TOPICS: Ryan loves rapping grandma music; Ryan and Katie talk about the “waterfall” release strategy and how artists can utilize it to maximize the promotional power of their music releases. Our guest this week is Nicholas Niespodziani, the vocalist and guitarist for Yacht Rock Revue. Nicholas talks to Ryan and Kate about how his band captures the Yacht Rock vibe in their performances and gives advice on how musicians can create effective cover and tribute band projects. YRR’s The band’s new...

TOPICS: SoundExchange asks “If you could change one thing about the music industry tomorrow what would it be?”; Ed Sheeran gives a speech about how the role of record executives is changing; UMG suesTuneCore for $500 million for copyright infringement. Our guest this week is musician and former Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg. Eric’s latest album “Second Hand Smoke” is available now and you can find out more by visiting erichirshbergmusic.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business...

TOPICS: Are music business college programs worth it?; Ryan and Gideon talk about the promotional potential of podcasts for music; we interview Dreamtonics CEO Kanru Hua. Dreamtonics is a provider of AI vocal software solutions for songwriters and engineers. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.dreamtonics.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...

TOPICS: Ryan does a rant about falling back in love with Network Television; Ryan and ElisaRockDoc love TikToker James McNicholas and his dramatic monologue versions of pop songs; we ask why it seems like everyone on TikTok being unnecessarily mean to the (awesome) band Lawrence lately; we interview music executive Paula Park and talk about her work in developing social impact campaigns for the biggest artists in music. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes,...

TOPICS: Katie Zaccardi talks about the Vanderbilt field goal posts being carried through the streets of Nashville and her recent attendance at a Sabrina Carpenter concert; Evan Bogart has a mind-blowing story about how he wrote the Rihanna song “SOS”; we talk about the healing power of music in honor of World Mental Health Day; we interview Bill “Downupright” Boulden about their new album “ManicEpisode,” which is available now on all streaming platforms. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the...

TOPICS: Ryan rants about reality shows conducting psych evaluations on its participants; Ryan and Zak talk about a BandzoogleBlog article detailing 71 ways to reward your music fan subscribers; we interview NYC jazz singer Lizzie Thomas. Lizzie’s latest single “Community” is available now and you can find out more about her work by visiting lizziethejazzsinger.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair...

TOPICS: Ryan and Gideon King talk about the Miley Cyrus “Flowers” copyright case and the rising influence of private equity in music copyright; acclaimed Broadway actor and musician Donnie Kehrdrops in to talk about the annual Rockers on Broadway benefit event. Our guest this week is new-age musician Kevin Keller. You can find out more about Kevin’s latest ambitious album project “Evensong” by visiting www.kevinkeller.com. Tickets for Rockers on Broadway are available at...

TOPICS: Google rolled out its new AI podcast feature for its Notebook LM platform; new copyright lawsuit against Miley Cyrus; ElisaRockDocCareer Upda te. Our guests this week are Matthew Adell and Sean Power, the COO and CEO of Musical AI. You can find out more about our guests' work by visitingwearemusical.ai. 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...

TOPICS: Do music streaming services need to change their models amid recent Justice Department actions; indie tour cancellations are continuing to pile up; our guest this week is Grammy-winning music luminary Charlie Peacock. Charlie's new album “Every Kind of Uh Oh” dropped on August 30th and his memoir “Roots and Rhythm: A Life in Music” will come out early next year. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting charliepeacock.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business...

TOPICS: Martyn Ware of Heaven 17 posted on X that Rockstar Games did not offer him royalties to have his song featured in the latest Grand Theft Auto game; the AI Overlord gives advice on how to create fan pages successfully; Our guest this week Trevor Hinesley, the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Soundstripe. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting soundstripe.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google...

TOPICS: The Justice Department has indicated someone for using AI-generated songs to manipulate royalty payouts on music streaming services; the rise of fan pages; our guests this week are DamionGreiman and Anthony Leo of 800 Pound Gorilla Media, producers and distributors of hit comedy specials from Matt Rife, Nick Offerman, David Cross, Kelsey Cook, and many more. You can find out more about our guests’ work by visiting 800poundgorillamedia.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the...

TOPICS: Ryan and Producer Lauren talk about the “Very Demure, Very Mindful” trademark legal drama and whether catchphrases can receive trademark protection; getting signed releases for your recording projects; we interview Northern Ireland singer-songwriter Lauren Ann about making music videos and performing as an alter ego. Lauren Ann’s latest single “bite” off her upcoming EP is available now and you can check out our guest’s Instagram @laurenann_music. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break...

TOPICS: DistroKid is partnering with Roblox—DistroKidwins, Roblox wins, indie artists get nothing; President Biden speaks at the White House's first Creator Economy Conference; advice for how to deal with dead crowds; our guest this week is LyricFind CEO Darryl Ballantyne. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.lyricfind.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the...

TOPICS: Ryan and Gideon King review the new Netflix documentary “Dirty Pop” about boy band manager and convicted Ponzi schemer Lou Pearlman; we talk about the latest developments in the record labels’ lawsuit against Suno AI; we interview platinum rock singer-songwriter and Season 7American Idol Winner David Cook. David's latest single "Dead Weight" dropped on July 19th. Find out more about our guest’s work by visiting davidcookofficial.com and volume.com/davidcook. Rate/review/subscribe to...

TOPICS: Ryan and ElisaRockDoc obsess over the Olympics; we answer a question about the different ways that songwriters can efficiently collect their mechanical royalties; ElisaRockDoc breaks down her experience working as a performer at Gen Con in Indianapolis; we interview drummer and motivational speaker Ray LeVier about his approach to drumming and how he uses breathwork to improve his focus and performance. Ray’s new book “Drumming in Flow” is available now and you can learn more about...

TOPICS: The benefits of getting into podcasting, even without a big audience; copyright holders are suing NBA teams for using music in social media videos; we interview Hadley Spanier, the global head of Global Head of Artist Partnerships and Industry Relations for the music education platform Yousician.Find out more about our guest’s work by visiting yousician.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair...

TOPICS: Creed is selling out concerts again; does the “Trump Trump Baby” RNC song violate copyright law; musicians are suing AI companies; Congress unveils the COPIED Act to address using copyrighted works in AI; we interview singer-songwriter Ryan Wright about her new EP and have her do impressions of Disney princesses. Ryan's new EP “I Was Happy” is available now and you can follow her on Instagram@ryanwrightmusic. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes,...

TOPICS: The US is one of only a few countries that still does not require radio stations to pay artists when their music is played on the radio. Why is this the case, and will Congress fix it this year?; Ryan and Gideon King talk about using backing tracks in live shows; we interview singer-songwriter Happie Hoffman. Happie’s latest single “Shooting Star” is available now and you can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.happiehoffman.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the...

TOPICS: Ryan is deliriously happy that the Florida Panthers won the Stanley Cup; Ryan and Katie Zaccardi talk about Chappel Roan’s Rise to Stardom; we interview artist and energy industry entrepreneur Chris Bullinger. Chris’ latest album “Waitin’ to be Seen” will drop on August 16th. Find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.chrisbullinger.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the...

TOPICS: Ryan and Zak Sloan answer a listener question about how artists can make sure that they own the rights to their music before they license their music for sync projects; why does Spotify have problems with streaming bots; we talk about 90s Nickelodeon shows with the AI Overlord; our guest this week is Rock Paper Scissors Founder/CEO Dmitri Vietze. Check out his Music Tectonics Podcast and find out more about our guest’s work by visiting musictectonics.com Rate/review/subscribe to the...

TOPICS: Music attorney Cassandra Spangler joins Ryan and Gideon King to talk about how AI is affecting music and the law; battling stage fright; Spotify is raising its prices—is this good or bad for artists; we interview documentarian Bill Teck to talk about his new film Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple. The film will be premiering on HBO on June 22nd and you can find out more about our guests’ work by visiting www.billteck.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes,...

TOPICS: Ryan and ElisaRockDoc talk about a recent article in Vulture about the “new rules” for stardom in 2024 and how these changes in what it means to be a celebrity offer lessons for indie creators; ElisaRockDoc Career Update; we interview Angela Tyler of Muddy Paw PR to get music publicity tips. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.wearemp.co and angelatyler.substack.com. Link to Elisa’s new audiobook that she is narrating:...

TOPICS: Why was the Memorial Day box office so disappointing?; how the “I’m looking for a man in finance” TikTokergot a record deal; how to operate a tribute band legally; we interview award-winning recording artist CeCe Teneal. CeCe’s new single “Try” is available now and you can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.ceceteneal.com. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the...

TOPICS: Can Scarlett Johansson sue Open AI for (allegedly) using her voice for ChatGPT 4o; the NationalMusic Publishers Association is mad at Spotify and wants Congress to get rid of compulsory mechanical licenses; the Justice Department is going after Ticketmaster; we talk to University of Miami Professor Dr. Alyse Lancaster about her “Mastermind of the Taylor Swift Brand” course. Find out more by visitingcom.miami.edu. Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes,...