Music Industry

I just got back from SXSW and true to SX form, I’m in need of some serious recovery.  This was my 8th year in a row at the festival (save for the two years during the pandemic that it didn’t happen) and, as always, it was a blast. An exhausting blast. But a blast no less. And it flew by too fast. 

The Rare Occasions are an LA-based, New England-bred indie rock band known for their explosive garage rock anthems with catchy vocal harmonies. In 2021 the band released their first album as a trio, Big Whoop, which received significant press and radio play. Around the same time, their 2016 track “Notion” went viral on TikTok and continues to make waves, topping Spotify’s viral chart in the US and several other countries, and later landing on Billboard’s alternative charts and top 100 singles charts in the UK, Ireland, and Canada. The Rare Occasions released their new EP, Attaboy, on November 4th, 2022. The first single off the EP “Seasick” has already garnered the attention of radio DJs across the country including SiriusXM’s Alt Nation with the second single “Not Afraid” being an explosive follow up. After sharing Attaboy’s hard-hitting riffs, danceable grooves, and ear-catching melodies with audiences across the nation on their Fall 2022 headline tour, the band has shifted its efforts towards new music in 2023.

The manager is the most important person in your operation. Your manager is your teammate. Your partner. Your friend. Finding a manager is about timing, being in the right place at the right time and, really, making it seem like you don’t need a manager.

Shirley Halperin is an Executive Editor at Variety, where she spearheads music coverage for the print magazine and Variety.com.

The “music industry bible” by Ari Herstand has been widely adopted by music schools and universities across the world, inspiring tens of thousands of musicians to stop waiting around for that big break and take matters into their own hands.

This week on the New Music Business podcast, we are joined by Veteran booking agent Tom Windish. As Head of A&R and Business Development at Wasserman Music, Windish has developed the touring careers of some of the hottest names in music, including Billie Eilish, Lorde, alt-J and The xx. In this episode, Ari and Tom discuss the state of the live music industry, how booking agents operate, why tour buy-ins are unethical, the process of signing new artists, running a record label, and much more!

Our guest this week on the New Music Business is the multi-platinum songwriter and producer, Sam Hollander.

Our guest this week on the New Music Business is Dan Runcie, the founder of the podcast and research group Trapital.

Our guest this week is music supervisor and Vice President of the Guild of Music Supervisors, Madonna Wade-Reed. Her credits include TV shows such as All American, Batwoman, American Crime, Reign, Blue Mountain State, Smallville, One Tree Hill, plus films such as 8-Bit Christmas, Lovesick, A Thousand Words and the documentary Let It Fall. In this episode, Madonna breaks down her responsibilities within new projects, why it’s vital for artists to educate themselves on licensing, as well as a closer look into why the music supervisors’ movement toward unionizing.

Our guest this week is Anne McKinnon, the co-founder and CEO of the web3 experience platform Ristband. In this episode, Ari and Anne break down everything musicians need to know about the ever-evolving metaverse and how exactly it’ll add value to artists’ careers.