Theo Katzman on Recording, Songwriting and Staying Independent

To celebrate the third edition of How to Make It In The New Music Business, the Ari’s Take team collaborated with Shuttershot Productions to capture Ari Herstand’s special interview and Q&A with the incomparable Theo Katzman. This episode was recorded live at The Grove’s Barnes & Noble in Los Angeles on January 17th.

Order the new book here: http://book.aristake.com

00:00 Welcome

03:23 Theo’s perfect press release, recording process, touring with Vulfpeck

11:39 What artists can learn The Beatles’ Get Back documentary

16:23 Recording process: one take and one take only

22:17 Recording a live album, playing in the “red zone” (Keith Jarrett, John Coltrane, Led Zeppelin)

32:45 Why artists should never compromise themselves and their career

37:04 Authentic creative process, embracing mistakes in the studio

49:26 How Vulfpeck became so successful

52:09 How the Wim Hof Method’s cold plunging experiences inspired Theo

01:00:02 Songwriting process for new album, Be The Wheel

01:12:02 Album release strategy, distributing independently through TuneCore

01:19:51 Listening engagement from Spotify editorial playlists vs. algorithmic playlists

01:24:03 Launching new label, 10 Good Songs

01:28:17 What “making it” in the New Music Business means

01:35:10 Q&A: How clubs can best set artists up for success

01:40:47 Q&A: Advice for independent artists who don’t have a big budget

01:43:35 Q&A: Emotional quality songwriting and harmonic settings within western music ("Good To Be Alone," Paul Simon, Bob Marley)

01:48:06 Q&A: Creative marketing campaigns (Seth Godin’s This Is Marketing, TikTok)

Subscribe to The New Music Business: https://aristake.com/nmb

Ari's Take Academy (use code NMB for 10% off): https://aristakeacademy.com

Watch more discussions like this: https://bit.ly/3LavMpa

Connect with Ari’s Take:

Website: https://aristake.com

Academy: https://aristakeacademy.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aristake_

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aris.take

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArisTake

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/aristake1

Connect with Ari Herstand:

Website: https://ariherstand.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ariherstand

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ariherstand

YouTube: https://youtube.com/ariherstand

Connect with Theo Katzman:

Website: https://theokatzman.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/theokatzman

YouTube: https://youtube.com/theokatzman

Connect with Shuttershot Productions:

Website: https://weareshuttershot.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/shuttershot

Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

Live recording engineered by Maxim Adams

Mixed and mastered by Maxton Hunter

Music by Brassroots District

Video production by Shuttershot Productions

Directed by Brian Shutters

Photography directed by Kenzo Le

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Release date

Lydbog: 22. februar 2023