The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

• How The World's Largest Songwriting Camp Works

  This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Danny Ross, a producer/songwriter, columnist at Forbes, professor at Berklee NYC, and the founder of the largest songwriting camp in the world, Anti Social Camp. Now in its 5th year, Anti Social Camp brings together over 250 songwriters, producers, and artists, including Cigarettes After Sex, Beach Bunny, Bryce Vine, Walk the Moon, Taja Kumari, Evan Giia, and Louis Cato, for 200 recording sessions across 40 studios in 5 days.If you are a songwriter or producer who’s ever wondered what goes down at songwriting camps or how to get involved, you’re going to learn all about that and more in this episode with Danny Ross.Get $100 your Anti Social Camp Badge by using the code: ARIANTISOCIALVIP at antisocialcamp.comChapters00:00 The Importance of Reputation in the Music Industry03:02 Understanding Songwriting Camps05:48 The Structure and Dynamics of Songwriting Sessions08:47 The Evolution of the Anti Social Camp12:01 Building Community in New York's Music Scene14:54 The Anti Social Camp Experience17:54 Diverse Genres and Collaboration20:54 The Future of Songwriting Camps31:11 Creative Collaborations in Music Production32:26 Success Stories from the Camp33:44 Understanding Major vs. Indie vs. Self-Releasing Artists38:33 The Financial Landscape of Music Production44:53 Navigating Splits and Royalties in Music47:01 The Ethics of Publishing in the Music Industry52:39 Teaching the Next Generation of Music Creators56:40 The Importance of Community in Music Creation59:01 Defining Success in the New Music BusinessEdited and mixed by Ari DavidsMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• How Bandcamp is Thinking About Superfans

  This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Dan Melnick, the General Manager of Bandcamp. One of the earliest direct-to-fan platforms, Bandcamp empowers listeners to support artists they love directly. They have enabled fans to pay over 1.49 billion dollars and 193 million dollars directly to artists last year. Over 75k records get sold on this superfan platform every day and over half a million fans buy at least one thing on Bandcamp each month. In this episode, Dan explains to Ari how and why Bandcamp is still growing after 17 years. He shares where the company’s headed, and why its download model has continued to thrive, despite the fall of downloads on platforms like iTunes. Dan also highlights how artists can use Bandcamp to bolster their release strategies, and Ari shares some of his favorite, lesser-known features of the site. Take a listen to find out how Bandcamp’s direct-to-fan platform can help you connect with fans and monetize your fan relationships.https://bandcamp.com/ Chapters00:00 Building a Sustainable Music Career05:00 The Power of Bandcamp09:59 Understanding Bandcamp's Growth15:06 Direct-to-Fan Relationships19:53 Innovations in Bandcamp24:45 Community and Engagement on Bandcamp30:03 Best Practices for Artists on Bandcamp36:25 Merchandising Beyond Music: The Power of T-Shirts39:28 Navigating the Streaming Landscape: Bandcamp vs. Spotify48:25 Building a Sustainable Career: Strategies for Artists56:11 Understanding Bandcamp's Business Model: Fair Trade Music01:02:36 The Evolution of Curation: Bandcamp's Editorial Approach01:05:20 The Future of Bandcamp: Building Sustainable CareersEdited and mixed by Ari DavidsMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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• Don't Cut Your Drummer Into Publishing...

  In this solo episode of the New Music Business podcast, Ari untangles the complexities of royalties, registration, and publishing. After his social media video with the same message (“Don’t cut your drummer into publishing”) went viral for the wrong reasons, Ari wanted to come on the show and break down the nuances of this advice. Tune in to get clear on the differences between publishing royalties and master royalties, which royalties session musicians are legally due, the importance of one-stop agreements, and how to fairly (or, more so, generously) compensate your session musicians.Read the article on Ari’s Take: https://aristake.com/publishing-royalties/Chapters00:00 Understanding Music Publishing and Royalties02:55 The Role of Session Musicians in Music Creation05:55 Differentiating Between Master Royalties and Publishing09:09 The Importance of One-Stop Agreements11:59 Fair Compensation for Session Musicians15:12 Changing Industry Standards17:46 How Publishing Royalties Work Within Bands20:13 Why Session Musicians Are Not Considered Co-Writers22:20 Legally Entitled Radio Royalties for Session MusiciansEdited and mixed by Ari DavidsMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  26:37
• How Publishing Works and Songwriters Get Paid

  This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Jacob Paul, the VP of Platform Growth & Brand Strategy at Kobalt and KOSIGN. Jacob has been one of the leaders behind Kobalt’s new admin publishing platform, KOSIGN, since its public launch in February 2025. Kobalt has been disrupting the traditional publishing model for years. Now their application-based platform, KOSIGN, is doing the same in the admin publishing space.In this episode, Jacob explains how Kobalt and KOSIGN approach publishing differently than traditional publishers and admin publishers. Along the way, he and Ari completely break down how music publishing works. They touch on: how songwriters get paid, the difference between “artists” and “songwriters,” the difference between publishers and admin publishers, and how creators can be sure they’re not leaving any money on the table. Jacob also shares why it’s advantageous to have a publisher or an admin publisher instead of just working with a PRO or MRO. If you have questions about music publishing (and let’s be real, who doesn’t?), this episode’s got you covered. https://www.kosignmusic.com/ Chapters00:00 Understanding Music Publishing and Royalties05:07 The Role of Kobalt in Music Publishing10:10 Distinguishing Between Artists and Songwriters14:51 The Importance of Publishing for Songwriters19:53 Kobalt's Innovative Approach to Publishing25:03 Exploring Traditional vs. Admin Publishing Deals29:56 The Launch of KOSIGN and Its Impact on Indie Songwriters35:43 The Rise of Independent Artists40:23 Understanding Publishing and Royalties45:35 Navigating the Complexities of Publishing Administration51:10 The Role of KOSIGN in Empowering Songwriters56:25 The Future of Music Publishing and Artist OwnershipEdited and mixed by Ari DavidsMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  1:07:51
• This Superfan Platform Gets Artists Paid 10x+ What They Make From Streaming

  This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Mag Rodriguez, the founder and CEO of the direct-to-fan platform EVEN. Throughout his career, Mag has helped artists generate over 1 billion streams—but now, he’s focused on building a parallel music economy where artists sell directly to fans before streaming. “Superfan” platforms like EVEN are redefining how artists monetize their work.Through EVEN, Mag has partnered with J. Cole, 6LACK, LaRussell, Lauren Jauregui, Fariana, Smino, Ryan Leslie, and thousands of other artists of all levels, empowering them to take ownership of their fan relationships and unlock new revenue streams. They’re essentially putting control and earnings back into the hands of artists.In this episode, Mag tells Ari about artists who don’t have many followers or monthly listeners, but are making significant revenue from their fans on EVEN. They discuss the previous eras of direct-to-fan platforms (like Bandcamp, Patreon, Kickstarter) and how EVEN’s music-centric model differs from these prior iterations. Superfan platforms are truly taking the industry by storm—Mag tells Ari that EVEN, alone, onboards about 8,000 artists each day. If you’re interested in exploring superfan platforms, this episode is a great place to start. Check out EVEN at: get.even.bizChapters00:00 The Challenge of Monetizing Music for Emerging Artists02:57 The Rise of Direct-to-Fan Platforms05:58 Understanding Even: A Direct-to-Fan Platform08:55 Windowing and the Shift in Music Distribution11:54 The Economics of Music Sales vs. Streaming15:12 Selling Access: The Community Aspect of Even18:00 Building Community: The Even Triangle21:04 Real Success Stories: Emerging Artists on Even24:00 Emotional Commerce: Connecting with Fans26:57 The Future of Music Monetization35:10 The $1,000 Album Phenomenon38:36 Sustainable Revenue Models for Artists40:16 Data-Driven Insights for Artists44:27 The Journey to Building Even51:12 Navigating Major Labels and Independent Artists54:23 Operational Framework for Artists and Labels01:00:07 Community Engagement and Fan Interaction01:04:24 Defining Success in the New Music BusinessEdited and mixed by Ari DavidsMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari’s TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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