




Over the almost 500 episodes of the Inner Circle podcast I’ve had some excellent guests that are true legends in the music business. One is the late Al Schmitt, who unfortunately left us in 2021. 



Al won 20 Grammy awards over his long career, recorded and mixed over 150 gold and platinum albums, and even had his own star on Hollywood’s Walk Of Fame appropriately in front of his beloved studio home, Capitol Records Studios.



In this replay from November 2018, we talked about his stint as a staff producer for RCA, working with Paul McCartney, his favorite instrument to record, some of his favorite gear and techniques, and much more.



I originally spoke with all via phone from his home outside of Los Angeles.




    
    
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Best Of The Inner Circle Replay Featuring The Legend Al Schmitt

Interviews with music industry movers and shakers, , tips, and news

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Music Interviews

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My guest this week is Russ Hughes, who’s the founder of Production Expert, a group of blogs for music and post-production professionals. Over the last decade, Production Expert, Pro Tools Expert, Studio One Expert and Logic Pro Expert have become some of the leading industry websites with over 7 million visitors annually.







Starting his career on the leading edge of music technology as a synthesizer programmer in the 1980s, Russ soon gravitated to Soho where he worked in commercial post, something that he still does. Eventually he became an expert in Pro Tools, which led him to create his popular blogs.



On top of that, Russ is also the Managing Director of Sociatech, a global marketing agency for the audio technology sector, working with some of its biggest brands. 



During our interview we spoke about the unusual way that Pro Tools Expert started, the pros and cons of using AI, moving from London to Ireland, the two character traits you need for staying in business, the gear changing moments in his life, and so much more.



I spoke with Russ via zoom from his studio in Ireland. 



On the intro I looked at song catalogue purchases, and how noice canceling headphones could trigger anxiety attacks.




    
    
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Episode 518 – Production Expert’s Russ Hughes, Song Catalog Purchases, And Headphone Anxiety






My guest this week is Lisa Machac, who’s a music consultant with Little City Sounds and Director of the Omni Sound Project, which is an inclusive community for women and marginalized genders in audio engineering. 



Lisa’s writing has been featured in Tape Op magazine as well as a popular Substack newsletter. She’s also the creator and host of the Reference Tracks podcast, which features producers and engineers discussing the songs that shaped their careers.



Lisa coaches independent musicians who are looking to grow their audiences and promote their music. She adds 20 years of community building and marketing experience to a natural enthusiasm for mentoring others.



During our interview Lisa and I spoke about how the Omni Sound Project began, how there are more women audio engineers than generally realized, the vibrancy of the Austin music scene, artists not knowing what to do with their projects, and so much more.



I spoke with Lisa via zoom from her studio in Austin. 



On the intro I looked at how songwriters will be making less even though Spotify’s prices are going up, and we may be at the end of the guitar amplifier era.








    
    
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Episode 517 – Music Consultant Lisa Machac, Spotify Decreases Songwriter Royalty, And The End Of Guitar Amps






My guest this week is Stephen Schultz, who besides being an expert flautist specializing in Baroque flute, is an Associate Teaching Professor in Music History and Flute at Carnegie Mellon University and director of the Carnegie Mellon Baroque Orchestra.



Stephen is also an advocate for hearing protection for all musicians as he’s learned to overcome his personal difficulties with hearing loss.



Many people falsely identify hearing loss with rock musicians, but the fact is that 52% of classical musicians have some degree of permanent hearing damage, as opposed to only 30% of rock musicians.



The latest generation of hearing aids are so sophisticated that musicians can now wear them without any impediments to their playing, and so many high profile musicians are now doing so that the stigma of wearing hearing aids has now greatly diminished.



During our interview Stephen and I spoke about discovering he had a hearing problem, finding the right hearing aids for music, why more orchestral members suffer from hearing loss than even rock musicians, advice on looking for the right pair, and so much more.



I spoke with Stephen via zoom from his home in Pittsburg. 



On the intro I looked at how Spotify may be introducing a new song speed feature soon, and whether we’ve reached Peak Music Gear as fewer new music and audio products are released. 








    
    
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Episode 516 – Stephen Schultz On Hearing Loss, Spotify Adjustable Song Speed, And Peak Music Gear






My guest this week is Josh Young, who’s the founder and CEO of Atrium Music, as well as an Emmy-nominated supervising television and film editor. His credits include shows like Lego Masters, Big Brother, World of Dance, The Masked Singer, and many more.



Atrium Music is a publishing and music library that licenses and places music in television, film, and commercial productions.The company allows “artists to be artists” while allowing the business structure of Atrium to handle their business needs. Over 550 artists and composers from over 30 countries have found a home with Atrium.



When not producing, editing, or music supervising television shows, Josh speaks at conferences and educational institutions across the United States, and is a board member of the California Copyright Conference.



During our interview we spoke about why communication skills are so important, the duties of a supervising television editor, the hectic pace of a hit TV show, learning a new workstation software package, what makes Atrium Music different from other libraries, and so much more.



I spoke with Josh from his studio outside of Los Angeles. 



On the intro I looked at how UMG’s TikTok ban isn’t hurting its market share, and how lyrics have change in the last 40 years.








    
    
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Episode 515 – Atrium Music CEO Josh Young, UMG’s TikTok Ban Not Hurting, And How Lyrics Have Changed






My guest this week is Shelly Palmer, who’s an award winning composer, inventor, author, educator and a leading voice in technology. He is also an expert in Ai and it’s integration into the workplace.  



Shelly began his career as a composer for television, working with hundreds of brands, agencies, broadcasters, publishers and tech platforms on advertising and marketing campaigns such as Meow Mix, Burger King and The City of Las Vegas. He was honored at ASCAP’s 13th Annual Film and Television Awards in the category of “Most Performed Television Themes.”



He holds a patent for the underlying technology for Enhanced Television that’s used by programs such as ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and ESPN’s Monday Night Football, which led him to pivot his career into technology.



He is currently a Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with technology, media and marketing. Shelly also covers tech and business for Fox 5 New York, and is a regular commentator for CNN and CNBC, and he offers a series of free technology courses via his Metacademy.



During our interview we spoke about growing up in a music store, how a used synthesizer got him into the jingle business, how one of his patents took him from music into the world of technology, why AI is a skills amplifier, and so much more.



By the way, I learned a lot about AI from Shelly's free Metacademy, which is something that you should check out.



I spoke with Shelly from his studio in New York City. 



On the intro I looked at how the RIAA’s recent revenue numbers might be misleading.








    
    
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Best Of The Inner Circle Replay Featuring The Legend Al Schmitt

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