Real Musicians Don't Starve

About Real Musicians Don't Starve

No one wants to be a starving artist or struggling musician. Join Michael Elsner every week as he interviews the world’s most successful musicians, and dissects the strategies they’ve implemented to achieve the kind of career that every musician dreams about. If your goal is to do what you’re passionate about and create music full time, this is the podcast for you… because Real Musicians Don’t Starve!

Publisher

Michael Elsner

Category

music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

1 Jul 2020

Latest episode

12 Dec 2022

Latest episodes

25 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   12 Dec 2022

   Finding Your Niche and Mixing Hits

   Alan Litten is a Mixing Engineer who has had six #1 hits, and many Top 10's. He has worked with artists including Aretha Franklin, Michael McDonald, and many others. Alan has built his career by focusing on building a highly regarded reputation in niche markets within the music industry. Here's a sneak peek inside this episode: [3:20] Noticing how the recording market was transitioning from professional studios to home studios, and mixing out of his bonus room [6:55] The 3 niche markets he's worked in, and how he navigated from one into the next. [13:00] The importance of looking outside the box at the outlets beyond 'pop music' to build a life-long career in music. [16:15] Stepping outside of a red ocean, into a blue ocean where you can grow. [19:20] "The people who are willing to pay for quality will find you.” [19:45] Alan's hybrid home studio mixing setup. [25:30] The plug-ins that Alan gravitates to when creating a mix. [30:20] How Alan begins the process of mixing a song. [35:40] The misuse of compression that's so common among independent musicians who mix their own songs. [43:00] The an early lesson in my career regarding how one of my favorite albums I ever worked on got ruined by over-compression. [46:20] How to build a great relationship with a highly skilled mastering engineer before you even finish mixing your album or song. [50:50] Looking at your songs as income producing assets. [54:20] How to approach your recording and mixing process with a team mentality, and getting feedback through the entire process to get a perspective of what's working, and what's not.

2. 

   7 Nov 2022

   Taking Control of Your Musical Journey

   Christian Cullen is a keyboardist / composer who spent 5 years as a member of rock legends Night Ranger. Other artists he has played with include Vince Neil (Motley Crue), Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon), Bobby Kimble (Toto), Rick Nielsen & Robin Zander (Cheap Trick), Tommy Shaw (Styx), and many other rock legends. After leaving Night Ranger, Christian has had tremendous success as a composer for TV and Radio spots for companies including Disney, NFL, Fox, Ford, and Google. Here's a sneak peek inside this episode: [2:51] How living in Illinois, and not living in a major music metropolis, opened doors for him to play with so many rock legends. [9:46] His approach to taking on a challenging gig, especially with a tight deadline or a quick turnaround time. [11:15] Why it's important to never take a gig that you don't think you're right for. [18:28] There's something magical that happens when you get in a room with other musicians. Something else starts to happen that you never expected and it changes everything. You have to be open to that and not hold on too tight to any one particular idea. [19:16] The best stuff happens in collaboration. When you look at your favorite records, it's a team of people doing what they do best. [22:46] His weekly schedule of scoring, sound designing, and mixing video projects for clients. [29:17] Why it's so crucial to be honest with yourself about what your weaknesses are. [30:10] Once he knew he wanted to be a producer, he also realized that he had to get better at mixing. [31:35] Once you have the ability make your recordings sound great, the creation process is more exciting, and you reach your end goal much quicker. [35:14 - 35:35] Perfection doesn't exist, and there is no perfect scenario. Creating music doesn't require you to be a perfectionist to do exceptional work. [36:17] Towards the end of his time touring with Night Ranger, he woke up one day and realized, ‘’It's time, it's time to say goodbye to this chapter of my life.’’ [38:34] Everything he's ever achieved in his career, opportunity wise, came through some relationship that was forged over time. [39:26] Part of being successful as a creative individual is not having the financial stress while trying to create. [41:42] Layering sound effects to picture is no different than layering instruments such as guitars or synths. [46:50] There’s so much to learn from other people who have had in the music business, and there are a lot of people who are eager to share their experience when they see that there's interest in what they’ve done. You can learn more about Christian at: http://christiancullenmusic.com/

3. 

   5 Sept 2022

   The Business of Writing Radio Hits

   Brian Davis' songs have been recorded by artists including, Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, Jarrod Niemann, Tyler Farr, Gretchen Wilson, and many others. He wrote Brantley Gilbert's #1 hit "One Hell of an Amen."

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

16 ratings

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Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.