Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Podcast

• How Independent Artists Can Maximize Merch Profits Without Overspending | Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Ep. 594

  How do you build merch that actually connects with fans? In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, I sit down with Seamus Menihane, CEO of Armada, a top-tier merch company helping artists, from indies to heavy hitters, turn merch into a true brand extension. If you've ever wondered what merch sells best, how to price it, or how to avoid costly mistakes, Seamus breaks it all down. With his roots as a touring drummer and years running Downright Merch, he’s built Armada into a full-scale merch partner that delivers everything from screen printing to full e-commerce. This is your inside look at what works, what flops, and how artists can take control of their merch game.KEY TAKEAWAYS • Keep your merch line small and focused • Over-ordering too many products hurts profitability • Best-selling item is still the black t-shirt • Vinyl reissues and preorders perform extremely well • Indie artists need to think beyond just screen printing • Custom apparel adds premium pricing but costs more to produce • Merchandise profit margins depend on volume • E-commerce is essential for indie artist success • Print-on-demand is a smart test tool for new ideas • Merch advances are real, but mostly for high-end artistsBEST MOMENTS 00:01:05. “Armada is a result of a recent merger between Downright Merch and Overcast Merch.” 00:02:12. “We lead first with the direct to consumer side of the business.” 00:03:25. “We proactively put designs in front of them.” 00:04:16. “I would go on tour and come back and I would work at a screen printing shop.” 00:10:28. “You can’t go wrong with a black t-shirt.” 00:12:06. “Custom apparel that we design definitely sells at a premium.” 00:14:52. “The kids just aren’t drinking anymore.” 00:26:01. “Consistency day in and day out… that’s crucial for any endeavor.”Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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• How Mark Wood Electrified a Generation of Young Players | Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle Ep. 593

  How Mark Wood Reinvented the Violin and Inspired a GenerationOn this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, I’m joined by recording artist, performer, inventor, Emmy-winning composer, and music education advocate Mark Wood. Known as the original string master of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mark shares how he revolutionized the world of string instruments with his electric violin designs and helped ignite a movement in music education with his Electrify Your Symphony program. We explore the intersection of classical training and rock performance, the birth of his iconic Viper violin, and the entrepreneurial drive that’s powered his decades-long career.KEY TAKEAWAYS: • Music is essential for emotional and creative development • The violin remained unchanged for over 500 years before Mark’s innovations • Inspiration came from Hendrix, Van Halen, and his own woodworking family • The invention of the self-supporting electric violin changed live performance • Amplifying bowed instruments requires entirely different tech than guitars • Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s early days started with skepticism and QVC • Electrify Your Symphony has reached over a million students in 28 years • Entrepreneurship is essential for modern musicians • Juilliard experience shaped his approach, even after leaving • Self-made artists must think like business owners, not just performersBEST MOMENTS: 00:02:09. “You might or may not be able to name any other violin maker except Stradivarius.” 00:05:33. “As a 15 year old I was mentored by Leonard Bernstein.” 00:07:13. “What are you going to do with your life? And I said, I want to be a rock violin player.” 00:10:27. “So it's a violin with a hand, right? Carved exactly like it in my hand.” 00:13:29. “With a bow, I'm able to get that sustain the guitar players always are trying to get.” 00:18:09. “We're putting together a rock orchestra. Awesome. And we want you to be the orchestra.” 00:21:00. “A teacher after that came up to me. Mark, can you put together a Trans-Siberian orchestra at our school?” 00:38:22. “Stoicism and real focus on making sure that you're in control of how you respond to the world.”Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://bobbyowsinski.com/Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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• Episode 592 - Innovative Music Licensing With Barry Coffing

  Barry Coffing has lived every corner of the music business, from opera scholarships to songwriting for Hollywood films, and now, innovating the licensing space. As founder of MusicSupervisor.com and WeGetArtists.com, Barry has reshaped how independent musicians connect with opportunities in film, TV, and beyond.In this episode, Barry shares his journey from club gigs to scoring major placements, the evolution of his licensing platform, and why transparency and fairness for artists drive everything he builds. We also dig into the challenges and possibilities of AI in music, why flaws can make music more human, and Barry’s powerful advice for creators: make the art you want, then fight like hell to share it.Listen in for a mix of war stories, practical licensing wisdom, and fresh perspectives on how artists can thrive in today’s ever-changing industry.Catch the full conversation and unlock insights that could transform your career in music licensing.Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://bobbyowsinski.com/Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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• Episode 591 - Inside Neural DSP’s Mantra Plugin with Francois Barrillon

  In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle podcast, I sit down with Francois Barrillon, Neural DSP’s plugins product manager and product lead for their new vocal plugin Mantra.Francois shares how he went from building guitar pedals in his spare time to leading development on one of the most innovative vocal tools available today.We talk about Neural DSP’s expansion beyond guitars, how Mantra was designed to be an all-in-one studio solution, and what it takes to create plugins that blend analog feel with digital power.In This Episode:• How Francois got into music tech through analog gear• Why Neural DSP made a vocal plugin• Mantra’s tracking mode and low-latency design• How Sculpt uses spectral EQ to fix vocals fast• Quad Cortex gear and crossover into non-metal markets• Francois’s journey from L’Oreal to Neural DSP• The company’s global team and HQ in Helsinki• Combining analog modeling with new DSP possibilities--Additional Resources:To learn more about Mantra, visit https://neuraldsp.com --Key Takeaways:00:00:00 - Coming up...00:00:28 - Meet Francois Barrillon from Neural DSP00:01:18 - Why a guitar company made a vocal plugin00:02:08 - Expanding DSP tech beyond guitar00:03:10 - Inside Mantra’s tracking and mixing modes00:04:20 - Latency issues and performance design00:05:08 - Real-time effects boost vocal confidence00:06:34 - The full Mantra plugin vision00:07:22 - Quad Cortex and gigging with compact gear00:08:51 - Francois’s path from L’Oreal to music tech00:10:15 - Why the vocal plugin was the next big move00:13:19 - Who Mantra is built for00:14:17 - Latency: myths vs. real-world use00:17:47 - Why all-in-one design reduces latency00:18:13 - Home studio users and smart EQ with Sculpt00:21:02 - Sculpt’s compression, de-essing, and normalization00:23:52 - Neural DSP’s team, HQ, and remote setup00:25:05 - Francois’s non-metal roots at Neural DSP00:26:20 - From metal plugins to mainstream expansion00:27:08 - Mantra’s clean demo and audience feedback00:28:08 - DIY gear nerd to product lead00:30:07 - Modeling analog vs. creating new tools00:31:57 - Final thoughts and wrap-up—In this podcast, music guru Bobby Owsinski shares his personal insights on the music industry, covering news, reviews, analysis, and tips, as well as offering amazing interviews with prominent industry movers and shakers.Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://bobbyowsinski.com/Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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• Episode 590 - Modern Event Ticketing With Ritesh Patel

  In this episode of the Inner Circle Podcast, I sit down with Ritesh Patel, the CEO and founder of Ticket Fairy, a next-generation ticketing platform helping promoters market and manage events. What makes Ticket Fairy unique is its built-in word-of-mouth referral system, where fans can earn rebates—or even free tickets—by getting friends to buy.Ritesh brings a wealth of experience to the platform. Having promoted over 400 shows worldwide, and with a background in cloud and systems administration, he had the vision to reimagine how event promotion and ticketing could work. That vision attracted investors including the founders of YouTube, Twitch, and Reddit.Alongside Ticket Fairy, Ritesh is also Director of LOCUS, a music series hosted in Tulum, Bali, Bristol, and Sydney, featuring some of the world’s most acclaimed DJs, producers, and live acts.🎯 In this episode, we cover:How Ticket Fairy is changing festival promotion and gig marketingThe challenge of the secondary ticket marketCultural differences in event promotion around the globeThe future of event technology and ticketing platformsRitesh’s journey from promoter to tech entrepreneurThis is a must-listen for promoters, event organizers, and artists who want to understand where ticketing and live events are headed.📍 Recorded from Ritesh’s office in London.A video version of the podcast is also available on YouTube._Additional Resources:To learn more about Ritesh and The Ticket Fairy, please visit https://www.ticketfairy.com/–(FREE DOWNLOAD) The Magic EQ Frequencies everyone with a DAW should know: https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/magic-freqs-registrationGet fantastic mixing tips from the best selling Mixing Engineer’s Handbook: https://bobbyowsinski.com/mixhandbookCheck out my best-selling books: https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/ Discover more mixing courses: https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/ Follow me on Facebook: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://bobbyowsinski.com/Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/

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