Break The Business Podcast

This week, Ryan chats with members of Canada-based band Across the Board. In addition to making powerful pop-rock jams, these award-winning musicians have mastered creating engaging videos that help them build strong connections with their fans. ATB's lead vocalist Jackie Auguste, with additional insight from bassist Andy Ramjattan, share lots of great video tips with Ryan. Whether its making traditional music videos, vlogging their daily life, or filming a carpool karaoke session, ATB is AWESOME at video. Listen in this week to up your video game. Check out ATB's latest rock opera album "Sonic Boom" by visiting http://acrosstheboardmusic.ca.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects. Hosted on Acast. Se

This week, Ryan chats with indie electro-pop singer songwriter Clara Casey. Based in New York and trained in London, Clara is an exceptional artist who just released her first music video for her single "Physical." The video is a beautifully-shot portrait of New York City that complements her music quite well. Clara talks to Ryan about her process in making this video on a shoestring budget and imparts some important advice for artists who are looking to create great videos without breaking the bank or losing trust in your creative abilities. Check out the "Physical" video at www.claracasey.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we bring you the second half of our two-part in-studio interview with music industry consultant Clara Charron of the Pop of Colour Blog. If you haven't listened to the first part yet, check out Episode 171 first to find out more about our excellent guest who came all the way from Ottawa, Canada to share some excellent music conference hacks with us. Give a listen this week to get some more excellent, practical tips that you can use to get the most out of music conferences. Check out Clara's excellent music industry blog at www.popofcolourmusic.com and catch her weekly Pop of Color Late Show Monday nights on Facebook Live.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more

This week, Ryan is joined IN STUDIO by music industry consultant and blogger Clara Charron of the Pop of Colour blog. For the next two episodes, Clara trades her normal surroundings of Ottawa, Canada for our studio in Miami. Clara talks to Ryan about her trip to Miami (including an exciting misadventure involving an Uber Pool) and she also shares an excellent list of music conference hacks. If you want to learn how to get the most of music conferences, meet a lot of people, and save some money along the way, you definitely need to listen to Clara's awesome and practical advice this week (and next week!). Clara is a smart and dynamic young entrepreneur with a lot of great insight to share. Check out Clara's excellent music industry blog at www.popofcolourmusic.com and catch her weekly Pop of Color Late Show Monday nights on Facebook Live.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the

This week, Ryan sits down with New York-based pop, EDM, and soul artist Lachi. Lachi's musical journey has led to her collaborating with artists like Patti LaBelle, Questlove, and Snoop Dogg. And her personal story is as inspiring as her music is as exciting and enjoyable. Lachi talks to Ryan about how being legally blind from birth has influenced her art and given her a unique perspective on moving her music career forward. Find out more about Lachi's music by visiting www.lachimusic.com and by checking out the links below. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.instagram.com/lachimusictwitter.com/lachimusicfacebook.com/lachimusicyoutube.com/lachimusic Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Ryan sits down with award-winning singer-songwriter James Lee Baker. James talks to Ryan about the interesting way he created his two most recent recording projects. For his 2017 album "Home Again", he was able to recruit musicians from all over the world (and on a modest budget) by using the website Fiverr. And for his most recent project, James will be going into the Leesta Vall Recording Studios in March to record single-copy versions of his songs in vinyl, and each record will even have a personalized message to each fan who pre-orders a one-of-kind record. Recruiting musicians on Fiverr and creating personalized single-copy recordings are innovative ways to make music in today's industry. Give this episode a listen to find out how you can do it too!Find out more about James' single-copy recording project by visiting https://leestavall.com/products/jamesleebaker. And visit www.jamesleebaker.com to find out more about the career of this terrific artist.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Busi

This week, Ryan sits down with Independent Country Music Hall of Famer Richard Lynch to talk about Richard's incredible career. They talk about changes in Nashville's music scene, why Richard embraces "traditional" country music, and Richard's charitable work with the Love Tattoo Foundation. Richard gives some terrific advice on the value of persistence in achieving success as an indie artist. Find out more about Richard's work by visiting www.richardlynchband.com and www.lovetattoofoundation.org.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Ryan sits down with one of his favorite indie artists, singer/songwriter/author Charlotte Eriksson. Known professionally as "The Glass Child," Charlotte's latest project is her podcast "Behind the Glass." Charlotte's podcast gives her the opportunity to have interesting conversations with her favorite artists, while also giving Charlotte the opportunity to bear her soul to her fans and bring them in to her creative process. Ryan talks to Charlotte about her podcast and also has her discuss why it is valuable for singer-songwriters to get into podcasting. Our guest also shares some great tips on what indie artists can do to start their own show. Check out Behind the Glass on Apple Podcasts (and other platforms), follow Charlotte on Twitter @justaglasschild, and visit her website at www.charlotteeriksson.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend

This week, Ryan answers a listener question about PledgeMusic's recent payment issues. For the past six months, news outlets have reported the crowdfunding platform's problems with paying artists on time. As PledgeMusic announces that it is ready to take significant measures to get its company back on track, serious questions remain. On today's show, Ryan talks about where PledgeMusic has gone wrong, what artists should do about it going forward, and what this story means for the independent music industry as a whole.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Ryan sits down with comedy musician Carla Ulbrich. Carla has made a successful career out of creating funny and insightful folk music. Her comedy songs have been featured on Dr. Demento, the BBC and NPR. Carla gives us some great advice on how to break into comedy music and what to expect from venturing into that world. If you are interested in getting into this genre, or at least figuring out how to inject more humor into your performances, then this interview is for you. Carla's music currently appears on the compilation album “Madam Opus-Funny Songs by Funny Women," which also features former BTB guests Meri Amber and The Doubleclicks. It is available now and you can check it out here https://bit.ly/2ROY4hw. And check out the rest of Carla's terrific albums at www.carlau.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.rya

This week, Ryan talks to indie musician/producer Zak Sloan. A former teacher and lawyer, Zak talks to Ryan about how he transitioned from his non-music work into being able to do music full time. His journey is intriguing, and you will enjoy hearing about how he has weaved his former life into his art today. Zak also gives some tips on being effective on Twitter (hint: be a normal person and actually TALK TO PEOPLE!) and how he balances his work as a singer/songwriter and his work as a producer. Lots of great information and inspiration this week!Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.Check out this playlist of artists produced by Zak Sloan: https://open.spotify.com/user/netters83/playlist/3q1f4R4yVkxwEYcpJYqVRK? Hosted on Acast. See aca

This week, Ryan sits down with entertainment law expert (and one of his closest friends) Josh Morales. Josh is an attorney at Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein in Raleigh, North Carolina where he advises a wide range of entertainment clients on intellectual property and contract matters. Josh gives us some great tips about the role that trademarks play in your career as an indie artist, and provides some unique insight in negotiating contracts and protecting your exclusivity with your music. In addition to his law expertise, Josh is also an authority on all things Sherlock Holmes, and so Ryan gets Josh's thoughts on the new Holmes and Watson Will Ferrell movie. Follow Josh on Twitter at @JoshMoralesEsq and find out more about Josh's projects by visiting www.parkerpoe.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to fi

Happy New Year, Podcast listeners! This week, Ryan gives some advice on making good New Years resolutions for 2019 for your music career. As part of that discussion, Ryan talks about Angela Mastrogiacomo's ReverbNation article "5 New Year’s Goals To Set For Yourself In 2019." Check it out here: https://bit.ly/2FhnVXQ. Ryan also talks about Apple's recent acquisition of label services company Platoon. Apple wants to increase its footprint in the music creation side of the business. What does this mean for indie artists? A lot!Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Ryan sits down with friend of the Podcast Cheryl B. Engelhardt to talk about a huge area of expertise for her: e-mail marketing. In addition to being an accomplished singer-songwriter, Cheryl also creates a lot of terrific educational resources for musician entrepreneurs. One of those resources is her "Rock Your E-mail List" course, which you can find at www.inthekey.co/emailcourse. In our interview, Cheryl breaks down a bunch of great strategies for helping you get your e-mail marketing game on-point. Whether you are well acquainted with e-mail marketing, or you have never sent an e-mail about your music career in your life, you can learn a lot of Cheryl's advice this week. Cheryl talks about why e-mail marketing is important, what to write in your e-mails to your fans, what to e-mail when you can't think of anything to write about, the best e-mail marketing platforms, how to grow your e-mail list, and MORE. Enjoy this week's fun and informative interview and be sure to check out all of Cheryl's e

This week, Ryan sits down with one of his favorite guests, Australian "geek pop" singer-songwriter Meri Amber. Ryan catches up with Meri about some great things that have happened in her life recently, including her recent marriage and her first trip to America (she was particularly intrigued by the deodorant and breakfast cereals that we have in the States!). We also get some great advice from Meri on how to livestream effectively as an indie artist. Meri's platform of choice is Twitch, and she streams on the platform several times a week because she loves the interactivity that it offers. Meri provides some tips on connecting to your community on the platform and how to reach "Affiliate" and "Partner" status. Meri is awesome, and you should check her out at meriamber.com and at twitch.tv/meriamber.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show! An

This week, Ryan sits down with Martin and Jude Folkman, the founders of the Independent Music Awards. Martin and Jude talk to Ryan about the history of the IMAs, how winners are selected, and how artists can submit their works to be nominated. Now in its 17th Year, the IMAs are an annual celebration of the best in independent music, with its next award ceremony being held in New York City in 2019. The deadline for award submissions is December 7th! Submit your music NOW at www.independentmusicawards.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show! And visit www.breakthebusiness.com to get a copy of Ryan’s Book “Break the Business: Declaring Your Independence and Achieving True Success in the Music Industry.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Ryan sits down with music business journalist Amy X. Wang of Rolling Stone to talk about Taylor Swift's new record deal with Universal Music. Ryan talks to Amy about her story in Rolling Stone about Taylor getting Universal to share Spotify proceeds with all of the Universal artists. What does Taylor's move mean for the music industry as a whole? Why did Taylor Swift choose Universal over another label (or going independent)? What will happen to Taylor's Big Machine master recordings? Amy discusses all of this and more with Ryan on this week's podcast. Check out more of Amy's work at https://www.amy-x-wang.com and follow Amy on Twitter @amyxwang.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show! And visit www.breakthebusiness.com to get a copy of Ryan’s Book “Break the Business: Declaring Your Independence and Achieving True Success in the M

This week, Ryan talks about how changes in the music industry allow artists to achieve success at any age. In an indie artist music business, there is no such thing as being "too old" to find a place for yourself in the industry. To articulate this point, Ryan discusses some famous examples of musicians who found success later in life. Ryan also talks about his own client, Richard "Catmandu" Barnhill, who just released his incredible debut album "Holes" at the age of 69. You can watch the music video of the album's title track here: https://bit.ly/2A5V18T. And you can get a copy of the "Holes" album by visiting this link: https://bit.ly/2OMUhed.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show! And visit www.breakthebusiness.com to get a copy of Ryan’s Book “Break the Business: Declaring Your Independence and Achieving True Success in the Music Industr

This week, neo-folk singer-songwriter Eli Lev stops by. Eli is an world-traveling musician whose wanderlust has made him a better artist and has allowed him to build fan relationships all over the globe. Eli shares terrific insight about how he combines traveling, Patreon, and crowdsourcing in interesting ways to build a thriving career in music. Eli's new album Way Out West is out November 16th and the album’s lead single One Road is available now. You can check him out at his website www.eli-lev.com and at patreon.com/elilevmusic.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show! And visit www.breakthebusiness.com to get a copy of Ryan’s Book “Break the Business: Declaring Your Independence and Achieving True Success in the Music Industry.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Ryan sits down with musician, educator, and music entrepreneur Tommy Darker. Ryan talks to Tommy about the importance of failure as a tool to ultimately find success in one's music career. He also talks to Ryan about his upcoming online conference Whiisecon. Whiisecon is a free music conference that features 20 chart topping artists as speakers. The conference will be available online and will run from November 28th to December 2nd. Tickets are available now! Find out more about the conference by visiting https://bit.ly/2qyH67b.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show! And visit www.breakthebusiness.com to get a copy of Ryan’s Book “Break the Business: Declaring Your Independence and Achieving True Success in the Music Industry.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.