#150 Ari Herstand- Singer/Songwriter, Author, Music Business Expert & More!
This week’s guest is Ari Herstand (pronounced Ar*ee Her*stand). He is the author of the best-selling book How To Make It in the New Music Business (Norton / Liveright Publishing | Second Edition November 2019). It remains at the top of the Amazon charts and has been widely adopted by music business schools worldwide.
His music business advice blog, Ari's Take, has become the go-to resource for independent musicians on how to run a successful music career in the NEW music business. Herstand's well-researched, relatable, no BS approach is why so many musicians continue to trust him for advice. He offers encouragement without condescension and maintains a "we're all in it together" attitude not found elsewhere in the space.
Ari Herstand is an independent musician who has played over 700 shows around the country, has opened for or toured with Ben Folds, Cake, Matt Nathanson, The Milk Carton Kids and Ron Pope, has performed on Ellen, and has had his music featured in countless TV shows, commercials and films. He currently leads the 1973 funk project Brassroots District.
Herstand has written for many of the top musician trade magazines and websites including Music Connection Magazine, American Songwriter, Digital Music News, Playback Magazine, CD Baby, Tunecore, Reverbnation, Roland, Discmakers, ASCAP, Hypebot and others. He has been a featured speaker at SXSW, BBC One's Amplify, ASCAP Music Expo, SF MusicTech, CD Baby's DIY Musician Conference and Berklee College of Music.
As an actor, he has co-starred in TV shows including Transparent, Doubt, Aquarius, Mad Men, 2 Broke Girls, The Fosters, Sam & Cat and Touch.
The video Damon and Marcos talk about with Paul Rudd can be found HERE.
Gig Alerts for this week
You can catch Damon at PASIC this week from the 13th-16th.
Marcos will be performing with Sebastian Mikael at Chelsea Music Hall for the MTV Push Live Event: Atlantic Records Soul in the city. Catch Marcos during the last two weeks of Guaracha the musical at 47th st and 8th ave. If you need to dance, Nov 27th Murphy’s Law in Bridgeport and Friday 29th Gonzalez y Gonzales with Arturo Ortiz.
Friends of the show JJ Johnson & Tyler "Falcon" Greenwell will be at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 3 with “Who’s Hat is this?” Friday Nov. 22nd 10:30pm. Nov. 15-16, Robby Ameen and Days in the Night Band with Bob Franceschini, Conrad Herwig, Edsel Gómez, and Lincoln Goines, at a new jazz club in Park Slope! called Made In New York Jazz Café Bar.
Issac Delgado will be back in NYC Dec, 15 at Drom, for a concierto bailable.
Education Spotlight
Here is the article Damon Mentions for tips on doing online teaching. Some books to check out to help you step up your studio are “The PracticeSpot Guide to Promoting Your Teaching Studio”, and “The Dynamic Studio”.
Product Review
Damon talks about the UC-Surface: Wireless Mix Control and System Configuration.
New Music
Friend of the show Henry Cole has put together a new song “Caminando” with the great Tego Calderon. If you want to see who’s on this recording check out Henry’s instagram post.
Social Soundbyte
Friend of the show Scott Kettner released a new video "Moro Omim Ma" with Meinl Percussion.
Music News
During Ari’s interview they talk about the importance of Instagram. To get your instagram game on point check out these two articles, “5 Free or Cheap Ways Musicians Can Make Their Instagram Killer”, and “Grow Your Audience With These 10 IGTV Tips”.
If you’ve held on to an old iPhone 5 handset, you’ll need to act quickly - as Apple has warned owners to update software or be disconnected this week. To read more click here.
Fans of Madonna in Florida are suing the singer and Live Nation in a class-action lawsuit over late concert starting times.
Drake battled a chorus of boos at Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival over the weekend, and ultimately ended the set early. “Ya know… like I said, I’m here for you tonight,” Drake told the hostile crowd.
The song leading into the interview is "Together" and the song leading out of the interview is "Take Allotta Sweat" both by the Brassroots District.
Ari’s Interview
Damon mentions how Ari was a Digital Music News contributing writer. Ari’s second edition of How To Make It In the New Music Business is now out. It is the best selling book in musical philosophy & social aspects. They mention how Ari’s book is a more up to date take on music business and mention Donald Passman’s book, All You Need to Know About the Music Business.
Ari talks about really helpful tips on how to conduct yourself off of the stage and how to move forward. One of the first things Ari mentions is identifying achievable, attainable, concrete goals. He shares a really insightful story on how he will NEVER hire this particular musician again.
“You gotta be a good hang,” Ari says as he talks about how to get and keep a gig.
Damon brings up this Business Card Flash Drive and how he has all his info including videos, recordings, bio, professional photos, etc. Ari mentions having a website with a professional photo and videos of your playing. Ari also shares how instagram is becoming website in LA and how he’s hired musicians after glancing through their profile.
Ari talks about a company named Jammcard that’s being used by MD’s to hire musicians. It is an invite only social network for music professionals.
You can Follow Ari Herstand on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
