Break The Business Podcast

Come and join Ryan Kairalla and Zak Sloan as we celebrate the 500th Episode milestone of Break the Business. Ryan reflects on what 500 episodes mean to him and what the plans are for the show going forward. Episode #1 guest Meri Amber joins the program for a musical performance. Our guest this week is Hans Schuman of nonprofit JazzReach. Find out more by visiting jazzreach.org.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan is happy that The Muppet Show is coming back in 2026; we answer a listener question about Christmas Carols being in the public domain, and Ryan, Zak Sloan, and Producer Lauren play a Public Domain game show; we interview Jill Goyeau of indie rock band Talking Violet. Talking Violet’s new single “Destroy” is available now, and you can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.talkingviolet.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Katie Zaccardi’s Les Mis party; we discuss Katie’s latest TikTok video; New Year’s resolutions for indie creators; we chat with acclaimed indie blues rock artist Leanne Binder. Leanne’s new EP “I Got Something to Say” is available now. Visit www.leannebindermusic.com to learn more!Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: If band names were literal, what would be the worst concert to go to; Ryan and ElisaRockDoc discuss the Cox v. Sony Music Supreme Court case about whether internetservice providers can be liable for the copyright infringement of their users; ElisaRockDoc Career Update; we answer a listener question about the differences between Corporations and LLCs and which type of entity should indie artists start up.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Break the Business is back! Ryan’s son Nathan helps us celebrate our return by inexplicably crashing the show; Warner Music settles its copyright suit with Suno; Ireland expands its basic income program for artists; our guest this week is acclaimed artist wealth advisor Rick Morse. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting https://advisor.ml.com/sites/ny/melville-ny/morse-group.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Open AI is requiring that copyright holders opt out of having their works used in the latest version of their Sora video generator; we interview recording artist, musician, comedian, and writer Victor Jones. You can find out more about our guest’swork by visiting www.victorjonesisaconstruct.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan is obsessed with indie artist Victor Jones; people are listening less to ad-supported music streaming services— we talk about why and what impact it has on indie artists; should reality show contestants be classified as employees?; we interview Geoff Cubitt, the North American CEO of Strm Music, an AI-powered music distribution and artist services platform. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.strmmusic.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan and Katie Zaccardi talk about overcoming your “fear of being perceived” as an indie creator; a new report from MIDiA casts doubt on TikTok’s effectiveness as a music discovery platform; our guest this week is Neil Sheehan, CEO of indie-focused music streaming platform Vocana. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visitingvocana.co.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Everyone in the media seems to think that digital creators will be able to write offtheir tips on their income taxes, but Ryan is skeptical; ElisaRockDoc Career Update; we interview Chordal CEO Grayson Sanders about advances in sync licensing technology and what indie creators can do to create more sync opportunities for themselves. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.chordal.comRate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan and Producer Lauren talk about the fast-approaching Episode 500; Rep.Rashida Tlaib reintroduces the Living Wage for Musicians Act; we interview music merchandiser Seamus Meniane of merch services company Armada. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting poweredbyarmada.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan rants even more about the Muppets on Broadway; Ryan and Zak talk about a Reddit post about lessons musicians have learned that they wish they had learned when they were younger; we interview musician and social entrepreneur Tiff Randol. Tiff is the Mamas in Music, a global nonprofit that supports mothers and caregivers in the music industry. You can find out more about our guests’ work by visiting mamasinmusic.org, iameveami.com, and tiffrandol.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: We talk about the Taylor Swift episode of the New Heights Kelce Brothers Podcast; Ryan is upset that the Muppets Broadway show won’t have any Muppet singing or dancing; we interview Lanz Pierce, the recording artist, entrepreneur, and the founder of the Luminary Creative Agency. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting www.luminarycreativeagency.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan is back from China, but he apparently left his hair there; we answer a listener question about band agreements; M&A activity is spiking in the creator economy—what does that mean for creators?; our guest this week is electro pop artist and entrepreneur Bill“Downupright” Boulden. Bill’s new album “Radical Honesty” is available now. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visiting downupright.bsky.social.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ryan’s still away, Zak is hosting; in the first segment, Zak chats with Debbie Scheer aboutWorking as a Stand up comedian, posting other people’s jokes. Guest: CEO and Co-Founder of SongTools, Danny Garcia.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even though Ryan is still out, the show must go on! We discuss lyric writing and the Rap Act in addition to having  Zoe Espitia, founder of Zojak World Wide, on with us.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan is out of town, and Zak and ElisaRockDoc are holding down the fort. We discuss the future of video games, 5 easy hacks to make your cover song stand out, and in the second segment, we are joined by guest Frank Handy, National Chair of AIMP.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan and Zak Sloan talk about the “Velvet Sundown” fake AI band and how Spotify is allowing them to proliferate; the HITS Act has passed as part of the latest budget bill; our guest this week is acclaimed music publicist and Cyber PR founder Ariel Hyatt. Ariel’s latest book, “From Buzz to Bond: How to Stop Chasing Hype and Build a Lasting Music Career,” is available now. You can find out more about our guest’s work by visitingcyberprmusic.com.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: Ryan shares a story about whether AI will replace lawyers; Ryan and guest co-host Jasmine Ortiz talk about the latest crop of allegedly AI-generated artists popping up on streaming platforms; Ryan answers a listener's question about registering trademarks; our guests this week are indie folk artists aibai & vinny. Their self-titled EP is available now, and you can follow our guests on TikTok @aibaiandvinny.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: CNBC is reporting that Google is using YouTubers’ content to train its Veo video platform; Katie Zaccardi’s engagement hacks; we interview Jeremy Sirota, CEO of indie music licensing network Merlin. You can find out more about the Merlin Connect platform and about our guests’ work by visiting merlinnetwork.org.Rate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

TOPICS: ElisaRockDoc co-hosts this week and discusses the “mental health gap” that creators are dealing with; Ryan answers a listener's question about copyright ownership of a track they recorded with a producer; ElisaRockDoc career update; our guest this week is musician Jeff Michaels. Find out more about our guest’s work by visitingwww.jeffmichaelsband.comRate/review/subscribe to the Break the Business Podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Follow Ryan @ryankair and the Break the Business Podcast @thebtbpodcast. Like Break the Business on Facebook and tell a friend about the show. Visit www.ryankairalla.com to find out more about Ryan's entertainment, education, and business projects.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.