Akash Thakkar interviews successful audio professionals from every corner of the music and sound industries. From educators, performers, pop stars, game audio professionals, voice actors, composers, sound designers, plug-in designers, audio programmers, and everything in between, we dive deep into the business and mindset skills it takes to ”make it” in the worlds of music and sound.
Episodes
Wednesday Dec 08, 2021
Wednesday Dec 08, 2021
#20: Omniboi's path toward a full-time music production and performing career isn't like what you see in so many other musicians. He doesn't have a musical family, didn't go to music school, and didn't start music lessons when he was 3 years old. In fact, he didn't even have a love of music when he was growing up, either.
Omniboi is a perfect example of how you don't need to be a childhood prodigy, or even focused on music early in your life to "make it" in this field.
In this episode, we talk about finding your own way into music, how practice doesn't have to be a torturous process, and so much more.
Find Omniboi at:
Twitter: @omniboi
Instagram: @omniboi
Spotify: Omniboi
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
Wednesday Dec 01, 2021
#19: Cory Shackelford is a music attorney who has been working exclusively in music law for over 10 years. He's represented everyone from video game composers to world-famous songwriters.
In this episode, we talk about music law, how Cory made the transition to working in game audio law specifically, when every audio designer should consider getting an attorney, and so much more.
Find Cory Shackelford at:
Twitter: @coryshack
Website: https://www.musicrightshub.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryshackelford
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Nov 24, 2021
Wednesday Nov 24, 2021
#18: Thomas Powers is a singer-songwriter, music producer, and frontman of the band The Naked and Famous.
In this episode, we talk about the rise of The Naked and Famous, Thomas' next steps in his musical career, how to actually think about self-promotion and social media, staying sane as a pro musician, and so much more.
Find Thomas Powers at:
Instagram: @thomaspowers
Twitter: @thomaspowers
Spotify: The Naked and Famous
Website: https://www.thomas-powers.com/
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
Wednesday Nov 17, 2021
#17: Luna Shadows is a producer, songwriter, and vocalist based out of Los Angeles. Luna has one of the best aesthetics I've seen when it comes to being an indie artist, and does an incredible job of keeping a sustainable music career while staying totally independent.
In this episode, we talk about not being talented and not coming from a musical family, the grind of becoming a better producer, and why she focuses so much on being an independent artist.
Find Luna Shadows at:
Instagram: @Lunaxshadows
Twitter: @Lunaxshadows
Spotify: Luna Shadows
Website: www.lunashadows.co
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Nov 10, 2021
Wednesday Nov 10, 2021
#16: Ryan Ike is a BAFTA-nominated video game composer and sound designer based out of Seattle WA. Ryan's worked on a ton of games, including Where the Water Tastes like Wine, Frog Fractions 2, Gunpoint, Wizard with a Gun, West of Loathing, Reigns: Game of Thrones, and many many others.
Ryan has a super diverse set of compositional styles, from writing beautiful Americana folk music all the way to banging electronic music, Ryan is able to do it all.
In this episode, we talk all about the struggles of breaking into an industry, getting good at a craft when you have no time, the persistence it takes to become known, working side jobs, creating a life with balance, and much much more.
Find Ryan Ike at:
Twitter: @RyanIkeComposer
Instagram: @RyanIkeAudio
Spotify: Ryan Ike
Website: https://www.ryanike.com/
Bandcamp: Ryan Ike
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Nov 03, 2021
Wednesday Nov 03, 2021
#15: Stelth Ulvang is a musician, vocalist, songwriter, and touring member of The Lumineers. Not only does he work with other bands, but also creates music alongside his wife, Dorota Szuta.
In this interview we talk about touring, playing shows with tens of thousands of people in the audience, playing alongside giant bands like U2, what it feels like to play a show with just a dozen people in the audience the night after a huge performance, and much more.
Find Stelth Ulvang at:
Instagram: @stelthulvang
Spotify: Stelth Ulvang
Website: http://www.stelthulvang.com/
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Oct 27, 2021
Wednesday Oct 27, 2021
#14: Alarke (aka Mary Alouette) is a pop-singer, songwriter, performer, artist coach, and entrepreneur who has worked in the worlds of opera, gypsy jazz, cuban music, and has coached award winning songwriters all over the world.
Alarke also runs SupremeSound.Life, a female-focused coaching and mentoring service that helps singers and songwriters create, release, and promote their music.
In this podcast, we talk about everything from career transitions, working in multiple genres of music, finding opportunities in the most unexpected of places, and much more.
Find Alarke at:
Instagram: @alarke_
Spotify: Alarke
Website: https://alarke.com/
SupremeSound.Life: https://supremesound.life/
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
Wednesday Oct 20, 2021
#13: Doug Rogers is the founder and CEO of EastWest, one of the largest virtual instrument companies in the world. Their plug-ins have given musicians of all sorts access to higher-quality, incredibly well-produced sounds at a moment's notice.
If you're a composer of any sort, odds are you've used or lusted after the products that EastWest makes, and if you've watched a movie, played a game, or listened to any music at all in the passed couple decades, you've absolutely heard EastWest's virtual instruments at work.
In this interview we talk about how EastWest came to be a dominant force in the music industry, their philosophy when it comes to making new products, how Doug and his team make sure what they do will succeed over the long term, and so much more.
Find EastWest at:
Website: http://www.soundsonline.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eastwestsounds/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/EWQLTutorials
Twitter: https://twitter.com/eastwestsounds
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
Wednesday Oct 13, 2021
#12: Jason Poss is a wildly prolific orchestrator, arranger, music transcriber, and music preparation expert who has worked on projects like Lord of the Rings, Coco, Frozen, Star Wars Visions, and SO many others.
In this podcast, we talk about everything from the countless alternate music paths there are out there, what it's like to work at the top of the Hollywood music scene, and the importance of being a well rounded human while pushing toward a career in music.
Find Jason Poss at:
IMDB: Jason Poss
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod
Wednesday Oct 06, 2021
Wednesday Oct 06, 2021
#11: Dot (aka Kate Ellwanger) is a producer, online educator, DJ, and entrepreneur who is also now touring the world opening for acts such as The Glitch Mob and Zedd. Dot has also worked with The Oprah Winfrey network, Nike, and has even made music for virtual reality installations for the Los Angeles Times.
Dot also runs Unspeakable Records, an artist-focused music production company that focuses and supports female and producers of marginalized genders.
In this podcast, we talk about everything from dealing with the myths of creativity - and how we must "grind" to get where we need to go, how to show up to get the opportunities we want, and transitioning from musical path to others.
Find Dot and Unspeakable Records at:
Instagram: @dotofficial
Spotify: Dot
Website: https://www.unspeakable-records.com/
And if you're interested in making music and sound for games, I have a newsletter and free courses that will get you started, and help you find paying work in games. Just go to http://www.bit.ly/soundbizpod