When Life Hands You Lennons

Jacob McCloskey is a former dance music journalist and current CEO of Emvoice, a voice synthesis platform that allows users to input notes and lyrics to generate an AI vocal. Jacob and I discuss the role of an artist now instead of 20 years ago, how Darude's "Sandstorm" stands the test of time, Grimes, neuroaesthetics, and more! Follow Lennon: Website: https://www.lennoncihak.com Instagram: https:...

CVBZ is an independent artist and songwriter residing in Los Angeles, California. He's written a number of hit songs and recently sold sound recordings to a company called Duetti. He's very intelligent and open-minded, so there's a lot of wisdom sprinkled throughout. In this episode, CVBZ and I talk about how he's been able to do music full-time, bad record deals, Duetti and artist funding, money...

J. Erving III is the CEO and co-founder of Human Re Sources, a music distribution and artist services company. J's company was acquired by Sony Music's The Orchard in 2020 for a multi-million deal. Human Re Sources and the team have helped artists like RAYE, Brent Faiyaz, Pink Sweat$, Baby Rose, Bren Joy, Damian Lillard, and more. Now that Sony Music owns Human Re Sources, J's role has shifted. He...

Noah Tauscher is an independent musician based in Los Angeles, CA and originally from Hood River, OR. He makes his living on licensing his music for sync. This is Noah's first podcast, so be sure to give him a warm welcome! In his career, Noah has landed sync placements with Lenovo, AMC, Fender, and Netflix, among others. In this episode, Noah and I discuss the different moving parts in sync licen...

Justin Longo is the CEO and founder of MariNation Music, an investment platform that allows artists to sell shares of their business to fans. Artists are then able to use that money to purchase studio gear, increase marketing budgets, touring, etc. As your career continues to grow in social media numbers, streaming revenue, sync, touring, and more, your shares will carry more value. Justin and I t...

Cassie Petrey is the co-founder and CEO of CrowdSurf, a music management firm that has worked with Britney Spears, Camila Cabello, Backstreet Boys, and many more. Cassie is an avid speaker and has spoken at SXSW and Forbes' 30/50 summit in Abu Dhabi. She has also seen the Backstreet Boys more than 200 times in concert! In this episode, Cassie explains how marketing has changed now since before the...

Joe Barham is the CEO and co-founder of HIFI Labs, a creative incubator and artist mentorship collective building an artist-owned, community-powered future for musicians. Fueled by web3 technology and industry-changing innovation, HIFI Labs' mission is to achieve a more equitable and sustainable music economy. He was the former Head of Music at Patreon. Joe and I discuss the digital side of music,...

Ebonie Smith is a Grammy-certified audio engineer and is Atlantic Records' Senior Producer and Engineer. She's worked on projects like Hamilton on Broadway, Janelle Monáe's 'Dirty Computer' album, and Cardi B's 'Invasion of Privacy.' Ebonie is also the founder and president of Gender Amplified, a non-profit organization that aims to celebrate women in music production. In this episode, Ebonie spea...

James Mack is the co-founder and CEO of Listen Up!, a music and entertainment industry public relations agency. Most notably, Listen Up!'s client Black Coffee won Best Dance Record at the 2022 Grammy Awards. In this episode, James shares how Listen Up! signed Black Coffee onto their roster seven-and-a-half years ago stuck with him all the way to the Grammys. Remarkable. He and I discuss his journe...

Vu Ho is an entrepreneur and music tech startup founder. He's a former engineering manager at Atlassian, the parent company for programs like Jira, Confluence, and Trello. He's now the CEO of HITMKR, a company that is building a new platform with the tools and resources musicians need to create art. In this episode, Vu and I talk music tech tools that we're excited about, the biggest pains of star...

Alexandre Saboundjian is a music technology executive who currently serves as the CEO of Winamp, an audio player that changed the way Windows users listen to music forever. In 2023, they're launching an all-new platform to focus on listeners, creators, and fans. The company's primary goal with the new launch is to build a platform that will unlock artists' true potential. In this episode, Alexandr...

Jason Grishkoff is the founder and creator of SubmitHub, an online platform that allows musicians to pitch their music to content creators directly. He was on the show once before, but SubmitHub has evolved immensely since our first conversation, so he joins us for this episode to discuss how SubmitHub may factor into your marketing plan. In this episode, Jason and I discuss how musicians are usin...

Fabrice Sergent is a music technology entrepreneur and a co-founder and managing partner of Bandsintown, a live music application where fans can sign up and subscribe to their favorite bands to receive notifications when they're in the area. Fabrice and I discuss a number of topics, including NFTs, music technology, and where the music industry is headed in the next few years. Join my Discord: htt...

Talya Elitzer is the co-founder and CEO of Godmode, an artist management and music publisher based in Los Angeles, California. In this episode, Talya and I talk about NFTs, digital marketing in the 2022 landscape, and what Godmode Music looks for in musicians these days. Join my Discord: https://discord.gg/CRTcYRDGqf 27 Creative Ways to Market Your Music and Get Heard (PDF Guide): https://lennonci...

Benoni Tagoe is a music industry veteran and currently serves as Raedio's president. Raedio is an "audio everywhere" company and is aiming to be everywhere we hear audio, like in the hospital, gas stations, grocery stores, and our cars. Benoni and I talk about music supervision and how artists can make $100k+ on one placement, building a brand, and creating efficient goals. Join my Discord: https:...

Jim Hustwit is a freelance music producer based in London. He is the owner of Larp Music, a bespoke music production and composition company. He got his start in the music industry decades ago and is credited with marketing the global dance amphibian, Crazy Frog. Jim and I discuss what production music is alongside how an independent artist with a low budget can get live instrumentation recorded f...

NIVIRO is a dance music producer and DJ based in Belgium. He rose to prominence after his track "The Ghost" saw insurmountable success on TikTok. He has continuously refined his sound to become one of the most standout and successful hard dance artists of the decade. He has since launched a company called XPLISSO, which aims to change the way immersive audio is experienced live. He's also launched...

Kurt Dahl is an entertainment and intellectual property attorney in Canada. A musician himself, he understands the importance of artists protecting their art and not engaging in bad deals. Kurt tells the story of how he helped Tones and I and her manager negotiate a record deal after "Dance Monkey" skyrocketed into the spotlight. Kurt and I discuss how to find a good entertainment attorney, when i...

Milana Lewis is the founder and CEO of music distribution company Stem. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles and New York and help artists navigate the business behind their music. Milana talks about how she got Stem off the ground, exciting projects they're working on, and how she ensures diversity and inclusion at the company. The term "psychological safety" is a key word in the latter ha...

Quinn Christopherson is a singer-songwriter based in Anchorage, Alaska. He got his start after winning the NPR Tiny Desk competition back in 2019 with his song "Erase Me," and since then has been dazzling audiences with his sharp wit and his unique way of telling stories that draw you in and leave you hanging on every word. We talk about winning his NPR Tiny Desk contest, writing songs that connec...

Jenny Powers is the founder of Blue Avenue Music. She is a digital marketing guru and has taken artists' online presences from small to huge, allowing them to foster a community and find their fans anywhere in the world. This is then leveraged into selling merch, tickets to shows, and increasing streaming revenue. Jenny shares her expertise on social media advertising, marketing, content creation,...

Michael Weiss is the VP of Music at UnitedMasters, a global music distribution company. He is a third generation music industry executive, so the music business is built into his DNA. We discuss building your brand voice and how to remain authentic, dissect Lil Nas X's genius marketing strategies, and how music distributors discover and grow talent. While it's similar to a label, the approach is d...

Orlando and Bhaskar are on Alok's Controversia Records team. Orlando is the label manager and Bhaskar is the head of A&R and also an artist in his own right. Controversia Records was founded in June of 2019 and has since released tracks from artists like Timmy Trumpet, KSHMR, Bhaskar, Yves V, and many more. Orlando, Bhaskar, and I talk about the differences between the Brazilian music industry and...

Musicians and artists need to invest their money properly. It's vital for financial longevity and freedom later on in life (or career). Justin Longo of MariNation Music talks about how artists can go about managing their finances as well as providing some resources to better understand the psychology of money and invest in the music industry. This is a must listen episode if you're wanting to dive...

Adam Small is a music executive, producer, and entrepreneur. His journey and list of career accomplishments is a long and impressive one. He has more than 3 billion streams under his belt and is the CEO of ADS Music Partners and president at Artistry Records. Originally from Detroit, Small has facilitated hit singles from industry leading artists Saweetie, Nicki Minaj, Megan Thee Stallion, Mulatto...