What really matters in music production when AI can generate songs, demos, and arrangements almost instantly?

In this episode of Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, Bobby sits down with legendary Nashville engineer and producer Ed Seay to unpack how AI, modern songwriting practices, and changing production tools are reshaping the music business. From demo studios being bypassed to why human instinct still cannot be replaced, this conversation offers an inside look at where music has been and where it is headed.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• “90% of the people in the world aren’t pros. It’s all about the song and the singer.”
• “You give it the prompts and then it spits it back at you in like five or six seconds for different versions.”
• “They’ve analyzed everything from Bach to now.”
• “They don’t know what you’re thinking of tomorrow or next week.”
• “If somebody can create a demo, you just eliminated the players that were going to play on it.”
• “The sum of all the stuff sounds great, but the individuals don’t.”
• “If it sounds good, it is good.”
• “I remain the boss. I don’t let it become the boss.”
• “Everything is moving really fast and interesting to watch.”

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://sholink.to/themixingengineershandbook

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:
https://sholink.to/bobbyowsinskibooks

🎧 Free “Magic Frequencies” mini-course, learn the EQ secrets behind pro mixes: https://sholink.to/bobbyowsinskieqcourse

🎙️Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready.
Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course: https://sholink.to/vocalmixingcourse

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:
https://sholink.to/bobbyowsinski

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek
https://apodcastgeek.com/

Why Do Musicians Still Struggle to Grow a Fanbase in 2026?

This week on Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle, Prospect Hill drummer and FanFlowy co-founder Mark Roberge reveals how the music industry still lacks the systems that every other business takes for granted. From cost-per-acquisition to automated fan engagement, Mark shares why most artists burn out - and how FanFlowy was built to fix that. If you're serious about building a music career that scales, this is a must-listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS
• The music industry lacks core systems like cost-per-acquisition tracking
• Why so many talented artists give up before making it
• How FanFlowy automates fan engagement, growth, and nurturing
• The role of DMs, funnels, and targeted ads in fanbase building
• Why Spotify and YouTube followers are harder to grow than monthly listeners
• How conversation trees inside Instagram helped convert fans
• Why “real” content outperforms polished production in ad strategy
• The importance of mental toughness and staying power in music
• How Indie Artist Compass maps the path to real income from music
• The dangers of relying too much on AI-generated music

BEST MOMENTS
00:00:10. “That’s Mark Roberge, rock drummer and co-founder of FanFlowy.”
00:00:19. “They’re losing because the workload is so crushing.”
00:01:44. “It’s not just make your music and then go play live. It doesn’t work like that.”
00:03:01. “Every other industry has this and the music industry did not.”
00:05:14. “The hardest one to grow is the follower count on Spotify and the subscriber count on YouTube.”
00:06:02. “They went from a ghost town to hundreds of messages in their DMs.”
00:10:56. “The migration thing is a big deal. Do you have a way to do that?”
00:13:20. “I want all the marketing to happen as well.”
00:21:08. “I just gave you the foundation. Get the foundation laid, get it set up.”
00:30:23. “If you really want this bad, you have to be all in and you have to take the hits.”

Also, a video version of this podcast is now available on YouTube as well.

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://sholink.to/themixingengineershandbook

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:
https://sholink.to/bobbyowsinskibooks

🎧 Free “Magic Frequencies” mini-course, learn the EQ secrets behind pro mixes: https://sholink.to/bobbyowsinskieqcourse

🎙️Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready.
Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course: https://sholink.to/vocalmixingcourse

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:
https://sholink.to/bobbyowsinski

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek
https://apodcastgeek.com/

What happens when a lifelong audio engineer suddenly can’t work in a studio anymore?

In this episode of Bobby Owsinski's Inner Circle, Bobby sits down with Luke Delalio, engineer, educator, cognitive artist, photographer, and creative force at Korneff Audio. Luke shares the deeply personal story of how tinnitus changed everything, forcing him to step away from music production just as his career was thriving.

But what began as a devastating setback became the catalyst for an entirely new creative life. From theater to photography, plugin design to painting, Luke’s journey shows how curiosity, experimentation, and a refusal to follow the rules can lead to surprising breakthroughs.

If you’ve ever had to reinvent yourself, or are curious about the mindset behind some of the most innovative audio tools today, this is a must-listen.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• How tinnitus forced Luke to abruptly leave the music industry
• Why boredom can be a powerful driver of creativity
• How Luke helped shape Korneff Audio's unique plugin philosophy
• The engineering story behind Chocolate Milk and the Siemens W295 EQ
• How real studio problems inspired new plugin workflows
• Why Luke believes experimentation is central to audio innovation
• The hidden history of the Sound Techniques console
• How photography and theater helped rebuild Luke’s creative identity
• Why he’s skeptical about AI’s impact on the future of creativity
• The one piece of life advice Luke regrets not following sooner

BEST MOMENTS:

00:03:18. “It just never stopped. It's been my one true love.”
00:04:56. “Dan showed up at my mom's funeral and said, I'm setting up Cornford Audio. You want to come along?”
00:06:01. “That is pretty much mapped to Dan's thinking big because he was always a tinkerer.”
00:09:09. “That's like the real fun of being in a recording studio, was all the experimenting.”
00:17:09. “Tinnitus is audible anxiety.”
00:22:09. “I'm writing about that, and I'm trying to figure out what console was it mixed on... Sound Techniques.”
00:33:16. “The things that really get under my skin are the moments when I've been unkind.”

Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing: https://a.co/d/eEEpPrL

Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.

📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books:
https://bobbyowsinski.com/best-selling-books/

📘 The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for nailing that polished, pro mix sound:
https://a.co/d/eEEpPrL

🎧 Free “Magic Frequencies” mini-course, learn the EQ secrets behind pro mixes: https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/magic-freqs-registration

🎙️Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready.
Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course: https://tinyurl.com/bdhud2bv

🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses:
https://www.bobbyowsinskicourses.com/

📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobbyOwsinskiBiz/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobbyo/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bobbyowsinski/
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bobbyowsinski.bsky.social

🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.

Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.

Produced by APodcastGeek
https://apodcastgeek.com/