Break The Business Podcast

This week, Ryan breaks down the latest music distribution news regarding Spotify getting into the direct distribution business. Spotify has recently announced that it will allow direct upload onto its services (and other streaming services) through its platform. They appear to be trying to make music distribution companies, like CD Baby, obsolete. But CD Baby is responding with some new services of its own. Spotify and CD Baby are competing aggressively, and they are making quick and powerful moves. We break it all down this week and discuss what it all means for indie artists. 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.”Also, Ryan is doing education industry podcasts now! Check out hi

This week, we continue our discussion from Episode 151 about Chris Castle's "Ethical Pool" streaming royalty model by interviewing Mr. Castle himself! Chris is an Austin-based entertainment lawyer who proposes an innovative model to get indie artists paid fairly by streaming services--and he thinks that the streaming services might actually be willing to do it! Give this week's episode a listen and check out Chris' article "Arithmetic on the Internet: The Ethical Pool Solution to Streaming Royalty Allocation" here: https://bit.ly/2PL34il. You can also follow Chris on Twitter @musictechsolve.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 inf

This week, Ryan sits down with music entrepreneur and licensing expert Jessica Sobhraj. Jessica gives us some great advice about managing copyrights effectively when you work with collaborators. She also talks about her company Cosynd. Cosynd's platform allows you to efficiently structure copyright agreements with co-writers and also helps you with copyright registration (check it out at www.cosynd.com). We also talk to Jessica about her work with the awesome nonprofit Women in Music, which aspires to empower female musicians (www.womeninmusic.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! 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, with the Music Modernization Act's passage imminent, Ryan talks about what the next crusade should be for indie artists. He brings up two strong candidates: getting owners of sound recordings paid on terrestrial radio, and creating "Ethical Pool" royalties on streaming services so that indie artists can get paid more on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The articles that Ryan referenced on the show can be found here:https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/politics/8478501/terrestrial-radio-music-modernization-act-essayhttp://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2018/10/arithmetic-online-the-ethical-pool-solution-to-streaming-royalty-allocation.htmlRate/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

This week, Ryan sits down with indie singer-songwriter Angela Soffe. Angela gives us some advice on how artists can keep from succumbing to self-sabotage in their careers. She also talks about her latest project "Be Moved" and her interest in the healing power of music. Find out more about "Be Moved" by visiting https://bit.ly/2NPspL3. And be sure to check out the rest of Angela's music at www.angelasoffe.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 breaks down two huge music stories from the past week: the Music Modernization Act passing the Senate, and Spotify announcing that it will start to allow artists to license music directly to its platform without using an aggregator. Ryan also sits down with Women Crush Music executive directress Ashley Kervabon to talk about her organization's latest crowdfunding campaign to support its initiatives for women in music. Find out more about WCM by visiting www.womencrushmusic.com. Support WCM's crowdfunding campaign by visiting https://bit.ly/2MTrZOd.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 talks about the rise of artificial intelligence in music and what its implications are for the industry as a whole. Music technologist Taishi Fukuyama stops by to talk about his Amadeus Code platform and how it can help songwriters create new projects. Find out more about Amadeus code by visiting www.amadeuscode.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 talks about how indie artists can get into blogging, and specifically what artists can do when they cannot think of any topics to write about. Along the way, Ryan discusses the latest Bobby Owsinski article in Hypebot on the subject. It is titled "Running Out Of Things To Say? Idea For Musicians To Write About Online" and you can find it here: https://bit.ly/2N3trmp. In the second segment, we open the Break the Business Coffeehouse! South Florida blues/r&b duo Soulpax stops by for an acoustic performance and to talk about their debut album Inside/Outside, which is available now. Find out more about this awesome band by visiting www.soulpaxmusic.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 Succ

This week, we talk about a recent article in Variety about how Taylor Swift's deal with her label Big Machine is set to expire in November. What will she do next? Re-up with Big Machine? Go to a new label? Or...will she go independent? This is her first opportunity to go her own way since she first signed her deal with Big Machine 13 years ago. Ryan makes the case for why she needs to declare her independence and take her place as a true mogul in the industry.In the second segment, Ryan sits down with Gabe Kubanda, the Founder of the Epic Proportions Tour. The Epic Proportions Tour is a successful music and education organization that tours high schools around the country performing and teaching music to students. We talk to Gabe about his organization and how musicians can find opportunities performing for high schools (a truly untapped revenue stream). You can find out more about Gabe's organization by visiting www.epicproportionstour.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher,

This week, Ryan answers a listener question about compulsory mechanical licenses and sits down with Soundfly Founder/CEO Ian Temple. Ryan and Ian talk about Soundfly, music entrepreneurship education, how musicians can get more educated about the industry, and much more. Great tips from a terrific music biz mind 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! 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, we discuss the loss of Aretha Franklin and Ryan tells the amazing story of how the Queen of Soul saved the 1998 Grammys by filling in for a sick Luciano Pavarotti to sing an Italian aria without any notice or rehearsal. She was truly one of the greats. Ryan also sits down with Genius Chief Strategy Officer Ben Gross. We talk about the Genius platform, how artists can use lyrics to build fan engagement, and the monetization opportunities artists have with their lyrics. 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 breaks down the bombshell music industry report from Citi, "Putting the Band Back Together: Remastering the World of Music." He talks about the report's conclusion that artists are only capturing 12% of the revenues generated by the music industry and discusses who are the "intermediaries" standing between artists and their fans that are keeping money out of artists' pockets. You can read the report at http://citi.us/2KC0gjU.In the second segment, Ryan sits down with acclaimed publicist Ariel Hyatt. Ryan and Ariel discuss charity/music crowdfunding projects. They also talk about Ariel's latest initiative, Cyber PR Labs. Cyber PR Labs is a series of masterclasses hosted by Ariel and other prominent music industry thought leaders. Find out more by visiting http://cyberprmusic.com/cyberpr-labs/.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

This week, Ryan talks about entertainment lawyer Erin M. Jacobson's recent article in Forbes about the Twitch and its effect on musicians. Twitch is a platform that has benefited many indie artists by helping them build their fan base through live streaming. But Jacobson argues that the platform could be harming musicians as well. Ryan discusses the article and also gets an opposing view of sorts on the subject from music industry journalist Cherie Hu of Forbes and Billboard. Cherie also talks to Ryan about Spotify, United Masters, and more!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 answers a listener question about publishing administration: Should you use CD Baby's Pro Publishing service if you are already using them for your album distribution? What are the pros and the cons? Ryan also sits down with musician and former therapist Laini Marenick of Laini and the Wildfire. Laini talks about her band's album "Wandering" and about transitioning from her old job to becoming a full-time musician. She also discusses her recent article that she wrote for CD Baby and Women Crush entitled "Five Emotionally Draining Musician Problems and How to Cope." LOTS of great advice in that article. Find out more about about her band by visiting www.lainiandthewildfire.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 Independenc

This week, Ryan interviews legendary music supervisor Maureen Crowe (Wayne's World, The Bodyguard, Chicago). Maureen gives some great tips for our listeners on how to increase your sync placement opportunities and how to build the right relationships with the industry professionals who can get your music in movies, TV, commercials, and more. This is a not-to-be-missed interview for any independent artist who wants to get more placements for their music. Maureen also gives some amazing stories from her incredible life in Hollywood. Check it out!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 answers a listener question about growing your social media following, which then led to another question: What should you focus on more as an artist, increasing your following or investing in the following you already have? Ryan discusses this topic by referencing a recent article in TuneCore Blog by Suzanne Paulinski (aka "The Rock Star Advocate") entitled "The One Place Your Focus Should Always Be". You can check out the article here: https://www.tunecore.com/blog/2018/07/the-one-place-your-focus-should-always-be.html. Ryan also sits down this week with Chris Brereton, the President and CPO of Thematic. Thematic is a peer-to-peer platform that connects video creators to music artists to help the former license music from the latter. Chris talks about Thematic and gives us some tips on how to connect to YouTube artists to get licensing opportunities for your music. Find out more about Thematic by visiting www.hellothematic.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitc

Hi Podcast Listeners! The Podcast now has its own Twitter account! Visit us @thebtbpodcast.This week, Ryan talks about a recent article by Greg Puciato of Dillinger Escape Plan. The article talks about the value in maintaining your independence as a musician. The content of the article is interesting, but what is more interesting is the fact that article came out on one of Spotify's blog pages. Is Spotify trying to send a message to artists? Are they trying to draw musicians away from labels? Big implications there. Ryan also sits down with industry executive and startup technologist Laurens Kusters (@BKLarrydotcom). He gives us some great tips on how to delegate tasks in your music career. He also talks about his new platform Indie Ninja (@indiedotninja), an online marketplace where artists can buy and sell services to run their music careers. You can find out more about it at www.indie.ninja.Rate/review/subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the

Hi Podcast Listeners! The Podcast now has its own Twitter account! Visit us @thebtbpodcast.This week, Ryan talks about last week's copyright lawsuit involving Ed Sheeran, his song "Thinking Out Loud" and the investment firm that owns the royalty rights to the Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get it On". Ryan discusses what lawsuits like these could mean for songwriters going forward. Ryan also sits down with acclaimed publishing executive Jonathan Stone. Jonathan gives us some great tips on how to get more sync licensing opportunities. He also discusses his platform Rocket Songs, which allows artists to easily license compositions for their next album project. Find out more about it by visiting www.rocketsongs.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 You

Hi Podcast Listeners! The Podcast now has its own Twitter account! Visit us @thebtbpodcast.This week, Ryan talks about the CASE Act, a bill currently going through Congress that would create a special court for small claims copyright disputes. Could this law create a means for indie artists to get justice when their works are stolen, or is it promising more than it can deliver? Ryan also sits down with Bobby Owsinski to talk about Bobby's recent article in Forbes about Spotify doing direct licensing deals with indie artists. Bobby has some great insight about what Spotify's move means for the current balance of power in the music industry between Spotify, labels, and independent musicpreneurs. Check out more of Bobby's work by visiting www.bobbyowsinski.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

Hi Podcast Listeners! The Podcast now has its own Twitter account! Visit us @thebtbpodcast. This week, Ryan discusses Sony's sale of part of its stake in Spotify and its decision to share some of the proceeds with its artists. Is Sony being magnanimous, or is there an ulterior motive driving their actions? Ryan discusses the issue and reflects on what this story signifies for the balance of power between labels and artists in the New Music Industry. Ryan also sits down with entertainment lawyer and friend of the Podcast Ilana Broad. Ilana gives some tips on how to keep your mailing lists and websites GDPR compliant. Ryan and Ilana also discuss best practices when selecting a PR agent for your next music release. Be sure to check out Ilana by visiting www.ilanabroadesq.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