Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

My guest this week is engineer Jason LaRocca, who has recorded and mixed music for major motion pictures, games and television. Jason not only engineers the scores, but often produces them as well, along with creating sound design and instrumentation.Jason has worked on films like Marvel's "Morbius,"“Paddington,” “Aquaman,” “The Harder They Fall,” “Coming to America 2”, “Godzilla: King of Monsters,” and the 2018 Oscar-winning documentary “Icarus,” among many others. He’s also mixed the music for the hit video games “Fortnite,” “Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War,” “Assasin’s Creed Valhalla,” “CyberPunk 2077,” and Sony Playstation’s highly anticipated upcoming “God of War: Ragnarök.” among others.His TV credits include ABC’s long-running hit fantasy series, “Once Upon A Time,” “Godfather of Harlem,” “American Crime Story,” “Handmade’s Tale,” the award-winning mini-series “Little Fires Everywhere,” FOX’ #1 drama “The Cleaning Lady,” and the Amazon epic series “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.”In the music realm, Jason has recorded and mixed for such top recording artists as Jay-Z, CeeLo Green, Fiona Apple, Schoolboy Q and Serj Tankian of System of a Down.During the interview we spoke about making the transition from musician to engineer, the differences between engineering music and post production, the complexity of mixing Lord of the Rings, the many plugins in his mixing template, and much more.I spoke with Jason from his studio via zoom from his studio in Los Angeles, CA.On the intro I’ll take a look at YouTube’s secret weapon, and the best-selling pedals ever. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83895287, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

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LinkedIn
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Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

Photo: Mike KrsticMy guest this week is Cassie Petrey who’s been behind the social media marketing for some of the music’s most iconic artists including Backstreet Boys, Camila Cabello and Britney Spears. Cassie is the co-founder of Crowd Surf, a leading marketing and music management firm. She started at age 12 creating a newsletter for the Backstreet Boys that reached fans worldwide — then years later she helped re-introduce the band to new generation of fans. At age 17 as a college rep for Warner Music Group, Cassie was among the first in the music industry to recognize the vast marketing potential of nascent mid-2000s platforms Myspace and Facebook. Today, her company Crowd Surf has worked with tech giants Apple and Google, and labels such as Universal, Disney, Sony, Warner and more. Cassie is a Forbes 30 Under 30 and Billboard 30 Under 30 recipient, and she is a leading social media and artist management Hollywood powerhouse.During the interview we spoke about convincing a major label about the value of social media, motivating artists to post, how artists may compromise their brand on TikTok, getting artists to establish their brand, and much more.I spoke with Cassie via zoom from her office in Los Angeles, CA.On the intro I’ll take a look at the new radio artist royalty bills before Congress, and Google’s new Project Caviar. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83855212, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

My guest this week is Grammy-award nominated engineer/producer Justin Cortelyou. Justin started his career working with Chuck Ainlay at Soundstage Studios in Nashville before moving to Los Angeles to work with mix-master Mike Shipley. He eventually teamed up with artist/producer Tommy Henriksen, and in 2008 they moved their operation back to Nashville and began working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin. Through the years Justin has worked with a wide variety of artists including Paul McCartney, Alice Cooper, Ke$ha, Taylor Swift, Phish, Vince Gill, Andrea Bocelli, U2, Randy Travis, KISS, Will I Am, Lady Gaga, and many others.During the interview we spoke about personal studio dynamics, working with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, his hybrid mixing technique, the importance of a sonic signature, and much more.I spoke with Justin via zoom from his studio in Nashville.On the intro I’ll take a look at what the layoffs at Soundcloud might mean, and some unusual effects pedal packages. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83818057, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

My guest this week is Ryan Dusick, who was Maroon 5’s original drummer until he retired because of chronic nerve damage. After departing the band, Ryan struggled with anxiety and addiction for a decade before making a commitment to recovery.Founding the group Kara’s Flowers in 1994 with fellow Brentwood High School students Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, and Mickey Madden, Ryan and his bandmates worked tirelessly for a decade before the group changed its name to Maroon 5 and finally had its first hit album Songs About Jane. Multiple hit songs, two Grammy Awards, and 20 million albums sold later, Ryan found himself suffering and without direction when his career as a performer came to an end just as it was taking off.After years of struggling with physical and mental health challenges, Ryan finally overcame in 2016, when he began his journey of recovery, culminating in a new life path. Ryan now works as a mental health professional at the Missing Peace Center for Anxiety where he now helps others with their personal struggles, and has released a new book outlining his amazing life story.During the interview we spoke about the early days of Maroon 5, dealing with anxiety and a chronic injury, advice from U2, and much more.I spoke with RYAN via zoom from his personal studio in Los Angeles, CA.On the intro I’ll take a look at the parts of a song that are protectable, and the 9 constants of vocal recording. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83777338, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

My guest this week is professional song doctor Molly Leikin, who’s coaching has helped 12 clients become Grammy winners and another 19 become Grammy nominees.Molly has been as a staff writer at Almo Music, Interworld Music and Chappell Music, and she’s written songs for and with everyone from Katy Perry to Placido Domingo to, Cher, Tina Turner, Anne Murray, Billy Preston and many others. An Emmy nominee, she’s written themes and songs for dozens of TV shows and movies, including Violet, which won an Oscar.She’s also the author of the books How to Write A Hit Song and How To Be A Hit Songwriter, and producer of the bestselling Master Class in Songwriting, which is a collection of the Master Classes she taught at UCLA. Her latest book is Insider Secrets To Hit Songwriting In The Digital Age.During the interview we spoke about being a staff writer for a publisher, the most common song problems, writing for the current marketplace, the process of creative songwriting, and much more.I spoke with Molly via zoom from her office in Santa Barbara, CA.On the intro I’ll take a look at 2 song identifier codes every artist should know, and the bassline so powerful it crashed computers. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83738631, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

My guest this week is Kevin Kelly, who’s a producer, mixer and long-time audio educator with a host of major label, film score and jingle credits. These include projects by Blondie, Edgar Winter and Rick Wakeman, among many others that he worked on from his well-known studio called The Workshoppe.For 14 years, Kevin was the producer/engineer for the WLIR-FM live concert series that featured Hall & Oates, Billy Joel, The Police, Charlie Daniels Band, Peter Tosh, Ziggy Marley, Pure Prairie League and many more, and also served as co-producer and chief engineer for a series of short-form radio shows for Sixty Second LP.Kevin also taught studio recording technology for 22 years at Nassau Community College, and continues to teach one adjunct course per semester there. During the interview we spoke about the importance of networking, the new generation of plugins, how mutlitasking has changed attention spans, analog summing during mixing, and much more.I spoke with Kevin via zoom from his studio in Huntington, NY.On the intro I’ll take a look at how being a Grammy nominee might be detrimental to your career, and a new kind of greener vinyl is on the horizon. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83705633, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

My guest this week is Jason Kramer, who’s been working in radio in Los Angeles since 1992 and has hosted an influential weekly radio show on KCRW for the past 24 years. Jason has also worked at Fox Sports TV as their full-time music supervisor for 6 years, which then led him to work as a show producer on Fox Sports Radio. He has also worked in various other aspects of music including management, publishing, creative consulting, music photography and continues to work presently as a commercial concept music supervisor for the prestigious music company, Elias Arts.During the interview we spoke about the work of a music supervisor, how music supervision has changed over the years, dealing with temp tracks, what a sports radio producer does, the future of radio, and much more.I spoke with Jason via zoom from his office in Los Angeles.On the intro I’ll take a look at some interesting Shazam numbers, and 10 microphones that haven’t changed in a really long time. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83675376, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

Credit: Gaston McGaryMy guest this week is Talya Elitzer, who along with her partner Nick Sylvester leads godmode, a company that offers label, management, publishing and creative direction services.godmode has an unorthodox approach to artist management in that they specialize in managing artists that don’t quite fit pre-existing formats.During the pandemic godmode was able to successfully stabilize their artists’ careers and help them achieve growth on streaming services andTikTok. They were even able to secure Four Apple TV ad spots in the last 12 months.Before godmode Talya began her career at the giant WME looking after tours for Britney Spears, and M.I.A. She then left for a stint in A&R at Capitol Records, taking on projects for artists like Katy Perry, Beck, and Sky Ferreira.During the interview we spoke about what it’s like to start in the mail room at William Morris, working with unique artists, the importance of the artist being involved with marketing themselves, her view on Web3, and much more.I spoke with Talya via zoom from her office in the Los Angeles.On the intro I’ll take a look at why playlists might not be as important as you think, and the reason why proper metadata is essential for your songs. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83648412, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

My guest this week is Katie Zaccardi, who pivoted from being a wellness coach to a music career coach.Since then she’s helped hundreds of musicians grow their careers, release music, launch Patreons, start coaching businesses, and double their incomes. She has a number of online courses and coaching programs, and is the host of her Out To Be podcast.During the interview we talked about building an audience if you don’t have one, where to find your ideal fan, how to monetize your audience, some tips about putting your music on TikTok, and much more.I spoke with Katie via zoom from her office in the Nashville.On the intro I’ll take a look at why playlists might not be as important as you think, and the reason why proper metadata is essential for your songs. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 83600438, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: true };

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books

🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Instagram
Bluesky

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek: https://itl.ink/APodcastGeek

My guest this week is legendary acoustic designer Sam Berkow, who has designed and improved the acoustics for everything from concert halls, to recording studios, to amphitheaters, to worship spaces. 

Sam is a founding member of SIA Acoustics and has been the acoustical designer of a wide variety of projects such as concert venues like Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Pearl at the Palms, the renovation of the Hollywood Bowl, the Grand Ole Opry and The Jazz Standard nightclub,  as well as studios for Airshow Mastering, the Polar Express remote truck, and the Dennis Riese Family Recording Studio at the Clive Davis School at NYU, and many more.

He is also a recent Parnelli Award winner (the most prestigious award in live events), and the creator of the SIA-SMAART measurement software, which is the industry standard tool for providing acoustical measurement and sound system optimization capabilities.

During the interview we talked about how the SMAART software came about, his brutal first business plan, what makes him different from other acoustic consultants, the major problems that most home studios have, and much more.

I spoke with Sam via zoom from his office in the New York.

On the intro I’ll take a look at why the UK government says that streaming services pay reasonable royalties, and a new vinyl manufacturing association.