Produce Like a Boss

Carmel Helene is a total ROCKSTAR! 🌟 Carmel started “ From Voice Memo 2 Demo ” less than 8 months ago and has already landed two songs with a major library, AND people are hitting her up left and right for production projects! Kris and Carmel talk about the ups and downs of trying to learn how to become a producer when you are starting out as a female singer-songwriter not knowing a thing about t...

Setting up your first home studio can feel scary and overwhelming… am I right? Well, I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be overwhelming OR a multi thousand dollar investment. ❤️ If you’ve been putting off building your home studio, there really are just a few things you need to get started and never look back! If I can do it with just a few hundred dollars collecting used gear, so can you! Th...

If you’re an artist, I’m going to assume you’ve been hit by a little thing called Blank Page Syndrome. You know, that dreary beginning stages of staring at a blank page before the songwriting begins. The options are limitless. Do you write a love song, or a party song, do you start with a loop, or build a kit, or track guitars first and the list goes on and on 🤔 The fact that you can start anywhe...

Have you ever had someone approach you and ask you to sing on a track, do a mix, or produce their song? You might be familiar with the excitement that comes with it until they ask the dreaded question, “What do you charge?”. And then you’re TORN, because you LOVE making music and helping people 😍 but on the other hand… time ain’t cheap y’all! 💁‍♀️ Maybe you haven’t charged anyone for your servic...

Happy New Year friends, and welcome to 2021! 🥳 After the hot dumpster fire that was 2020, I think we can all agree, this year we’ve gotta come back stronger, more determined, and with more 🔥 FIYA 🔥 than ever! Just like it’s a new year, there’s TONS of new ways to make money in the music industry. With a little digging, you can uncover so many streams of income it’ll make your head spin! 🥴  And...

Recently I caught myself saying the words “take this short cut” while putting together a training and almost spit my coffee out on my keyboard because, if you know me at all, I don’t believe in shortcuts .  In fact, I even have an episode on this podcast called “There are no shortcuts!” (Go check it out if you haven’t! 👀) So of course I got to thinking about what I actually meant to say instead o...

If you're treating your music like a business, you HAVE to have an email list.  I wish I knew this years ago, but I’m glad I’m catching up with the times now! Email is an amazing way to communicate with your community and provide value….AND if you take care of your people, they will take care of you!  Did you know that if you have an engaged  email list, you’re set up to make $1 per person (or...

In this episode, I sit down with Steven Slate, who co-founded Slate Digital: a GIANT in the audio world, with plugins, sample packs, gear, classes, and so much more! I use their plugins ALL THE TIME, and you might have seen the Slate VMS-1 in some of my videos; it's one of my favorite mics! So needless to say, when Slate reached out to me and told me they loved what I was teaching,  I was DYIN...

Have you ever caught yourself ‘white-knuckling’ your way through life trying to  make  things happen a certain way? 😤 Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. Especially in the music biz. I used to think the only way for me to ‘make it’ was to get a major pub deal or record deal, and if I wasn’t “Beyonce Big” then I had failed. Boy was I wrong! Do you know how much money is floating around for creative...

I’m SO excited to bring on the new guest in this episode!!! 😊 This is a personal friend of mine, and an absolute GENIUS in the music industry when it comes to marketing yourself, growing a fan base, and presenting your best self to the world. He’s the former manager of Taylor Swift (😱 ),  the host of the podcast Music Industry Blueprint , a co-author of the book $150,000 Music Degree , and a con...

Today I'm bringing you inside the mind of a dear friend of mine, who happens to be an absolute badass producer in the sync world: Mike Genato! With over 20 years in the industry, Mike has been a record producer , composer , and sound designer , to audio creative director , music supervisor , music editor and record label owner . With clients ranging from Lexus , Infiniti , Nissan , Nike , Adid...

I've had so many people in my life, even some producer friends, EVEN BOYFRIENDS say I'd never be a " real " producer. They told me to just stick to what I was good at, songwriting. If I had listened to them, if I had given in and believed them, I would never have had the confidence to put my own music out there and see what I could be for myself! The truth is, we have to stop let...

As musicians, we often think that the path to success is simple; we just have to be better than the other person, better than the other people in line, and better then the rest of the choices, and we'll make it. But the truth, though it's uncomfortable, is that the less-talented guitar player is going to get hired for the session sometimes, and the less-talented vocalist will get that cut....

It starts like any other story: Girl meets boy. Girl writes song about tortillas. Girl gets invited to perform at a huge music festival. Right?? 🤔  Ok so maybe it's not the most relatable story for you now, but the thing is that could be. I never thought a song about any kind of food would land me in one of the most prestigious music festivals in the world, South By Southwest.  But it didn&#3...

Hey producers and producers-in-the-making, You ever feel like you’re frustrated with where you’re at, maybe even a little stuck? Perhaps you’re a busy body (like me) but lately you feel like you’ve been standing still, even though you’re busier than ever!  Even though we've all been reassured that feeling stuck is normal, it's more than that: it's part of the process to get from where...

We've all been there; we've all had days where the creativity fountain seems to stop flowing, and good ideas avoid us like the plague. But what if this was something you could control? Is it possible to keep the fountain on all the time?  Pro songwriters know that inspiration is the result of action ; not the other way around. When you start working on something without knowing where it&#3...

In this episode, I share my take on using pre-made loops in your own original music. Since the evolution of hip hop, producers have been taking pre-recorded music and ‘sampling’ it to make new music.  Anything from taking the original sample of the music and adding drums and bass, to ‘flipping’ it and completely repurposing it to something unrecognizable. So... is it actually better to make your o...

This episode is for the singers out there. Do you ever wonder what gives an artist that “star power”?  What distinguishes a great vocal from a good vocal?  What’s the difference between the demo singer and the artist? In this episode, I talk about falling in love with the voice you've got... and what exactly that means! Sometimes the work calls for a solo artist, and other times it calls for a...

We've all heard the stories about how hard it is to make money as a musician; living in cars, working in restaurants while your songwriting dreams sit on a shelf. Well here's some good news: your story can be different. In this episode, I interview one of my students from the course, Eryn Michel.  Using the newfound skills she gained from the Voice Memo 2 Demo online course, she was able t...

In this episode I interview Michael Walker from Modern Musician, and host of the annual “Success with Music Conference”. Michael shares his story on how he and his band went from living in their cars, to touring with their favorite band and playing selling 24,000 albums in 6 months and reaching #2 on the iTunes Alternative Charts! Michael also takes us behind the scenes of his company Modern Music...

Are you an artist getting ready to release your music into the world and not sure where to start when planning your release? In this episode, I interview Bree Noble from Female Entrepreneur Musician. We talk about strategy and the long game of releasing an album, or series of singles. Here’s the link to the LIVE training we’ll be doing this Wednesday, May 6 @ 6 PM Central/ 7 PM Eastern / 4 PM Paci...

In this episode I cover: the correlation between work & luck some myths about how success comes about how to prepare for the life you want the magic secret to success (spoiler alert: there isn’t one!) Here's the book I'm raving about : "Do the Work"- Steven Pressfield https://www.amazon.com/Do-Work-Overcome-Resistance-Your/dp/1936891379/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&amp...

This episode is all about why I don’t charge by the hour. I go on a bit of a rant keeping it 100% real. I talked about: -specific situations in the industry where hourly rates aren’t actually cheaper for the consumer -why time spent does not always equate to the value of service provided -when it MIGHT be acceptable to charge hourly Want to learn HOW to produce your music WITHOUT all the techy tal...

If you’re ready to start making money from your home studio there is no better time than now.  Right now we’re in the middle of a global pandemic.  People are losing their jobs left and right, including the gigging musicians and my heart aches for them.   But you know who’s still surviving?  Studio musicians that can engineer themselves.   If you can record yourself, you can make a living.  If I c...

Wondering how to take your songwriting or production to a 'competitive' level? How much are you listening to modern music and using reference tracks?  Let's discuss!! Grab your FREE copy of the Producer's Toolbelt here: https://www.producelikeaboss.com/producertoolbelt Want to learn HOW to produce your music WITHOUT all the techy talk? Sign up for my free workshop here: https://www...