As one of 39 kids of the world famous Osmond family (who sold over 100 million records), our guest Nathan Osmond grew up on the set of his uncles TV Show during their heyday. He himself went on to form another generation of Osmond singers, who toured with such 90’s acts as New Kids On The Block, Naughty By Nature, and Colour Me Badd. The son of Alan Osmond, he and his brothers moved to Branson Missouri, where they performed at the Osmond Family Theater. While there, Nathan became influenced...

Meet Dave Lenahan. He started out in the music business by being a DJ at WKSU radio on the campus of Kent State University, doing afternoon drive time jazz. He went on to work at Country Station WUBE in Cincinnati OH, but in short order he determined that he was destined to become a hit songwriter. We discuss the anatomy of the song, how to put one together, and what separates a tune from a hit. Dave currently resides in Nashville TN, writes songs for a living, and hosts the podcast...

Unless you work for a major corporation within the music industry, and are blessed to have a great benefits package, you must fend for yourself in order to provide the tools needed to get by in life: health insurance, retirement plans, and the general skills to run your own business. Make no mistake about it, if you are a freelance technician in the touring business – you ARE your own business. This is where the vision of the Touring Career Workshop comes to life: a simple workshop where a...

Record Store Day was conceived in 2007 at a gathering of independent record store owners and employees as a way to celebrate and spread the word about the unique culture surrounding the nearly 1400 independently-owned record stores in the US and thousands of similar stores internationally. The first Record Store Day took place on April 19, 2008. Today, 17 years later, Record Store Day is celebrated at independently-owned brick-and-mortar record stores around the world. On this special...

Stone Senate has been called “a heavier version of Lynyrd Skynyrd, crossed with The Allman Brothers Band”. While being mentioned in such heady company is flattering, it is important to note Stone Senate is most definitely not a retro act. They are taking what came naturally from their collective influences a step further and making a name for themselves in the world of modern country rock. The band is fronted by vocalist/ guitarist Clint Woolsey’s smoldering, soulful vocals and unmistakable...

‘Watching Guns N’ Roses from the side of the stage in London, standing on the set of Saturday Night Live with Paul Simon, receiving a signed skateboard from Carrie Underwood, and mixing front-of-house sound for Kiss…’ These are just a handful of experiences in the rearview mirror of Phillip Kriz’s extraordinary journey in the music industry as a sought-after “roadie” tech, band assistant, and trusted tour confidant. Following nearly 15 years as a dependable road dog, he embarks on what might...

You crafted your songs. You've put your heart and soul into them, but when you're on stage, the response from the audience is lackluster at best. Is it the material you're performing. In many cases, while the songs are excellent, the presentation is not. Where in the song is the moment on stage that defines who you are? This is where Tom Jackson Productions steps in. As a trained Live Music Producer for Tom Jackson Productions, Amy Wolter offers her years of personal experience onstage,...

Continuing our ongoing series of "Between The Notes" episodes with music industry veteran Jack Sharkey, We have a discussion that is often overlooked, or at the very least ignored... The loss of hearing due to years of performing live music. Jack, who himself suffers from hearing loss because of loud volumes on stage (along with a inexperienced sound engineer on occasion), had permanent damage done to his ears after decades performing live. Ironically, Sharkey also works in the audiophile...

Do you sometimes feel as though you're just a T-Shirt salesperson, with a 30 minute presentation that's called a set list? Do you wonder why some acts who are at the same level as you, have a product line or sponsor helping support their career while you don't? What seperates you from those that are finding that perfect sponsorship or product branding? Enter Clay Busch and his company SiX18 Agency. On this episode, Clay shares what companies are looking for when it comes to branding, and...

What started out as a project in a screenwriting class in a writers boot camp, has turned into a novel describing how Nashville, also known as “Music City” evolved into what it is today… or not. Nashville Tennessee is well known for its Country music, but did you know that the birthplace of Rhythm and Blues, or what we these days call “R&B” actually was born in this Middle Tennessee City we call Nashville. The moniker “Music City” was actually derived from the1860’s after the Civil War,...

dis·rup·tion (noun) Definition: "A radical change to an existing industry or market due to technological innovation." According to our guest Jack Sharkey, who is with KEF Audio, music and the culture at large needs disruption to keep it fresh and engaging. The digital revolution and the chokehold the “industry” has on art has made it nearly impossible for the next generation of disruptors to be heard. There is plenty of good music being made today and we shouldn't always subscribe to the...

What makes a successful singer or songwriter? Is it perseverance? Is it working with seasoned co-songwriters or industry veterans? Could your stumbling block be the lack of networking or that first impression? There are often more questions than answers. Enter Marc-Alan Barnette to help us navigate those swampy waters. Marc-Alan Barnette, aka “THUNDER THROAT”, has always been a “square peg in an octagonal hole”. His blue eyed soul voice, has drawn comparisons to Ray Charles and Delbert...

Finn Hodgins, who is the Founder and CEO of Grouped, a platform where independent and label artists can create and engage their fans, and help turn them into a revenue stream for the artist. 90% of artists derive their income from their top 1% of their fan base. Grouped helps with the data entry, and the algorithms that the artist needs to achieve that goal. But there’s so much more to this platform, and Finn shares all of the angles and aspects of Grouped, which is a way that an artist can...

It’s been said that each of us can do at least one thing better than ten thousand other people. Singer/Songwriter, Producer, Multi-Instrumentalist, and the proprietor of a Nashville based recording studio, Robin Ruddy found multiple things she is good at accomplishing. When Robin lost her husband to cancer, she began creating a musical journey to help ease her grief, and along the way, provide something to help others who are navigating those choppy waters. Grammy award winner Robin Ruddy...

We can’t believe it's been six years in the making to get to this moment, and we wanted to do something special… or at least different. For the first time ever, the host of the show, Bob Bender, becomes the guest! After all this time, we find out what makes Bob tick, how (and why) he got into the music business, and the reason he stuck with it for 50 plus years. He also shares some of the inner workings of the music business, including its sometimes not so nice side of the industry, along...

You’re an aspiring musician, and you want to learn from the best. But sometimes it becomes difficult, as the student in many aspects, has learned as much as the teacher in their hometown knows. But finding music instructors of the next level can be time consuming, and often quite expensive. Enter the online platform “Open Studio”. Created by entrepreneur and acclaimed jazz pianist Peter Martin, this web-based program affords you the opportunity and ability to learn from some of the best...

Al Bowman is a very, very busy man these days. As the executive producer for such awards shows as the “LA Music Awards”, which ran from 1991 to 2015, followed up by the Las Vegas “Fame Awards” which aired from 2016 to 2022, he doesn’t sit idle long. He’s now created the “Nashville Music Awards”, honoring the Top 25 independent artists throughout the Country. On this episode, we have three of the winners from the NMA in the studio to talk about their careers, and what it takes to be a...

Putting out your music to the public is always a moment in time that you’ll remember. But is it the best sounding mix that you could achieve in the process? As an independent recording artist, how do you compete with the label acts when it comes to mixing and mastering? Is it something that you can afford?  Enter Jacob “Biz” Morris, and his new online platform that helps balance the scales. Jacob “Biz" Morris is a multi-platinum and Grammy Award-winning mixing engineer who is celebrated for...

Back in 2014, there were 15 record pressing plants in the U.S. along with approximately 30 facilities around the globe. There are now 55 record pressing plants in the United States, and 200 plants worldwide. The demand for vinyl records has never been higher than it is now. Because the industry has become craft oriented in recent years, an employee who works in these facilities, which has anywhere from 5 to 14 presses, now has to go through at least 10 to 14 months of extensive training...

Sheri Thrower wears many hats in the music and entertainment industry, from an award-winning music producer and vocal coach to a film composer and music mentor. Founder of the Grove Jesus Music, and the nonprofit organization, "SingAkadamie", Sheri began her career in public music education. She gained national recognition as her children’s choirs were the first to be the pre-music for Radio City Music Hall’s “Rockette’s Christmas Spectacular” in New York City. From there, her prodigies grew...

The best art doesn’t always necessarily rise to the top anymore, it's more likely the best marketed art rises to the top. Author and music industry entrepreneur Jeremy Shiloh has been brainstorming this problem as how to get the best singer/songwriters to reach that goal. What came out of this process was to create a peer review process for the totally undiscovered singer/songwriter called Circate. So exactly what is Circate? Cricket’s peer promotion system is designed for creators, such as...

A third-generation firefighter, Jason Byrd has always had another fire burning within … as a traditional country music singer, songwriter and performer. Mentored by none other than George Jones,  Byrd has played stages across the US and Canada, opening for powerhouse artists such as Tracy Lawrence, Loretta Lynn, Mark Chesnutt, Dierks Bentley and, of course, George Jones. Jason has appeared on the world-famous Grand Ole Opry and made multiple TV appearances. In 2019, Jason retired from his...

On August 13th, 2011, prior to an outdoor performance at the Indiana State Fair by the hit Country recording act “Sugarland”, an approaching severe thunderstorm hit the temporary roof structure of the stage, causing it to collapse. The structure landed among a crowd of spectators, killing seven people and injuring 58 others. The cause was later determined to be a breakdown or lack of communication (a paralysis of sorts) between the Fair management, the production company, and the band, among...

You love the music business. You want to find a gig on the road as a Tour Manager, Guitar Tech, Front of House or Monitor Engineer. Maybe your speciality is as a production assistant, catering, wardrobe, lighting director or set carpenter. But you don’t know anyone in the industry, and you don’t know how to get your foot in the door. Enter Giggs. Founder and CEO Nikki Sanz is the brains and heart behind Giggs, the first job posting and social networking platform for the touring industry....