Audio Branding

“And then his youngest daughter, who’s six years old, comes up, and she’s into gymnastics and she’s kind of cartwheeling around the room while everyone else is playing. And then, ‘All right, she’s going to play you a song.’ And she comes up, and she’s all full of beans, and then she sits down and she plays the most somber Debussy song. And it was, like, there was so much soul in what she played for a six-year-old. I’m like, ‘whoa!’ Like, the amount of depth in what she did was, like, whoa! ‘You are, like, a wise young girl.’ That’s an old soul. And I looked at him, and he’s crying. And then at the end of this evening, we again get to talking about AI, and he was asking, this comes full circle, this is the reason I bring this story up, is he’s invested heavily in various different AI projects. And one of them is this company that’s gonna be, like, a prompt and then it makes music. And he said, ‘Well, you know it’s cool, but are you not worried about AI, like, taking you out?’ And I was like, ‘Well, do you think I should be? You probably know better than me.’ And he said, ‘Well, you know, AI can do exactly what she just did, just so you know, like right now, I could get AI to play that song and it can play it perfectly.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, but would it make you cry?’" – Stephen Ridley

This is the 300th episode of Audio Branding: The Hidden Gem of Marketing, and my conversation with international pianist and founder of the Ridley Academy, Stephen Ridley, continues as we discuss why Stephen prefers live performances to studio recordings, the school he’s now running to help others find their own passion for music, and the one song he’s vowed to never play on the piano.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - The Future of Creativity and AI

The second half of our conversation picks up with Stephen’s illuminating discussion of AI with a billionaire tech investor, and where he sees AI leading us in the future. “There are a lot of things in life where we don’t necessarily need to put ourselves into it,” he explains. “They don’t require our imagination, creativity, any spiritual anything. Those things probably can be replaced by AI.” We discuss AI’s limitations as a way of conveying emotion, and where the new economy might lead us once machines are handling the busy work. “I actually think the future economy will be heavily into creativity, and into art,” Stephen adds, “since I think that’s exactly where culture will go.”

(0:07:16) – The Unique Power of Live Entertainment

Stephen recalls his brief and unexpected foray into iTunes after discovering that a record label had uploaded his music without permission. “They’re like, ‘Okay, if you don’t like it, sue us.’ And obviously I wasn’t in a position to do that, and they have all the money in the world,” he explains. “So I was like, ‘Okay, well, I can’t do that, but what I can do is remove it. So I just removed it.” He talks about why, even though he’s starting to return to social media and streaming content, he still prefers live concert performances to being in a studio. “I don’t have the pressure of having to record it six hundred times, get it perfect, mix it, master it, spend a hundred thousand dollars,” he tells us. “I write a song, I go up on the stage, I play it…. And because of that, my shows have grown and grown and grown.”

(0:13:39) - Revolutionizing Music Education With Fun

He tells us about the piano school he’s recently opened, and how his own path as a musician inspired him to help others find a different way. “It was fun when I was first noodling,” he says. “Then I went to get educated and all it made me want to do is quit piano. And I suffer through years and years and years and years of hours and hours of practicing a day, and then I get to enjoy music.” We discuss some of the weaknesses of traditional music lessons, and how he’s working to spark the sense of wonder he finds in music within students who might have been put off by those early lessons. “They leave this experience feeling like they’re no good at music,” he tells us. “But in actual fact, what I thought is ‘Well, no, I just think the education sucks if everybody’s having the same experience.’”

(0:22:49) - Music’s Impact on Health and Longevity

As our discussion comes to a close, we talk about the latest research into music’s medical benefits, from boosting memory and agility in elderly patients to lowering cortisol and stress levels in people of all ages. “Cortisol is a stress hormone,” he says. “You might not know that you’re stressed until you remove the stress, and so, uh, they’d universally found that playing piano for just thirty minutes could reduce cortisol.” Our conversation touches on what such research might mean for the next generation of listeners, and the difference it might have made in his own life. “I’m sure if he’d had the outlet of music from a young age,” Stephen says about his father, who passed away from heart failure, “and he’d had a creative way to get that out rather than a destructive one, then he might have found himself later in life in a better physical condition. He might not have died when he did.”

Episode Summary

• The closing gap between musicians and audio AI, and what sets human music apart.
• The challenges the modern streaming-first music industry poses for young artists.
• Stephen’s work founding an innovative new piano school in the aftermath of COVID.
• The health benefits of sound, and the one song Stephen won’t play on the piano.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

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Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

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Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“Chick invited me to go to this jazz club in Soho called Ronnie Scott’s in London. And it was, like, two o’clock in the morning – I was like, ‘I don’t think it’s gonna be open.’ I did not know who I was dealing with. It’s Chick Corea. He just makes a call, it’s open, and they’d set out three pianos in a room facing each other. And we walked in this room, we sat down, and Chick could play a few notes. Herbie had joined in, I’d joined in, and we kind of each took it at turns in leading the thing. This song went on for hours. It changed, it evolved, it moved. It was the most amazing thing. And Herbie said something really, really amazing. He was like, because even though we didn’t say anything to each other, I like, know these people in this moment. I know, I feel them, like there’s something happening, and so here’s the super geek moment. He said something in it, and it really resonates with me: he’s like, ‘You know, music’s not about the sound, right? The sound is carrying an intention.’" – Stephen Ridley

This week’s guest is a world-renowned British pianist, composer, and visionary in modern piano education. His journey from high-flying investment banker to global musical sensation is as remarkable as his performances. He discovered his passion for the piano at age two and received formal training when he was eleven, but it wasn’t until he left the corporate world that his true artistry flourished. Starting as a London street performer, his raw talent and electrifying performances quickly garnered international attention and propelled him onto some of the world’s most prestigious stages.

His name is Stephen Ridley, and our conversation ranges from how music connects us and transcends language to how it prolongs our lives. Keep listening to learn more about the power of sound!

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) – The Power of Sound

As our discussion begins, Stephen shares his memories of a turbulent childhood in northern England, and what he discovered about the power of sound when he found a case full of his dad’s old cassettes. “The most amazing thing of this,” he tells us, “was I saw it change my dad, and he went into this other person, a much more beautiful, calm, serene sort of English version of Elvis. He sort of became a bit Elvis and he was singing to my mom and they were sweet and romantic together and I was like, ‘What is this superpower?” He remembers how that moment, and a neighbor’s gift of a simple toy piano, sparked his love of music, and his ongoing fascination with its impact on listeners. “It’s a magic which I’ve now come to know intimately,” he explains, “and I get to go around the world and share that magic with people and I’ve seen it now just millions of times. It’s so amazing to me.”

(0:07:00) - Inspirational Journey of Music and Passion

Stephen shares more of his early memories of sound, and how growing up in a secluded village with nothing to do proved to be a blessing in disguise for learning about music. “The process I learned piano was not one I would recommend,” he warns us. “It was unnecessarily painful, but I had enough boredom to allow a curiosity to grow and to follow that curiosity, and then I’d discover magic.” He tells us about his unforgettable first day as a piano busker in London, and the joy that his music stirred in the listeners back then, as well as to this day during concerts. “Maybe they’re, like, terrible bosses,” Stephen adds, “but in that moment they show me their best side. That’s the magic for me. I’ve been a musician and I felt all the love of humanity, and it was absolutely amazing.”

(0:15:44) - The Spiritual Power of Music

He tells us about his life as a concert pianist today, and how little has actually changed since his days as a busker. “If I’m in an airport, I see one of those pianos, I’m on it,” he says. “Trust me, I’ll miss a flight. I don’t care. Like, there’s some magic to playing for people when they don’t expect it. It’s really a rush.” Stephen tells us his favorite song – at least, as he adds, for the moment – and why it made such a deep impression on him while teaching it to a class. “’I’m only going to play five notes,’” he recalls explaining to them, “and I played this really stripped-back ‘Hallelujah.’ And by doing that, it lets the voice take center stage a little bit. And man, that was haunting, like goosebumps playing.”

(0:27:31) - Putting Yourself in Music

The first half of our conversation concludes as we focus on the power of music to elevate us, both metaphorically and perhaps literally. “These things that hippies say,” Stephen explains, “where you think they sound weird, I was like, ‘What if they’re not weird?’ What if there are actually these like very high frequencies? We kind of intuitively say that in our language without knowing it: ‘oh, he’s on a higher frequency.’” He relates a memorable encounter with the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash, and what he learned from Johnny and “Folsom Prison Blues” about stage presence and truly making a song your own. “He’s like, ’the difference between me and everybody else,’” Stephen recalls, “’is when I go on stage, I know I’m Johnny Cash. And when they go on stage, they know they’re not.”

Episode Summary

• How Stephen’s childhood memories helped reveal music’s transformative power.
• His evolution as a pianist, from solitary passion to street performances to global concerts.
• The transcendental power of music, and his favorite song of the moment.
• How harmonics, chords, and the mathematics of music elevate us as listeners.

 Tune in for next week’s episode as we discuss how musicians in general, and Stephen in particular, are adapting to the new reality of streaming music, the role he foresees AI taking when it comes to music and creativity in general, and the surprising medical impact sound may have on human longevity.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“I have a regular chat with a friend of mine in New Zealand. He’s a tetraplegic and a musician, so he invents his own music instruments that he can play with his limited motion, and he can send me his instrument over MIDI to where I am across the ocean and we can play together and we can have an engagement. It’s not possible for him to come to see me in Europe. It would be so expensive, and a lot of work. So, you know, thank God there’s the internet for him, you know. He gets to participate, he has remote concerts, he still plays with his friends. It’s really special.” – Rebekah Wilson

This episode is the second half of my conversation with Source Elements CEO and remote collaboration specialist Rebekah Wilson as we discuss how physics and neurology collide when it comes to reducing latency, how the pandemic transformed online music collaboration and gave rise to today’s generation of at-home musicians, and where Rebekah sees sound, technology, and music itself heading in the future, over both the coming decades and even generations from now.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - Impact of Latency on Music Collaboration

We continue our talk about the science of latency, and Rebekah explains how it impacts music in ways that our brains only dimly perceive. “If you add a little bit of latency onto that,” she says, “music’s like, one, two... three… music’s not very friendly to that [sort of] latency.” She tells us more about how our brains unconsciously adapt to latency, and how technology relies both on improving speed and taking advantage of our ability to filter out information gaps. “What’s happening is that you’re anticipating it based on this model that’s in your brain,” Rebekah explains. “For example, every time you look at a wall or your surroundings, if it’s not moving, your brain’s not processing it.”

(0:06:02) - Advancements in Remote Music Collaboration

She talks about how the COVID-19 pandemic’s lockdown phase led to a boom in online collaboration, some of which continues to thrive today. “There remained a group of people,” she says, “a small group of people, you know, scattered around the world… who were like, ‘You know what? Some interesting things came out of this. Some interesting artistic development is possible here and it’s worth pursuing.” We discuss the technical and creative innovations that emerged from that period, and where they might lead in the years to come as we continue to innovate. “What we love as humans,” Rebekah says, “is to seek new forms of expression. This is what we do, we’re adventurers. So we go out, we go into the desert, we go out into the oceans, and we look for where something new is. And you know, music and performance and being together on the internet is still very new for us as humans.”

(0:12:42) - Expanding Music Collaboration With Technology

Our conversation wraps up as we continue to talk about online collaboration and creative efforts that can now span the world. “Hey, how does that guy play his trumpet?” she says, considering how musicians can start working together long before they meet in person. “What are his favorite riffs on the saxophone? So when they get to be together in that short time, they’re not starting from scratch, they’re already friends.” She considers the future of communication, collaboration, and the latency challenges that we might face in the future, including interplanetary latency, and we discuss how music helps define us as a species. “It’s such a privilege to be a musician,” she concludes, “to be able to harness sound, to make narratives with it and to build new worlds with it, you know, or to use your voice to tell stories with it. What a privileged, beautiful thing it is that we get to do.”

Episode Summary

• How latency and our brains’ perception of it can impact online music collaboration.
• The rise of “bedroom artists” after COVID-19 and their impact on the future of music.
• How sound, music, and communication might evolve as we reach for the stars.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“So I’m in Chicago, I’ve quit my job, I’ve almost run out of money. You know, you’re young, you don’t care. And I met Robert, who’s now my co-founder. He had mixed a CD of mine a couple of years before through friends of friends. So we meet up, have a beer, and then he’s like, ‘Oh, you know, I’m spending all this money on IT every month,’ because he was a sound engineer. And he’s like, ‘But we’ve got this thing called the internet, right? I thought, ‘I’ve got 1 MB internet in my studio, why can’t I use that? It’s free.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it.’ And because I, you know, had been doing software development and the internet, it just made sense. The two of us really bonded, and I went home to New Zealand and he stayed in Chicago, and we built Source-Connect.” – Rebekah Wilson

This episode’s guest is the co-founder, technical director, and CEO of Source Elements, and has worked for over twenty years with customers and industry partners like Avid and Dolby. Since the release of their pioneering remote audio app Source-Connect in 2005, she’s advocated for the benefits of remote collaboration in all sorts of areas, including sound engineering, voice acting, music performance and production, film and cinema production, and education.

Originally trained as a composer, she’s now a software developer and expert in the fields of music technology and networking, and, as a New Zealand native, she understands very well how important it is to stay connected no matter where we are. Her name is Rebekah Wilson, and you’ll want to hear what she has to say about how Source Connect is making our creative lives easier, what it’s like being a woman in a male-dominated field, and where she sees this technology going in the future.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - Musical Journey to Tech Innovation

We start off with Rebekah’s early memories of her father playing the guitar, and how it helped spark her love of music. “I must have been four or five,” she tells us, “and I can see the house that we were living in at the time. So, yeah, around their age and um, just those lovely, warm feelings.” She shares her experience growing up in New Zealand and how quickly things changed as the internet began to connect the world. “I went out and told everybody,” she explains, recalling the day she learned about Princess Diana’s passing on a web forum. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, oh my God.’ And they’re like, ‘How do you know? The internet? What, that’s crazy!’ And so it was like one of those first moments of finding out that you can connect to the rest of the world with this medium.”

(0:11:06) - Navigating Gender Dynamics in Tech

Rebekah shares her journey from orchestral composer to tech entrepreneur in the ‘90s, and just how much things have changed for women since those early days. “I went in for the job interview and, uh, they, they show me where the programmers work,” she explains. “It’s a dark room in the middle of the building with no windows... and they have pictures of naked women on the walls.” We talk about her very first trade show, the rise and fall of ‘booth babe’ culture, and how a new generation of women are helping transform the industry. “These, you know, women in their twenties,” she says, “they don’t feel so isolated… this mentorship of older women is what’s become such a huge movement.”

(0:17:16) - Exploring Latency in Communication

The first half of our conversation wraps up as Rebekah talks about the science of latency, and how lucky we are that we live in a world where global communication is even possible. “Maybe the world could have been bigger,” she says, “or the speed of light slower, or our brains be a bit different... If you go back to, firstly, think about the evolution of the human brain and speech, we evolved to speak in small groups with each other.” She explains the limit the speed of light sets on latency and how technology has taken advantage of that limit. “That range of latency in which we’re able to compress audio, put it in a packet, send it to the internet,” she adds, “decompress it, send it out to the headphones. It’s just short enough that we can talk. It’s kind of the perfect, you know, Goldilocks spot.”

Episode Summary

• Rebekah’s childhood musical experiences and the intersection of music, math, and science.
• Her experiences navigating Australia’s male-dominated tech industry.
• How a perfect alignment of physics and neuroflexibility allows global communications.

Tune in for next week’s episode as we talk more about how latency impacts music production and reshape the creative process, her work with the Red Cross in Greece and Sweden, the evolution of online collaboration and remote music sessions, and Rebekah’s thoughts on overcoming the ultimate latency challenge: hosting conversations and collaborations across the solar system.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“Listen, I got unbelievably lucky with YouTube, and I don’t know why. I still really, I mean, I know why in theory, like, people have been like, well, ‘You provide XYZ,’ but I don’t know why I get to do this. Like, I know that I have certain qualities that lend themselves to my strengths, that lend themselves to this medium, but it’s completely and utterly luck. Putting out good videos, having a high-quality camera, a high-quality microphone, having a, you know, finding out what your skill set is that you can use. So, the thing is, I remember five years ago when I wasn’t even, or well, let’s say six years ago, I’d be like, they would be talking about a streamer that had a shtick. And I guess I accidentally fell back into my shtick, which was the opera singer, right?” – Marco Cammarota

This episode is the second half of my conversation with voice actor and YouTube sensation Marco Cammarota as we discuss how the YouTube and Twitch algorithms can make or break a channel’s audience size, Marco’s voiceover work in such games as Metal Slug and Genshin Impact, and how a creative approach to sound, including silence, can have a dramatic impact on listeners.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) - Navigating a Career in Content Creation

My conversation with Marco picks up with his frank advice to people looking to follow his winding career path. “I remember when people would be like, how do you get into voiceover? And I’d always be like ‘Don’t, don’t!’ How do you get into opera? ‘Don’t!’” We discuss how much of a role luck and the YouTube algorithm played in his success, and he does offer some tips to anyone looking to start their own channel. The topic turns to AI in sound, its growing prevalence in social media, and whether it can replace human video game compositions. “There was an instance where I was listening to some YouTube music on a playlist,” he recalls. “And I was like man, this, like this guy goes off. And then I looked, and it was actually AI, and I was like, oh. And so then the question became do I still listen to this or do I not care, or do I, like, turn it off? And I eventually decided to turn it off.”

(0:15:25) - Exploring Video Game Music Community

Marco tells us more about the community he’s built online with MarcoMeatball and his hopes for his fellow gamers and listeners. “The goal is to have it be a hub of video game music where,” he says, “if someone maybe doesn’t know something or likes something or doesn’t like something, they can come and hear a person who is just like them with a little bit of extra experience, or equal experience, or the person could actually have more experience than me and also offer their insight.” We also discuss how the channel led to a newfound appreciation for video game soundtracks as art, even compared to his childhood love of games. “I’ve learned about so many more pieces of music,” he adds, “like I had a deep, fundamental love for music and games, but I didn’t realize how deep the trench would go for me and how many games that I would be exposed to that I would fall in love with as well.”

(0:21:25) - The Importance of Sound in Life

As our conversation comes to a close, Marco notes some of the most innovative uses of sound in video games that he’s heard, including no sound at all during a particularly ominous moment of the Monster Hunter series. “What I find amazing about that,” he recounts, “is that kind of people meme on it, and they kind of joke, but actually the sound of silence is way more terrifying than the actual soundtrack.” We discuss the importance of sound and how he’s learned to keep an open mind about the beauty of sound in unexpected places, and Marco tells listeners how they can get in touch. “The beautiful way that a horn and the strings meld together and become this like beautiful sunrise of music,” he says about sound, “hearing breath, like, you know, hearing the dog bark down the street, the wind rustling in the wheat, and the leaves, like these – these are the soundtracks of our lives.”

Episode Summary

• The importance of content consistency and the influence of AI in gaming and voiceover
• Marco’s hopes for his online community and what he’s learned from his listeners
• The power of sound and silence, and how Marco got the nickname “Marco Meatball”

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“In February of ’21 I just randomly started. I just filmed a video, and I was like, ‘Okay, whatever.’ Well, it was February 11th, and then February 15th we were on our way to pick up my dog, my puppy at the time – she was you know, nine weeks old – and I started getting notifications on my phone and I was like, ‘Oh, weird, I must have left some somebody, like, a comment on YouTube or something.’ And all of a sudden, I look and I’m like, ‘Whoa, my video is popping off.’ I was like, ‘What do I do with this?’ And so I just, like, doubled down.” – Marco Cammarota

This week’s guest is a professional opera singer turned voice actor turned YouTuber. He grew up loving video games and video-game music after first discovering them when he was seven years old, and since then he’s lived and breathed all things video games. He has a YouTube channel all about video game music – the beauty of modern composition, how it allows us to connect deeper to the games we love, and how we can better learn to understand ourselves through it and the experiences it provides.

His name is Marco Cammarota – sometimes known as “Marco Meatball” – and I’ve been looking forward to hearing about his musical influences and his love of sound, particularly when it comes to video games, for a while now. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) - From Opera to YouTube

We start things off with Marco’s early memories of sound, particularly the songs his Italian grandmother used to play when he was a child. “Even the sound of the accordion triggers like a deep sense of nostalgia for me,” he recalls. “When it comes to music like that, that soundscape is really, really poignant to me.” He tells us more about how his childhood led him to opera, voice work, and even YouTube. “The desire to communicate and express,” Marco explains, “was the thing that awakened through this, like summer camp, and then I think that that’s what led me down the path of musical theater and eventually opera, and, then voiceover and now this current career.”

(0:16:30) - Video Game Music’s Healing Power

Marco discusses the impact of his father’s passing and the solace he found both in grief counseling and through video game music. “Grief counseling is something everyone should do if possible,” he shares, “just because grief is such a powerful and painful feeling. There are really no words to describe how bad it feels.” He talks about some of the game soundtracks that helped him process those emotions, from Outer Wilds to Disco Elysium, and one particularly timeless classic. “Final Fantasy is really based around classical and prog rock,” he explains, “and sometimes integrating the two in one setting. It’s an incredible thing that most of my childhood was based around Final Fantasy’s sound, and I think, like, largely that’s why I also gravitated towards being sensitive to sound and music.”

(0:24:21) - The Impact of Video Game Music

As we wrap up the first half of our conversation, we talk about what sets video game music apart from traditional film soundtracks, and how he approaches the topic on his YouTube channel. “The question to me, that’s the most important part,” he says, “is what is active listening? Okay, and how do we listen with intention? And, furthermore, how do we decipher what a composer wants us to feel?” He tells us more about the unique role music plays in such an immersive storytelling genre as video games, and how he’s helping bridge gaming and music for fans of both. “My regulars that come to the channel,” Marco says, “I think, really understand what I’m trying to do, and I think really appreciate it and it’s been incredible. I mean, like, people tell me they’ve gone to music school because of me.”

Episode Summary

• Marco Cammarota’s journey from professional opera singer to popular YouTuber
• The distinctive fusion of genres, melody, and ambiance that sets video game music apart
• How video games helped pioneer audio branding, from title tracks to leitmotifs

Tune in for next week’s episode as Marco shares his surprising advice for anyone looking to get into voiceover and content creation, his experience with AI in video game music and where it might lead, and how his listeners have helped him learn to keep an open mind about music.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

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https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

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Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“I think people forget that. I think they forget that there’s a person behind the music and that they need to share that with their audience now more than ever, because if people hear your song and they like your song, they’re gonna go down a rabbit hole. And if they can go down that hole and come across you being genuine, being authentic, actually showing vulnerability, they’re gonna fall in love with you. They like the music, and they like you. That is the definition of a superfan.” – Andy Gesner

This is the second half of my interview with owner and president of HIP Video Promo, Andy Gesner, as we talk about balancing AI content with human connection, his advice on setting yourself apart when it comes to social media, and the critical role that superfans play in building an audience.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:01) - Creating Visual Content for Music Promotion

“For the first four or five years, music videos really were reserved for those who were either well-moneyed or had backing,” Andy says as we start the second half of our conversation. “All of a sudden, there was this platform called YouTube, and of course, we jumped right on it.” He tells us more about that transition between the MTV era and today’s streaming content, and his advice to clients about the limits of AI content creation. “I have always told clients, ‘Yes, no issues with an AI video, but sport, don’t follow up your AI video with another AI video,’” he explains. “The best way to get to the next level and get to those thousand superfans… You have to make a human connection.”

(0:10:46) - Music Promotion Strategies and Philosophy

He tells us about his work helping musicians cross the bridge to social media promotion and engaging with their fans, and how much work it can be for creatives who aren’t naturally outgoing. “They don’t appreciate sometimes that they are public figures,” he tells us, “and that they need to be doing the things their less talented, much more lazy competition are not going to do.” Andy warns us, however, against losing sight of what’s important in the rush for more engagement. “Everybody’s concerned about the follower count,” he says. “And they’re upset that the YouTube view count is low and they want to know how to get the streams up, and they’re concerned about how many subscribers they have... I’m finding they are forgetting about the song. You’ve got to be focused on your song.”

(0:26:37) - Promoting Artistic Encouragement and Support

As our conversation comes to a close, Andy tells us about some of his latest projects, including one particularly unlikely new pop star. “We’re working on an unusual project,” he explains. “Her name is Gwen, and she’s dead. In fact, Gwen isn’t even real. She is the star of a new streaming television program.” He tells us how listeners can get in touch, whether it’s Instagram, YouTube, or even a plain old phone call. “If you love your job,” Andy says, “you never work a day in your life. I don’t play golf. I have no interest in joining a bowling league. I really like helping other people.”

Episode Summary

• The evolution of music videos, from Hollywood sound stages to home studios.
• Andy’s strategy for maintaining a consistent media presence and his advice on AI content.
• The importance of sound and how easily it’s overlooked in today’s video-first world.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“I said, ‘Well, uh, my team and I would love to see the video,’ and the woman at Lost Highway said, ‘All right, let me pop a VHS in FedEx, it’ll be there tomorrow morning.’ So, we watched the Johnny Cash Hurt music video and once we’d wiped a tear out of our eyes, I got on the phone. I said, ‘Retta, put us in, coach. We want to play.’ And the rest is history. It was and remains still the most iconic music video of an artist doing a cover to date.” – Andy Gesner

This episode’s guest is the owner and president of HIP, one of the most trusted names in music marketing. He’s been releasing records since 1979, giving him firsthand insight into the complexities of the music industry, and he’s channeled his expertise and passion for music into uplifting fellow artists over the past twenty-four years. He and his team have promoted over 4,800 music videos, championing some of the most renowned artists and best indie talent from all corners of the globe.

His name is Andy Gesner, and if you’re a musician, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss. I know how hard it can be these days to make a living from your art, and it can be even harder if you don’t pay attention to marketing. If you’re creative, you have to wear a lot of hats, and if you’re looking for tips, Andy has some great ones to share in this two-part discussion.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) - From Sound to Promotion

Our conversation starts off with Andy’s very first memory of sound, which just happens to be the Beatles’ historic performance on The Ed Sullivan Show. “Well, my sister starts screaming like a banshee and she starts twirling around like a whirling dervish,” he recalls. “And I look over at my brother, and his jaw hits the floor. And I look at this little black and white TV and there are these four guys with what at the time was considerably long hair.” He tells us about how his career shifted from performance to promotion, and what his work on Johnny Cash’s classic “Hurt” video taught him about taking creative risks. “It was like, ‘We can’t play a Johnny Cash video on MTV, no way,’" he remembers producers saying at the time. “People thought Johnny’s version of Hurt was a bit too out there. But you and I both know, as a marketing person, you present, and the public decides.”

(0:19:46) - The Importance of Music Videos

Our discussion turns to how the digital era has reshaped music promotion and how the music videos of the ‘80s paved the way for today’s influencer culture. “Now more than ever,” he explains, “artists, independent creatives, are public figures, and you can’t just sit on the couch and say, ‘Hey, I’m not going to do any of that public figure stuff, I just want the world to love me for my music.’ Those days are over.” We talk about the bands that, starting around the turn of the 21st century, have had to rely on video and online marketing instead of radio airplay, and he shares a memorable example. “I remember in 2007,” Andy says, “sending out the first Sia music video. Certainly, the folks at the label had high hopes for her, but what better example from Small Acorns, big oak trees can grow.”

Episode Summary

• Andy’s early memories of the Beatles, hi-fi systems, and the arrival of music videos.
• How music marketing’s evolved from radio and video to websites and streaming content.

Tune in for next week’s episode as Andy and I discuss how music videos have evolved in the era of streaming content creators, his thoughts on successfully incorporating AI content into video marketing, and his advice on attracting and keeping the “superfans” who help your music grow.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“But if you think about it, like if all 360,000 of these, like, law firms, not lawyers, law firms had their own brand out there, who’s gonna rise to the top? The ones who are producing content that provides value, and then the ones who are producing content that has some good production value, and are the ones who are producing content that has some good entertainment value. ‘Cause I think that’s the third leg. Because right now, just producing content is enough, but there’s going to come a point where people have to be entertaining as well, where it’s not going to be consumed.” – Dennis Meador

This episode is the second half of my conversation with founder and CEO of The Legal Podcasting Network Dennis Meador, as we discuss Dennis’s start in podcasting, his tips for putting together a helpful and accessible video for clients, and how AI is blurring the video/audio divide.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) - Podcast Marketing and Communication Strategy

The second half of our conversation starts as Dennis shares his approach to winning older clients over to social-media marketing, and the challenge our online-first world can pose. “They’ll say, ‘Yeah, if I can get them in front of me, I’ll convert them 80% of the time,’" he recounts. “The problem is that 80% of the time, they check out your website and never do anything further.” He talks about short-form content and informational videos, and how they can help brands get a foot in the door when it comes to making an impression on clients. “When people search these very specific questions, now,” he explains, “all of a sudden, this attorney, especially with video and YouTube being owned by Google, their videos start to pop up, their podcast starts to pop up, their FAQ page starts to pop up.”

(0:14:19) - Future of Podcasting and Branding

Dennis and I talk about how remote networking and online spaces have changed the way we make a first impression, and his approach to keeping brands engaged with their clients. “We send a lot of videos in my company,” he explains, “I’ll have somebody say to me, like, ‘Oh, this client’s ghosted us, blah, blah, blah, blah. They’re not returning calls.’ I’m like, did you send [a video]? They probably forgot you’re a real person.” He shares his thoughts about Gen Z, and now Gen Alpha, and how their lifelong experience with social media will impact the future of branding. “Fifteen years ago or ten years ago,” he recalls, “the number one thing kids wanted to be when they grew up was doctors and lawyers. Do you know what the number one thing is now for kids junior-high and below? Influencers.”

(0:17:34) - AI and Creativity in Marketing

Our conversation concludes with a firsthand account of how AI is helping Dennis reinvent and expand his approach to podcast development. “I’m hoping that when we produce this [next] podcast,” he says, “we actually produce it as a cartoon, that when we produce this podcast, we actually produce it as a cartoon, and we’re going to basically be able to feed the podcast in.” He shares his thoughts about how AI can boost human creativity, and what being a creative might come to mean as AI handles more of the nuts and bolts. “What does a music producer do?” he asks. “They direct what happens, as opposed to getting into the studio and playing the instruments, and it’s, again, the same thing.”

Episode Summary

• Dennis’s approach to creating and marketing podcasts through social media.
• How small law firms can use content creation to rise above the billboard-ad crowd.
• Dennis’s vision of AI as a tool to amplify human efficiency and imagination.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/

“I don’t care what I have to do, they are not going to ignore me. So I would get up, I would walk around the room, I would stand on a chair in the middle of the room, I would shout, I would run, I would scream, I would kick things. If I was mad at the Devil, I would kick something. And if I was happy for Jesus, I would run around, woo hoo hoo! And I mean, people would just come out and be like, ‘Wow, I’ve never really seen anybody speak like you.’ And I’m just like, listen, if you’re not listening, I’m not speaking. So, I think Paul said something like, I’ll be a fool for Christ. His context was all of the troubles and trials and tribulations he’d gone through in life. But the context of the statement was, in order to reach people with this message, I’ll do whatever I have to do.” – Dennis Meador

My guest on this episode is the founder and CEO of The Legal Podcast Network, a turnkey podcasting, marketing, and content solution for the legal industry. With nearly thirty years in marketing, over twenty of those focused on white-collar industries, especially the legal sector, he brings extensive expertise in branding, podcasting, and beyond. His name is Dennis Meador, and in this two-part conversation, he’ll be sharing his take on branded podcasts and how they improve client engagement, and where he thinks podcasting for specific industries will head in the future.

As always, if you have questions for my guest, you’re welcome to reach out through the links in the show notes. If you have questions for me, visit audiobrandingpodcast.com, where you’ll find a lot of ways to get in touch. Plus, subscribing to the newsletter will let you know when the new podcasts are available, along with other interesting bits of audio-related news. And if you’re getting some value from listening, the best ways to show your support are to share this podcast with a friend and leave an honest review. Both those things really help, and I’d love to feature your review on future podcasts. You can leave one either in written or in voice format from the podcast’s main page. I would so appreciate that.

(0:00:00) - Early Memories of Sound and Communication

We start things off with Dennis’s early memories of sound, including a gospel music tape he heard when he was just five years old. “It got to the point,” he recalls, “where, within a short amount of time, I had every song memorized off of that tape, both sides, every song front to back.” He shares his experiences with public speaking and what he’s learned about engagement and connecting with an audience. “I’ve spoken to two, three thousand a few times, something like that,” he explains, “and you just feel like you’re almost shouting into an abyss. Versus like that 300 to 500, you can almost feel the energy and see whether or not people are plugged in all across the whole room.”

(0:12:54) - Success in Sales and Podcasting

Dennis tells us about how he got into advertising and his insights into the industry. “You’re helping these businesses,” he tells us. “If you’re not ripping them off and you’re really producing the product, and it’s a good thing, then you’re helping these companies.” We talk about how social media has transformed the marketing landscape and the difference between having a large audience and an engaged audience. “If you have 50,000 downloads or views of a show,” he notes, “but they’re all over the world and no one calls you, it’s not nearly as valuable as having fifty people locally, ten of them calling you, and six hiring you. Fifty could be infinitely more valuable than fifty thousand.”

(0:23:34) - Marketing Strategies Through Video Content

The first half of our conversation closes with a look at the role of video in podcasting and how Dennis leverages it in the podcasts he produces. “Video is probably our most crucial part of this, honestly,” he explains, “because we can make reels, we can make stuff out of it and repurpose it.” He tells us more about that process and how he uses it to expand each client’s network. “We use the marketing from the video,” he says, “and so that just creates a lot of opportunities for us to market our clients into their database of people and into our ever-expanding database of people that are following us.”

Episode Summary

• Dennis’s passion for music and his formative experiences as a young pastor.
• How he segued into advertising, sales, and podcast marketing for lawyers.
• The crucial role video and audio elements play in expanding brand outreach.

 Tune in for next week’s episode as Dennis and I discuss the early days of the Legal Podcast Network, his strategies for bringing old-fashioned attorneys into the streaming era, and how both AI and the media savvy of Gen Z and Alpha are reshaping the future of digital marketing.

Connect with the Audio Branding Podcast:

Book your project with Voice Overs and Vocals by visiting https://voiceoversandvocals.com

Connect with me on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jodikrangle/

Watch the Audio Branding Podcast on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/JodiKrangleVO

Connect with me on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodikrangle/

Leave the Audio Branding Podcast a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/audiobranding (Thank you!)

Share your passion effectively with these Tips for Sounding Your Best as a Podcast Guest!

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/tips-for-sounding-your-best-as-a-podcast-guest/

Get my Top Five Tips for Implementing an Intentional Audio Strategy

https://voiceoversandvocals.com/audio-branding-strategy/

Editing/Production by Humberto Franco - https://humbertofranco.com/