The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Eliah Seton, CEO of SoundCloud. Eliah breaks down how SoundCloud is evolving beyond streaming into a creator-first platform focused on fan relationships, monetization, and artist discovery.Why “streaming is not enough” for artists, how fan-powered royalties work, the future of direct-to-fan monetization, and why creator tools are becoming more important in the AI era. Eliah also explains SoundCloud’s approach to generative AI music, ethically trained AI models, and why the platform refuses to monetize fully AI-generated songs.Follow Eliah Seton and SoundCloud:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eliahseton/https://soundcloud.com/Check out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com08:27 - Eliah Seton on the Future of SoundCloud13:41 - Why “Streaming Is Not Enough” for Artists18:15 - Fan Monetization, Merch, and Direct-to-Artist Revenue22:03 - How SoundCloud Helps Artists Get Heard and Build Fans27:14 - Creator Subscriptions and Fan-Powered Features31:24 - Wallets, Tipping, and the Future of Fan Transactions36:01 - AI Tools for Music Creation and Artist Discovery40:48 - SoundCloud’s Approach to Ethically Trained AI47:17 - AI Music, Royalties, and Streaming Economics52:08 - The Future of Human Artistry in the AI EraEdited and mixed by Ruben ZarateMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Ash Avildsen, founder of Sumerian Records. Ash shares the story of building one of the most influential independent labels in modern rock and metal, from booking DIY tours in the MySpace era to helping artists break into arenas.During this episode, Ari and Ash dive into artist development, the evolution of touring, music video economics, social media virality, the ethics of tour buy-ons, and why building an artist brand matters more than ever. Ash also opens up about expanding Sumerian into film, the future of entertainment brands, and why he believes music videos deserve a better business model.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumerianrecords/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sumerianrecordsCheck out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com04:21 - Ash’s Journey from Touring Musician to Founding Sumerian Records08:04 - Why Ash Left Booking to Focus Fully on the Label12:00 - MySpace, TikTok, and How Artists Break Today17:30 - Scenes, Community, and the Evolution of Heavy Music22:16 - Artist Development and Getting Bands to Their First 500 Tickets25:22 - The Ethics and Reality of Tour Buy-Ons31:49 - Discovering Artists in the Streaming Era35:15 - Why Music Videos Still Matter49:00 - Building Sumerian Beyond Music Into Film and Media56:00 - Ticketing, Industry Frustrations, and What It Means to “Make It”Edited and mixed by Ruben ZarateMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Red Leather, the anonymous artist who turned viral TikTok videos into sold-out tours around the world. Known for his signature red hat, Red Leather first started his career by busking on Hollywood Boulevard before exploding online with viral covers and original songs like “The Only Time It Rains in Hollywood.” In this episode, Red Leather breaks down how he used social media to grow his audience from scratch, why he posted 5 videos a day for 100 straight days, how smashing guitars outside Capitol Records landed him a record deal (that he turned down), and why ticket sales matter more than streams or viral moments. He also opens up about sobriety, surviving addiction, touring independently, and eventually partnering with Empire after years of doing everything DIY.Follow Red Leather:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redleather/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@redleatherCheck out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com00:04:02 - Intro00:04:36 - The Origin of Red Leather00:06:39 - Sobriety, Addiction & Artistic Vulnerability00:10:11 - Posting 5 Videos a Day for 100 Days00:14:11 - The Viral TikTok That Changed Everything00:20:00 - Smashing Guitars Outside Capitol Records00:25:12 - Why He Turned Down Major Label Deals00:33:28 - Booking Tours Through Instagram DMs00:47:23 - Virality vs Real Fans & Ticket Sales01:01:58 - What “Making It” Means TodayEdited and mixed by Ruben ZarateMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Oskar Med K, a breakout Norwegian EDM producer. Oskar breaks down the "overnight" success that was actually years in the making—from the days of sending 500 cold emails to labels with no response.In this episode, Ari and Oskar talk about the marketing strategies that helped him scale from 40k monthly listeners to 11 million, why "simple" content often outperforms high-production on TikTok, and the surreal feeling of playing Coachella as his first-ever music festival.https://www.instagram.com/_oskarmedk/03:54 – Intro: The Release of Oskar’s Debut Album Feel05:24 – Albums vs. Singles: Building a Body of Work in the Streaming Era09:12 – The Remix Story: How Khalid Ended Up on a Remix12:52 – Behind the Tracks: Songwriting and Collaborating Remotely17:19 – The Early Grind: From iPad Beats to Music School in Norway19:00 – From 0 to 1: The "Hustle" of Emailing 500 Record Labels20:17 – Breaking Through: Finding the Right Label via LabelRadar25:12 – Marketing Strategy: Simple Content vs. High-Production TikToks33:42 – Moving to the Stage: Transitioning from Studio Producer to Live Act40:40 – The Coachella Milestone: Playing Your First-Ever Festival44:29 – The Future of Music: Addressing the AI Debate and "Making It"Edited and mixed by Ruben ZarateMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Ethan Berlin and Skully Kaplan of ROAM Artists for an inside look at the realities of booking and touring in today’s music industry. They unpack how booking agencies build and manage their rosters, what it really takes to develop artists on the road, and how deals—from guarantees to ticket splits—actually come together. If you’re an artist planning your next tour or trying to understand the live side of the business, this episode gives a clear, candid breakdown of how it all works.https://www.instagram.com/roam.artists/https://roamartists.com/Chapters05:03 – Intro & ROAM Agency Origin Story08:26 – From Partnership to Global Agency11:32 – Why Artists Need Different Agents by Region14:59 – Breaking Into International Markets (Asia & Beyond)19:52 – Why Artists Blow Up in Some Countries First25:20 – Genre & Market Differences Worldwide34:48 – The Real Cost of Touring Today40:16 – How Artists Cut Costs on Tour44:48 – How Artists Actually Make Money Touring48:16 – Tour Deals & Promoter Strategy Explained52:11 – Marketing Tours & Selling TicketsEdited and mixed by Ruben ZarateMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Mark Orr, the founder of Lab Records, to explore how independent labels are evolving in today’s music industry. From deal structures and artist ownership to marketing strategies and physical releases, Mark shares a transparent look into how his label has operated and adapted over nearly two decades. They dive into how indie deals have shifted to become more artist-friendly, how Lab approaches partnerships like distribution with ADA, and why physical products like vinyl and limited editions are more important now than ever. Mark also breaks down how to build a lean team, when to outsource, and how to create meaningful fan engagement in a crowded digital landscape. Whether you’re on the artist or label side of the business, you won’t want to miss this episode.https://www.instagram.com/labrecordshttps://labrecs.com/ Chapters00:00 - Lab Records Origin05:00 - Building a Lean Team09:25 - Streaming & Fan Engagement13:23 - Pitching Artists vs Majors16:07 - Modern Deal Structures21:19 - Artist Power Shift26:19 - Marketing in 2020s31:42 - Physical Sales Comeback36:21 - Touring Builds Fanbase45:50 - Tools, Teams, FutureEdited and mixed by Ari Davids-ErgasMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com