Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

My guest this week is co-founder and CEO of Moises Ai Geraldo Ramos. Moises is an AI-driven application that enables musicians to separate their tracks into stems, identify chords, adjust tempo or pitch without affecting other musical elements, and refine their audio with professional mastering, among a host of other features. Another feature is Voice Studio, which serves as a marketplace for AI-powered voice modeling, allowing vocalists to monetize their own voice models to other music makers.  Geraldo invented Moises when he was looking for a better way to practice his drums by playing the drums to songs he liked without hearing the original drummer. During the interview we spoke about interesting uses for source separation, how source separation Ai’s are trained, why some producers are developing private voice cloning models, the reason why Ai audio resolution isn’t higher, where Ai music is going, and much more. I spoke with Geraldo from his office in Los Angeles.  On the intro I looked

My guest this week is Grammy-nominated producer-engineer-scoring mixer Jason LaRocca, who has recorded and mixed music for major motion pictures, games and television. Known for mixing the score of "The Lord of The Rings: Rings of Power" series, Marvel's "Morbius" and more, Jason recently mixed the Grammy-nominated albums "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" and the "God of War: Ragnarok" soundtrack. He has also recorded and mixed for such top recording artists as Jay-Z, CeeLo Green, Fiona Apple, Schoolboy Q and Serj Tankian, of System of a Down. Jason was guest back on podcast #441 a couple of years ago, but I thought I’d have him back to give us an update about what’s going on in television, gaming and film mixing. During the interview we spoke about the enormous number of tracks required to record Sweeny Todd, the differences between mixing a Broadway record and a game soundtrack, whether automation or clip gain is faster, his approach to immersive mixing, mixing trends in film and TV,

This week's episode is dedicated to the memory of legendary guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and film and television composer Wayne Kramer, who passed away recently.  Wayne was far more influential than many realize as his band MC5 basically invented punk rock a full decade before it even emerged as a genre. The band and its albums became a model for punk bands on both sides of the Atlantic. In fact, The Clash even wrote not one, but two songs about him! A formidable player, Rolling Stone Magazine ranked Wayne as one of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. He also collaborated with a who’s who of rock’s most elite artists over the years, and his scoring work can be heard on films like Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, the HBO comedy series Eastbound & Down, ESPN’s 5-4-3-2-1, In My Own Words, and Under The Lights, and even for the “Unlabeled” Jim Beam commercial. Musical accolades are well and good, but I think what Wayne was most proud of was the fact that he was able to overcome his  perso

In this episode I take a big overview of the recent Winter NAMM 2024. Among the things discussed include: A bit of NAMM history Attendance was up but several exhibit halls were empty Big manufacturers that were no-shows The biggest surprises Interesting new products Products that were just more of the same Is a NAMM show (or AES for that matter) even needed? What is the future of NAMM? This is a short but to the point episode that will give you something to think about if you were there, and show you why your FOMO was unnecessary if you weren't. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 95500370, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest this week is a partner at Integral Studios and CEO of SymphonyOS, Megh Vakharia. Since 2016, he’s spearheaded product and data strategy as CTO of Integral Studio, one of the music industry’s leading marketing agencies. At Integral, Megh has worked with every major label and alongside artists of all sizes, from independent creators to today’s superstars, including Travis Scott, SZA, and Future ~ helping them figure out how to most effectively roll out their music in the most creative, data-driven ways. To date, Integral has supported campaigns that have led to 4 Grammy-nominated albums and over a dozen platinum-selling records. SymphonyOS helps creators put their fanbase growth on autopilot with smart, automated marketing. Its suite of apps centralizes the digital marketing workflow, empowering creators with the tools to better understand their audience, engage their fanbase, and increase their revenues. During the interview we spoke about why we’re in a post TikTok era, why artists should c

My guest this week the founder and CEO of Killphonic Rights, Caleb Shreve.  Caleb began professional career in 1998 at Sony Music Studios in New York. As part of the Sony Music Special Projects team, he began working alongside artists such as Michael Jackson, Ricky Martin, Destiny’s Child and Marc Anthony.  In early 2003, Caleb left Sony to work independently as a producer and engineer. He was quickly hired almost exclusively by music producer and executive, Sean “Puffy” Combs. Over the next decade and a half, Caleb wrote, produced and mixed countless records.  He started Killphonic Rights in 2014 originally as a management company, but eventually pivoted to administrating publishing and neighboring rights for indie artists. During the interview we spoke about the importance of metadata in music publishing, why there are so many writers on some songs, collecting TikTok royalties, the idea of neighboring rights, and much more. I spoke with Caleb from his office in Los Angeles.  On the intro I

My guest this week specializes in helping musicians and songwriters get their music into film and television. Chris started off as an award-winning music producer who saw how lucrative the income could be for artists with just one good sync placement.  Chris not only teaches indie songwriters how to get their music heard by top music supervisors in TV and film, he actually introduces them to the gatekeepers.  During the interview we spoke about how the recent Hollywood strikes affected sync placements, how artists and songwriters can rise above the competition for placements, how to determine if your music is right for TV and film, his upcoming Music Supervisors Panel event, and much more. On the intro I looked at the real money behind the global music business, and the doom and gloom in the music instrument and pro audio side of the business is overstated. Click here to save your seat for the free Music Supervisors Panel.

A look back at how my predictions for 2023 fared, as well as my predictions for 2024. Yep, I'm going out on a limb this year! Happy New Year, and lets make this one the safest and most prosperous ever! var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 94111126, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

It's been an eventful year in the music industry and that's what we'll review in the latest episode of my Inner Circle Podcast. We'll look at: The multiple streaming scams that popped up The surprising outcome of the Ed Sheeran plagiarism lawsuit Venues suffering from not enough alcohol sales Record labels losing influence because of data-analysis Spotify's new royalty structure Ai's influence on the music and production business How hidden way that the Hollywood strikes affected composers and songwriters The many companies that were sold and acquired last year Some of the biggest and oldest Hollywood recording studios closed The breakthrough on tonewood sound The breakthrough on hearing loss And so much more. Listen to it at BobbyOInnerCircle.com, or on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Mixcloud, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, TunIn Radio, and RadioPublic. I hope you've had a great 2023 and I look forward to us both having a fruitful 2024. Enjoy the show!

When I first started this podcast way back in March of 2014, the first person I thought to call was Dennis Moody. Including the inaugural Episode #1, he's been part of every anniversary podcast since, from #50, 100, 151, 200, 300, 400 (actually 399), and now 500. We worked a lot together over the years, and he's has become a great friend and super source of information. Dennis is one of the few engineers who's as comfortable in a recording studio as he is in a live concert setting. Likewise, he's just as comfortable mixing a rock, R&B, or jazz band as he is doing a full orchestra, again either live or in the studio. I think a great distinction is that he's also the “Drummer’s Engineer,” as he's the one who all the A-list drummers call when it's time to do their solo album because they trust he'll make their drums sound great. During the interview we spoke about the some the exotic places around the world he’s visited recently, finding high-quality gear in out-of-the-way places, what the world looks l

My guest today is Biz Morris, a multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winning mixing engineer with credits like Lecrae, Tori Kelly, Kirk Franklin, PJ Morton, and Andy Mineo. For the last decade, Biz has represented independent Atlanta hip-hop label Reach Records as a Vice President and Head of Studio Operations. Biz started recording when he was 14 years old with a small setup at his mom’s house, and incredibly, he was nominated for a Grammy for an album he engineered while he was still in school. Since then accolades have continued to flood in, including Grammy and Dove wins as well as gold and platinum albums. Recently he also launched "GetMxd," a cutting-edge company aimed at providing top-tier mixing and mastering services for independent artists at an affordable price.  During the interview we spoke about why Biz loves editing vocals, making the transition to only mixing, how engineers can overthink a mix, his opinions on mastering, how GetMXD came about, and much more. I spoke with Biz from his st

My guest today is Bosco Kante who’s a Grammy award-winning artist, producer, creator of the world's first Tubeless talk box, and co-founder of ElectroSpit. Bosco has performed on albums by Kanye West and Dua Lipa and wrote the theme to the show "In Living Color." You’ve heard the sound of a talkbox before on hits by Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Zapp and Roger Troutman, and many more. The traditional talkbox is a horn driver attached to an amplifier on one end, with a plastic tube that goes into the players mouth on the other. They’re bulky and unsanitary. The idea for the tubeless talkbox came when Bosco was forced lip sync on stage with Kanye West at the American Music Awards because the traditional talkbox was not portable. This disappointment set Bosko on a mission to reinvent the talkbox and a few years later the Electrospit ESX-1 was born. During the interview we spoke about the unusual  way he got into the music business, how adding a talkbox to a track makes it more interesting, the long road to

I’ve had so many great guests over the 10 years and nearly 500 episodes of my inner circle podcast. I always enjoy revisiting them, as I hope you do as well.   One of the best is from back in 2016 with hit mixer Josh Gudwin. Josh has mixed huge hits for Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny, and Dua Lipa, among many others, and has won 12 Grammy’s for his work. He’s also worked with Acoustica on the Magic Flow vocal plugin. During the interview we talked about starting out as a studio intern, the diplomatic aspects of dealing with superstars, recording on the road with Justin Bieber, his approach to mixing at the time of the interview, and much more. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 92201343, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

My guest today is award-winning sound supervisor, sound designer, and mixer Scott Gershin, who’s audio work has enhanced a variety of different visual mediums in film, broadcast, streaming and games. Some of Scott’s vast credits include major films like Pacific Rim, Hellboy 2, Chronicles of Riddick, Team America: World Police, Shrek, Star Trek, and American Beauty, and best-selling games like the Gears of War series, Epic Mickey, and the Resident Evil and Fable series. Scott has a talent for creating personalities with his voice, which has been tapped for such memorable movie characters such as Flubber, Disney’s Herbie, Reapers in Blade II, The Dragon in Shrek, Kirchek in Tarzan, Leather Back in Pacific Rim, and Dog Fish in Pinocchio, to name just a few. During the interview we spoke about how much time it takes to generate deliverables for a movie, how he records sound effects like rocket launches and helicopters, what qualifies as great post-production, the difference in the mix between movies and

My guest today is Bill Smith, who spent most of his career as a recording engineer and mixer before transitioning into audio archiving (you can hear him talk about recording and mix in Episode 160). Bill started at United Studios Archiving in 2020 until the company that owned the legendary studio decided to close it earlier this year. Since then Bill has started his own archiving business where he uses an unbelievably wide range of mostly obsolete machines over just about every format you can think of. During the interview we spoke about the preparation normally required before a tape can be transferred, his favorite type of clients, the thing about archiving that most people don’t realize, a surprising format that he gets calls to restore, and much more. I spoke with Bill from studio in Hollywood. On the intro I’ll take a look at modified streaming tracks, and how old is too old to be a hit artist. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 91302197, backgroundColor: 'w

My guest today is Nichole Barsalona, who’s the director of Everyday Rebellion Entertainment artist management and the president of the non-profit Women In Music organization.  Nichole grew up around music as her father Frank was a pioneering agent later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His clients included The Who, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tom Petty and U2, among many others. Her mother June was a journalist who traveled from the U.K. at the age of 18 to cover The Beatles’ first U.S. tour and later worked as a music publicist. Nichole started her career at Steven Van Zandt's multi-media company, Renegade Nation, where a week-long temp gig turned into the most formative years of her career. She eventually served as Chief of Staff and Director of Communications at Renegade Nation, and Road Manager to Van Zandt on tours with Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band. During the interview we spoke about how she observed her father’s influence on the music business as

My guest today is country music singer and award winning professional songwriter Drew Ryder Smith, who’s also the owner of Gray Sound Recording in Nashville and Charlotte NC, working as a producer and senior mixing engineer.  Drew is also the author of The Before You Record Course, which prepares new artists for their first recording session and walks them through what goes into making a record, imparting knowledge gleaned from 15 years in the business. During the interview we spoke about how songwriting has changed in Nashville, doing remote recording in India, prepping artists for going into the studio, the difference between NYC, LA and Nashville session players, opening for Merle Haggard at the Ryman Auditorium, and much more. I spoke with Drew from his hotel room in Charlotte. On the intro I’ll take a look at the competing bills for radio airplay royalties, and the Las Vegas Sphere’s ground-breaking sound system. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 89361801,

Over the nearly 500 episodes of the Inner Circle I’ve had some incredible guests. One is the legendary engineer Elliott Scheiner, and this special replay is from way back on Episode 51 in April of 2015. You certainly have heard Elliot's work as he’s been instrumental in the sound of The Eagles, Steely Dan, Eric Clapton, Jackson Browne, Sting, Foo Fighters and too many others to mention. He’s received 27 Grammy award nominations winning 8, four Emmy nominations and winning two, and a host of other awards for excellence in the field of audio recording. During the interview we spoke about the various stages of his studio life, from his early days at A&R Studios in New York City, going from 4 track to 8 track, his mixing method, the difference between working with Steely Dan and The Eagles, and much more. Remember that this interview was done back in 2015 so some of his comments about digital audio workstations and plugins are no doubt different today. I spoke to Elliott via phone, so the quality is a li

I’ve had so many great guests on the Inner Circle Podcast, and it’s aways great to go back and revisit some of the best interviews. One is with Don Roeser, better known as Buck Dharma, lead guitarist and and one of the founders of the band Blue Oyster Cult, in an interview for podcast 227 back in 2018. Buck wrote and did the lead vocals on the band’s best known hits, including “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” “Godzilla,” and “Burnin’ for You.” During the interview we talked about the early days of the band when it was known as Soft White Underbelly, his best studio experiences, the evolution of his home studio, and much more. I originally spoke with Buck via Skype from his home in New York. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 89209830, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Over the almost 500 episodes of the Inner Circle podcast I’ve had some excellent guests that are true legends in the music business. One is the late Al Schmitt, who unfortunately left us in 2021.  Al won 20 Grammy awards over his long career, recorded and mixed over 150 gold and platinum albums, and even had his own star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame appropriately in front of his beloved studio home, Capitol Records Studios. In this replay from November 2018, we talked about his stint as a staff producer for RCA, working with Paul McCartney, his favorite instrument to record, some of his favorite gear and techniques, and much more. I originally spoke with all via phone from his home outside of Los Angeles. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 88753248, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestam