The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Charlie Stent, Founder and CEO of Stent Music Group, to discuss what it takes to build a successful career in today’s music industry. With more than a decade of experience in artist management, Charlie has built a global management and label services company representing artists, producers, songwriters, and engineers.

His roster includes independent pop artist NERIAH, whose catalog has surpassed 100 million streams and who has toured internationally, as well as multi-platinum producer and songwriter Jason Parris and four-time Grammy-winning mastering engineer John Greenham. Through his work with emerging artists and established music-industry talent, Charlie has developed a unique perspective on artist development, career growth, and the business behind building lasting success.

Charlie shares his approach to artist management and the importance of treating artists as partners in their own businesses. Ari and Charlie also dig into artist branding, building dedicated fan communities, social media strategy, release campaigns, playlist promotion, viral marketing, and the opportunities and challenges generative AI presents for independent musicians.

Charlie Stent:
https://www.instagram.com/stentmusicgroup
https://www.stentmusicgroup.com/

Check out Ari’s Take:
https://aristake.com

07:18 – Charlie's Journey Into Music Management
11:08 – Why Artists and Managers Should Be Partners
17:04 – Building an Independent Artist's Career
19:02 – Artist Branding: Finding Your Identity
23:32 – Building a Dedicated Fan Community
30:28 – Why You Can't Manufacture a Viral Moment
34:32 – Pre-Saves, Playlists, and Release Strategy
40:55 – Burner Accounts, Sleeper Accounts, and Music Marketing
48:51 – AI in Music: The Great Equalizer?
57:46 – Distribution, Label Services, and Building an In-House Team

Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

Order 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.

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Chris Farren, Grammy-nominated songwriter and founder of Combustion Music, a Nashville-based music publishing and artist development company responsible for more than 100 number-one hits.
Chris shares decades of experience navigating the music business, from writing hit songs to building a publishing company and developing artists. Ari and Chris break down how professional songwriters get signed, how songwriting rooms work, how publishing deals and advances are structured, and how songwriters earn royalties.

Follow Chris Farren:
https://www.instagram.com/combustionmusic/
https://www.combustionmusic.com/

Check out Ari’s Take:
https://aristake.com

05:54 - Building a music publishing company and developing artists
15:32 - How music publishers pay songwriters
26:07 - Songwriting as a craft: practice, productivity, and getting better
28:16 - Teaching songwriters to write for the market without sacrificing creativity
30:44 - Writing songs for specific artists
32:00 - How artists' involvement in songwriting has changed
37:58 - How songwriting rooms work
39:15 - Pitching songs and getting them to artists
57:51 - Music catalogs and the renewed life of older songs
58:37 - Advice for aspiring professional songwriters

Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

Order 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.

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Joe Lim, founder and CEO of Floodify, a marketing technology company that has distributed over 2 million short-form videos for major labels including Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music.

Joe pulls back the curtain on the rapidly evolving world of music marketing, explaining how burner accounts, clipping networks, AI-generated content, fan pages, influencer campaigns, and algorithm-driven distribution are shaping the careers of artists today. We explore the ethics behind these tactics, the concept of the “dead internet,” how major labels and marketers use social media at scale, and what independent artists can learn from these strategies.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelimmmmm
Floodify: https://www.floodify.io/

Check out Ari’s Take:
https://aristake.com

04:42 – Welcome & State of Modern Music Marketing
07:06 – Why Music Marketing is Behind Other Industries
08:42 – What Are Burners, Fan Pages, and Clipping?
13:29 – Commercialized Clipping & Platforms Like WHOP
17:19 – Phone Farms and Managing Accounts at Scale
21:21 – Using AI to Find and Generate Viral Clips
29:56 – Modern Marketing Strategies for Independent Artists
31:19 – The Evolution of Floodify (Floodify 2.0)
40:41 – Dead Internet Theory, Bots, and Comment Farming
44:25 – Is Authenticity Dead? Playing the Game to Make a Career

Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

Order 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.

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Toni Nelson, artist manager, business manager, and co-founder of 1990 Records.

Toni Nelson is an artist manager and co-founder of 1990 Records with a background in retail fashion and mental health clinical work. Combining expertise in behavioral science with music industry operations, Nelson specializes in sustainable artist development, data analytics, and guiding independent artists like Adrian Daniel, to build long-term, monetizable careers while protecting their intellectual property.

Follow Toni Nelson:
https://www.instagram.com/1990records19/
https://1990records.org/
Check out Ari’s Take:
https://aristake.com

04:01 - What it Means to Build a Creative & Fan Community
09:00 - Protecting IP & Using Split Sheets in the Studio
13:14 - Navigating Producer Credits, Writer Splits & Work for Hire
18:18 - Release Strategies & Tracking Data with Music Analytics
23:27 - How Independent Artists Can Monetize Their Audience
27:38 - Staying Independent vs. Label Licensing Deals
32:45 - When is an Emerging Artist Ready to Tour?
36:22 - Case Study: Developing Adrian Daniel's Career
43:17 - Mental Health & What It Means to Make It in Music

Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take
Order 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.

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Alexis Lanternier, the CEO of global music streaming platform Deezer. Together, they break down the massive influx of AI-generated music flooding streaming services, Deezer’s pioneering efforts in AI detection and fraud removal, and the future of fair artist payouts through user-centric royalty systems.

Follow Alexis Lanternier:
https://www.instagram.com/deezer/
https://www.deezer.com/us/

Check out Ari’s Take:
https://aristake.com

05:45 - The Reality of AI Music Flooding Streaming Services
10:23 - How Deezer Detects Streaming Fraud & Purges AI Bots
13:42 - Tagging AI Music & Algorithmic Recommendation Rules
18:32 - Generative AI: Creative Assistive Tool vs. Fully AI Music
24:40 - In-App Fan Remix Tools & Licensing Fair Payouts
33:36 - The Flaw in Market-Centric Payouts vs. User-Centric Payouts
42:15 - Major Label Licensing Deals & Independent Artist Royalty Rates
50:37 - Powering Winamp & What It Means to "Make It" in Music Today

Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate
Music by Brassroots District
Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

Order 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.