The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Chris Farren, Grammy-nominated songwriter and founder of Combustion Music, a Nashville-based music publishing and artist development company responsible for more than 100 number-one hits.Chris shares decades of experience navigating the music business, from writing hit songs to building a publishing company and developing artists. Ari and Chris break down how professional songwriters get signed, how songwriting rooms work, how publishing deals and advances are structured, and how songwriters earn royalties.Follow Chris Farren:https://www.instagram.com/combustionmusic/https://www.combustionmusic.com/Check out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com05:54 - Building a music publishing company and developing artists15:32 - How music publishers pay songwriters26:07 - Songwriting as a craft: practice, productivity, and getting better28:16 - Teaching songwriters to write for the market without sacrificing creativity30:44 - Writing songs for specific artists32:00 - How artists' involvement in songwriting has changed37:58 - How songwriting rooms work39:15 - Pitching songs and getting them to artists57:51 - Music catalogs and the renewed life of older songs58:37 - Advice for aspiring professional songwritersEdited 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 Joe Lim, founder and CEO of Floodify, a marketing technology company that has distributed over 2 million short-form videos for major labels including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music.Joe pulls back the curtain on the rapidly evolving world of music marketing, explaining how burner accounts, clipping networks, AI-generated content, fan pages, influencer campaigns, and algorithm-driven distribution are shaping the careers of artists today. We explore the ethics behind these tactics, the concept of the “dead internet,” how major labels and marketers use social media at scale, and what independent artists can learn from these strategies.Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelimmmmmFloodify: https://www.floodify.io/Check out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com04:42 – Welcome & State of Modern Music Marketing07:06 – Why Music Marketing is Behind Other Industries08:42 – What Are Burners, Fan Pages, and Clipping?13:29 – Commercialized Clipping & Platforms Like WHOP17:19 – Phone Farms and Managing Accounts at Scale21:21 – Using AI to Find and Generate Viral Clips29:56 – Modern Marketing Strategies for Independent Artists31:19 – The Evolution of Floodify (Floodify 2.0)40:41 – Dead Internet Theory, Bots, and Comment Farming44:25 – Is Authenticity Dead? Playing the Game to Make a CareerEdited 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 Toni Nelson, artist manager, business manager, and co-founder of 1990 Records.Toni Nelson is an artist manager and co-founder of 1990 Records with a background in retail fashion and mental health clinical work. Combining expertise in behavioral science with music industry operations, Nelson specializes in sustainable artist development, data analytics, and guiding independent artists like Adrian Daniel, to build long-term, monetizable careers while protecting their intellectual property. Follow Toni Nelson:https://www.instagram.com/1990records19/https://1990records.org/Check out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com04:01 - What it Means to Build a Creative & Fan Community 09:00 - Protecting IP & Using Split Sheets in the Studio 13:14 - Navigating Producer Credits, Writer Splits & Work for Hire 18:18 - Release Strategies & Tracking Data with Music Analytics 23:27 - How Independent Artists Can Monetize Their Audience 27:38 - Staying Independent vs. Label Licensing Deals 32:45 - When is an Emerging Artist Ready to Tour? 36:22 - Case Study: Developing Adrian Daniel's Career 43:17 - Mental Health & What It Means to Make It in Music 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 Alexis Lanternier, the CEO of global music streaming platform Deezer. Together, they break down the massive influx of AI-generated music flooding streaming services, Deezer’s pioneering efforts in AI detection and fraud removal, and the future of fair artist payouts through user-centric royalty systems. Follow Alexis Lanternier:https://www.instagram.com/deezer/https://www.deezer.com/us/Check out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com05:45 - The Reality of AI Music Flooding Streaming Services10:23 - How Deezer Detects Streaming Fraud & Purges AI Bots13:42 - Tagging AI Music & Algorithmic Recommendation Rules18:32 - Generative AI: Creative Assistive Tool vs. Fully AI Music24:40 - In-App Fan Remix Tools & Licensing Fair Payouts33:36 - The Flaw in Market-Centric Payouts vs. User-Centric Payouts42:15 - Major Label Licensing Deals & Independent Artist Royalty Rates50:37 - Powering Winamp & What It Means to "Make It" in Music 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 Patrick Laird, cellist and co-founder of the classical cover duo, Brooklyn Duo. Patrick breaks down how he and his wife built a music career without traditional touring. He discusses their journey from viral YouTube videos to building an evergreen passive income model, navigating revenue streams across Pandora, Spotify, and YouTube, the intricacies of sheet music publishing, catalog acquisition offers, and why creating utility-based music enabled the creative freedom to pursue personal projects. Follow Patrick Laird:https://www.patricklaird.com/https://www.instagram.com/brooklynduo/Check out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com03:55 - Brooklyn Duo’s Origins & Moving Beyond Classical07:16 - Early Viral Success & Going Full Time12:50 - Monetization: Pandora, YouTube, and SoundExchange22:20 - Sheet Music Licensing & Publishing via Musicnotes30:20 - Arranging Process & Delegation Between Patrick & Marnie38:50 - Strategic Pivot to High Production Location Videos52:45 - Building an Evergreen "Utility" Model for Streaming58:30 - Retaining Masters & Rejecting Catalog Buyouts01:10:20 - What It Means to "Make It" in the New Music BusinessEdited 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 Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jared Benjamin. Jared broke down how he went from picking up a guitar during the pandemic to earning over 100 million streams, selling out headline tours, and building an intensely loyal community across TikTok and Discord. They discuss his creation process, content strategy, delegating production, leveraging pre-save ad campaigns, and releasing his debut album, Icarus Too Close to the Sun.Follow Jared Benjamin:https://www.instagram.com/jaredbenjaminofficial/http://tiktok.com/@jaredbenjaminofficialCheck out Ari’s Take:https://aristake.com4:05 Interview Begins: Welcome & Icarus Debut Album Announcement5:06 Transitioning from Fast Singles to a Cohesive Debut Album9:43 Early Short-Form Visual Strategy & Writing Skits17:25 Lessons from Bad Industry Deals & Going DIY20:15 Learning Production on YouTube & Collaborating with Producers25:20 Writing "Three Steps Ahead" at AntiSocial Writing Camp28:35 Building a Social Following & Meeting His Manager32:50 The Daily Grind: Posting 2 to 4 Videos a Day & Managing Burnout35:55 First Headline Tour Experiences: From Empty Rooms to Sold-Out Venues41:59 Managing Online Communities: Grouped vs. Discord Strategy50:20 Tapping into BookTok & Author Playlist Marketing01:01:35 Leveraging Feature.fm Pre-Save Ads to Funnel Fans into DiscordEdited 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