The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

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Hip Hop Artist with Over 1,000 TV, Film and Video Game Placements with Vo Williams Apr 08, 2020

Show notes

Today's episode features Vo Williams, an incredibly successful hip-hop artist based in Los Angeles. Vo is originally from Sarasota, Florida and has been very successful in getting his music synced in film, commercials, TV shows, and video games. He has thousands of sync placements and makes a lot of money from them.

We go in deep to discuss practical, tangible, actionable steps you can take to get your music synced. Break out your notepad because you're going to learn a lot.

Ari's Take Academy: Advanced Sync Strategies for Film, TV and Video Games with Vo Williams (use code NMB for 10% off): https://aristakeacademy.teachable.com/p/advanced-sync-strategies-film-tv-video-games

Quick links:

2:00 - About Vo Williams

7:40 - When Vo thought he could pursue music professionally

11:41 - Vo’s focuses at his performing arts high school

14:27 - Vo’s next steps after he won a number of rap battles

23:47 - Vo’s ghost writing and first time seeing music get synced

28:15 - When Vo moved out of Florida and to Los Angeles

30:55 - When Vo started getting into sync licensing

35:06 - Vo’s first sync

38:24 - Breaking down Vo’s first sync deal, payment, and royalties

44:43 - The difference between a sync licensing company and a music library

49:54 - There’s a lot of money in the backend royalties for sync licensing

57:47 - How Vo went direct to various brands independently

1:02:10 - Thinking about emotions when writing music and how they can be placed in sync

1:03:43 - The production techniques that work really well in picture and why it works so well

1:11:53 - More on how Vo got syncs independently

1:14:14 - How to contact music supervisors and get started in sync licensing

Connect with Ari’s Take:

Website: https://aristake.com

Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com

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Connect with Ari Herstand:

Website: https://ariherstand.com

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Facebook: https://facebook.com/ariherstand

Connect with Vo Williams:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/18KIg6ST1nUjVUvAlEB6ak?si=Uw72k5GzRKGrLYQx07mJ5w

Facebook:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Austin Powers Music Supervisor and KCRW DJ Chris Douridas Apr 01, 2020

Show notes

You probably know Chris Douridas from Los Angeles' iconic, trend-setting radio station KCRW. He was the host of Morning Becomes Eclectic in the '90s. He has been at the station for about 30 years. Chris is someone who has hired most of the staff that we know at KCRW and is an extremely influential figure in the Los Angeles music scene. Chris also started the premiere music showcase, School Night. He is also a music supervisor and was nominated for a Grammy award for his work on American Beauty and has music supervised a number of films, including the Austin Powers trilogy and Shrek 2.

Chris and I discuss how he listens music and what it takes for what it takes for him to play a new song on his radio show. We also talk about how he puts together the music for films he's working on. Chris also shares a hilarious story about his first time on air as a radio DJ.

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Quick links:

2:59 - Chris Douridas's first experience with radio

6:00 - Switching from doing news to music

20:14 - How do you know how much time to talk before the lyrics start?

26:40 - What emails do you choose to open?

31:15 - How Chris searches through SoundCloud

32:30 - What percentage of music you play is from other means vs. being pitched?

34:40 - Have you received any packages that stood out to you?

35:20 - Every artist has the same tools as the labels.

37:42 - Do you still discover music live?

39:20 - What is School Night?

52:12 - How do you answer the question of, "What kind of music are you into?"

59:20 - Music supervisors' job is to help find the sonic boundaries of a movie.

1:04:10 - Chris's Grammy nomination for American Beauty

1:12:12 - What project that you are working on are you most excited about?

1:16:40 - Where do you see the podcast medium headed?

1:18:00 - What do you think it means to make it in the new music business?

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Connect with Ari Herstand:

Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/ariherstand/

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Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/ariherstand

Twitter (Ari's Take): https://twitter.com/ArisTake

Connect with Chris Douridas:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisdouridas

KCRW: https://www.kcrw.com/music/shows/chris-douridas

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lauv's 4 Billion Streams, Top 40 Hit, Without a Label Mar 25, 2020

Show notes

This episode comes to you from Foundation Management's offices in Brooklyn, New York, which is Lauv's management company. I sat down with Emma MacDonald, Lauv's label manager. Lauv is an independent artist, and I profiled him the second edition of How to Make It in the New Music Business. He is one of those incredibly successful artists without a label. In fact, he was the most spun artist in 2019 and has, to date, more than 4 billion streams.

Emma is employed directly by Lauv through his A5B label. She runs all of his label operations, including radio and marketing campaigns. We discuss what their release strategy looks like, how they worked the rollout for his most recent album, and the waterfall effect.

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Quick links:

2:35 - About Emma MacDonald and Lauv's A5B label

4:25 - Lauv being fully independent and his publishing deal with Kobalt

6:15 - What Emma's role as label manager is

11:31 - Why Lauv is so heavily involved in the process

14:00 - What are the label services that AWAL provides Lauv?

15:50 - Is Emma working with AWAL's radio marketing company In2une?

17:30 - How does anyone make the decision to pursue an expensive radio campaign? Why Lauv's story wouldn't be a success on a major label

21:42 - Spending tons of money on a radio campaign for your first song isn't a good idea.

30:00 - What is Lauv's release strategy? Is there a formula?

32:33 - What does waterfall mean?

41:59 - When the album is out, is there more of a campaign?

44:00 - What are all of the assets that you like to have for a full on release campaign?

51:04 - What are the budgets for visualizers and music videos?

54:58 - How do you choose where to put the videos: YouTube, Vimeo?

1:09:39 - What it means to Emma to make it in the new music business

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Connect with Ari Herstand:

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Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/ariherstand

Twitter (Ari's Take): https://twitter.com/ArisTake

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Euphoria Music Supervisor Jen Malone Gives a Sh*t Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

Today's episode is with superstar music supervisor Jen Malone. She has placed music and worked on Euphoria, Atlanta, Creed 2, The Resident, Boomerang, Baskets, Shelter, Lady Dynamite, and Step Up. That's just scratching the surface. She has worked in sync licensing now for over a decade. She is so well established and so well respected. I was so happy to finally get to talk to her.

We dug in deep on sync licensing. We talk about what a music supervisor does. She also gave advice and tips on how independent artists can get their music synced and things to look out for in the contracts, quote requests, and things you should strike from the deals. We also discussed how to setup your music to pitch to supervisors effectively and have the best chance of having your music synced.

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Resources mentioned:

Your Music, Your Future: https://yourmusicyourfuture.com/

Discovery Networks Corners Composers in Music Royalties Battle: https://variety.com/2019/music/news/discovery-networks-composers-music-royalties-1203434924/

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Quick links:

10:18 - What is a music coordinator?

11:41 - How pitching music has changed over the years

15:38 - How do you like to be contacted when?

17:38 - Are there any tools that you use for audio clearance and recognition?

21:54 - How do you find new music?

23:18 - What's your process like when coming into a new project?

24:20 - Who created the sonic vibe of Euphoria?

25:15 - What is the process on working with the director?

28:55 - When did you come into Creed 2?

32:40 - Can you work on multiple shows at once?

34:00 - How much does your personal taste influence your selections for the projects you're working on?

36:30 - How do you pick music for scenes that are difficult? How do you create such a juxtaposition?

41:05 - Are there any standout independent musicians that you've seen get a "break" from one of their placements?

44:30 - What are the music discovery trends you've seen over the past years?

47:55 - Do you curate any playlists?

49:00 - How do you stay organized when you're working on so many projects at once?

50:35 - What are the differences working with the different platforms? Is there a standard placement rate?

52:30 - The Discovery channel devaluing music and screwing over musicians

58:10 - Jen Malone sides with musicians and helps them negotiate licenses

1:01:20 - How much negotiation is allowed with the contracts you're working with? What advice would you give to someone who wants to have their music synced?

1:08:30 - How do you define making it in the new music business?

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Connect with Ari Herstand:

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Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/ariherstand

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Andy Grammer on Songwriting, Fear and Persistence Mar 18, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to The New Music Business w/ Ari Herstand Feb 20, 2020

Show notes

Welcome to the New Music Business Podcast! This is my first podcast I've ever hosted and I'm excited that you've decided to join me here. I have conducted hundreds of interviews over the years writing for Ari's Take and other music publications, but most of the interviews weren't ever released publicly. I love interviewing people and some of these conversations are too valuable not to share in their entirety. So, here we go...

This podcast will focus on people who are innovating in the new music business. I will dissect their stories of success and pull out practical tips and inspiring anecdotes that will hopefully help you succeed as well. You're going to hear from artists, managers, music supervisors, radio DJs, agents, label heads, publishers and everyone else who Is kicking butt in the new music business.

There isn't just one way to succeed in the new music business. There are a hundred ways to succeed. And we will explore those ways with some of the brightest minds of the industry.

Join us!

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Connect with Ari Herstand:

Instagram (personal): https://www.instagram.com/ariherstand/

Instagram (Ari's Take): https://www.instagram.com/aristake_/

Twitter (personal): https://twitter.com/ariherstand

Twitter (Ari's Take): https://twitter.com/ArisTake