Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

This week's guest is Kurt Dahl, who's not only a successful entertainment attorney but is a busy drummer as well. His band One Bad Son has toured North America with Def Leopard, Judas Priest and even opened for the Rolling Stones. While working as a musician, Kurt decided that he could help his band more by getting educated in the music business, and that became a law degree and a second career. Kurt has also written articles for a host of magazines like Canadian Musician, Canadian Lawyer, DRUM Magazine, SOCAN Magazine and dozens of other industry publications, as well as made TV appearances, an interview on NPR, and lectured at universities and conferences across the country. During the interview we spoke about how Kurt can still do his attorney job while being on tour, what it’s like to represent yourself in a negotiation, his article on the legalities of tribute bands, the worst mistakes an artist can make, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at the new release schedule, and a new stri

My guest today is Ira Ingber, who’s a long time Los Angeles studio musician, composer and producer. Through the years Ira has had multiple major label record deals and toured and recorded with top Southern California singer/songwriters like J.D. Souther, Jennifer Warnes and Bonnie Riatt. Ira was also asked to form a band for Bob Dylan that led him to record two Dylan albums and tour with the legend. He’s also composed and performed on numerous original scores and songs for film, television and commercials. During the interview we spoke about growing up in the heart of the Hollywood music scene, some excellent stories about playing with Bob Dylan, studio guitar rigs through the decades, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at what's behind the lawsuit against the Musician’s Union pension fund, and protecting your home studio with a UPS backup.

This week's guest is Matt Black who's the co-founder of the leading indie record label Ninja Tune and electronic music pioneer duo Coldcut. Coldcut has remixed and created productions for the likes of James Brown, Queen Latifah, Eurythmics, INXS, Blondie, and many others, while Ninja Tune has been visionary with it’s selection of artists emphasizing interactive technology and innovative uses of software. Matt is also one of the creators of the VJamm software used in Coldcut live shows. This led to designing the widely acclaimed app Ninja Jamm, and now the new Jamm Pro, which features multitrack recording, inter-app audio, built-in sub-bass module, smart pitch bends, and much more. During the interview we spoke about the Ninja Tune philosophy, the string of DJ  products that Matt has developed, the 25 year evolution of Jamm Pro and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at the downturn in streaming numbers, and the future of smart monitor speakers. [photo: Oz Owen]

This week's guest is Laura Bull, who spent ten years with Sony Music Entertainment where she became one of the company's youngest executives at the age of twenty-eight. During her tenure, she spearheaded development and marketing for globally recognized artists including Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, and Johnny Cash among hundreds of other artists from Arista, RCA, Columbia, Epic, and Monument records. Laura is an expert who specializes in transforming people into viable brands by by teaching what it takes to become a powerful “influencer." Her book “From Individual To Empire” is a guide to building an authentic and powerful brand. During the interview we spoke about artist branding, the differences between marketing and branding, the “it factor” of an artist, working through a regime change at a label, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at taking advantage of imposed downtown we’re facing, and the musical instrument industry shaking off the trade war.

My guest this week is Tony Braunagel, who's been the drummer for a wide variety of artists including Bonnie Raitt, Robert Cray, Rickie Lee Jones, and Taj Mahal, among others. It was with Taj that Tony gained a named for himself as a producer, working on the Grammy-award winning “Shoutin’ in Key” album that also won a prestigious W. C. Handy award. Since then he’s become a respected producer in the blues genre besides being a much in-demand drummer and clinician. During the interview we spoke about Tony growing up in Texas but getting his break in the UK, discovering blues early in life, producing from behind the drum kit, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at what streaming networks are currently paying, and the distortion pedal who’s sound is based on the type of liquid you pour inside it.

This week's guest is Jay Warsinske has been in music marketing, promotion and artist development for over 40 years. In that time he's helped launch the music for celebrated artists like U2, NWA, AC/DC, Dr. Dre, Metallica, 2Pac, Guns 'n Roses, Eminem, Madonna, Ramones, VanHalen, The Black Eyed Peas, Lil Wayne, Green Day, Snoop Dogg, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Police, Ice Cube, Janet Jackson, and many more. Jay’s company Indie Power works with artists on all levels with distribution, marketing and promotion. He’s also the founder of the Indie Entertainment Summit that happens every year in the NOHO arts district of North Hollywood. During the interview we spoke about the difference between music promotion now and in the 80s, the ups and downs of playlist promotion, what makes a successful artist, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at how artificial intelligence is become a big part of label A&R, and how subwoofers in your shoes might actually be useful.

My guest on this episode is Leslie Gaston-Bird, who is a post-production engineer, governor-at-large for the Audio Engineering Society, and a former Associate Professor of Recording Arts at the University of Colorado Denver. Leslie's first gig was at National Public Radio headquarters in Washington, D.C. where she worked on shows like “Morning Edition.” “All Things Considered”, “Talk of the Nation” and “Performance Today,” She then moved to Colorado Public Radio where she earned the Radio and Television Digital News Association’s Edward R. Murrow Award for Large Market Documentary. It was in Denver where she started her career in post-production at the Post Modern Company restoring soundtracks for classic Sony / Columbia films dating as early as the 1930’s. In 2011 she was granted a Fulbright award to research Blu-Ray audio at the University of York in York, England, which led to ongoing research with Dolby Labs. She’s also the author of the book Women In Audio. During the interview we spoke about wo

This week's guest is drummer Daniel Glass, who has worked with a wide variety of artists that range from Brian Setzer to Bette Midler, to the Budapest Jazz Orchestra, to KISS front man Gene Simmons.  Daniel has been voted one of the top five R&B drummers in the world by readers of Modern Drummer and DRUM magazine for two consecutive years, and since 2011 he’s been the house drummer every Monday night at New York City’s legendary Birdland Jazz Club. He's also published 5 books, is a regular contributor to Modern Drummer, DRUM and Classic Drummer magazines, and is widely recognized as an authority on classic American drumming and the evolution of American popular music. During the interview we spoke about studying with a drum legend, the evolution of the drum set, how drum history and social history are tied together, playing in the house band at the legendary Birdland Jazz Club, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at what the numbers say about the health of the major streaming services, an

Legendary producer John Boylan started in the business as a member of the burgeoning folk scene in the Village in New York City that set the tone for the explosion in the music business to unimagined heights.  John has a long list of stellar production credits that include Rick Nelson, the Association, Linda Ronstadt, Boston, Charlie Daniels, the Little River Band, and many more. He's also seen the music business from the label side as a VP of A&R for Epic for 11 years, then worked extensively in children’s music and television, where he won a Grammy for his work on the ABC prime time special The Muppets Elmopalooza. During the interview we spoke about growing up in the original folk scene in New York City, putting together the band that would later become The Eagles, seldom-heard facts about recording the band Boston, a discussion about 5G and Bluetooth LE audio, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at the best practices for submission to Spotify playlists, and the untold reasons for the

My guest this week is Jay Gilbert, who turned his love of taking concert photographs into being on the cutting edge of digital sales and marketing as an executive with Universal, Sony and Warner Music Groups. Jay has created and executed unique online marketing plans for a wide variety of artists, including Elton John, KISS, Nirvana, Styx, Rob Zombie, The Police, Bob Marley, Peter Frampton, Amy Grant and many more. He also led the Fox International Digital team on the Avatar, The Simpsons, and Family Guy, among many others. Jay is also the force behind the excellent Your Morning Coffee newsletter and the Music Biz Weekly Podcast, as well as a partner in the artist and label services company Label Logic. During the interview we spoke about the one thing that artists get wrong with digital strategy, the importance of fundamental artist marketing, the reason why pseudo and unwrapping videos can be so powerful, the importance of radio, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at albums and songs b

After working at the prestigious Berklee College of Music, Dwight Heckelman felt that music higher education needed to be held to a higher standard and would be a lot better if it were apprenticeship-based and relationship-driven.  He called on his experience as a graduate of Belmont University, at major and independent record labels, recording studios, music publishing, music journalism, as well as other college music industry programs and took a leap of faith to create GROOVE U. The school offers a highly creative and cutting edge two year music industry career program based on entrepreneurship and not one, but two apprenticeships. Groove U features 6 music industry specializations that include audio production, music business, live sound, video, interactive and independent. During the interview we spoke about what it took to get a label job, starting a school from scratch, the real clients of a school, internships, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at the strategy of adding extra tr

This week on the podcast I take a quick look at the recent Winter NAMM 2020 exhibition that just finished in Anaheim. NAMM was certainly different this year as it felt renewed and actually had its first buzz-worthy product in a long time. During this week's episode I'll take a look at: the mood of the show and how it was different from previous yearsthe product mix and how audio now leans towards sound reinforcementsome noteworthy new products, especially Universal Audio's LUNA recording systemthe very cool AES Academy that went on in conjunction with the showsome of the cool programs I was part ofand much more It's short but to the point and I think will give you a perspective on Winter NAMM 2020 that you won't get anywhere else.

My guest today on Episode #300 is Dennis Moody who’s the engineer of choice for some of the worlds top drummers, including Dave Weckl, Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Gregg Bissonette, and many more. He’s also one of the few studio engineers that also tours the world as a front of house engineer as well. Dennis was my first guest on my very first podcast back almost 6 years ago. Since then he’s been the only guest to return more than twice, appearing on podcasts 50, 100, 150 and 200 to bring us updates in the world of audio from various parts of the globe. During the interview we spoke about the trends in audio (especially live sound), the economics of the touring business, using subwoofers, the search for the mic that works better than an SM58, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at how streaming hit over 1 trillion streams last year but is actually slowing, and how music can evoke up to 13 emotions.

My guest today is Radial Engineering product manager Jay Porter, who worked as both a live and studio engineer before entering the world of audio manufacturing. Over the past 10 years while working with Primacoustic, Jay has assisted with acoustic treatment layouts for every type of venue from the home recording studio to the mega church including rooms for such artists as Jacquire King, Tommy Lee, John Rzeznik, David Bottrill and David Rideau. Now at Radial Jay is one of the voices for the company’s many cool new products. During the interview we spoke about acoustic treatment systems, working with music celebrities on their studios, new direct box designs and products, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at Hasbro buying into the music business, Universal Music selling 10% of itself, and company acquisitions by Focusrite and the parent company of SSL.

No guest on the podcast this week as I take a look at what might be in store for us 2020. It's short and sweet and will get you thinking. Some of the things I'll look at include: The plugin evolution that's comingUSB 4Artificial intelligence-based productsImmersive audioDigital patchbaysPro Tools' dominanceGear getting more expensiveA breakthrough in soundproofing And that's just the audio production portion! There's a lot more on what to look for in the music business next year too.

Merry Christmas everyone! Check out the annual look back at the year, and the decade, in music, audio and the music industry. You'll be surprised at just how much has changed over the last year, and even more surprised at where we started in 2010 and now end the decade.

Over the course of his 50 years in the business John Storyk has designed more than 3,500 audio and video production facilities, recording studios, radio stations, corporate media and conference rooms, educational and, entertainment facilities, clubs, stadiums and theaters around the world.  John and his company Walters-Storyk Design Group have designed everything from private studios for Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and Aerosmith to broadcast facilities for CBS, WNET, ESPN, and Food Network, but perhaps his most famous creation is his first - Jimi Hendrix’s famous Electric Lady Studio in New York City. During the interview we spoke about designing Electric Lady, the types of studios being built today, creating the right studio vibe, the differences in studio construction over time, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look back at how may streams it takes to make both a dollar and minimum wage, and the new Pultizer Prize for audio.

Ari Herstand parlayed his experiences as an indie artist into a secondary career as a music industry blogger and author. Ari’s music business blog Ari’s Take has been a staple for helping musicians build a career without the help of a record label, and his book How To Make It In The New Music Business is a recommended text book in many college music programs. Ari’s also written for many of the top musician trade magazines and websites including Music Connection Magazine, American Songwriter, Digital Music News, Playback Magazine, CD Baby, Tunecore, Reverbnation, Roland, Discmakers, ASCAP, Hypebot and others. He has been a featured speaker at SXSW, BBC One's Amplify, ASCAP Music Expo, SF MusicTech, CD Baby's DIY Musician Conference and Berklee College of Music.  During the interview we spoke about some of the common misconceptions about the music business, the importance of setting goals, the big thing that most artists get wrong, finding an audience for your music, and much more. On the intro I’l

Kevin Killen is a multi-Grammy award winning engineer who’s worked with luminaries like David Bowie, U2, Peter Gabriel, Yo Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, Sugarland, Shakira and so many more. Besides working on what many consider seminal albums like Peter Gabriel’s So and U2’s Unforgettable Fire, Kevin has also worked on Broadway cast albums and movie soundtracks as well. He’s also been a longtime proponent of in-the-box mixing and an all-digital workflow, taking up the cause before it became popular.  During the interview we spoke about working with Peter Gabriel, getting arrangement tips from Burt Bacharach, working on David Bowie’s last album, his unique mixing template, and much more. On the intro I’ll take a look at what might happen to your inactive social accounts, and how plugins are evolving before our eyes.

Yoni Zlotkin turned some ambisonics and binaural college projects into a job as product manager for what has now become Waves NX. He is now also a product manager for Waves revolutionary Abbey Road Studio 3 plugin. During the interview we spoke about the development of Studio 3, how the impulses of the room were taken, the evolution of real time psychoacoustics, headphones in an immersive audio environment, and much more. On the intro we'll look at the upcoming Bytedance music streaming service and what it might tell where streaming is going in 2020 and beyond, and archiving digital files on glass