Shadow Sound Studio

06/24/2026

In Episode 10 of Stuck on Sound, I sit down with music marketing strategist, author, educator, and Cyber PR founder Ariel Hyatt for a practical and deeply human conversation about what it really takes to build a lasting music career in the digital age.
The result is an essential episode for independent artists who want to stop chasing vanity metrics and start building a more intentional, sustainable, fan-centered career. 🔗 in comments!!

Ariel traces her path from a childhood shaped by theater, art, dyslexia, and music to the early days of independent music marketing, where she cut her teeth in scrappy grassroots scenes before launching her own publicity company at age 23. That journey eventually became Cyber PR where Ariel has spent decades helping artists make sense of a music business that never stops changing.

We dig into some of the most urgent questions facing artists today: how to understand your artistic identity, how to find the right fans, why fake numbers and playlist-driven “buzz marketing” can leave artists with no real audience, and why 200 genuine fans can matter more than thousands of empty streams. Ariel makes the case for moving from shallow visibility to meaningful connection, what she calls shifting from "Buzz to Bond" which is the title of her new book.

The conversation also explores the overwhelming pace of modern content, the loss of music as a focused listening experience, the value of physical releases and fan experiences, and why artists need a plan, a team, and a clear sense of what they are actually building.

We also discuss AI in the music space, where Ariel offers a balanced view: useful as a tool for marketing, organization, and efficiency, but dangerous when it floods platforms with more low-value content and makes it even harder for human artists to be heard.

You can find more information about Ariel and her work at:
https://arielhyatt.com/
https://cyberprmusic.com/

06/22/2026

Honored to be the first artist to bring a full session to the restored Les Paul Studio at United Recording! We recorded a 6 song EP in one day using only 8 tracks with Tom Camuso engineering, Dusty Wakeman on bass, David Raven on drums using Mojave Audio mics. Thanks to all of you for your time, talent and friendship.

06/21/2026

Honored to be the first artist to bring a full session to the restored Les Paul Recording Studio at United Recording!! We recorded a 6 song EP in one day using only 8 tracks with Tom Camuso engineering, Dusty Wakeman on bass, David Raven on drums using Mojave Audio mics. Thanks to all of you for your time, talent and friendship. Video of King of Strings (Les Paul Version) being cut to vinyl on Les Paul’s original lathe! We will let you hear how it sounds soon! Stay tuned for more on a truly historic day!!!

06/19/2026

Today is the day!!!! I am the first artist to do a recording session in the restored Les Paul Studio at United Recording! They have refurbished Les Paul’s original equipment that he used to record. It’s an eight-channel, all-tube console from the late '40s/early '50s. It’s pretty exciting. We’re also going to do some direct-to-vinyl recording. It’s going to be a 12-hour session. We’re hoping to get 6 to 10 songs done - sort of a live-in-studio album. So excited to have my friends Dusty Wakeman on bass and David Raven on drums. There’s also a bunch of talented friends coming to film our experience and create a mini-documentary, so stay tuned for that. Not to mention, our engineer for the day is the awesome Tom Camuso! With a room full of engineers and producers, the creativity is boundless!

06/17/2026

Check out this article from Financial Review - "Man against the machine: Fake music swamps streamers."
It is morally bankrupt to purposely try to eliminate artists from the financial picture in the music business. Making a good living at any business is certainly understandable, but when you want to cut living, breathing artists out to increase your bottom line, I have a problem with that! Also, it’s the Wild West with regard to the law and what is permissible, and I think there will be many more court cases and wasted time and money having to defend the basic rights of creatives.
To learn more about the current legal landscape and artificial intelligence visit my podcast on the subject with Alan Clarke and Gavin Strube from Greenspoon Marder LLP at link in comments.

Songs generated by artificial intelligence now account for just under half the songs on streaming services and are diverting royalties from human artists.

06/17/2026

In Episode 9 of Stuck on Sound, I sit down with educator, artist, writer, and longtime professor at Berklee College of Music, Ellen Francese for a deeply thoughtful conversation about creativity, self-worth, teaching, illness, community, and the human need to make art.

Ellen traces her creative roots to a childhood shaped by curiosity and artistic freedom, where there was no “right” or “wrong” way to explore visual art, dance, theater, writing, or music. That foundation leads into one of the episode’s central themes: the danger of perfectionism, and the tragedy of artists feeling they need permission to create.

Ellen and I also discuss what she has seen in students over more than two decades of teaching, including rising anxiety, fear of failure, dependence on laptops and AI, and the deeper fear underneath it all: not belonging. Ellen frames creativity not as a luxury, but as a source of agency, identity, and connection.
🔗 Listen at link in comments!

06/15/2026

Came across this article and have few thoughts! A lot of good ideas here there’s certainly room for negotiation so that everyone can get what they need. While I agree with artist being paid and performing rights organizations doing that work I do think that the current model is outdated and could use some advancement and revision. We also have to assure that our Independent Music venues that are really where most of us have our performance opportunities stay viable.

Indie venues and artists are struggling with blanket licensing fees enforced by performing rights organizations in the U.S.

06/11/2026

Wanted to share a new guitar pedal which I will demo in a couple of weeks!
The DS Custom Range T – Germanium Treble Booster! This little pedal is an incredible tone shaper. It’s amazing what it can do to bring out more of the fundamental frequencies and partial overtones of any amp! Love it!!