Break the Business

TOPICS: Why don’t we see garage bands anymore? The Creators Guild developed a rider agreement for brand partnership deals; we interview Harvard Business Review Senior Editor Kevin Evers about his new book “There’s Nothing Like This: The Strategic Genius of Taylor Swift.” Kevin’s book is available now wherever books are sold! Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundC...

TOPICS: Ryan is obsessed with TikTok artist Antronsongs new track “For You”; the Senate re-introduces the NO FAKES Act; Utah passes a new law to protect child influencers; we interview artist and copyright advocate Lana Love. You can follow our guest on Instagram @lanalovemusic. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @...

TOPICS: Ryan and Katie Zaccardi speak about the “All I Want for Christmas is You” copyright lawsuit getting dismissed and what it means for creators; “One Night Live” creates a sustainable model for indie musician touring; we interview recording artist Nicki Richards. You can find out more about our guests' work by visiting www.nickirichards.com. Check out her new single “Tether Me” Rate/review/su...

TOPICS: Doechii’s2019 song “Anxiety” hit the Hot 100 Top 10 this week, and how it got there is an amazing story of music promotion in 2025; Ryan breaks down the Miami Music Tech Summit; ElisaRockDoc career update; we interview Grammy-nominated mastering engineer Idania Valencia(Charli XCX, Benson Boone). You can follow our guest on Instagram @idaniava. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Busine...

TOPICS: Ryan, Gideon King, and Lauren try to figure out what state Creighton University and other NCAA Tournament teams are in; Ryan and Gideon talk about theLiving Wage for Musicians Act; we interview music and social entrepreneur Rudy Love, Jr. of Wichita-based band 2lot. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting 2lot.com and somewhere-fest.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break...

TOPICS: Ryan continues to be frustrated with the lack of “transparency” from the President and TreasuryDepartment about the Corporate Transparency Act and its impact on indie artists; Spotify has released its latest “Loud and Clear” report and Ryan and Zak Sloan talk about how the report continues to traffic in misleading statistics; our guest this week is blues singer-songwriter ZZ Ward. She talk...

TOPICS: Do artists still need to comply with the Corporate Transparency Act?: how to avoid copyright lawsuits when you work with music collaborators (split sheets and releases are important!); we interview entertainment lawyer Mimi Camara. You can follow our guest on Instagram at@itsmimimartine. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Pla...

TOPICS: ElisaRockDoc gives her thoughts on the Chappell Roan Grammy’s story; Facebook and Twitchare both limiting the amount of videos that creators can store on their platforms;ElisaRockDoc career update; we interview musician John Modell of Casa Del Sol. Casa Del Sol’s debut album “Strange Angels” dropped on January 24th and you can find out more about our guest’s work by visitingcasadelsolmusic...

TOPICS: Original Break the Business Co-host Metal Dave is joining us to talk about entertainment industry news (and other silly stuff); we interview acclaimed singer, songwriter, and educator Regina Sayles. Her latest single “Quiet Room” was released on January 30th off her new EP “This Love”. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting http://www.reginasayles.com. Rate/review/subscri...

TOPICS: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees; songwriter Kay Hanley stops by to talk about herHollywood Reporter editorial about Chappell Roan’s Grammy speech; our guest this week is musician and author Ben Neill. Ben’s new book is “Diffusing Music: Trajectories of Sonic Democratization”, which explores the role that technology is playing today in making the production, performance, and distributio...

TOPICS: Chappell Roan gave a powerful speech at the Grammys about how record labels should do more to support artists, but at least one editorial writer had some issues with her approach to activism; we interview Gaelen McCormick, the Director of the Eastman Performing Arts Medicine Center at the University of Rochester, an organization that aims to leverage the potential of the performing arts in...

TOPICS: BTB Guest Bill Teck is nominated for a Grammy; Ringo Starr has never ate pizza; we talk about why influencers should not be afraid of supplementing their income as a freelancer; our guest this week is Daniel Brindley, co-founder of venue operator Union Stage Presents. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.unionstagepresents.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the...

TOPICS: Gideon King talks to Ryan about the economics of music festivals; are people drinking less at concerts?; how the HITS Act would help musicians save money on their taxes; TikTok is saved (for now), but its long-term prospects are uncertain; our guest this week is Tim Walther, co-founder of the AllGood Now Music Festival. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visitingallgoodpresent...

TOPICS: Ryan and Elisa answer a listener question about whether artists still need to file their Beneficial Ownership Information Reports; Nintendo launches a new streaming service; we interview Marc Caruso,CEO and Co-Founder of LA based indie publisher Angry Mob Music. Ryan and Elisa talk to Mark about his80s cover band and Marc’s recent op-ed in Billboard about why indie publishers should unite...

TOPICS: Ryan talks to entertainment lawyer Mark Jaffe about the “Success Kid” copyright lawsuit and the copyrightability of internet memes; we are also joined by law professor Alexandra Roberts about her recent article talking about kid fluencers being able to revoke their consent to using their names for trademarks created by their parents. Our guest this week is country musician and veterans adv...

TOPICS: “Ghosts in the Machine”: Is Spotify pumping up royalty-free tracks to drive money away from indie artists?; legal things that you need to do when making a documentary; our guest this week is show favorite Bill “Downupright” Boulden. We talk to Bill about the Spotify story as well as Bill’s new“Tartarus” EP. Find out more by visiting downupright.bsky.social Rate/review/subscribe to the Brea...

TOPICS: Ryan and Gideon King discuss possible new trends in the music industry in 2025 and what they mean for indie artists; our guests this week are Channing Moreland and Makenzie Stokel, the co-founders of gig booking platform EVA. You can find out more about our guests’ work by visiting www.bookwitheva.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher,...

TOPICS: An appeals court has kept the TikTok ban in place, but will the Supreme Court save the app?; we break down The Game Awards; ElisaRockDoc Career Update; we interview Joseph Perla, founder and CEO of music social listening platform Hangout. Find out more by visiting www.hangout.fm. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follo...

OPICS: Ryan and Zak Sloan talk about what indie creators can learn from the marketing campaign for the “Wicked” motion picture; public domain day; we interview Bootleg CEO Rod Yancy. Bootleg is a live music merchandising company that captures and distributes fully licensed and high-quality concert recordings for artists and fans. Find out more by visiting bootleg.live. Rate/review/subscribe to the...

TOPICS: Drake’s camp made two legal filings involving the Kendrick Lamar “Not Like Us” diss track—is Drake going to sue his record label?; Gibson sends a cease and desist about Trump-branded guitars; our guest this week is former NFL all-pro and UBS head of sports and entertainment Adewale Ogunleye. Youcan follow our guest on Instagram @waleogunleye. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business...

TOPICS: Twitch requires labeling for political content, which might be taking money out of streamers' pockets; Bluesky is growing as a social media platform—should creators consider creating an account there?; ElisaRockDoc Career Update; we interview singer-songwriter and American Idol alum SabrinaMonique about overcoming adversity in her career and finding her authentic self as an artist. Sabrina...

TOPICS: Ryan loves rapping grandma music; Ryan and Katie talk about the “waterfall” release strategy and how artists can utilize it to maximize the promotional power of their music releases. Our guest this week is Nicholas Niespodziani, the vocalist and guitarist for Yacht Rock Revue. Nicholas talks to Ryan and Kate about how his band captures the Yacht Rock vibe in their performances and gives ad...

TOPICS: SoundExchange asks “If you could change one thing about the music industry tomorrow what would it be?”; Ed Sheeran gives a speech about how the role of record executives is changing; UMG suesTuneCore for $500 million for copyright infringement. Our guest this week is musician and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg. Eric’s latest album “Second Hand Smoke” is available now and you can find...

TOPICS: Are music business college programs worth it?; Ryan and Gideon talk about the promotional potential of podcasts for music; we interview Dreamtonics CEO Kanru Hua. Dreamtonics is a provider of AI vocal software solutions for songwriters and engineers. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.dreamtonics.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTun...

TOPICS: Ryan does a rant about falling back in love with Network Television; Ryan and ElisaRockDoc love TikToker James McNicholas and his dramatic monologue versions of pop songs; we ask why it seems like everyone on TikTok being unnecessarily mean to the (awesome) band Lawrence lately; we interview music executive Paula Park and talk about her work in developing social impact campaigns for the bi...