Break the Business

Hi Listeners! We are thrilled to have co-host Dave back in the studio! He has returned from China and is back in the studio to make us all happy. In the first segment, Ryan and Dave talk about music distribution options for artists and Ryan is thankful for his dear friend Josh's contribution of a brand new BP40 microphone from AudioTechnica. Thanks Josh, you are the best! In the second segment, CD...

Hi Podcast Listeners! Ryan is back in his home studio after his remote cast from NAMM last week. In the first segment, Ryan reflects on his time at NAMM and talks about what is next for the show. He also talks about his book and its availability on Amazon. The Break the Business book was the #2 new music business book on Kindle last week. Thank you so much! In the second segment, musician/lawyer A...

Hi Listeners! First thing's first: Ryan's book "Break the Business: Declaring your Independence and Achieving True Success in the Music Industry" is available now on Amazon. Check it out! This week, the Break the Business Podcast is on location at NAMM 2016 in Anaheim, California. NAMM 2016 is a world famous convention that features music equipment and merchandise from manufacturers all over the w...

Hi Listeners! Thanks for joining us this week. In the first segment, Ryan gives an update on his book and his upcoming trip to NAMM. He also discusses the loss of David Bowie and Alan Rickman this past week. In the second segment, "The Music Industry Lawyer" Erin M. Jacobson stops by for an interview. Erin is a celebrated entertainment lawyer who focuses much of her practice on helping indie artis...

Happy New Year, everyone! The Break the Business Podcast is back for 2016. Ryan and Dave talk about what they did over the holiday break, and have lots of exciting news to share. The biggest of that news is that Ryan is engaged! After talking about taking the plunge, R & D then talk about the mistakes that DIY artists can avoid in the new year. In the second segment, indie music expert and syndica...

Hi Podcast Listeners! It is our last episode of the year. We are celebrating a terrific 2015 with a more relaxed format this week. Ryan brings in his podcasting buddies Elisa and Evan to join Dave in a pure pop culture episode. No DIY music talk this week. Instead, we will make you smile with some comedy and general banter. We talk about "The Room", Steve Harvey's Miss Universe flub, Madonna's Chr...

This week's episode is heavy on Star Wars. Dave has already seen the movie three times and is super excited (Don't worry. No spoilers here!). Music business consultant Bobby Borg stops by to talk about how to succeed as a DIY artist. Bobby is a musician, teacher, and author of the books "Music Marketing for the DIY Musician" and "Business Basics for Musicians." On our show, he talks about how to a...

Hi Podcast Listeners! Thanks for downloading this week. In the first segment, Ryan and Dave discuss an article by Bobby Owsinski on the Music 3.0 blog about the different kids of Twitter contests that artists can create on the social media platform. Next, one of R & D's favorite guests--Meri Amber--stops by again to talk about her latest 360 VR music videos. These videos can be a game changer for...

Hello Listeners! Thanks for downloading us this week. In the first segment, Ryan comes to you from a hotel room in New York City on his portable podcasting setup. He discusses the different kinds of video content indie artists can create on YouTube, and references a terrific blog article on the subject by Hugh McIntyre of the Sonic Bids blog. Next, the Podcast moves back to the Miami studio to int...

Happy Thanksgiving, Listeners! Ryan's sister Lauren is in town and sits in on the show this week. They talk about Ryan's recent book photo shoot and break down what makes a good band agreement. Indie blues band Little Hurricane stops by to talk about their current tour, working with a full-service music distributor, and how they use social media. Ryan and Lauren then play a fun game show (that Rya...

Hi Podcast Listeners! First, Ryan and Dave talk about a recent Huffington Post Article in which guitar legend Joe Bonamassa talks about running his own career and being a successful indie artist. Then, country artists Zack Biss and Rebekah Reid stop by to talk about balancing music and college, creating a strong social media following, and recording their albums. The show closes by premiering the...

Thank you for listening to the Podcast. It has been a tough weekend for all of us. It helps the people involved on this show to keep speaking with you and bringing you music industry advice from amazing indie artists. In the first segment, we talk about the Paris attacks and give a simple request for musicians: Please keep doing what you do. Please keep making music. We need your art now more than...

Hi Podcast Listeners! Dave is back and talks about his birthday vacation adventures, and then R &D discuss Adam Levine's recent comments about how record labels are failing to effectively promote the winners of The Voice TV show. In the second segment, BTB doubles the fun with its weekly interview by having husband-wife synth rock duo The Droids on. They discuss the joys and challenges of building...

What effects do streaming have on the music industry overall? Ryan and his co-host JC talk about a recent article written by two music economists who discuss that point. R & J break down the article, share their thoughts, and discuss what its findings mean for indie artists. In the second segment, singer-songwriter Marian Call stops by to talk about her upcoming album, her recent uber-successful c...

Hi Everyone! Dave is out of town for his birthday and so Ryan's musician/songwriter/producer friend Evan is sitting in. They discuss the new YouTube Red subscription service and the big impact it will have on indie artists (basically, if you're an indie artist and you aren't creating heavily on YouTube, NOW is the time). Nashville-based singer/songwriter Kelly Seidel stops by to discuss her new se...

Ryan gives a book update and Ryan and Dave have an in-studio interview with e-commerce expert Chris Corey. Chris provides internet marketing services for Fortune 500 companies and will use that knowledge to advise indie artists on how to build a great website, succeed on social media, and create an effective brand online. The show closes with Ryan flailing and failing while playing Dave's As Yet U...

Ryan begins the show by revealing to Dave that the Podcast has achieved "New and Noteworthy" status on iTunes. Dave gets so excited about this that he completely forgets to pay attention to the show. In the meantime, Ryan talks about the meeting he had yesterday with his book publisher. The big release day for the Break the Business book is fast approaching and Ryan might be starting to get a litt...

This week's episode is filled with fun discussions and great indie artist advice. Dave and Ryan argue about Ryan Adams' album of Taylor Swift 1989 cover songs. Electropop artist Bill Boulden (AKA "DJ Spruke") stops by to discuss his latest crowdfunding campaign and provides a lot of great tips for artists, including some valuable insight on how to succeed on Kickstarter and Twitter. This episode i...

Dave is back from vacation! Ryan and Dave talk about updates in the Ke$ha/Dr. Luke litigation and the implications it has for all independent artists. Singer-songwriter Natalie Gelman stops by to talk about effective crowd funding techniques and tells us a crazy busking story. Then, in the "D Block", Dave talks about the recent court decision placing "Happy Birthday" into the public domain and the...

In this week's episode of the Podcast, Ryan talks about his upcoming book entitled Break the Business: Declaring Your Independence and Achieving True Success in the Music Industry. Ryan provides a summary of of the book and reads a short excerpt about technological changes facing the music industry, and how they have changed the role of record labels. The book will come out this December. Thanks f...

This week, Ryan and Dave talk about an insightful article by Terra Naomi, the original YouTube sensation, about her experience with a major record label. Singer-songwriter J.P. Kallio stops by for an interview about his music, writing one song every week, and crowdfunding on Patreon. Ryan and Dave close with an in-studio visit from a VERY famous special guest, and another installment of the "As Ye...

This week, Ryan and Dave interview Nashville-based singer/songwriter Mary Jennings about horror movies, getting songs placed in movies and on TV shows, networking your music, and creating a unique merchandising style. Dave also premieres his "As-Yet Untitled Game Show" segment. Does Ryan have the skills to win Dave's game show? Probably not, but maybe he'll surprise all of us. Feel free to play al...

In the first installment of the Break the Business Podcast, Ryan and his Co-host Dave talk about how the show will be a weekly discussion of entertainment law, indie music, and popular culture. The legal concepts discussed on the program will be geared toward non-lawyers and the podcast as a whole is designed to help independent artists build their careers while maintaining full control over their...