The SonicScoop Podcast | Music Production, Audio Engineering, and The Business of Music

"Your Audio is Amazing and Nobody's Happy!" MP3s and streaming platforms sometimes get a bad rap...But should they?? In this episode, Justin Colletti engages full on "rant" mode, eviscerating the view that poor audio quality is what's holding back the music industry, and offering insights on what is...And what can help bring it back to life. Join us for an episode sure to bring joy to music fans o...

This week, Justin Colletti is joined by Maor Appelbaum, a mastering engineer who as worked with Faith No More, Sepultura, Yes, Matisyahu, Lupe Fiasco, Meatloaf, William Shatner and many more. Maor is a creative mastering engineer who is obsessed with finding the right tools to apply the right kind of coloration to the project at hand. Hear about his approach to auditioning gear, choosing the right...

Justin Colletti is joined by John Congleton, producer/engineer for St. Vincent, Lana Del Rey, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Baroness, Xiu Xiu, Explosions in the Sky, The Roots, Erykah Badu, David Byrne, Wye Oak and more. In their far-ranging conversation, John and Justin talk about everything from studio design, to co-writing with artists, to Texas vs LA to balancing a full life with a career in the s...

Influential producer/engineer Joel Hamilton shares his inspiring story, and the secrets to the success of Studio G Brooklyn, which has grown from humble origins to become one of the biggest and busiest studios in all of New York City, Joel tells Justin Colletti about his approach to business, audio and life in a conversation that covers everything from mixing to finding inspiration to surviving th...

Nic Hard has been fearlessly recording his effects and audio processing for decades, and talks to Justin Colletti about how you can do the same. This industry veteran has worked with artists including Snarky Puppy, The Bravery, Ghost Beach and routinely commits to audio processing choices while tracking, from compression to EQ to distortion to pitch vending, sometimes to an extreme degree, all in...

This week, Justin Colletti talks about the 80/20 approach to audio engineering: how to focus on the things that matter most and avoid the comforting lies that keep us from making great sounding releases. He skewers the "Myth of A Thousand Little Choices" and offers a better mindset and a set of techniques for making sure you can make bold choices and avoid getting bogged down in the kind of minuti...

In this episode Justin Colletti talks to Manny Marroquin, one of the biggest mixers of the 21st century about music production and the studio business. Manny is a multiple GRAMMY winner who has worked with the likes of Post Malone, John Mayer, Imagine Dragons, Lizzo, Whitney Houston, 2Pac, Pink, Shakira, Maroon 5, Rihanna, Ludacris, and many more. In a conversation that jumps seamlessly from right...

You asked, we answer! In this episode, Justin Colletti fields questions about monitoring levels while mixing and mastering, the details of Michael Brauer's multi-bus compression setup, how to land studio jobs and more. Want to ask questions of your own? Hit us at podcast [at] sonicscoop.com or comment below. For special, regular live Q&A sessions where you are sure to get your questions answered,...

How much do audio engineers make? Justin Colletti dives into the statistics on income in the audio and sound fields to break it down, and examine some fo the latest trends. Some of key takeaways this year? After migrating from New York to California earlier this decade, some of the audio jobs may be migrating back OUT of California, now to smaller, even more affordable locales. Thanks to iZotope,...

Legendary music mixer Michael Brauer joins Justin Colletti to talk all about the art of mixing, and how to overcome the fears that have kept so many mixers—including him—from doing their best work early on in their careers. From Coldplay to John Mayer to Grizzly Bear, Brauer's body of work, spanning more than 40 years, has made him one of the most respected and influential audio engineers on the s...

In this episode, Justin Colletti tackles an unlikely topic for a channel that's all about music and audio production and business: Investing. In this episode, you'll get some evidence-based best practices for managing your surplus so that you can weather lean times in a creative field, more confidently make the leap to working for yourself full time, or even just support an expensive calling in th...

16 bit? 24 bit? 32 bit?? How much of a difference does bit depth really make? And are these differences you can hear for yourself? Justin Colletti dives deep into this topic to clear up the common misunderstandings around bit depth in audio and helps make you make the best choices for your productions, whatever DAW or interface you may be using. Thanks to Soundtoys, Focusrite and Eventide for spon...

Scott Bradlee started with nothing but a keyboard and a camera and grew his Postmodern Jukebox channel into a small musical empire, with nearly 4 million subscribers on YouTube alone, dozens of album releases, and tours all around the world. There's a thing or two that any kind of musician can learn from his story. Join in on a conversation between Scott and SonicScoop's Justin Colletti on what it...

Justin Colletti talks with Paul "Willie Green" Womack about wearing the many different hats a modern producer/engineer must don in the studio. How do you keep it all together, shifting between the roles of technician, coach, arranger, craftsman, collaborator, and when should you farm some of the tasks to assistants and others? This podcast is sponsored by Novation, Gear Club and Soundtoys. Find Pa...

Taxes? Yes, taxes. SonicScoop's Justin Colletti can make even this topic fun, interesting and useful!  If you're in business for yourself as a producer, engineer or musician, taxes are a big and unavoidable part of your business. And if you're not doing them right, it could be needlessly costing you thousands of dollars per year. In this primer, learn all the things you never learned in school, an...

Sampling rates. 44.1k. 48k. 88.2k 96k. 192k?? How do they impact your sound, and how can you make the best choice for your projects? Justin Colletti dives into the science behind sampling rates in a fun and informative talk that demystifies what they're really all about, and puts to bed much of the confusion surrounding this topic. Thanks to Soundtoys, Sonarworks and Eventide for sponsoring this p...

Throw out your textbooks! Ariel Borujow stops by the SonicScoop Podcast to talk all about how the music business really works in the internet age, and offers some tested tips for improving your career whether you're a producer, artist or engineer. Thanks to Soundtoys Sonarworks and Gear Club for sponsoring this podcast. Find out more about Ariel at https://arielborujow.com

Ben H. Allen joins Justin Colletti to talk about ways of breaking the mold when producing music, and coming up with memorable, trailblazing sounds. Ben has worked recently with critically-acclaimed artists including Deerhunter, Animal Collective, Belle and Sebastian, Washed Out, and Gnarls Barkley, after an early career engineering for major hip hop all stars like Puff Daddy, Mase and and Notoriou...

Is audio school really worth it? Can you get a "job" out of music school? Is a degree actually going to help you break into a creative field? Justin Colletti dives deep into this topic for prospective students, career changers and those in the job market. Thanks to Soundtoys, Gear Club and Sonarworks for sponsoring this podcast. For more info on this topic, try: https://sonicscoop.com/2014/09/25/i...

In this week's podcast, Justin Colletti is joined by Dean Olivet, a musician and educator who has compiled data on the biggest songs in history to help discover what goes into making hit records that capture music fans' imaginations. Dean shares his research into the 40 biggest tracks of the past year—and the 500 most popular songs in history—to find common threads and new trends in the tastes of...

Aka "The Independent Musician's Guide to Not Going Broke" In this episode of the SonicScoop podcast, Justin Colletti talks about mastering your money and finances in a creative field so that you can continue having the freedom you need to do your best work. Thanks to Soundtoys, Eventide and Sonarworks for sponsoring this podcast. Find the article that inspired this episode at https://sonicscoop.co...

In this week's podcast, veteran mixer Mike Major [At The Drive In, Coheed and Cambria, Tall as Lions] joins Justin Colletti to talk all about enhancing drum sounds in the mix. He breaks down his process and workflow in detail, offering a repeatable framework for getting the most out of real drum kits, whether you're looking to add size and ambience, or get tighter, cleaner sounds. Thanks to Soundt...

Prolific rock and metal producer Eyal Levi  of Unstoppable Recording Machine  joins Justin Colletti to talk all about advancing your career in audio or music by making networking work for you , and discusses strategies for landing new clients. These insights apply to any genre, whether it be rock or hip hop or jazz or classical. Thanks to Sonarworks, Soundtoys and Gear Club for sponsoring this pod...

Are you about to send your music in for mastering? Veteran GRAMMY-nominated mastering engineer Joe Lambert joins Justin Colletti on this week's podcast to answer some of the most common questions mastering engineers get, and to give some tips on avoiding the biggest mistakes artists and mixers make. Thanks to Sonarworks, Soundtoys and Eventide for sponsoring. Reach Joe at http://joelambertmasterin...

How do you go about setting the release time on a compressor? How hot should I mix and how high should I set my output levels for mastering? Are EPs a viable alternative to albums? All that and a whole lot more in this first Q&A episode of the new SonicScoop podcast with Justin Colletti.