The esteemed Sr. Director of Business Affairs, Admin & Licensing for Sony Music Entertainment, Kobie Brown joins us for Episode 25. This man has worked on clearing many of the most well known releases that have crossed through the labels' doors, and has a ton of great stories to tell. We talk to him about his career, advice for up & comers, and even touch a bit on WhoSampled. You can check out Kobie here: https://www.instagram.com/_withmydad/ https://www.instagram.com/thekobiechronicles/

Extraordinary Music Supervisor Jen Malone, known for her work on the hit FX show, Atlanta, joins us for Episode 24. We talk to Jen about her start in the music business on the east coast, doing PR for rock bands, and eventually moving her way out west to become a music supervisor. Afterwards, we talk about her ascent into the world of supervision, from interning at Format Entertainment to supervising shows of her own, including Atlanta, Lady Dynamite on Netflix, and MTV's Are You The One? In news, we discuss the new YouTube series "Best.Cover.Ever" and 2016 financial results from Sony Music Entertainment. You can find Jen here: https://twitter.com/jenmalone666 https://www.instagram.com/jenmalone666/ https://blackandwhitepr.net/

Atlantic Records own amazing VP of A&R, Shawn Barron, joins us for Episode 23. We talk about his upbringing in Buffalo, NY, and what got him started in the music business. We then get into who he's working with at Atlantic (Ty Dolla $ign, Kap G, Jevon Doe, etc), how he signed Ty Dolla $ign, and even get into a few stories about how close some other big names came to signing with the label. All of it combines into one of our favorite shows to date. Before the interview (which starts at 11:45), Shawn joins us to discuss some current events in the music industry, including UMG's new deal with Spotify, and JAY Z pulling his catalog from non-TIDAL services. You can find Shawn here: https://www.instagram.com/shawnbarron/ https://twitter.com/shawnbarron

Atlantic Records A&R great Gary Leon joins us for Episode 22. No news, we just dive right into the interview. We start with his upbringing, and time at military school. Then we discuss his work as an A&R, what his day to day looks like, and how he discovers new music. There's a bevy of great details on the benefits of smart networking, and getting your music out in the right way. You can find Gary Leon here: https://twitter.com/GaryGLeon https://www.instagram.com/garygleon/ Email: Sbatlanticla[at]gmail.com

Episode 21 features the multi-talented, and incredibly intelligent Shruti Kumar. The interview (starts at 21:00) with a great discussion on maintaining work-life balance. We then get into her development as a songwriter, composer, and arranger. Afterwards, we discuss getting your music noticed in the streaming age, and conclude with a talk about the role gender and ethnicity play in the industry. In news, we look into the rate court proceeding to determine statutory mechanical royalties for the next 5 years. Check Shruti out here: https://twitter.com/from_shruti https://www.instagram.com/tamingoftheshruti/ https://soundcloud.com/fromshruti https://soundcloud.com/tworightchords

Episode 20 features the amazingly talented producer, CyFyre. We chat with him about being raised in the Bahamas, moving to Houston, getting started in music, and getting his break with artists like Trae tha Truth and Lupe Fiasco. No news this week, just all interview goodness.

In episode 16 with Janine, we talked about the musician funding platform, Sound Royalties, as part of our news segment. We said we had some questions for the company, and now we're interviewing CEO Alex Heiche in our newest episode. This is our first remote interview with a guest, so pardon us for the sound quality. We talk with Alex about his path to starting Sound Royalties, and the response so far from the creative community. Afterwards, we get into the structure of their advances, and the status of the $10 million pilot program that they launched earlier, as well as the $100 million dollars in advances they've announced over the next 24 months. In news, we discuss Spotify supposedly nearing new major label licensing agreements, and because why the hell not, rumblings of a potential Taylor Swift streaming service. You can find out more about Sound Royalties here: https://www.soundroyalties.com/ https://twitter.com/SoundRoyalties https://www.facebook.com/soundroyalties/

Ypsilanti's own super producer, 14KT joins us for Episode 18. We talk about his upbringing in the church choir, and then getting into rap with his crew, The Athletic Mic League (which included Mayer Hawthorne). We then get into the different production tools he's used as a producer coming up, and the crazy evolution that they've made since. Afterwards, we discuss his rise in the industry, becoming a Red Bull Big Tune Beat Battle Champion, moving to NY (& back to MI), and eventually making his way out to LA. In addition, we speak about the importance of vinyl, and Kerry and KT deliver some excellent advice for up and coming producers. No news in this episode, but expect a ton of great information nonetheless. You can find 14KT here: https://www.instagram.com/i4kt/ https://soundcloud.com/14kt https://twitter.com/14KT https://www.facebook.com/14KTZ/

In Episode 17, we interview Jeff Lombardo, a very well renowned photographer and graphic designer. Jeff's entire career is the epitome of getting out and hustling for what he wants. We get into his early start, coming up in hacker groups, heading to LA to work at Hustler magazine, and eventually making his way unto doing graphic design for film posters. After that, he felt he had done everything he had wanted design, and was able to pivot to photography off the strength of his instagram page. The switch enabled him to travel with major artists across the world, and work the biggest music festivals. In news, we take a look at UMG's positive 2016 revenues, MIDiA and Music Business Worldwide's market share analysis for record labels and publishers, and Beyoncé's unfortunate Coachella cancellation (although Lady Gaga had not been announced as the replacement before we recorded this). You can check out Jeff & his work here: https://www.instagram.com/jefflombardo/ http://jefflombardo.com/ https://twitter.com/jefflombardo

We're joined by the super talented Atlantic recording artist, Janine (formerly Janine & the Mixtape) in Episode 16. We first get into why she dropped the "mixtape" from her name, but then get into a slew of other topics. She talks about her move to NY from New Zealand to make it in music, and then getting her first big placement on Love & Hip-Hop. We also talk to her about getting signed to Atlantic, building two mixtapes, and her upcoming album (with a ton of great bits about it). In news (which Janine joins!), we discuss the recent Cox – BMG court decision, and the emergence of "Sound Royalties", a new financing model for musicians. You can find Janine here: https://www.facebook.com/janinemusicofficial/ https://twitter.com/Janine https://www.instagram.com/janine/ https://soundcloud.com/janineofficial http://www.janineofficial.com/

Episode 15 of It's So Krucial is all about some recent developments in the past week of the music business, no guest this week! We discuss a wide ranging group of topics: - An investigation into the Russian Performing Rights Society - RAO - The IFPI's most successful artist list (wrongly credited to Billboard during the podcast - sorry!) - The Prince estate's recent UMG deal - WMG making their Prince masters available on all streaming services - Pandora's recent finance call with wall street We also get into the GRAMMYs, which were happening right as we were recording. Kerry tells some great stories about his experiences in previous years, and a couple interesting facts about the voting process. Finally, for those who are score keeping...Here are how Kerry's predictions fared against the actual results of the GRAMMYs: Album of the Year: - Prediction: Lemonade by Beyonce - Actual: 25 by Adele Song of the Year: - Prediction: 7 Years by Lukas Graham - Actual: Hello by Adele Record of the Year: - Prediction: Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots - Actual: Hello by Adele