The Unstarving Musician

When I recorded my first song with the intent to publish it, I thought song rights began and ended with the U.S. Copyright Office. My next song had a co-writer, which brought new rights questions. Jason Colapietro, founder of Suede Labs AI, recommends drawing up agreements as if everything has already gone wrong. Suede Labs AI builds provenance tools for creators; Jason is also a guitarist, singer, and technologist. Jason's source packet is a per-song record of stems, versions, notes, texts, splits, and permissions that shows how a work came together. Songs get made in text threads, sessions, and DAW folders, and the record of who did what usually lives nowhere. Jason admits he's not naturally organized, which may be part of why his system feels doable. We talk about what goes in a source packet, when to start one, how to handle splits made informally, and where the evidence runs out. Source packet principles have always mattered, and AI is a new reason they matter even more. We're in an age of AI-generated music where label lawsuits are turning into partnerships and regulation is unclear at best. Jason explains how AI and licensing changes make documentation more important, and why sync is where organized records help most. Disclaimer: A source packet isn't legal proof of ownership, and nothing in this conversation is legal advice. Topics covered include what goes in a source packet, organizing past work, naming files, and adding metadata so stems make sense later, where to store a packet, and who gets a copy, what timestamps can and can't do, a takedown story that cost one artist part of his own track, why sync licensors care about organized records, when a packet isn't enough, and much more. I'll likely go deeper on these issues in an upcoming issue of Liner Notes, the email newsletter that goes deeper than any one podcast episode can. It's free, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Learn more at unstarvingmusician.com/linernotes. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube     

Noam Bargil is an established and skilled trumpet player based in Amsterdam. But when he booked his first corporate gig, his perspective changed dramatically. There's a ceiling on what a skilled player like Noam can earn. But he realized the path to building something bigger was to become a bandleader and then build a brand. Noam took it a step further with technology, creating a platform that his agency, musicians, and bands can use to sell, manage, and track their clients. Noam explains how he handles client pushback on price by adding value before reducing his fee, and how positioning can reduce friction caused by price objections. He also shares how he manages lead response time and gathers insights that tell him which leads need a response. He details his method for tracking proposals versus sending a PDF and hoping it generates interest. Noam also explains how he builds a subs roster so the band never depends on one player, and how he decides what to pay his musicians. Today Noam runs Benga Band, a party band for weddings and corporate events, plus other acts through his agency, Lupa Entertainment. He tracks runs with a self-developed app called Run The Band. But you don't need his agency or app to get value from our conversation. Noam's advice to call every lead costs you nothing but time. The rest is based on best practices and solid principles. Noam wrote a book called Wedding Band Mastery for anyone who wants to move from player to bandleader, for any type of band they run. Noam is also releasing new original music. Find Noam and learn more about his work at NoamBargil.com. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube     

This rewind episode features my conversation with Indian classical and crossover vocalist Roopa Mahadevan. We recorded it in February 2021, and it first dropped the following July. It's the most-downloaded episode of the Unstarving Musician podcast. Roopa's fan base probably helped, but it was also a great conversation. When we spoke, Roopa had temporarily moved from New York City to San Jose, where she grew up. Her first album, Roopa In Six Yards: A Carnatic Playlist, had been out a little over a year. We talked about where she wanted to take her crossover group Roopa In Flux and the challenges her Carnatic vocal training presented. She also turned the tables and asked me what I get out of music when I can't understand the words. We also chatted about our mutual acquaintance, Bollywood blues artist Aki Kumar, who introduced me to Roopa. If you've listened to recent episodes, you'll notice they're more focused on actionable frameworks than this one. I'd love to hear what you think about the difference. You'll find all my contact info at unstarvingmusician.com. Find out what Roopa is up to next at RoopaMahadevan.com. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube 

In 2017, I published a blog post asking, "Is indie radio still relevant?" It was a terrible post. I was preparing to interview D. Grant Smith, who ran the indie radio show Appetizer Radio and wrote "The DIY Musician's Radio Handbook." Not much was being written about the indie radio's relevance, or lack thereof, at that time. I basically just asked the question and moved on. That was almost ten years ago. The music industry has been turned upside down several times since then. Streaming became the dominant listening format. Social media discovery rose, fell, and rose again. AI entered the conversation.  The question of radio, specifically indie radio, has arguably become more relevant. So today I'm revisiting the question, but this time I've done some actual research. What I found is that radio is not dead. Not even close. More importantly for independent musicians, the indie radio ecosystem has real, concrete value, and you may be leaving some of that value on the table right now. This episode covers who's actually listening to radio in 2025 and 2026. It also breaks down the royalty angle, which is where I think the most actionable framework lives. Also covered — the different types of radio and what each one offers an indie artist, where the royalty money is, the playlist-to-radio pipeline, college and community radio (the accessible gateway), and how to think about radio as an indie artist.  This episode is for independent artists trying to figure out whether radio still matters to their career, regardless of whether or not streaming is part of their plan. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube     

Every distribution company's international playbook assumes resources an independent artist doesn't have. In this conversation, Janette Berrios, SVP of Corporate Marketing at Symphonic, scales things down to a solo artist with no team and no budget. She breaks down a repeatable way to enter a scene where you know nobody, research who matters, reach out so you actually get a reply, and how to follow up without being a pest. She also describes a cold outreach she made years ago to someone at a peer company bigger than Symphonic at the time, and where that relationship stands today.   Our discussion also covers the following.   Researching a new market before you commit to it Finding local collaborators and producers on social Cold outreach that works: subject lines, tone, and follow-up timing Warming up a contact on social before you ask for anything Symphonic's Women Empowered+ mentoring program How she found mentors by reaching out cold First moves for audience-building in new and unfamiliar markets The virtual side of conferences most people overlook   Janette Berrios spent 15 years building Symphonic's expansion across the U.K., Europe, APAC, and Latin America. She also shares how Symphonic's niche and regional focus drove its growth, why she treats every Latin American country differently, and what sank the competitors who tried to buy their way into new markets. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube 

George Macias is co-founder of Lumoza, a free music rights-registration platform for independent artists, where you upload your song, and it's registered where it needs to be so you actually get paid. Lumoza creates a Digital Birth Certificate for every song, which is a permanent record of who created it and when, and that helps take care of registering your work with the organizations that pay out royalties.  George and his cofounders spent years inside the major-label and publishing world, watching artists lose money to paperwork and processes nobody explained to them. Or that they found overwhelming.  George and I talk about patterns he repeatedly saw on the publisher side that made him think independent artists needed some help, how Lumoza wants to marry metadata and the song at the beginning of the process, the misunderstanding among indie artists that they register with a distributor and think they're done, his one recommendation for the thing artists should build into their recording session process, regardless of what tool they use, where AI music sits all of this, and more. Learn more about Lumoza at Lumoza.io. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube 

Dan Scott lives at the intersection of creativity, law, and financial freedom. Equal parts artist, strategist, and advisor, he has spent his career helping creatives build lives where their work, money, and purpose actually align. He started his career with a law firm and then discovered the world of private practice. But then… he realized his true calling was helping individuals and families navigate the deeper questions around creativity, wealth, identity, and legacy. In 2015, he founded Scott Law, where he developed a modern approach to legacy planning focused not just on protecting assets, but also on protecting creative ownership, cultural impact, and long-term freedom.  That philosophy eventually evolved into Spotlight Advisory Group, where Dan expanded beyond legal counsel into holistic management and advisory for creative entrepreneurs. Spotlight works with musicians, artists, actors, founders, and independent creators to help them build sustainable careers through ownership, financial systems, brand strategy, intellectual property, and long-term vision. Dan covers a lot in this episode, perhaps most importantly, the budgeting insight to build your annual budget from historical cash flow data, treat wins as exceptions rather than the new norm, and stay conservative on forecasting. He also covers the importance of focusing on ownership of everything from day one, and the fact that common-law copyright provides initial protection but formal registration provides proof of ownership and administrative teeth.  This conversation is partly about estate-planning-for-artists. But it's largely about planning your life with purpose so that you can wake up every day to make art and music.  Find Dan at spotlightadvisorygroup.com, where you'll also find all of his socials and contact info, as well as a blog where he writes about many of the concepts we touch on in this conversation.  Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube 

Most independent artists walk away from a live show with whatever the ticket sales and merch table produced. Cody DeLong has spent more than a decade helping artists find what's left on the table, and it turns out there's quite a bit. Cody is the CEO and co-founder of Sound Rink, a live-music technology company focused on VIP experiences, artist pre-sales, and direct-to-fan commerce. He started his career booking shows for punk and emo bands, co-founded Armada Merch, and built Sound Rink into a platform that helps artists of all sizes capture more revenue from their live shows — and own the fan data that makes future shows more profitable. In this conversation, Cody breaks down how independent artists can start capturing fan data and earning incremental revenue from live shows, even before they're running VIP packages. He explains what a superfan actually looks like in practice, why most artists don't own the data from their own ticket sales, and how to build the kind of direct fan relationships that pay off across an entire career — not just one tour. Cody also gets into why pre-sale ticketing is the right entry point for most independent artists, what needs to be in place before a VIP offering makes sense, and where artists leave money on the table when they do run one. He covers what label deals can do to a mailing list, why an artist who only tours once a year may have more leverage than they think, and why building a mailing list is still the most important thing an artist can do right now. For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube 

Lynz Crichton makes her fourth appearance on The Unstarving Musician. She's a singer-songwriter based in Nottingham, England, and the creator of Music Marketing Method, a program that helps independent musicians build audience, monetize their work, and sustain a career on their own terms. This conversation started with an email. Lynz had shared the story of a working musician who'd begun drafting a goodbye message for his website. Not because he couldn't play and not because the songs weren't good. It was because everything around the music had worn him out. Lynz drew a line between weariness and failure that stuck with me, and I asked her to dig into it for this episode. We get into the difference between weariness and failure, the Power Hour service Lynz uses to diagnose what's actually in someone's way, why the real problem is almost always mindset and the business side rather than the music itself, and the rare case where quitting really might be the right call. We also talk about what she's seeing across the hundreds of musicians she works with, what's changed since the pandemic-era launch of Music Marketing Method, why owning your email list matters more than ever in 2026, and what going deeper with a small audience looks like in the age of AI. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube 

After nearly 16 years at Atlantic Records (the last six as President of A&R) Pete Ganbarg has a clearer view than almost anyone of what separates artists who break through from artists who don't. In this conversation, he shares what that view looks like in 2026, when the barrier to entry for releasing music has collapsed and the bar for being heard has never been higher. Pete unpacks the working principles behind a career that includes A&R credits on Santana's Supernatural, the Hamilton cast album, and Twenty One Pilots, plus publishing credits on Miley Cyrus's "Flowers" and Alex Warren's "Ordinary." But the substance of this conversation isn't the credit list — it's what he's learned to listen for, what he tells his students at Berklee and NYU, and what he wishes more independent artists understood about the work. Topics covered in this conversation include: the "megaphone" mindset behind major-label promotion, the hard math of who makes it and who doesn't, the only opinion that matters in music, A&R'ing yourself when no executive will, and more. Pete Ganbarg is CEO of Pure Tone Music and host of Rock School Podcast. Support the Unstarving Musician The Unstarving Musician exists solely through the generosity of its listeners, readers, and viewers. Learn how you can offer your support at UnstarvingMusician.com/CrowdSponsor This episode was brought to you by Podcast Startup. Ready to launch your podcast or take it to the next level? Podcast Startup gives you the frameworks, systems, and insider knowledge to build a show that actually grows your audience and serves your goals. Whether you're just getting started or looking to improve your existing podcast, you'll get actionable strategies on equipment selection, content planning, audience building, and sustainable production workflows—without the overwhelm. Learn more at UnstarvingMusician.com/PodcastStartup. Join podcasters who are building shows that last. Resources The Unstarving Musician's Guide to Getting Paid Gigs, by Robonzo Dreamhost – See the latest deals from Dreamhost, save money and support the UM in the process. More Resources for musicians Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means I make a small commission, at no extra charge to you, if you purchase using those links. Thanks for your support! For show notes and episode a list of past episodes, please visit UnstarvingMusician.com. Stay in touch! @RobonzoDrummer on  Instagram @UnstarvingMusician on Facebook  and  YouTube