The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Ash Avildsen, founder of Sumerian Records. Ash shares the story of building one of the most influential independent labels in modern rock and metal, from booking DIY tours in the MySpace era to helping artists break into arenas.

During this episode, Ari and Ash dive into artist development, the evolution of touring, music video economics, social media virality, the ethics of tour buy-ons, and why building an artist brand matters more than ever. Ash also opens up about expanding Sumerian into film, the future of entertainment brands, and why he believes music videos deserve a better business model.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumerianrecords/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sumerianrecords

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

04:21 - Ash’s Journey from Touring Musician to Founding Sumerian Records
08:04 - Why Ash Left Booking to Focus Fully on the Label
12:00 - MySpace, TikTok, and How Artists Break Today
17:30 - Scenes, Community, and the Evolution of Heavy Music
22:16 - Artist Development and Getting Bands to Their First 500 Tickets
25:22 - The Ethics and Reality of Tour Buy-Ons
31:49 - Discovering Artists in the Streaming Era
35:15 - Why Music Videos Still Matter
49:00 - Building Sumerian Beyond Music Into Film and Media
56:00 - Ticketing, Industry Frustrations, and What It Means to “Make It”

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 Red Leather, the anonymous artist who turned viral TikTok videos into sold-out tours around the world. Known for his signature red hat, Red Leather first started his career by busking on Hollywood Boulevard before exploding online with viral covers and original songs like “The Only Time It Rains in Hollywood.”

In this episode, Red Leather breaks down how he used social media to grow his audience from scratch, why he posted 5 videos a day for 100 straight days, how smashing guitars outside Capitol Records landed him a record deal (that he turned down), and why ticket sales matter more than streams or viral moments. He also opens up about sobriety, surviving addiction, touring independently, and eventually partnering with Empire after years of doing everything DIY.

Follow Red Leather:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redleather/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@redleather

Check out Ari’s Take:
https://aristake.com
00:04:02 - Intro
00:04:36 - The Origin of Red Leather
00:06:39 - Sobriety, Addiction & Artistic Vulnerability
00:10:11 - Posting 5 Videos a Day for 100 Days
00:14:11 - The Viral TikTok That Changed Everything
00:20:00 - Smashing Guitars Outside Capitol Records
00:25:12 - Why He Turned Down Major Label Deals
00:33:28 - Booking Tours Through Instagram DMs
00:47:23 - Virality vs Real Fans & Ticket Sales
01:01:58 - What “Making It” Means 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.

This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Oskar Med K, a breakout Norwegian EDM producer. Oskar breaks down the "overnight" success that was actually years in the making—from the days of sending 500 cold emails to labels with no response.

In this episode, Ari and Oskar talk about the marketing strategies that helped him scale from 40k monthly listeners to 11 million, why "simple" content often outperforms high-production on TikTok, and the surreal feeling of playing Coachella as his first-ever music festival.

https://www.instagram.com/_oskarmedk/

03:54 – Intro: The Release of Oskar’s Debut Album Feel
05:24 – Albums vs. Singles: Building a Body of Work in the Streaming Era
09:12 – The Remix Story: How Khalid Ended Up on a Remix
12:52 – Behind the Tracks: Songwriting and Collaborating Remotely
17:19 – The Early Grind: From iPad Beats to Music School in Norway
19:00 – From 0 to 1: The "Hustle" of Emailing 500 Record Labels
20:17 – Breaking Through: Finding the Right Label via LabelRadar
25:12 – Marketing Strategy: Simple Content vs. High-Production TikToks
33:42 – Moving to the Stage: Transitioning from Studio Producer to Live Act
40:40 – The Coachella Milestone: Playing Your First-Ever Festival
44:29 – The Future of Music: Addressing the AI Debate and "Making It"

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 Ethan Berlin and Skully Kaplan of ROAM Artists for an inside look at the realities of booking and touring in today’s music industry. They unpack how booking agencies build and manage their rosters, what it really takes to develop artists on the road, and how deals—from guarantees to ticket splits—actually come together. If you’re an artist planning your next tour or trying to understand the live side of the business, this episode gives a clear, candid breakdown of how it all works.

https://www.instagram.com/roam.artists/
https://roamartists.com/

Chapters

05:03 – Intro & ROAM Agency Origin Story
08:26 – From Partnership to Global Agency
11:32 – Why Artists Need Different Agents by Region
14:59 – Breaking Into International Markets (Asia & Beyond)
19:52 – Why Artists Blow Up in Some Countries First
25:20 – Genre & Market Differences Worldwide
34:48 – The Real Cost of Touring Today
40:16 – How Artists Cut Costs on Tour
44:48 – How Artists Actually Make Money Touring
48:16 – Tour Deals & Promoter Strategy Explained
52:11 – Marketing Tours & Selling Tickets

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 Mark Orr, the founder of Lab Records, to explore how independent labels are evolving in today’s music industry.

From deal structures and artist ownership to marketing strategies and physical releases, Mark shares a transparent look into how his label has operated and adapted over nearly two decades. They dive into how indie deals have shifted to become more artist-friendly, how Lab approaches partnerships like distribution with ADA, and why physical products like vinyl and limited editions are more important now than ever. Mark also breaks down how to build a lean team, when to outsource, and how to create meaningful fan engagement in a crowded digital landscape. Whether you’re on the artist or label side of the business, you won’t want to miss this episode.

https://www.instagram.com/labrecords
https://labrecs.com/

Chapters

00:00 - Lab Records Origin
05:00 - Building a Lean Team
09:25 - Streaming & Fan Engagement
13:23 - Pitching Artists vs Majors
16:07 - Modern Deal Structures
21:19 - Artist Power Shift
26:19 - Marketing in 2020s
31:42 - Physical Sales Comeback
36:21 - Touring Builds Fanbase
45:50 - Tools, Teams, Future

Edited and mixed by Ari Davids-Ergas
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.