Guest
Ryan Schmidt
Ryan Schmidt is Co-founder at Foundation, as introduced on the show.
Episodes (1)
Ryan Schmidt of Foundation explains why artists need business knowledge alongside talent, and how two-to-five-minute lessons help close that gap.
Questions these episodes answer
What is the biggest knowledge gap that hurts independent artists?
Schmidt says it's not any single bad deal but a general lack of business knowledge, since many artists assume they can hand full responsibility for understanding contracts and royalties to a manager, label or lawyer, which leaves them unable to catch problems in their own deals.
What's the biggest misconception artists have about signing a record deal?
Schmidt says many artists think signing a deal means the label will do all the work from there, when really the day you sign is just the day you enter the major leagues and have to work harder than ever, since you're still the one steering your own career.
How does Foundation fit music business lessons around an artist's schedule?
The app is built as two to five minute lessons an artist can take between takes at a recording session, so learning the business does not compete with time spent actually making music, and Schmidt says there is no end point since the industry keeps changing.
Why did a clip of Seth MacFarlane singing on a Logic song convert to streams while other viral clips don't?
Schmidt says the clip worked because the music itself was the reason it went viral, so viewers went straight to Spotify to hear more. He contrasts this with clips where his own music played only as background to an unrelated joke, which got millions of views but almost no streams.
Why does Ryan Schmidt say artists shouldn't rely only on social media algorithms for their audience?
He says any algorithm-based platform only lends you an audience you don't actually own, and that platform could disappear tomorrow, so artists should convert followers into an owned channel like an email list or texting club they can always reach directly.