




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.








    
    
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Episode 437 – Song Doctor Molly Leikin, Song Codes Everyone Should Know, And The Bass Line That Crashed Computers

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

Music

Music Interviews

Music Commentary






My guests this week are Matt Wallace and Will Kennedy, the Grammy-winning immersive mixing team that has done spatial mixes for Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, The B-52s, Kid Rock, Selena Gomez and many more.



Before entering into the spatial mixing world, Matt’s work as a producer includes hits for Maroon 5, Faith No More, The Replacements, 3 Doors Down and O.A.R., while Will’s credits includes One Republic, O.A.R, U2, Michael Franti and Spearhead and others.



Matt and Will set up their Dolby-certified mixing studio in the same complex as the legendary Sound City Studio in 2021 and haven’t looked back.



During our interview Will and Matt talked about why analog recording experience is so valuable, the track that changed their perception of immersive audio, transitioning their studio to spatial mixing only, why rock is the hardest to mix in spatial audio, tag-team mixing, and so much more.



I spoke with Matt and Will via zoom from their studio in Van Nuys, California. 




    
    
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Episode 520: Immersive Mixing Team Matt Wallace And Will Kennedy






My guest this week is Trevor McShane, the musical alter ego for high-power entertainment attorney Neville Johnson, who has won more than $350 million for actors, writers and musicians who were shortchanged their fair share of royalties from both major film studios and record labels.



Called “one of the most feared litigators in Hollywood” by the Los Angeles Times and named a “Legal Legend” by The Hollywood Reporter, Neville began his career working for Yoko Ono on matters related to The Beatles' catalog.



He’s gone on to represent many celebrities and/or their estates in a variety of contractual, accounting and intellectual property disputes, including John Lennon, Buddy Holly, Michelle Phillips, Richard Dreyfuss, Rick Nelson, Sylvester Stallone, members of Earth, Wind and Fire, Mitch Ryder, Lloyd Price and others.



Neville has also written a number of books, including two about the legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, that are available from his Cool Titles publishing company.



As Trevor McShane, Neville has released a number of well-regarded releases that have grown his Spotify followers to 100,000 and 150,000 on YouTube.



During our interview Neville and I spoke about keeping his music life as Trevor separate from his legal practice, what he learned from the legendary John Wooden, transitioning to being a litigator, AI copyright, and so much more.



I spoke with Neville via zoom from his office in Beverly Hills. 



On the intro I looked at UMG settling its dispute with TikTok, and how music gear retail is changing before our eyes.








    
    
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Episode 519 – Trevor McShane, UMG And TikTok Settle, And Music Gear Retail Changing


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 437 – Song Doctor Molly Leikin, Song Codes Everyone Should Know, And The Bass Line That Crashed Computers

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