Progressions: Success in the Music Industry

Travis discusses how the democratization of technology and an oversimplified view of the mastering process is threatening to ruin it all together. In this episode you'll learn, How Technology is Rapidly Changing Mastering A Quick History of Mastering What the True Value of Mastering Is Should You Be Paying for Mastering ⬇️ FREE 2025 PLANNING WORKSHOP ⬇️ https://www.travisference.com/2025plan 📺 WA...

Travis reflects on the first quarter of 2024 and how he's prioritizing the next three months. In this episode, you'll learn about: Travis Reviews his Goals from Q1 2024 How Prioritization Drives Progress Progressions Website Updates Takeaways from the Latest Episodes ⬇️ FREE 2025 PLANNING WORKSHOP ⬇️ https://www.travisference.com/2025plan 📺 WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE 📺 https://www.youtube.com/@pr...

Gregg Lehrman is a music composer, producer, technologist, and entrepreneur. As the founder and CEO of Output, Gregg is working to inspire creativity for musicians with their groundbreaking suite of music production tools, which now includes their AI tool, Co-Producer. As a composer his work can be heard in countless feature films, TV shows, and ad campaigns including projects for the Smithsonian,...

Everybody in the music industry expects to overwork and burnout at some point, but what if you didn't have to? What if you could avoid burnout altogether? It took getting to the point of hating every session I did to realize that we've been lied to about where burnout comes from. In this episode, you'll learn about: What Led Travis to Burnout How We Should ACTUALLY Be Thinking About Burnout What t...

Matt Rifino is the music mixer for the NBC Today Show where he’s mixed over 4000 songs for some of the biggest artists in the world and received 5 Emmy’s over the course of his 20 years on staff. He also works with independent artists out of Studio C at the Barbershop Studios. In this episode, you'll learn about: Live Broadcast Mixing vs Studio Mixing Calibrating a Hybrid Mix Setup Mixing for 5.1...

Venus Theory is a sound designer, musician and content creator. His sound design work can be found in products from companies like UVI, Lunacy Audio, Arturia, and Spitfire Audio. On YouTube, his videos have inspired hundreds of thousands of creators and given them the tools and mindsets they need to a build their careers. In this episode, you’ll learn about: The Power of Practice and Why You Have...

Travis reviews his take aways from February and shares his thoughts on the current state of AI in the music industry and how we can prepare for it. Mentioned in the Episode: Suno AI YouTube Dream Tracks GET YOUR FREE RATE WORKSHEET ⬇️ FREE 2025 PLANNING WORKSHOP ⬇️ https://www.travisference.com/2025plan 📺 WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE 📺 https://www.youtube.com/@progressionspod Connect with Me: 📬 Ne...

In this episode,Travis Ference, a Grammy nominated recording engineer, examines his own mixing process through a detailed workflow audit. Follow along and analyze your own process in what is meant to be an interactive guide to optimize music production and mixing workflows for audio professionals. In this episode, you'll learn about: Travis' System from Initial Client Contact to Final Mix Delivery...

Dana Nielsen is a Grammy nominated recording engineer, mixer, and producer who's worked with artists such as The Red Hot Chili Peppers, SZA, Bob Dylan, Adele, and Post Malone. In this episode, you'll learn about: Vocal Production Techniques The Importance of Headphone Mixes The Art of Editing Musically Melodyne Vocal Tuning Tips Working with Rick Rubin Understanding Production is about the People,...

Knowing what to charge is one of the hardest parts of working as a freelancer. In this episode Travis discusses how tracking his time for the last five years has helped him confidently define his rates and shares tips for how you can best determine what to charge for your services as a music production professional. In this episode, you'll learn about: How to determine your average hourly wage Why...

Noam Levinberg is a veteran mastering engineer and the founder of Safari Pedals, which has quickly become one of the most talked about new plug-in companies in recent times. In this episode, you'll learn about: How a plug-in designers' sonic preferences shape a plug-in The parallels of releasing plug-ins and releasing music How JUCE Framework has opened the door for a lot of new plug in companies...

Today is the first unscripted, off the cuff episode of Progressions. I've decided to do monthly reflections on the podcast and my career as well as whatever other random thoughts come to me while recording. In this episode, you'll learn about: The Progressions Relaunch and YouTube Growth Episode Reflections NAMM Convention My Favorite Plug-Ins of 2023 Why Engineers Should Stop Being Consumers ⬇️ F...

This week we talk about how Spotify's royalty changes will affect artists in 2024 and what the resulting outrage says about the false narrative much of the industry is living. In this episode, you'll learn about: Spotify's Royalty Changes Monetization Requirements The Dangers of Focusing on Public Facing Metrics What to Do about the Royalty Changes Why the Story You Believe About Yourself May Be H...

Andrew Masters is a recording engineer and musician who’s YouTube channel defined the “Epic Studio Tour” genre. His channel features some of the most amazing studio setups you’ll find on the internet as well as insights on music production and engineering. Prior to his YouTube success Andrew was on staff at East West Studios in Los Angeles where he worked with artists such as Weezer, John Legend,...

In this episode we’re exploring the “Super Mario Effect” and how it can be used to level up in the music industry. Drawing from former NASA engineer Mark Rober’s experiment, we discover how reframing our approach to failure can lead to a gamified approach to career growth. Mark Rober - https://www.youtube.com/@MarkRober References and Video Clips from Mark’s Ted X Talk - https://youtu.be/9vJRopau0...

Tony Hoffer is a 7 time Grammy nominated record producer and mixing engineer. Tony’s work includes The Kooks’ “Naive”, M83’s “Midnight City”, Beck’s “Midnight Vultures”, Fitz & the Tantrum’s “More the Just a Dream”, and Phoenix “Alphabetical.” In this episode, you'll learn about: Making Beck “Midnight Vultures” and how it changed Tony’s career Tony’s approach to working with bands in the studi...

Progressions: Success in the Music Industry is your home base for career growth. I hope it will inspire you as much as it educates you. Check back every week for interviews featuring some of the most successful people in the industry and solo monologue episodes focusing on topics that will help you build the music career you've dreamed of. You’ll find the interviews to be focused and topical than...

BEST OF 2023 REISSUE EDITION... Todays guest is Nashville based mix engineer Matt Huber. Matt has become known for his highly competitive pop and indie mixes, racking up credits for artists such as Valley, Betty Who, Nightly, Joan, ELIO, and CRUISR over the last few years. He’s also passionate about education and building community within the mix engineer world. We have a great chat about mixing w...

BEST OF 2023 REISSUE EDITION... Today's guest is music sync licensing veteran Ben Morris. Ben is co-owner of the Hauler Music Group and a past employee of EMI and Domino Records. We chat about the art and business of sync, building your brand on your own values, the dos and don'ts of sync licensing, how best to pitch your music, and why artists should be open to doing custom music for brands and a...

BEST OF 2023 REISSUE EDITION Today’s guest 10 time Grammy nominated music producer, mixing engineer, and songwriter Damian Taylor. Damian has worked with artists such as Bjork, The Killers, Bomba Estéreo, Odette, The Prodigy, and UNKLE. He’s also the founder of The Complete Producer Network, an online hub for people all over the world who are dedicated to improving their ability to create and shar...

BEST OF 2023 REISSUE EDITION Today’s guest is recording engineer and mixer Wil “Greazy” Anspach. Wil is a veteran in the Los Angeles recording scene with credits including Killer Mike, Vic Mensa, Imagine Dragons, Frank Ocean, X-Ambassadors, The Greatest Showman, and Ariana Grande. He’s also become the defacto “TikTok Engineer” by amassing a following of over 50k people by sharing real world experi...

After reflecting on three years of podcasts I realized that I was making this show for myself as much as I was for others. In this episode I explore where Progressions came from, the story behind the closing questions, and how the show has changed me. 📢 Our Sponsors 📢 Listen to Secret Sonics ! Sign Up for Complete Producer Network ! ⬇️ FREE 2025 PLANNING WORKSHOP ⬇️ https://www.travisference.com...

Great recording studios have always been built on the idea of providing solutions for their clients. Problem solving is a key skill for any engineer, mixer, or music producer. In this episode Travis explores the importance of being a solutions-oriented person in a world that has increasingly become obsessed with focusing on problems. 🗣 Mentioned in the Interview 🗣 Work Class Audio #456 with Ryan H...

Ben Wallick, host of Secret Sonics, joins me for this deep dive into the top traits and mindsets that all successful people in the music industry possess. With over 250 interviews between the two of use we each lay out the top 5 mindsets for success that we’ve seen in our guests. 📢 Our Sponsors 📢 Listen to Secret Sonics ! Sign Up for Complete Producer Network ! ⬇️ FREE 2025 PLANNING WORKSHO...

Want to get the most out of your music school experience? Set yourself up for success this fall (and for the rest of your career) with these five tips. This episode was originally post on the Progressions YouTube Channel . Be sure to subscribe for the latest there! ⬇️ FREE 2025 PLANNING WORKSHOP ⬇️ https://www.travisference.com/2025plan 📺 WATCH THE SHOW ON YOUTUBE 📺 https://www.youtube.com/@prog...