds like it could be on the radio, but was actually created specifically for an ad campaign)....

This week, Ryan is joined by two representatives from the music distribution company Soundrop (Pony, Brand Manager and Rebecca Helgeson, Community Manager). Soundrop specializes in music distribution and cover song licensing for indie artists and are particularly a distributor of choice for artists who want to distribute covers. Soundrop is currently partnering with humanitarian organization Save...

This week, Ryan chats with Chris Jones, the co-founder of music streaming service Ursa. Ursa's platform focuses on being "artist-centered" by allowing creators to post additional content alongside their recordings to help build fan engagement. Ursa is also offering other elements within its platform, including its patent-pending linkable credits feature which will allow music fans to discover the...

Break the Business was at this year's Independent Music Awards and is bringing you a series of episodes featuring short interviews from IMA nominees and winners as well as other music industry professionals attending the event. You will hear from a bunch of fantastic indie music figures from all over the world, sharing with you TONS of information and inspiration. This is our last week of IMA epis...

Break the Business was at this year's Independent Music Awards and is bringing you a series of episodes featuring short interviews from IMA nominees and winners as well as other music industry professionals attending the event. You will hear from a bunch of fantastic indie music figures from all over the world, sharing with you TONS of information and inspiration. Featured on this episode: Mamita...

Break the Business was at this year's Independent Music Awards and is bringing you a series of episodes featuring short interviews from IMA nominees and winners as well as other music industry professionals attending the event. You will hear from a bunch of fantastic indie music figures from all over the world, sharing with you TONS of information and inspiration. Featured on this episode: Low Lil...

Break the Business was at this year's Independent Music Awards and is bringing you a series of episodes featuring short interviews from IMA nominees and winners as well as other music industry professionals attending the event. You will hear from a bunch of fantastic indie music figures from all over the world, sharing with you TONS of information and inspiration. Featured on this episode: Patrice...

Break the Business was at this year's Independent Music Awards and is bringing you a series of episodes featuring short interviews from IMA nominees and winners as well as other music industry professionals attending the event. You will hear from a bunch of fantastic indie music figures from all over the world, sharing with you TONS of information and inspiration. Featured on this episode: Stone M...

This week, Ryan chats with music supervisor Alec J. Stern. He is the Director of Music for two Chicago-based advertising agencies, DDB and We are Unlimited. Alec talks about his work, detailing how he helps brands find the right music for their campaigns. Oftentimes, that "right music" comes from an indie artist that may not be well-known, and so Alec gives some advice on how indie artists can pos...

This week, Ryan talks to Musician Monster founder Greg Wilnau. Greg has a lot of great advice for you about building your brand as an indie artist, but you will also want to hear what he has to say about living your life on your own terms and having the courage to blaze your own trail--both professionally and personally. Get yourself a copy of Greg's Music Branding Cheat Sheet by visiting www.musi...

The Independent Music Awards are next week! Ryan sits down with one of our favorite guests, acclaimed publicist and Cyber PR founder Ariel Hyatt, to break down the IMAs and discuss how indie artists like you can get more involved in this awesome event. Ryan and Ariel will be hosting workshops and serving as mentors at the IMAs, June 21-22 in New York City. Get your tickets here! independentmusicaw...

This week, Ryan sits down with Emily Plazek, founder of Music Industry Connected. MIC's latest initiative is The Mountain, a platform that helps artists achieve success and balance their business strategy, art, and personal life using a six-step process. The first segment of the mountain is available now. and you can check it out and MIC’s services by visiting www.musicindustryconnected.com. Emily...

This week, everyone's favorite BTB co-host Dave stops by the studio. Ryan is so happy to see him that he throws out the traditional show format and just has a super-sized pop culture conversation. They bring back some of your favorite Dave segments...and talk about some music industry stuff too. The Break the Business Podcast will be recording from the Independent Music Awards on June 21-22 in New...

For our final episode of National Mental Health Month, Ryan sits down with Gregg Sgar and Matt Pelosi of electronic duo MGSP to talk about the strategies they use to stay grounded in their music careers. Gregg and Matt have written and spoken a lot on the subject and have some great insight to share with musicians. We also discuss their latest single "Signs," a powerful song with a strong mental h...

As they move their music careers forward, one of the greatest challenges that indie artists have is handling live show logistics. Self-managing a live performance or even an entire tour can be a daunting task, and handling those logistical issues effectively (payments, scheduling, advance work, etc.) can often make the difference between a show's financial success or failure. On this week's episod...

This week, Ryan sits down with Jess and Jimi from Brooklyn indie duo Pls Pls Me. Jess and Jimi talk about their music and how they have worked in their careers to empower themselves and the rest of Brooklyn's LGBT music community with their art. Jess and Jimi put together a recurring music event in Brooklyn called Queer MF, which highlights the work of LGBT artists in the area. The example of Quee...

This week, Ryan sits down with musician and friend-of-the-podcast (and one-time BTB Podcast host) Katie Zaccardi. In addition to making music, Katie is also the host of Out To Be, a weekly interview series that discusses the topics of mental health and safe care. Ryan and Katie discuss those topics this week as they apply to artists and Katie shares some valuable insight on how to avoid burnout as...

This week, Ryan sits down with Emerge Festival founder and CEO Rehan Choudhry. The Emerge Festival is a music event in Las Vegas that will run from May 31 to June 1 and will bring together artists (including Laura Jane Grace and Andrew Bird) and social change activists (like David Hogg) in a powerful blend of art and activism. Ryan talks to Rehan about the festival, the changing landscape of live...

This week, Ryan is joined by longtime friend-of-the-podcast Bree Noble of Female Entrepreneur Musician. From April 22nd to May 1, Bree will be hosting the Profitable Musician Summit, an online music industry conference geared toward helping musicians manage their careers and increase their income. Guest speakers include past Podcast guests Ariel Hyatt, Ari Herstand, Kevin Breuner, Cheryl B. Engelh...

This week, Ryan sits down with acclaimed music industry entrepreneur Diego Farias. Diego is the co-founder and CEO of Amuse, a tech platform that offers label services (including distribution) for all artists without the predatory terms of a traditional label. Recently, Amuse recently introduced Fast Forward, a royalty platform that uses machine learning to allow artists to collect up to six month...

Hi Podcast Listeners! This week, Ryan sits down with Jay Della Valle of the acclaimed indie folk group Owls & Lions. After several years of crushing it on the wedding and corporate gig circuit, Owls & Lions is about to release its first EP of original music. We talk to Jay about his band, get some great advice from him about how to book more weddings and corporate gigs, and get his insight on how...

This week, Ryan chats with members of Canada-based band Across the Board. In addition to making powerful pop-rock jams, these award-winning musicians have mastered creating engaging videos that help them build strong connections with their fans. ATB's lead vocalist Jackie Auguste, with additional insight from bassist Andy Ramjattan, share lots of great video tips with Ryan. Whether its making trad...

This week, Ryan chats with indie electro-pop singer songwriter Clara Casey. Based in New York and trained in London, Clara is an exceptional artist who just released her first music video for her single "Physical." The video is a beautifully-shot portrait of New York City that complements her music quite well. Clara talks to Ryan about her process in making this video on a shoestring budget and im...

This week, we bring you the second half of our two-part in-studio interview with music industry consultant Clara Charron of the Pop of Colour Blog. If you haven't listened to the first part yet, check out Episode 171 first to find out more about our excellent guest who came all the way from Ottawa, Canada to share some excellent music conference hacks with us. Give a listen this week to get some m...