What does a $44 million video game sound like? This week on Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle, game composer Tim Larkin breaks down the high-stakes world of e-sports music. From scoring Dota 2 tournaments with 100-piece orchestras to building adaptive music systems that respond to gameplay, Tim reveals what it takes to create soundtracks that elevate the gaming experience. If you’ve ever wondered how music in games works or how orchestras fit into digital worlds, this episode is a must-listen. K...
🎙️ Is AI the biggest disruption the music industry has ever seen? In this episode of Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle, Bobby welcomes Matt Adell, COO of Musical.ai, a trailblazer in bridging the gap between rightsholders and AI developers. With a career spanning Napster, Beatport, and Native Instruments, Matt offers deep insight into the seismic shift AI is bringing to music - bigger than file sharing or streaming. He explains how attribution, fair compensation, and licensing are being redefine...
Why is tinnitus still a taboo in the music industry? In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, Bobby dives deep into one of music’s most ignored health crises with Sven Köllmann and Jack Rubinacci of Tinnitus Quest. Tinnitus affects up to 1 billion people worldwide, yet it remains misunderstood and overlooked, even as it wrecks lives and careers. Sven and Jack explain why hearing loss is just the beginning, why research has been misdirected for years, and what it’s really like living...
What if the biggest roadblock in music licensing wasn’t legal complexity, but outdated systems? In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, we dive deep into the wild world of music rights with Grayson Sanders, CEO of Chordal. A former film composer turned tech founder, Grayson reveals how his sync clearing platform is transforming the way music gets licensed, making it faster, easier, and smarter. We explore the landmark TikTok deal, the rise of AI-generated music, and how real artists...
How do you build merch that actually connects with fans? In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, I sit down with Seamus Menihane, CEO of Armada, a top-tier merch company helping artists, from indies to heavy hitters, turn merch into a true brand extension. If you've ever wondered what merch sells best, how to price it, or how to avoid costly mistakes, Seamus breaks it all down. With his roots as a touring drummer and years running Downright Merch, he’s built Armada into a full...
How Mark Wood Reinvented the Violin and Inspired a Generation On this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, I’m joined by recording artist, performer, inventor, Emmy-winning composer, and music education advocate Mark Wood. Known as the original string master of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mark shares how he revolutionized the world of string instruments with his electric violin designs and helped ignite a movement in music education with his Electrify Your Symphony program. We explore ...
Barry Coffing has lived every corner of the music business, from opera scholarships to songwriting for Hollywood films, and now, innovating the licensing space. As founder of MusicSupervisor.com and WeGetArtists.com, Barry has reshaped how independent musicians connect with opportunities in film, TV, and beyond. In this episode, Barry shares his journey from club gigs to scoring major placements, the evolution of his licensing platform, and why transparency and fairness for artists drive e...
In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle podcast, I sit down with Francois Barrillon, Neural DSP’s plugins product manager and product lead for their new vocal plugin Mantra. Francois shares how he went from building guitar pedals in his spare time to leading development on one of the most innovative vocal tools available today. We talk about Neural DSP’s expansion beyond guitars, how Mantra was designed to be an all-in-one studio solution, and what it takes to create plugins that ble...
In this episode of the Inner Circle Podcast, I sit down with Ritesh Patel, the CEO and founder of Ticket Fairy, a next-generation ticketing platform helping promoters market and manage events. What makes Ticket Fairy unique is its built-in word-of-mouth referral system, where fans can earn rebates—or even free tickets—by getting friends to buy. Ritesh brings a wealth of experience to the platform. Having promoted over 400 shows worldwide, and with a background in cloud and systems administra...
In this episode of the Inner Circle Podcast, I talk with Mitch Beer, a Philadelphia-based session bass player and multi-talented music professional. Mitch has toured with Grammy-winning Digable Planets and The Bacon Brothers, and works as the go-to session bassist for Grammy-winning producer Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo. He also contributed as bassist and producer on Lil Uzi Vert’s #1 platinum album Pink Tape. Beyond session work, Mitch is the founder of Retro City B Room Studio, co-founder and...
In this episode of the Inner Circle Podcast, I sit down with Barry Rudolph, an audio engineer and prolific technical writer whose career bridges classic studio work and in-depth gear expertise. Barry has worked on records with Rod Stewart, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pat Benatar, and Hall & Oates, earning credits on more than 30 gold and platinum albums. Beyond his engineering work, Barry is recognized as the leading reviewer of pro audio gear and plugins, with more than 5,000 reviews published in Mi...
In this episode of the Inner Circle Podcast, I’m joined by John von Seggern, the visionary behind Futureproof Music School—a next-generation program that blends personalized mentorship with AI-driven music production tools. Unlike traditional schools, Futureproof is designed to meet the needs of today’s independent artists. John brings over 30 years of experience as a studio musician, producer, and sound designer, including collaborations with electronic music pioneer Jon Hassell, extensive i...
In this episode of the Inner Circle Podcast, I talk with Tony Braunagel, one of the most respected drummers and producers in modern music. Tony has played on more than 200 albums, including Grammy-winning records by Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal, and Buddy Guy. On stage, he’s performed with icons like B.B. King, Lightnin’ Hopkins, John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, and dozens more. As a producer, Tony has worked on over 40 albums, many of which have won or been nominated for Grammys and Blues Music Awa...
In this episode of the Inner Circle Podcast, I’m joined by Jenna LoMonaco, a digital marketing powerhouse who currently leads marketing at ONErpm—a global music company offering artists distribution, publishing, marketing, and content production across 43 offices in 28 countries. Jenna’s career spans roles at Glassnote, Kobalt, and Island Records, where she spearheaded the digital strategy that skyrocketed Shawn Mendes to global fame. She’s also guided the online growth for Mumford & Sons...
Lucie Burns, also known as artist and producer Lazy Hammock, joins me to talk about building stage confidence, connecting with audiences, and overcoming performance anxiety. We also dive into: Her journey as a #1-charting artist with 25M+ streamsHow perfectionism and comparison affect live performanceHer Stage Ready Artists coaching program and creative support communityInsights from her book The Art of Live Performance UnlockedTrust, mindset, and the power of authenticity on stage Lucie sha...
In this episode, I sit down with music industry veteran Jay Gilbert, co-host of the widely read Your Morning Coffee newsletter and podcast. Jay has held senior executive roles at Universal Music, Sony Music, and Warner Music Group, where he pioneered digital music marketing and online strategies for iconic artists like Nirvana, The Police, KISS, Bob Marley, Elton John, Guns N’ Roses, and many more. 👉 Topics we cover in this episode include: The evolving role of record labels in the streaming...
My guest this week is my old friend 17 time Grammy winner Benny Faccone. Benny has a rich credit history with artists like Mana, Santana, Ricky Martin, Luis Miguel, Sting, and so many more. He’s a veteran of the old A&M Studios when it was one of the hottest recording facilities in Los Angeles. That’s where he honed his recording and mixing skills under old school legends like Bruce Swedien, Shelly Yakus, and Don Hahn. He’s also a die-hard analog guy, still mixing on a console and ...
In this episode I cover some recent overlooked audio and music industry news. We cover: The eras of popular music and why they’re not what you thinkThe emergence of AI-generated band Velvet SundownMajor labels in the middle of licensing discussions with AI music generators Udio and Suno.Major label and private equity want to buy more catalog, and what that means to their artistsThe TikTok closure is pushed back againHow tariffs are hurting vinyl productionHow pop stardom is now...
My guest today is bass player, author and music business marketing consultant, Carter Fox. Known as the Soulful Traveling Spaceman Bassman, Carter has toured with R&B legend Freddie Jackson and Grammy-winner Regina Belle, while also collaborating with artists and producers such as Skrillex, Leon Huff, David Ivory, Adventure Club, and more. Carter is also the author of Music Business Bassics series of books, with How to Effectively Release & Promote Your Music as an Independ...
My guest this week is modular synthesizer maven Chris Meyer, who has done important engineering work at Sequential Circuits, Digidesign, Marion Systems with the legendary Tom Oberheim, and Roland R&D U.S., where he was chief engineer. Along the way he created Vector Synthesis and worked on the Sequential Prophet 2000, Prophet VS, and Studio 440; Digidesign's Q-Sheet; and the Roland DM-80. During that time he also served as Technical Chairman of the MIDI Manufacturer’s Associat...
Helman Frow
Yeah the plugin discussion is really dated.
Mika Kähkönen
Paras podcast
Sam Damask
So helpful, especially thinking about Spotify as something that can take hold at any time, not something that needs to spike immediately.