Bobby Owsinski

On my latest podcast episode: Sam Gribbens, CEO of the music learning platform Melodics, talks about how to keep the fun in learning music, why many DJs and producers want to learn how to play keyboards, how the term “musician” ruins music for many people, why music teachers have embraced Melodics, and much more. How gold, platinum and diamond records are determined in the streaming age. And as feared, Avid is […]

Just like Facebook started out on the Harvard campus then spread to other colleges in 2004, a new social network called Fizz is doing the same, only this time from the campus of Stanford University. The two year old platform has already spread to 80 other college campuses across the United States and has plans to expand to 250 more by the end of the year. Fizz allows students to […]

Run by the Library Of Congress, the National Recording Registry inducts 25 recordings every year that “preserve our history through recorded sound and reflects our nation’s diverse culture.” In 2023 there were over 1,110 nominations, but you’ll know most of the recordings that were chosen. Remember that these are not only songs and albums, but spoken word or news recordings that capture a moment in our history. Here are the […]

On my latest podcast episode:  In part 2 of our two-part interview with engineer/producer Ed Stasium, we traded some studio stories, talked about his home studio, mixing in Atmos, and much more. A look at why superfans aren’t so super anymore thanks to streaming. And the return of the icon amplifier brand Sunn. Ed was one of my first guests way back on Episode 23 in September of 2014, so […]

When Instagram’s Threads was first introduced, it started with a bang, climbing to around 120 million users within a week of release. It seemed that everyone wanted an alternative to Twitter (now X). The only problem is that the platform seems to have rolled out prematurely with not enough features that most users looked for. As a result, a variety of reports have seen its user growth basically plateaued, with […]

Professional songwriting has come a long way from the days where a piano or guitar and vocal would be enough to sell a song. As time when on, songwriter demos because just as sophisticated as a finished record in order to get the idea of the song across to the artist. Still, some artists, producers or managers need to hear more to imaging how they’ll sound on a song, and […]

How many times have you asked someone for a Kleenex, when you really meant a facial tissue? How about a Band Aid when what you actually wanted was an adhesive bandage, or you thought you were getting into a Jacuzzi, but what you were really doing was lowering yourself into a bubbly hot tub? These are all examples of brands who’s names became a generic term. Even better, when a […]

On my latest podcast episode:  Artist manager Zack Zarrillo talks about how management has changed over the last few years, where he finds talent, how TikTok has benefited his artists, the reason why labels today don’t sign artists, the current trends in the business, and much more. The reasons why you’re probably paying way too much for concert tickets (unless you live in California). And both Spotify and YouTube music […]

It’s not surprising to hear an artist complain about earning a fraction of a penny from a stream, but the fact of the matter is that most artists don’t understand how streaming royalties work, and who can blame them. It’s a pretty complicated digital world out there, but suffice it to say that whenever you read about a per-stream royalty from a music distribution service, we’re talking about an average […]