A single Spotify comment sparked a bigger question: Does networking actually help musicians, or are you on your own? In this episode, Marc breaks down networking tips for beginners who want real results without feeling fake, awkward, or salesy. If you’ve ever wondered how to network as a beginner, or asked yourself “what is not an example of professional networking?”, this conversation offers a clear, no-cringe reset you can use immediately.

We start by reframing what professional networking really is, and what it isn’t. Blind DMs, copy-paste promo, and asking for favours from strangers? Not examples of professional networking. Instead, Marc explains why trust, context, and consistency matter more than follower counts, and answers common beginner questions like “how do beginners network with no connections?” and “how do you network without sounding fake?” Talent only opens doors when people know you exist and trust your work—and that trust is built through small, human interactions.

From there, we get practical. You’ll learn how to start networking as a beginner using warm introductions, why they outperform cold outreach, and the exact low-pressure question that often unlocks a new contact. We break down online networking tips for beginners, including how to engage publicly before sending a DM, how to pick one platform to focus on, and how to write short, natural messages that don’t feel awkward or transactional. This is especially useful if you’re asking, “How do I network when I hate networking?” or “How do introverts network effectively?”

We also map out where networking actually works: Discord servers, curated group chats, niche forums, gigs, workshops, and meetups, and how to spot high-signal spaces without burning time. You’ll get a simple weekly networking cadence beginners can stick to: two helpful public interactions, one thoughtful DM, and one introduction you make for someone else. It’s a sustainable way to build a professional network from scratch, especially for producers, artists, and creatives.

As we look ahead to 2026, we’re doubling down on in-person connections, studio sessions, and conversations that start with curiosity, not promotion. Consider this your nudge to reach out to one person this week simply to acknowledge their work. If you’re looking for beginner-friendly networking strategies that actually lead to collaborations, gigs, and momentum, this episode shows you how to start, without being awkward, fake, or pushy.

If the ideas land, share this episode with a producer friend, subscribe for more practical breakdowns, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway. Who’s one warm introduction you’ll ask for this week?

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Year-end victory laps are more fun when they belong to all of us. We gathered standout wins from the Inside the Mix community and stitched them into a guided tour of what real progress looks like in music: narrative albums released one single at a time, a premiere on a tastemaking YouTube channel, the first vinyl in decades, live shows rebooted, and a charity compilation that rallied more than 56 artists and topped Bandcamp charts.

We kick off with Year of the Fall’s Love on a Dying Planet, a story-driven release rolled out over three years with visuals to match, proof that serial storytelling can build anticipation without sacrificing cohesion. Valley Lights shares the strategy behind pairing a high-energy track with an “epic” video and aiming at a niche platform where the audience actually lives. From there, we read wins from makers who finished EPs, returned after long hiatuses, and found their voice again through disciplined routines, remote collaborations, and careful channel selection.

Community power runs through every segment. Aisle9’s 'Outrun the Sun' shows how curation and cause can galvanise a scene while delivering real impact. We spotlight live momentum from Dream Commander, a Berserk-inspired remix from Typherian, and the sharpening of craft from Jay Cali, whose focus on foundation and consistency unlocked better writing and vocal work. I also share personal milestones, YouTube monetisation, a surge in monthly listeners, and 600+ first-week podcast downloads, to unpack what sustained output and simple marketing rhythms can do.

If you’re planning 2026 goals, this is your blueprint: ship small and often, collaborate with intent, and choose channels where your genre thrives. Subscribe, share this with a producer friend, and leave a review with your biggest win of 2025. What are you building next?

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A single take can now become a gospel run, a country croon, or even a convincing female lead, and it happens in seconds. Justin and Rich of the Face Your Ears podcast unpack how AI jumped from pitch correction to “auto-sing,” the cost breakthroughs behind engines like DeepSeek, and what tools such as ACE Studio mean when 80-plus virtual singers sit inside your DAW. It’s a fascinating leap for producers and a gut-check for vocalists whose instrument is their body.

They talk through real use cases: typing lyrics, drawing melodies, stacking instant harmonies, and round-tripping audio between ACE Studio and Logic or Ableton. Then we get honest about the trade-offs. If voices are trained from real singers, who gets credit and compensation? When sync teams can generate polished vocals in-house, how do independent artists compete? And as synthetic vocals become indistinguishable to casual listeners, does trust in what we hear erode, or do we simply recalibrate our norms as we did with autotune?

Beyond workflow, they go deeper into culture and craft. There’s a difference between pleasing audio and human expression shaped by effort, failure, and growth. The paradox of hedonism warns that chasing instant results can drain long-term meaning. They explore the risk of cultural flattening when machines remix the past at scale, and we argue for a practical middle path: use AI for drafts, demos, harmonies, and accessibility, while doubling down on live presence, story, and the messy soul of performance. That’s where artists can still shine brighter than any model.

Got thoughts on AI vocals—tool or takeover? Share your take.

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If your mixes keep fighting you, the problem likely started before the DAW ever opened. In this podcast takeover, Mike Indovina (Master Your Mix) digs into a source‑first mindset with London engineer and mixer Will Purton (RAK Studios), unpacking the practical decisions that make recording faster, mixing smoother, and translation far more reliable. From choosing the right instrument and tuning it properly to mic selection, placement, and preamp saturation, they explore how each link in the signal chain shapes the end result, and how to make those choices with intention.

Will explains why ambience is a tool, not a garnish. He breaks down room miking that works in world‑class spaces and home studios alike: close‑spaced omni pairs that capture a coherent stereo picture without lopsided lows. They also dive into overhead strategy, using darker mics and adding top end with sweet EQ, to get shimmer without harshness. Throughout, the focus is emotion first: record sounds that make the room light up, then protect those decisions by committing on the way in so the mix becomes a matter of presentation, not repair.

Translation gets its own deep dive. Learn how open‑back headphones serve as a portable reference across unfamiliar control rooms, why acoustic treatment beats bigger speakers, and how to build a reference playlist that exposes strengths and flaws you can trust. They touch on quick genre ear training from TV sessions, the realities of large studios, and the discipline of sending pared‑down sessions that communicate vibe clearly to the mixer.

If you want mixes that travel from studio to car to earbuds without falling apart, start with better ingredients and intentional choices. 

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What if the best mix isn’t the cleanest, but the truest? In this podcast takeover, Lij Shaw (Recording Studio Rockstars) dives into a standout conversation with engineer, songwriter, and producer-in-the-making Abby Griffin to explore how “being the weird girl” can be a creative superpower, and why the moments you capture now may matter more than perfection later. From choir training and vocal anatomy to tape love and AI stems, Abby brings a sharp, generous lens to making music that feels alive.

The conversation starts with foundations you can use today: training your ear with tools like Pink Trombone, choosing mics for the job (vintage U87 clarity vs 414 warmth), and recording drums the simple way, two mics, tight kit, one great bar, and tasteful overdubs for fills and transitions. Abby maps out a low-stress workflow for song-first productions, where loops carry pocket, and a click becomes optional. Along the way, we swap gross mic tales and gig-life realities with a wink and a wince.

Songwriting sits at the heart of everything. Abby’s “song seeds” method, notes app phrases, moleskin pages, and free-writing, pairs with alternate tunings to break muscle memory and unlock lines you can’t play in standard tuning. They unpack “show vs tell” with Taylor Swift’s plain-spoken detail, Shakespeare’s sonnets, and the poem Two-Headed Calf. The aim isn’t to prescribe feelings; it’s to stage scenes so the listener writes their own. A moving centrepiece: Abby’s family recording made days before her grandmother passed, a time capsule that proves how capturing the chapter can matter more than polish.

Tech doesn’t replace taste; it supports it. AI stem separation shines in pre-production and post, voice-memo overdubs turn ideas into demos, and tape, hardware or plugin adds character where it counts. Pat Metheny’s advice threads through it all: be yourself from day one and let the work find its people over time. Abby’s take is simple and brave: match your freak, protect your rituals, and put the moment first.

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What does it really take to go from invisible intern to trusted, Grammy-winning mastering engineer? The Sound Discussion Podcast sit down with Dan Millice to unpack the habits, choices, and honest work that shaped his journey, from cleaning bathrooms and taking cheques to the bank at MasterDisc, to building a client list one late-night venue at a time, to mastering records for artists across genres and continents.

Dan explains why he chose to specialise in mastering and why he ultimately moved fully in the box. The answer isn’t dogma, it’s service. Faster recalls, instant fixes, and reliable delivery matter when a label needs a longer fade today or a track order change by this afternoon. He breaks down his no-template approach, starting albums from a blank session, picking a reference track, and selecting EQs, de-essers, and limiters for each song’s needs. We compare popular limiters, FabFilter Pro L2, Ozone Maximizer, and talk about why default settings rarely cut it, how genre changes limiter behaviour, and when subtlety beats shine.

You’ll also hear how Dan handles mixes that aren’t ready. He shares the quick QC process, the value of a phone call to align on vision, and the ethics of pushing back so the final record wins. Beyond tools and taste, the throughline is human: relationships, trust, and responsiveness. Recognition and nominations follow the reps, wet Tuesday nights at shows, genuine conversations, and consistent delivery. For artists and engineers, this conversation is a roadmap: specialise with intent, keep learning, meet people in the real world, and above all, serve the song.

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What if the fastest way to a better mix is caring more about the human, the song, and the signal path than the plugin chain? We pulled seven moments from our 2025 conversations that changed how we write, record, mix, and master, and stitched them into one practical, heart-first guide you can use on your next session.

We start where great records begin: with the singer. Rich Bozic, a professional vocal coach, shares why physical comfort is essential for sound design, encompassing layers, a calm seat, a dialled-in headphone mix, and planned breathers to manage fatigue. Then we zoom out with Dan Giffin, who reminds us that composition beats the perfect kick. His three-touch rule snaps you out of tweak loops and keeps momentum high, while a top-down approach to mixing preserves the vibe you loved in production.

Next we clean up the myths around digital audio with Ian Stewart’s crystal-clear take on sample rate and the Nyquist theorem. You will understand why 48 kHz often hits the sweet spot for modern workflows, how aliasing and imaging appear, and when oversampling actually matters. We carry that clarity into big, emotive mixes with Drum X Wave and Brian Skeel: translate vision to buses first, let guitars and synths complement rather than collide, and make size breathe with arrangement, not brute force.

We also unpack the creative blind spots Michael Oakley calls out, how you can become “noseblind” to your own work and why feedback before the third rewrite can save songs. And we wrap with Eric Mitchell on mastering restraint: distortion as salt, not a main course. A little saturation wakes the record; too much smears it. Forget the viral “crank it” tips and listen for blur as much as for bite.

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Listen to E194

Listen to E181

Listen to E203

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Listen to E188

Listen to E182

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Ready to trade plugin FOMO and meter anxiety for moves that actually make your tracks better? Marc pulls seven stand-out moments from a huge year of conversations with producers, engineers and artists to help you finish faster, mix with confidence and stay creatively sharp.

We kick off with a surprising angle on depth: shaping contrast with bit depth instead of defaulting to saturation. You’ll hear how assigning different resolutions to drums, pads, and leads can create three-dimensional mixes that hold up in mono and stereo. From there,  dismantle the gear trap. Modern DAWs already include the essentials; the real upgrade is mastering fundamentals like tonal balance, gain staging and arrangement so every later purchase has purpose.

Loudness gets a refresh with a simple truth: LUFS is the result of mastering, not the target. Focus on tone, punch and cohesion, then check integrated LUFS for how platforms will treat your music. We lean into ear-first decisions, too—set a solid static mix, push the faders, and don’t let a scary-looking EQ curve talk you out of the right move. On the mastering front, we explore why a dedicated mastering engineer is often the first truly fresh set of ears your project gets, and how that perspective helps you avoid circular tweaks and ensures reliable translation.

Songwriting fans get a creative jolt as we talk about lyrics as well-narrated hallucinations grounded in truth. Wait for ideas that feel necessary, then go all in. Finally, we round things out with workflow wisdom: reference tracks, clear sound selection, minimal EQ, and fader-first mixing to keep momentum high and second-guessing low. If you want practical, repeatable steps that improve your music across streaming, clubs and headphones, this highlight reel delivers.

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Listen to E179

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Stop counting playlist streams and start building momentum where it matters. Marc Matthews and Tim Benson unpack a year of wins and lessons that took monthly listeners from modest to meaningful, and the theme is simple. When you optimise for saves, repeats and fast post-release engagement, Spotify’s algorithm does the heavy lifting. That means Radio, Discover Weekly, and personalised mixes begin to surface your music beyond your immediate circle—and the compounding effect beats a single playlist spike every time.

We share the unglamorous work that unlocks creativity at speed: DAW templates, organised drum kits, and a handful of trusted synth presets that act as launchpads instead of cages. There’s a balance to strike between efficiency and originality, so we talk about stepping away when tweaks turn into time sinks, coming back with fresh ears, and capturing the patches worth saving. We also get candid about release cadence and genre clarity. Keeping one artist profile sonically consistent helps Spotify place you next to the right peers; if you love variety, set up separate profiles so each lane feels coherent.

Collaboration sits at the heart of our 2026 plan. We’re reaching out to local vocalists to bring songs to life and share with audiences in a way that attracts editorial and radio attention. On the business side, we dig into the small but real revenue streams that stack: PRS, PPL, publishing admin via Songtrust or Sentric, DistroKid splits, and even modest YouTube monetisation. Add in smart seeding through SubmitHub and user curators to spark early signals, and you have a repeatable system that turns good music into sustainable growth.

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Got a win from 2025 or a goal for 2026? We want to hear it, and we’re featuring listener wins on an upcoming show.

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Ever twist a saturation knob and wonder if you’re hearing compression, distortion, or something in between? In this episode of Inside The Mix, Marc Matthews puts that question to the test with a clean, scientific setup, a 440 Hz sine wave, the Softube Saturation Knob, and Wave Observer, a free oscilloscope plugin by Press Play.

By placing Wave Observer last in the signal chain, Marc visually shows how your waveform changes as you dial in saturation, how rounded peaks flatten, harmonics stack up, and a pure sine wave slowly edges toward a square. No more guessing, no more placebo, just a clear visual of how your favourite plugins reshape the sound.

Marc explains why visual feedback matters when subtle processing tricks your ears, and walks you through a simple DIY method you can try in any DAW. You’ll see exactly what happens around -12 dBFS, where soft saturation tightens dynamics long before the audible grit appears.

This quick session helps you connect what you hear to what you see — so you can mix faster, gain stage with intention, and start trusting your ears with confidence.

Takeaways:

• How to use Wave Observer for real-time saturation analysis
• What clipping actually looks like
• A repeatable workflow for plugin testing and calibration

If you’re ready to stop mixing blind and start seeing your decisions pay off, on meters, waveforms, and final masters — this one’s for you.

Subscribe, share the episode with a producer friend, and drop Marc a note with the next plugin you want analysed. Your suggestion might feature in a future episode of Inside The Mix.

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FREE Plugin To See Inside Your Mixes - Press Play Wave Observer

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Tired of guessing what kind of podcast content actually helps you make better music and grow as a producer or artist? In this special listener-driven episode of Inside The Mix, host Marc Matthews flips the script — and puts you in charge of shaping the show’s next chapter.

Marc is designing the 2026 Inside The Mix editorial calendar, and your feedback will decide what the podcast covers next: from mixing workflows, DAW productivity systems, and plugin deep dives, to music marketing strategies that build real fans.

It takes just two minutes to complete the survey (link below), where you can:

• Vote on future episode formats (10–15 minute tutorials or long-form interviews)
• Suggest guests, tools, and production topics you want explored
• Share your biggest music win of 2025 for a chance to be featured in Episode 227 on December 30th

Whether you just finished your debut EP, mastered vocal clarity, booked your first client, or built a consistent content routine, your milestones matter. These wins are proof that focused workflows, smarter systems, and creative consistency beat guesswork every time.

Tap the survey link and share your 2025 win by November 29th!

Inside The Mix helps independent producers finish faster, sound pro, and build real fans.

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