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Emmy- and GRAMMY-winning comedian Patton Oswalt lists giants like Richard Pryor and Steve Martin as his inspiration for selecting the audio-only comedy album as the format for his new stand-up special, "Black Coffee and Ice Water," which is available starting tomorrow on Audible. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/AnalyticJoin The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0KAnalytic Dreamz closes out Tate McRae's explosive 2025 with the full So Close To What??? deluxe breakdown. Dropped November 21, 2025, the expanded edition adds four new tracks — “Nobody's Girl,” “Anything But Love,” “Horseshoe,” and “Trying on Shoes” — co-written with Emile Haynie, Amy Allen, Julia Michaels, Grant Boutin, and Ryan Tedder. Lead single “Nobody's Girl” arrives with an ethereal Thibaut Grevet-directed visual featuring Tate in angel wings, delivering the defiant post-breakup anthem: “I am nobody's girl, I love it so much…”The original So Close To What debuted #1 Billboard 200 (177K first week), while the deluxe preserves her top-3 Hot 100 smash “Tit for Tat” and her first Grammy-nominated “Just Keep Watching” (Best Dance/Pop Recording). The Miss Possessive Tour grossed $110.8M across 77 sold-out shows, moving 1M tickets and quintupling prior tour earnings.From viral angelic forest shoots and midnight cliffside teasers to Bora Bora throwbacks, Analytic Dreamz analyzes the strategic era extension, chart dominance, and what's next after Tate officially ends the SC2W chapter. Essential listening for Tate McRae stats and updates. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
Join Timmy Trumpet on SINPHONY Radio episode 248 as he steps inside the 2026 Grammy's. Zedd's gets his own rollercoaster and Tiësto sends fans in to a frenzy.
Episode 202 is back with premium holiday chaos. Rich and Uncle Freeekicks things off with Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving vibes — and a debate about whether men should cook during Thanksgiving (Rich says no shot, Free says stop the nonsense). Then the culture recap goes into overdrive: Max B finally home, Sebastian Telfair's doc and the accountability conversation, and the brand-new Roc Nation distribution play that has indie rappers excited while Russ calls it a scam.Then it gets extra spicy — Young Thug pulling up to the Rabbi, Rory's old tweets resurfacing and shaking up the timeline, and a full breakdown of the Grammy nominations before tapping into the hoop talk (Wemby, Luka, and the early NBA energy).The Drip Report is back and calling out sneaker resellers, Elite Scumbaggery crowns a new champion, and we close with the official We're All Set sign-off.If you're new here — welcome to the culture.If you've been locked in — run the likes and drop a comment.
During the pandemic, will.i.am noticed how broken creative collaboration was. Tools like email, Zoom, and Dropbox made it hard for creators to stay organized and integrated. Determined to find a better way, he built FYI.AI, a generative AI platform that helps creators collaborate, share data securely, and manage their projects all in one place. In this episode, will.i.am shares how artificial intelligence is powering a new era where creativity, inclusion, and technology redefine entrepreneurship and artistic expression. In this episode, Hala and will.i.am will discuss: (00:00) Introduction (01:04) His Early Life and Creative Roots (08:13) The Power of a Growth Mindset in Success (11:19) What Being a Futurist Means to Him (17:08) How AI Is Shaping the Future of Innovation (23:39) Building FYI.ai: AI-Powered Creative Collaboration (37:18) Artificial Intelligence vs. Human Creativity in Music (42:52) Why He's Optimistic About AI in Action (46:06) Advocating Diversity and Inclusion in AI will.i.am is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a seven-time Grammy award-winning founding member of the musical group the Black Eyed Peas. Beyond music, he is a dedicated futurist and technologist, who has invested in and advised several major technology companies. Most recently, he founded FYI.ai, an AI-powered platform designed to optimize collaboration and digital ownership for the creator economy. Sponsored By: Indeed - Get a $75 sponsored job credit to boost your job's visibility at Indeed.com/PROFITING Shopify - Start your $1/month trial at Shopify.com/profiting. Quo - Get 20% off your first 6 months at Quo.com/PROFITING Revolve - Head to REVOLVE.com/PROFITING and take 15% off your first order with code PROFITING Merit Beauty - Go to meritbeauty.com to get your free signature makeup bag with your first order. DeleteMe - Remove your personal data online. Get 20% off DeleteMe consumer plans at to joindeleteme.com/profiting Spectrum Business - Visit Spectrum.com/FreeForLife to learn how you can get Business Internet Free Forever. Airbnb - Find yourself a cohost at airbnb.com/host Resources Mentioned: will.i.am's App: FYI.AI will.i.am's foundation: Im Angel Foundation: i.am.angel foundation.org YAP E241 with Mo Gawdat: youngandprofiting.co/DangersAI Active Deals - youngandprofiting.com/deals Key YAP Links Reviews - ratethispodcast.com/yap YouTube - youtube.com/c/YoungandProfiting Newsletter - youngandprofiting.co/newsletter LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/htaha/ Instagram - instagram.com/yapwithhala/ Social + Podcast Services: yapmedia.com Transcripts - youngandprofiting.com/episodes-new Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship Podcast, Business, Business Podcast, Self Improvement, Self-Improvement, Personal Development, Starting a Business, Strategy, Investing, Sales, Selling, Psychology, Productivity, Entrepreneurs, AI, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Marketing, Negotiation, Money, Finance, Side Hustle, Startup, Mental Health, Career, Leadership, Mindset, Health, Growth Mindset, ChatGPT, AI Marketing, Prompt, AI in Business, AI for Entrepreneurs, Future of Work, AI Podcast
Stephen Carpenter (Steftone) is a guitarist and key member of Deftones whom earned a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album for the album "Private Music"Stephen Carpenterhttps://deftones.comE-Zonehttp://flavorsbyezone.comXGhttp://fullytoxic.comChicletshttps://www.instagram.com/chiclets_los.angeles/
Klypso is a Grammy nominated artist who currently has "Stray Cat" on stream.Klypsohttps://link.me/klypsoE-Zonehttp://flavorsbyezone.comXGhttp://fullytoxic.comChicletshttps://www.instagram.com/chiclets_los.angeles/
We take a deep dive into the world of AI and music with artists Dylan Heidt and Jeff Dayton.Jeff Dayton is an American musician, singer, producer and songwriter best known as being the bandleader for Glen Campbell and the Jeff Dayton Band for 15 years, plus touring with Kenny Chesney and Lee Greenwood.Dayton performed with club bands in the upper Midwest, including a year with the KO Band, which was fronted by Bob Dylan studio musician Kevin Odegard. Their producer was David Z and their drummer a young Bobby "Z" Rivkin.Dayton moved to Fountain Hills, Arizona and formed the Dayton-Privett Band with Mark Prentice, Tom Sawyer and Ron Privett. After 2 years, Privett left the band, and was replaced with Dave Watson; the band was renamed High Noon Band and continued until the band went their separate ways. Dayton then formed the Jeff Dayton Band, and over time about 100 different musicians performed under that name with Dayton, notably steel guitarist Ed Black, guitarist Bob "Willard" Henke, Grammy award winner producer Michael B (aka Mike Broening), drummer Mickey McGee, banjo player Bruce Leland, drummer Merel Bregante, bassist Doug Haywood, etc.[1][15]High Noon won the Wrangler Country Showdown and the Jeff Dayton Band won the Marlboro Talent Roundup. The JDB was named New Times' Best of the Decade's Best Award.[4] In addition, Dayton wrote and recorded That Lady Can Love which became his first #1 record at KNIX-FM and another song earned a platinum songwriting award for George Strait with "Any Old Time." The song was also released as the "B" side of Strait's single "The Cowboy Rides Away."Dayton and band opened for Merle Haggard, The Judds and Alabama in 1987. After a chance meeting with Glen Campbell that evening and an impromptu jam session at the grand opening of Jack Nicklaus' Desert Mountain golf course, Dayton and his group were hired to tour with Campbell.[5][6]For the next 15 years the Jeff Dayton band performed on worldwide tours, TV and record dates, celebrity events and many concerts.[7][8] While Glen Campbell's' musical director, he conducted many symphony orchestras and even Les Brown and His Band of Renown. Highlights included shows at the White House, NBC's The Today Show and the Grand Ole Opry stage. Campbell and the Jeff Dayton Band also played with Gene Autry, Willie Nelson, Bob Hope, Vince Gill and dozens more."See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
The body is always speaking — through tension, emotion, intuition, and energy. The question is: are we listening? In this week's episode, I sit down with my dear friend Dr. John Amaral — a world-renowned energy practitioner, chiropractor, and educator who has worked with thousands of people across more than 70 countries, including Oscar-winning actors, Grammy-winning musicians, Olympic athletes, and global leaders, including his decades-long collaboration with Tony Robbins. We explore how trauma and emotion get trapped in the body, why awareness is essential for growth, and how developing somatic and energetic sensitivity allows us to feel, truly feel, what's happening beneath the surface. We talk about the difference between releasing energy and avoiding emotion, how the body adapts when we lose choice, and why feeling deeply — rather than bypassing discomfort — is the key to genuine healing and embodiment. When you reconnect to your body and learn to really feel ALL of the feels, healing becomes not something you chase — but something that naturally unfolds. Key Moments You'll Love ✨
Jason “JJ Boogie” Reichert is a multi-instrumentalist, producer, mix engineer, and longtime member of the Grammy-winning hip-hop collective Arrested Development — making him one of the most influential creators in conscious hip-hop and alternative rap. In this episode, we dive deep into JJ Boogie's musical evolution, his creative process, and his global touring legacy as a guitarist, drummer, co-writer, co-producer, mixer, masterer, and front-of-house engineer.JJ first met Speech Thomas in 1998, joining the group just before the release of their third album, and he's been shaping the sound of socially conscious hip-hop ever since. As a winner of the 2018 Black Music Awards and a core part of Arrested Development's world tours and studio catalog, JJ brings decades of artistry, innovation, and lived experience to this conversation.We also explore his life beyond the stage — from his 20-year musical partnership with his wife, Nanyana Summer (yes… Dolly Parton's distant cousin!), to their countless gigs across the Southeast, to the pride he carries as a father of two who celebrate his work every step of the way.This is a rich, soulful, behind-the-scenes look at an artist whose fingerprints have shaped generations of listeners.
Oscar Race Checkpoint returns with a big Awards News segment covering the EFA & BIFA noms, changes from SAG & Critics Choice, an added Gotham Tribute that we called +++ Governor's Awards and campaign talk. Then we enjoyed a big What We're Watching segment covering Nouvelle Vague, Ballad of a Small Player, House of Dynamite, Die My Love, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Christy, Nuremberg, Are We Good?, and I'm Not Everything I Want To Be. Finally, we close with a few trailer reviews including Scream 7, Michael, The Testament of Ann Lee, and Marty Supreme. AWARDS NEWS: EFA Noms: The European Film Awards could be a big day for Sentimental Value - 1:54 BIFA Noms: British Independent Film Awards & where we're looking for crossover - 5:26 The Governors Awards & Tom Cruise's Big Speech - 15:27 The Critics Choice Awards add 4 categories on E! - 20:09 The Gotham Awards add a tribute for Jeremy Allan White + Wicked/campaign talk - 22:44 The Actor Awards are the new SAG's - 28:06 WHAT WE'RE WATCHING: Nouvelle Vague - 30:32 Ballad of a Small Player - 34:47 Die My Love - 37:43 If I Had Legs I'd Kick You - 40:40 A House of Dynamite - 42:56 Christy and the latest Sydney Sweeney drama - 45:07 Nuremberg - 49:31 Are We Good? - 52:14 I'm Not Everything I Want To Be - 58:50 TRAILER REVIEWS: Scream 7 - 1:03:56 Michael - 1:07:42 The Testament of Ann Lee - 1:09:30 Marty Supreme - 1:12:04 OUTRO: We discuss where you can find us on social media and the big green and pink movie that we may or may not be reviewing next. https://linktr.ee/mikemikeandoscar We also reminisce about our lost loved ones after AlsoMike lost his grandmother this week. R.I.P., Grammy. We love you.
You've heard of the Emmys, the Oscars, and the Grammys... but what about the TOTYs?In this episode, we're going to dive into the TOTY (Toy of the Year) Awards and why they're a huge deal if you're in the toy industry. I'm breaking down exactly how to get nominated, how to time your launch for max award potential, and how a TOTY nod can boost your sales, get you press, and even give your SEO a serious lift.You'll also hear about the glamorous TOTY Gala held during New York Toy Fair, how voting works (yes, there's a People's Choice!), and how you can leverage a TOTY finalist spot into a powerful marketing moment.Featured in this episode:How TOTY nominations can increase sales by 30%The step-by-step submission and voting timelineWhat it's really like attending the black-tie galaPromotional spotlight opportunities for current finalistsIf you're a TOTY finalist this year (or know someone who is), now's the time to act. Public voting is open and closes January 7, 2026! Head to this year's nominee list, find your category, and start rallying your audience. And if you're ready to boost your visibility with a TOTY Spotlight feature on the podcast, YouTube channel, and beyond, grab your category-exclusive promo package before it's gone. Let's turn that nomination into a win!Listen for these Important Moments! [00:01:41] – Learn what the TOTY Awards are, who runs them, and why they're the Oscars of the toy world. [00:02:02] – Find out exactly how to qualify for a nomination: including timing, crowdfunding rules, and product availability. [00:03:09] – Step inside the black-tie TOTY Gala with Azhelle's firsthand recap from red carpet to Wyclef Jean. [00:04:55] – How a TOTY nomination can lead to a 30% sales bump, more press, better SEO, and even job offers. [00:07:10] – Get details on my exclusive promo packages for 2026 finalists! (only one per category)Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!Support the showPopular Masterclass! How To Make & Sell Your Toy IdeasYour Low-Stress, Start-To-Finish Playful Product Launch In 5 Steps >> https://learn.thetoycoach.com/masterclass
FULL SHOW DESCRIPTION Renowned rock historian, producer, DJ, and author Denny Somach joins Metal Mayhem ROC to explore the newly updated 2025 edition of his classic book Get the Led Out: How Led Zeppelin Became the Biggest Band in the World, originally released in 2012. Denny recounts Zeppelin's journey from The New Yardbirds to worldwide domination, shares never-before-told stories from his decades in radio, and reveals how his infamous Howard Stern Show appearance reignited the “Stairway to Heaven” song-theft controversy. He discusses the Black Sabbath–Led Zeppelin jam rumor, the inside details of the Stairway lawsuit, and hints at unreleased Zeppelin live recordings that might finally see daylight. Somach also teases his latest project, Rock and Roll for Grown-Ups, and reflects on 50 years of chronicling rock history.
Born in Mississippi, Bryan Owings moved to Nashville in the late 1980's to pursue his career as a session drummer. His discography is vast, spanning decades and boasting credits with artists like Buddy Miller, Iris Dement, Tony Joe White, Wanda Jackson, Sue Foley, Delbert McClinton, Lucinda Williams and Emmy Lou Harris Bryan, was also included in the 2013 Muscle Shoals documentary soundtrack, playing drums for Grammy award winning artist Alicia Keys. In this episode, Bryan talks about: Bryan's origin story with drums The draw to Nashville Embracing your sound and being true to yourself Finding the best monitor mix for the performance Working with Iris Dement, Shelby Lynne The reality of getting hired and fired, re-hired, fired….. Playing drums in the Muscle Shoals documentary with Alicia Keys Revisiting applicable technique Here's our Patreon Here's our Youtube Here's our Homepage
Join our Patreon for exclusive, bonus content every week:https://www.patreon.com/TalkMileytoMeAll merch proceeds this month will be donated to The Miley Cyrus Foundation in honor of Miley's 33rd birthday!: talk-miley-to-me-podcast-shop.fourthwall.comSEND US A VOICE MESSAGE: https://www.speakpipe.com/talkmileytomeSubscribe to Mollie's Pop culture YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@mollieonpop/Follow us on all of our socials to stay updated!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkmileytomepodcast/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkmileytomeTwitter/X: https://x.com/TALKMILEYTOME_____________________CHAPTERS:00:00 intro13:23 something beautiful grammy nom for best pop vocal album17:55 cody linley about hannah montana 20 year reunion19:47 2026 grammy nominations33:41 dream as one38:11 recent miley news46:50 Send it on reunion51:39 voice messages
Brothers Jimmy Clements and Danny Okey return from an extended hiatus to talk about the Grammy nominations, breaking down what they liked and didn't like about this year's slate. Then they bring their long running series "Our Top 25 Albums of the 21st Century So Far" to a thrilling conclusion with their Top 10 selections. Throw in an extended gushing session for Rosalía's groundbreaking new album "Lux" and you've got a can't miss pod for your morning commute. Bring on the music!Thanks for listening! Please Connect with Us. TikTok: @thedailyrecordspin Instagram: @thedailyrecordspin_podcast Email: thedailyrecordspin@gmail.com
Escuchamos a los músicos nominados e los Grammy en las categorías de Mejor Álbun de Jazz Instrumental y Mejor Album de Jazz Alternativo en los que aparecen Yellowjackets, Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade, Sullivan Fortner, John Patitucci, Brandford Marsalis, Ambrose Akinmusire, Robert Glasper, Brad Mehldau, Nate Smith e Immanuel Wilkins. Temas que suenan en el programa: 01 2025 Yellowjackets - Fasten Up 03 Will Power - Bob Mintzer Russell Ferrante Dane Alderson Will Kennedy (4' 11'') 02 2020 Chick Corea, Christian McBride & Brian Blade Trilogy 3 05 Trinkle Tinkle (6' 22'') 03 2025 Sullivan Fortner - Southern nights 05 Waltz for Monk - Peter Washington Marcus Gilmore (4' 03'') 04 2025 John Patitucci - Spirit Fall 09 Light in the Darkness - Chris Potter Brian Blade (2' 44'') 05 2025 Brandford Marsalis - Belonging 04 Belonging - Joey Calderazzo Eric Revis Justin Faulkner (7' 30'') 06 2025 Ambrose Akinmusire - Honey from a winter stone 02 Bloomed (the ongoing processional of nighas in hoodies) (7' 31'') 07 2025 Robert Glasper - Keys to the City Volume One 02 Paint The World - Thundercat (5' 30'') 08 2025 Brad Mehldau - Ride into the Sun 05 Sweet Adeline Fantasy (4' 42'') 09 2025 Nate Smith - Live-Action 07 Mother and Son - Marquis Hill Ben Williams (3' 02'') 10 2024 Immanuel Wilkins - Blues Blood 03 Motion - June McDoom Yaw Agyeman Ganavya Micah Thomas Rick Rosato Kweku Sumbry (5' 29'')
This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with acclaimed pianist and composer, Chloe Flower. Born in Pennsylvania, Chloe began playing piano at age two, later studying at the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College and London's Royal Academy of Music. A classically trained pianist turned genre-bender, she calls her unique style “popsical” (a fusion of classical, pop, and hip-hop). She has collaborated with major artists like Céline Dion, Babyface, Nas, and Cardi B (whose 2019 Grammy performance she helped elevate). Beyond music, Chloe is a passionate advocate for music education and anti-human trafficking efforts.In this episode, Ari and Chloe dive into her artistic journey. They discuss everything from rigorous classical training to creating a hybrid genre that seemed nonexistent before her. Chloe explains how she navigates the music business, and the lessons she's learned from bridging two very distinct worlds. Ari and Chloe talk about label strategy, collaboration with big-name artists and producers, and maintaining authenticity while scaling. Chloe shares her approach to building a personal brand (both musically and visually), her perspective on empowering women in the industry, and how she sees the future of genre-fluid music and education. https://www.instagram.com/misschloeflower05:00 – The Holiday Album and Women Composers10:30 – Understanding Public Domain and Classical Music Rights15:45 – YouTube Covers, Metadata, and Going Independent19:00 – Meeting Babyface and Blending Genres25:00 – The Viral Grammy Performance with Cardi B29:30 – Evolving Sound and the Role of Collaboration33:00 – Running an Independent Label and Revenue Streams36:00 – Pros and Cons of Major vs. Indie Labels47:00 – Music Education and Inspiring the Next Generation54:00 – Performing with Orchestras and ConductorsEdited and mixed by Peter SchruppMusic by Brassroots DistrictProduced by the team at Ari's TakeOrder the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
[REBROADCAST FROM Sept. 17, 2025] Grammy-award winning Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan has recently released a new album, Better Broken, the artist's first in 11 years. McLachlan shares excerpts from the album and reflects on her career, which includes being the founder of Lilith Fair. She's in town again to play the Beacon Theater tonight as part of her 'Better Broken' tour.
Season 4 continues with Ty Dolla $ign—writer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and A&R mind shaping the next wave of R&B. Ty breaks down a decade since his critically acclaimed debut Free TC, the launch of EZMNY Records and its flagship artist Leon Thomas (fresh off six GRAMMY® nominations), and the musical lineage that runs in his family. We get into Ty’s collaborative DNA—Babyface, Brandy, Jagged Edge, James Fauntleroy, Jeremih, dvsn, Kehlani, Khalid, 6lack, Jacob Collier, Mahalia and more—as well as the craftsmanship behind his pen on records like “Loyal,” “Boss,” “Hit Different,” “The Distance,” “Safety Net,” “Chosen,” and “Post to Be.” He also celebrates major plaque talk, including the Diamond certification of “Or Nah (Remix)” and “Psycho” with Post Malone, plus his 8th GRAMMY® nomination for work on JID’s “WholeheartedlySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Yet another scandal hit the Sacramento swamp this week as former top aides to Gavin Newsom and Xavier Becerra were indicted on federal charges of public corruption. Susan Shelley has all the details, along with the latest on the LAFD's botched response to the January wildfires. Is Trump Derangement Syndrome on the rise in the Democratic party? It's hard to believe they could get any more hysterical, but we break down all the latest incidents – including the government shutdown, Prop 50 and Eric Swalwell's rumored run for California governor. Then, Grammy-nominated musician Tish Hyman joins the show after being banned from her gym for objecting to biological males in the women's locker room. She tells the shocking story behind her viral moment and explains what California politicians must do to protect women's spaces. And finally, Prager University co-founder Allen Estrin joins us to discuss his new book “The Honest Book of Presidents: The Men Who Shaped America,” and why it's a necessary antidote to the Left's anti-American view of history.
Will Hoge has released 13+ albums both independently and on major labels (Atlantic), has been nominated for Grammy, ACM, and CMA awards, and has toured with NEEDTOBREATHE, Jason Isbell, Lisa Loeb, Sugarland, Michelle Branch and others. We talk to Will about the emotional and professional fallout of writing politically charged songs, the role of parenting in shaping artistic courage and empathy, the difference between surviving the industry and making meaningful art, burnout, staying human, and a whole lot more.Get more access and support this show by subscribing to our Patreon, right here.Links:Will HogeRed Wanting BlueEp 21 - Alice GerrardAtlantic RecordsEp 125 - Josh RadnorEp 106 - Wilder Woods/Bear RhineheartEp 123 - Dave HausGarry TallentClick here to watch this conversation on YouTube.Social Media:The Other 22 Hours InstagramThe Other 22 Hours TikTokMichaela Anne InstagramAaron Shafer-Haiss InstagramAll music written, performed, and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Become a subscribing member on our Patreon to gain more inside access including exclusive content, workshops, the chance to have your questions answered by our upcoming guests, and more.
Armon, Will Foster, and Miss2Bees are back after some time apart. Miss2Bees debuts her new segment What's Buzzing on These Streets, calling out Tory Lanez's own appeal filings as an effective admission in the Megan Thee Stallion case and unpacking how legal journalism and misinformation are failing the culture (3:40), before the team revisits Omarion vs. Mario, live vocals, and early-2000s R&B egos (9:40). They then dive into “Rory-Gate,” resurfaced tweets, Twitter Spaces damage control, and what the saga reveals about anti-Blackness and how Black women are routinely targeted (16:38). Next, a deep breakdown of the 2026 GRAMMY nominations across Hip-Hop, R&B, Album and Song of the Year, touching Bad Bunny's run, K-Pop Demon Hunters, Cardi B and Gunna snubs, Mariah the Scientist discourse, and how kids shape the charts (31:58). From there, the gang reviews new music—Cardi B, Latto & Jeezy's “Everytime” remix and whether it should've been on the original album (55:19), Meek Mill's Indie Pack Vol. 1 and his “Fourth of July” visual, hood PTSD, and AI chains (57:40), Summer Walker's Finally Over It trilogy finale and where it ranks next to Over It and Still Over It (1:06:45), plus Wale's everything is a lot., his immigrant-parent text thread, catalog, and longevity (1:13:28). In this week's Board Meeting, Armon opens up about being laid off in the VIBE/Rolling Stone merger and uses that to examine media consolidation, Black writers and label staff being cut, DEI rollbacks, lazy A&R, AI artists, the death of discovery, and what a return to Black-run boutique systems could look like (1:22:25). Will then introduces his new discovery segment, spotlighting rising Southern-rooted artist Gabriel Jacoby and why his warm, live-instrument, Sunday-clean-the-house soul feels like the kind of music listeners can really connect to right now (1:50:16). As always, the episode closes with the SLIDE DECK, which going forward will only be available on Patreon - patreon.com/staybusypod Stay Busy with Armon Sadler https://www.instagram.com/staybusypod/ https://twitter.com/staybusypod https://www.tiktok.com/@staybusypod Armon https://www.instagram.com/armonsadler/ https://x.com/armonsadler Will Foster https://www.instagram.com/wxllxxm/ https://x.com/WxLLxxM Miss2Bees https://www.instagram.com/miss2bees/ https://x.com/miss2bees Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nan Schwartz is a Grammy winning arranger and a 5x Grammy nominee, and she's a 7x Emmy nominee for her compositions for television and TV films. As a conductor and orchestrator, she's worked on projects like In The Heat Of The Night, Argo and Harry Potter. She's also collaborated on a ballet score. And she's worked with stars like Natalie Cole, Ray Charles and John Williams.My featured song is “Constable On Patrol” from the album East Side Sessions by my band Project Grand Slam. Spotify link.—-----------------------------------------------------------The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries!Click here for All Episodes Click here for Guest List Click here for Guest Groupings Click here for Guest TestimonialsClick here to Subscribe Click here to receive our Email UpdatesClick here to Rate and Review the podcast—----------------------------------------CONNECT WITH NAN:www.nanschwartz.com—----------------------------------------ROBERT'S LATEST SINGLE:“MI CACHIMBER” is Robert's latest single. It's Robert's tribute to his father who played the trumpet and loved Latin music.. Featuring world class guest artists Benny Benack III and Dave Smith on flugelhornCLICK HERE FOR YOUTUBE LINKCLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS—--------------------------------------ROBERT'S LATEST ALBUM:“WHAT'S UP!” is Robert's latest compilation album. Featuring 10 of his recent singles including all the ones listed below. Instrumentals and vocals. Jazz, Rock, Pop and Fusion. “My best work so far. (Robert)”CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL VIDEOCLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS—----------------------------------------Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast:Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music:Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com
My friend @lecrae told me he would be in town so you know we had to get him on the pod
#craftbeer #themummy #brendanfraser The Mummy is coming back with the dreamiest on-screen couple of 1999 — Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Welcome back, ancient-Egyptian cursed mommy and zaddy. We love you. On the gaming side, GTA 6 gets delayed yet again and Valve announces new Steam hardware that might be a game-changer if the price is right. Finally, we close out with a quick talk on the Grammys' Album of the Year nominees and why they're kind of weird (but not all bad). 0:00 Intro 9:17 The Mummy Requel is Happening with Brendan Fraser & Rachel Weisz 24:18 Grand Theft Auto 6 Gets Delayed Yet Again 44:20 Valve Announces Steam Machine, Steam Frame, & Steam Controller 59:43 The Grammys 2025 Album of the Year Noms are Hip-Hop-Filled 1:12:05 Cheers of the Week: The Chair Company & Tatsuya Nakadai 1:16:35 Beer Review Odd Colony Brewing Company (in collaboration with Spahr Brewing Company) Oddtoberfest Open-Fermented Marzen-Style Lager
Every technology in music history leaves artists behind. What if one left them all behind? AI-generated music is severely undermining artists' ability to make a viable living. Is it a canary in the coal mine for music and for how AI will affect the future of work more broadly? Grammy-nominated musician Tift Merritt and Professor David Hoffman of the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy discuss the research they are conducting with students to address these issues. Host: Anna Gassman-Pines. This episode is part of a month-long series of stories related to tech policy from the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.
Tom Hambridge is a Grammy Award-winning drummer, songwriter, and producer whose fingerprints are all over modern blues and rock music. Known for his powerhouse drumming, soulful songwriting, and Grammy-winning production work, Hambridge has built an extraordinary career that bridges the worlds of stage and studio — working alongside some of the biggest legends in American music.Born and raised in Buffalo, New York, Tom began playing drums at the age of five, showing an instinctive sense of rhythm that would shape his life. He studied at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he honed his craft not only as a drummer but also as a singer, songwriter, and producer. Before becoming one of Nashville's most in-demand producers, Hambridge led his own band, Tom Hambridge & The Rattlesnakes, building a devoted following for his high-energy live shows and original songs that blended blues, rock, and Americana influences.Hambridge's reputation as a go-to songwriter and producer skyrocketed when he began collaborating with blues icon Buddy Guy. Their creative partnership produced a string of critically acclaimed albums, including Skin Deep, Living Proof, and The Blues Don't Lie. These records not only revitalized Guy's career but also earned multiple Grammy Awards and Blues Music Awards, cementing Hambridge's place as one of the leading producers in contemporary blues.Beyond Buddy Guy, Tom has written and produced for an impressive roster of legendary artists, including Susan Tedeschi, George Thorogood, Joe Bonamassa, James Cotton, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, and Johnny Winter. His songs have been covered and recorded by icons across genres, from rock to country, demonstrating his remarkable versatility and storytelling gift.While his songwriting and production credits are extensive, Tom Hambridge's drumming credentials are equally impressive. He has toured and recorded with artists such as Delbert McClinton, Boston, and Chuck Berry, always delivering his signature mix of groove, drive, and precision. Whether behind the kit in the studio or on stage at major festivals, Hambridge's playing exudes both heart and technical mastery.As a solo artist, Tom has released several acclaimed albums that showcase his gritty vocals and songwriting depth. Today, Tom Hambridge stands as one of the most respected figures in modern blues and roots music. With multiple Grammys, dozens of producer credits, and a reputation for elevating every artist he works with, Hambridge's influence reaches far beyond the studio. Whether producing chart-topping albums, writing soulful hits, or performing his own electrifying shows, he continues to shape the sound of contemporary American music — one song, one beat, and one record at a time.What's Inside This EpisodeTom Hambridge's early years, musical upbringing, and path to BerkleeHow he built his career before writing for major artistsThe rise of Tom Hambridge & The Rattlesnakes and his early solo workHis game-changing songwriting and production partnership with Buddy GuyThe major artists he has written for and produced, from Joe Bonamassa to Susan TedeschiThe legendary musicians he has drummed for on stage and in the studioA look at his acclaimed solo albums including Boom!, The NOLA Sessions, and Blues Don't CareHow Hambridge helped shape the modern blues soundHis ongoing influence as a drummer, songwriter, and Grammy-winning producerFor further information on Tom head to his website: http://hambridgetunes.com/With comments or suggestions head to my website: https:www.abreathoffreshair.com.au
This week on Sheena Interrupted, we're celebrating a huge milestone… and unpacking why it made me deeply uncomfortable. We celebrated our YouTube plaque for 100,000 subscribers which sent me spiraling back to childhood awards, second-place trophies, and that feeling of never quite being “the best.” TRID thinks awards are just souvenirs of the journey. I'm over here wondering if they quietly mess with us on a deeper level and the way we see ourselves… Also in this episode: we discussed into Olympic Medals, Grammys, Streamys, and why some people crave recognition while others want to run from it. If you've ever: • Felt weird accepting a compliment or an award • Worked just as hard as everyone else and still didn't get “first place” • Taken time off for kids or life, and are now trying to come back to work or your dreams…then this episode is for you. Stay till the end for some terrible award puns from TRID, a live mini performance of The Christmas Song, and a little reminder that you're not defined by a trophy…or the lack of one. This week's sponsors: factormeals.com and use code sheena50off shantibhavanchildren.org to donate today!
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This conversation with Nathan Lee Graham goes deeper than expected, mixing sharp humor with real insight into a career built on consistency, curiosity, and craft. He reflects on growing up between St. Louis and Los Angeles, navigating a childhood shaped by divorce, experimental schools, and parents who understood early on that the arts were his home. Nathan talks about discovering his calling in high school, the moment Marin Mazie encouraged him to move to New York, and how that one decision launched decades of steady work across stage and screen. Along the way he opens up about playing twins on Scrubs, aging in Hollywood, the discipline required to keep his instrument ready, and why he still sees himself first and foremost as a working actor rather than someone chasing fame. We also dive into the surprising path that led him to Zoolander the day after The Wild Party closed, the unique challenge and joy of creating memorable moments with only a handful of lines, and how he approaches every medium — stage, film, TV — with the same mindset and integrity. Nathan shares what it means to trust collaborators, what he's learning during previews of The Baker's Wife at Classic Stage Company, and why patience, perspective, and self-care have become essential to his life and artistry. It's a thoughtful, warm, and often funny look at a career defined not by one role, but by the sum of its parts and the relationships that shaped them. Nathan Lee Graham is a Grammy winner for Best Classical Album (Songs of Innocence and of Experience), a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award recipient for The Wild Party, and a Drama League Award nominee for Wig Out. His stage work includes originating roles in The Wild Party and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, with national tours of Hadestown and Show Boat. On screen, he is known for Zoolander, Zoolander 2, Sweet Home Alabama, Hitch, The Comeback, Scrubs, LA to Vegas, Mid-Century Modern, and more. He currently stars as Marquis in The Baker's Wife at Classic Stage Company. This episode is powered by WelcomeToTimesSquare.com, the billboard where you can be a star for a day. Connect with Nathan: Instagram: @nathanleegraham Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support the podcast on Patreon and watch video versions of the episodes: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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This week musician and songwriter J. Lauryn joins us for another on the road episode. She shares how a dancing audition for Janet Jackson led her to move to LA, kickstarting her journey from backup dancer to hit songwriter to Grammy winner! She and Anjelah open up about childbirth anxiety, family gratitudes, and the myth of onion cutting goggles. Plus, fun fact, J. Lauryn even danced in a few Bon Qui Qui music videos! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Nnenna Freelon, a seven-time Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist and composer, podcaster and now author, shares with host Carol Jenkins how she overcame a series of personal losses and how that grief has shaped her musical path and latest book, Beneath the Skin of Sorrow.
Escuchen algunos de los artistas de los premios Grammy 2025. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oh my goodness, Scorekeepers! We're back with another episode of your favorite podcast, THE SCORE! This week, we chat through some of the big news items of the past few weeks. First, we get grossed out by the Epstein emails, but then we cleanse our palates with a little update on House of Masks. Lee then gives us some hope about this year's Grammy nominations, followed, of course, by a little Sinners-flavored Pure Black Joy! Let's do it to it, y'all!Hosts: Lee Bynum, Rocky Jones, Paige ReynoldsProducer: Rocky Jones--LinksGet your tickets to House of Masks (BUY NOW!)2025 Naked Stages Artist Fellows (Website)--Hey hey, THE SCORE is now on social! Follow us @thescorepod on Instagram here and Bluesky here! --New episodes of THE SCORE drop every other Tuesday. If you like what you hear, please support us and SUBSCRIBE to the show on your favorite podcast app and be sure to SHARE our show with your friends. Also, leaving a 5-star REVIEW on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you're listening is a great way to help people find our show. Email your questions or comments to thescorepodcast2.0@gmail.com.Ways to Listen: Apple | Spotify | YouTubeFollow Your Hosts on Insta! Lee | Paige | Rocky
En este martes de ExpresArte
The Creativity, Education, and Leadership Podcast with Ben Guest
They put in their cover letter, “Honestly, we're just gonna go up to Yellowstone around that time and we would love to swing by and show the movie.”Rudi Womack is the Director of the Wyoming International Film Festival and the creator of the YouTube channel The Film Festival Guide.In this conversation, Rudi talks about:* What watching thousands of film festival submissions has taught him about good storytelling* The biggest mistake filmmakers make when they submit to festivals* Why transparency matters and why he published all of the submission and acceptance stats for the Wyoming International Film Festival * The importance of a compelling poster and thumbnail* How to write a good description of your movie* The most important questions filmmakers must askHere is a link to Hiike, the new film festival submission platform that Rudi mentioned.If you enjoyed this episode please forward to a friend.Here is an AI-generated transcript of my interview with Rudi. Don't come for me.79. Film Festival Director Rudi WomackBEN: Hi everyone. This is Ben Guest and this is The Creativity Education and Leadership Podcast. My guest today is Rudy Womack, who is the director of the Wyoming International Film Festival, and also Rudy has a fantastic YouTube page called The Film Festival Guide. So for all my filmmakers out there who are interested in submitting to festivals in this interview and on Rudy's YouTube page, he breaks it down. Enjoy.Rudi, thank you so much for joining us.RUDI: Hey, it's my pleasure to be here. Thank you for having me.BEN: So I always start off with a fun question, and we're entering the holiday season, so very important holiday question. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?RUDI: Absolutely. A hundred percent. Come on.BEN: I love it. So I, I told you this off Air, I found you through the Rate YouTube channel.You have the Film Festival Guide. Is that the right name? I wanna make sure I get the name right. Yeah. The filmRUDI: festival guide. Yep.BEN: On YouTube Film Festival Guide on YouTube. Please. Any filmmakers out there go and subscribe. The information is so helpful. What, why did you start the this YouTube page?RUDI: I, as a filmmaker have gone through the festival circuit several times and I made a lot of amateur mistakes. I didn't know what I was doing. Definitely fell on my face a couple of times, but I also had some successes. And as I did more film festivals, I started learning more about the circuit.I got invited by a film festival to become a programmer, and so I started reviewing a lot of films and seeing a lot of the submissions. And I think instantly that made me a better filmmaker just because I saw what was working, what wasn't working, and how other filmmakers really brought to, brought their stories to life on the screen.And it, it was truly inspirational. Very long story short, the Wyoming International Film Festival was started by a gentleman named Alan Oi, and he's a, he's a documentarian out of Wyoming, which is where I'm from. I'm from Wyoming. So Alan had the film festival and he had run it for some years and it was going great and everything.But then Alan retired and now he's retiring. He wants to move outta Wyoming and he doesn't wanna run a live event. ‘cause it is a lot of work in his words. And I quote, it's a young man's game. And at the same time, COVID hit and he didn't wanna do the whole online thing and it was just a big mess.So Alan was like, I'm done with the festival, it's done. I'm just gonna let it die. And I was begging him, no, Alan, you can't do it. It's so important for indie filmmakers. And at the time I'm just finding my feet in the festival circuit as well as both a filmmaker and now I'm a programmer.I'm begging him like don't let it die. It's important, maybe I can help out. And he was like, why don't you run it? And I was like, absolutely not, man. What are you talking about? That's crazy. No way. No way. And I was like, I'm going to be your director of programming. That's what I'm going to do.I'm gonna help you get films in so you don't have to do that work. Very long story short, I ended up running it. I ended up taking over the festival from Alan. I did so reluctantly. But when I started working with the festival, working with the community, working with my hometown filmmakers and my home state filmmakers, and just seeing how important a film festival can be for a local community to uplift indie filmmakers to help them along the way I fell in love with it and here I am now, I run the film festival.And your question was, how did I start the YouTube channel? Sorry, I'm getting there. But I got a lot of questions from filmmakers about festivals, like how to navigate ‘em. And there's just so much mystery behind film festivals ‘cause it's so opaque. There's not a lot of transparency from film festivals.Film festivals are sketchy about which films they do select and which they don't. And frankly, there's a lot of misinformation out there about festivals. So I started answering a lot of questions and I started repeatedly answering the same question again and again and again. And I had some friends who told me, you should write a book.But I was like, yeah, but books, there are books, like people have already written books, bluntly, frankly, people far more experienced and knowledgeable than myself have written books. And so if you're not reading those books, then you're probably not gonna read my book. So that's when I decided, you know what, the YouTube channel is a great way to just do very easy outreach.Take one single topic, break it down for 10 minutes, and hopefully help filmmakers along on their film festival journey.BEN: I love it. And you said something for all the filmmakers who are listening. I'm gonna come back to it. Don't worry. You said something about once you started programming and watching so many films, you got a good sense of what works and what doesn't.So I definitely wanna come back to that. I know the filmmakers listening want to hear that. But before that you mentioned 10 minute videos. You strike me as somebody who, does research and takes time to Yes. Before they do something. What did you discover about running a YouTube page?What things work, what things don't work?RUDI: I'm still very early on in my own YouTube development. I'm still trying to learn what does and doesn't work. So I'm probably the worst person on earth to give advice. Definitely that first 32nd hook is so important on YouTube, just like it is on a film that, that intro, how we come into the story, whatever, on YouTube, you can see a massive drop off and apparently it's that way on every channel.Again, I'm not a YouTube guru, so I don't give advice, but that first 32nd hook is a big deal, but also just my presence on camera. I come from the post world. I'm an editor, so I'm not just behind camera. I'm behind, behind the camera. So I'm very much not used to an on-camera presence, so I'm developing that and learning it as well.What kind of energy I can bring. How to make it engaging. But also I don't wanna be zany and too quirky or anything because I am trying to give good guidance to filmmakers, but I also don't want to lecture them and bore them to death. So it's finding that balance of information that's valuable, but also entertaining enough that people don't wanna click off.And it's actually quite a complex thing that I'm still unraveling one video at a time. But the best advice that I saw was some YouTube guru who is just focus on getting 1% better on every single video. So is that little bit better graphics or better delivery, or better audio, or better editing or whatever it is.And after a hundred videos, you're now a hundred percent better. So that's what I've been focusing on. Just very small baby steps.BEN: Yeah, that's such a great way to break it down, right? It just makes it bite-sized, get 1% better.RUDI: I think you can apply that to life in general. There's a lot of things in life just today be 1% better.That's it,BEN: so you mentioned once you start a programming scene, get enough feel for what works, what doesn't, especially with short films, both narrative and docs. What are you seeing that works and doesn't work?RUDI: In the shorts world I'm seeing a couple of things. One, a self-contained story, and this is something that I had a problem with because oftentimes I would go for more of a quote unquote scene instead of a full beginning, middle and in, in a story.So a self-contained story typically is gonna make your short film much more successful. This can be hard for some filmmakers because they're trying to make a proof of concept short film that they're gonna go and get financing for their future. So one of the things that they often do is they just take a scene outta their feature and then just shoot that, which has mixed results.And the problem is the films that have gotten financed and been made from shorts that have done that are the ones that you see. So it's actually a survivor bias, where it's like it, it works for those particular films and therefore everybody thinks it's gonna work for their film. But obviously the films that it doesn't work for, you're never going to see.So you don't understand, actually for the majority of films, it doesn't work. So if you have a proof of concept, I actually say, don't pull a scene outta your feature. I say write its own scene, or sorry, your own short film. That exists in the same world and universe with the same characters as what your feature film is.And I think that's gonna have much more success on the film festival circuit. And that will lean you or lead you to whatever your goal is, financing or distribution or whatever. So that's a big thing with short films that makes ‘em successful is make sure it is actually a self-contained story and it doesn't have any loose ends, so to speak.What doesn't work is something that I myself struggle with, ironically as an editor. And that's things being too long and you need to parse them down. Now a lot of people will say, shorter, the better, which is true, but I actually think that's a result of actually getting to the core of the problem.And that's make your film as concise as possible. Get the idea. The emotion, the story out as concise as you can. And what that does by happenstance is it makes your film shorter. So it's not that shorter is better. I know there's it almost sounds like I'm just splitting hairs here, but I've seen plenty of five minute films that didn't work.I've seen plenty of 10 minute films that board me to death. So shorter isn't necessarily better. It's more concise of your story is better. And sometimes that still manifests as a 20, 30, 40 minute film. But if it's a very interesting 20, 30, 40 minutes, that's not gonna matter.BEN: It's such a great point. And for me, when I get to a certain point in the edit, I like to just bring in a couple friends and have them watch it. And then I just sit there and watch them watch it and whatever feedback they're gonna provide afterwards. 95% of what I need, I can just tell from Body Language as they're watching the film.RUDI: Yep.BEN: You come fromRUDI: theBEN: Go ahead.RUDI: Oh I was just gonna piggyback off that and just say, audience feedback is worth its weight and goal.BEN: Yeah.RUDI: And every filmmaker when you hit that fine cut stage, like you said, get your friends and family together, buy everybody some burgers and fries or whatever.Get ‘em all together. Gather ‘em up in a room, watch them, watch your film. That's gonna tell you more than anything else. We'll be able to about the success of your film and where it's strong, where it's weak, where you can still fix things. And I always suggest do it in your fine cut stage because nothing's locked in and you can still move things around and adjust, or whatever it is you need.BEN: Love it. And I think earlier what you are really getting at is telling a good story. Yes. And I'm amazed at, not amazed, but maybe a little disappointed, especially in today's world, the technical side of filmmaking. Even for an amateur, even for an indie filmmaker that you can, things can be d done so well technically, but there's no story.RUDI: Yes. All the time. So when I get onto Reddit, ‘cause you mentioned Reddit earlier if I go onto our filmmakers, right? Yeah. I don't have to look far to see people just geeking out over the newest Camerons. It's, and it's always cameras. Everybody always talks about. This camera is so fancy and it has so many stops above and this lens can do this and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.It has this big bit rate, whatever. Everybody gets so excited about cameras and I always say to myself, man, if they got this excited about audio, I wouldn't have to reject half the films that we have to reject because the audio is just blah. So if we're gonna talk tech, if we're gonna talk about the quote unquote quality of the filmmaking, I think what filmmakers need to understand is there are so many films out there we're that is just the foundation.It is the base level, it is the bare minimum that the film looks good. It sounds good. It feels good. So for us, festival guys, we see so many of these films. You're super gorgeous cinematography, you're really fancy, VFX, whatever it is that you think really separates your film from the pack. I don't wanna discourage you, I don't wanna sound jaded or anything, but it's not as impressive to us as you might believe it is, simply because we see hundreds and sometimes thousands of films like that.So for us it constantly falls back to originality and the story. Is the story well done? Is it well told? Is it a new and interesting story that we've never seen before? Is it a story that we've seen before but told in a very unique way, from a specific point of view, that is what is going to move us as festival people.‘cause when I put it into the theater and my audience walks in and they pay a ticket. My audience is used to going down to the theater and seeing a hundred million dollar movies. So for them, quality is just a given. It's just assumed they're not going to be thinking about it for them. They go and watch a movie ‘cause they're interested in, and I think if more filmmakers really dialed in on their story, they're going to find more success.BEN: So many great points there and a hundred percent agree with what you were saying about people get excited about the camera. And so I did my MFA at USC and there were three different times where I was on a set that, that I felt was unsafe. Not that I felt it was unsafe, what they were doing. Geez. And I walked off and it was always to get the cool shot.Like no one's ever hanging off a balcony to get room tone. You know what I mean? It's just, it's always to get the cool shot that, again, if you're not telling a good story, it doesn't matter. And to your point, I've always felt good audio is more important than good video.RUDI: Good image.BEN: Yeah.RUDI: Look at the documentary. Look at the nonfiction world. We see verite stuff all the time. We see stuff people recorded on their phone or, security camera footage or whatever, like at the end of the day in the nonfiction world is a great example of the quality of the shot doesn't necessarily matter so much as the quality of the story and how it's being told and how it's being revealed to us.And the audio is always gonna be very clean, very top notch, even if it's quote unquote found footage or. Veritate footage or whatever, the audio is always peak. I saw that Netflix doc recently, it was super heartbreaking. The perfect neighbor. And most of it is police body cam footage, but the audio is clean so we're able to follow the story so no one sits back and thinks of themselves this isn't a good shot.Of course it's not, it's police potty cam footage. Like it doesn't look good and it's not meant to,BEN: but it sounds good. And so you can follow it.RUDI: Yes.BEN: What what are some tropes that you think you've gotten tired of seeing in, especially in short films?RUDI: So every year it's a little bit different.You would be surprised what things pop up and what don't. The one trope that kind of rubs me the wrong way, I, I don't know how to describe it any other way than filmmaker self therapy. Like they, they're definitely going through something at the moment and they're not focused on creating a good story.They're more focused on using their art form to emotionally process whatever it is they're going through, which fine, you are an artist that makes sense to do, but also I can't sell my audience on that. So while I don't wanna discourage someone from making a film that is very near and dear and personal to them, at the end of the day, it might not be a good fit for film festivals.And so I, I would really think twice about whether or not that is a story that an audience, frankly, needs to see. Filmmaker cell therapy is one that when I get it, I'm always eh I don't know what to do with it. I just, I don't know what to do. Some other tropes that we see very commonly are like.Obviously right now, tech and AI and stuff like that gives a lot of people anxiety. So there's a lot of like evil robot takes over or the big reveal at the end of the movie, they were a robot the whole time, or the whole thing was a simulation or whatever. That's being very well tread right now.For me, I'm I am not a political person and anytime some big thing is in the news, we see tons of films on it. So I understand politics do affect people's day to day and their lives, so I understand that manifest. But man, I probably have a hundred immigration films right now and that's a lot. And I'm not gonna screen that many, so I'm only gonna pick like one, maybe two, so that's a tough one to do.Anything that's like a hot button political issue. We always see a big wave of those come in. And then honestly, romance dramas get tough. It isn't evergreen. We do have an audience for it. We usually do have some kind of a selection of them. Romance dramas have existed since the beginning of time.It's always been a thing. But filmmaker broke up with his girlfriend, so now he has a character who breaks up with his girlfriend. It gets it, it doesn't get very original. I, it just it gets exhausted. So those are some of the kind of general tropes I would avoid. I have heard other festival directors talk about like cancer films and Alzheimer's films and stuff like that.This year I'm not seeing so much of those, but I have seen those in the past. So tho those are some other. Tread stories we'll see.BEN: One of the things that I appreciate about. Your series of videos is your transparency, and you have one video where you literally break down. Here are all the films the number of films, Wyoming International Film Festivals received. Here's how it breaks down, here's how many we, we accepted, et cetera, et cetera.You have another one where you literally show the viewer, this is what we see as a programmer on our film freeway portal. Here's the scoring sheet. I think it's a little bit different from the one you guys use internally, but basically here's what the scoring sheet on film freeway looks like. Why is transparency so important to you?RUDI: Because I'm a filmmaker, because I've been to so many festivals where I have no idea what the hell's going on. I've been to festivals where I think my film is gonna be a good fit. I think based on what I've been able to investigate on my own, digging through their website, digging through their archive.Seen what they've programmed before. I think I'm a good fit, but I don't actually know. And I've submitted to festivals where later on, I see what they programmed or I got rejected or even accepted and then gone to the festival itself and have been a little disappointed when was like I this festival didn't fit my goals the way that I thought it would, or, this festival wasn't going to do the things for me.Or this festival, like really promoted themselves very heavily as this big event. And then you get there and then it's not, and that's a little bothersome. So when I stepped into my role at the Wyoming International Film Festival, I made a whole bunch of changes. But one of the changes that I made was, we are going to be transparent.I don't ever want a filmmaker to submit to our festival, get in, get accepted to the festival, drive all the way out to Wyoming and be disappointed. I don't want them to do that. That's not good for them. It's not good for us. It's not good for the community. It's not good for indie film at large.What's better is if we just be what we are in Wyoming, we're straight shooters. We just say it as it is. So I'm going to tell you exactly how many films were submitted, which films we accepted, what the percentage rates are, how many shorts versus features, how many docs versus narratives, how many music videos, all of this stuff.And we've been releasing the data for the past couple of years. This year, like we went all out with the data it was much more thorough than what we've done in years past. And even me, the director of the festival, I sit back, I look at the data and I can see some weak spots in it. I can see where we need to improve as a festival, where we need to start, bringing in a certain type of film or where other films might be overrepresented or how we can give more of an experience to our filmmakers.Just by boiling it down to numbers and looking at it. I can start seeing some of our weak spots and I want to improve on that ‘cause I want to have a good festival. And I think if more festivals were to do that, I think the filmmaking community at large would be much more appreciative. And I think film festivals need to understand.That if you have fewer submissions, that's not a bad thing because the submissions that you are going to get are filmmakers that really want to be in your festival and that's good for the health of your festival, the community, the filmmakers, everything. So I, I think the only way we get there is by being transparent.And thankfully there are other festivals that are publishing their data, which is great. And that makes me very happy to see. And I hope that trend continues and I hope even more festivals start publishing more of their data and showing how they review films, what their scorecards look like, what they're looking for.‘cause ultimately I genuinely believe that just serves the filmmakers better and ultimately makes everybody have a better experience on the film festival circuit, including the festivals themselves.BEN: When you took over as directorWhat were the biggest challenges?RUDI: So our biggest challenge to this day is our venue.So there's only one movie theater in Cheyenne, Wyoming. It is owned by a company outta Casper, Wyoming. They own pretty much a monopoly of movie theaters across the state, like most of them. And they don't allow anybody into their theaters at all. They don't allow her private screenings or corporate events or, in individuals who wanna screen their film or film festivals.I'm not the only film festival in Wyoming. I talk with other festival directors. They can't get in either. It's funny, the film commissioner of the state can't even get in. You would think the movie theater would at least want to partner with the state film Commission, but no. So for us, the challenge has been a venue and luckily our partners over at Laramie County Community College.Have graciously allowed us to use their facilities for the last couple years. They have a beautiful auditorium that we do some of our screenings in, but we also have screening rooms in a black box theater that they have as well as a conference room. And when I say conference room, most filmmakers like their heart drops a little bit.They're like, oh man, I'm just, I'm going into a conference room. It's not a proper movie theater. And that's fine. We publish that data on our film freeway page on hike. We are transparent about that. So when you submit, you might be in the conference room. But ironically, I think it has some of the best audio and it has some of the best projection.So even though it's the quote unquote least movie theater, like I actually think it has some of the best projection, best color. But venue is probably one of our biggest challenges and we continue to develop that. We continue to. Trying to innovate. We're trying to build our own screening room there on the campus.Like we're trying to use one of their big classrooms for it. And what we wanna do is we wanna turn it into a lounge. We wanna bring in like couches and sofas and comfy chairs where it's like much more of a chill environment in there. And that's the type of film we wanna screen in. There's some you can literally sit back, settle in and relax.So there's things that we're doing to create a better environment for our filmmakers and of course our audience, our guests at the festival.BEN: I love it. What's been the biggest reward?RUDI: The, I get to meet you. That's what the biggest reward is. I get to meet so many filmmakers. I get to hear their stories.I get to be inspired. I get to learn stuff. I was talking with a festival director a couple of days ago. Who asked me about how we do our audience award scores and how we process that and what they do. And I just like I lit up, I'm like, oh my God. It's such a better way, it's more efficient, it's easier on the staff.It's more representative of how the audience actually feels about the film, the way the scores are aggregated and counted. It's so great. I get to meet so many people in this world of film and every single day it's like a new, whole new world is opened up to me and I get to hear so many fantastic points of view.I get to see so many awesome films, like just how many great movies are out there is a cinephile. It's like the most rewarding thing in the world. I'm an addict. I'm totally addicted to it. It's so great.BEN: I love it. I remember I used to coach basketball in my first year as a head coach. I was like, yeah, everybody's gonna be pretty competitive, other coaches and so forth.And they were, and I was. But at the same time, when coaches would get together, it was just so supportive. And people are sharing, this is what I'm doing in practice. I'm looking at this offense, this defense. And I imagine it's the same with other film festival directors and programmers. Oh, yeah. Just a supportive environment comparing notes.RUDI: It is. And the more that I meet, the more I truly do understand. 99% of festival directors out there are programmers, people who work in it. They have some tie to cinema. Most of them are filmmakers. Those who aren't, have a deep passion and love for cinema and for storytelling, and.Everybody's a volunteer. Everybody has a day job. Nobody makes money on this. They do it from the love of their heart. They truly do. And the way that they serve their communities, the way that they serve their filmmakers, some of the cool ideas they come up with there's some really neat festivals out there with like very interesting hooks or events or whatever.And I think it is such an incredible ecosystem and I think I'm truly privileged to be part of it.BEN: What are some lesser known or maybe mid-tier festivals or local festivals that you love to attend?RUDI: Okay, so one of my favorite festivals I guess you said lesser known. This one is not lesser known, but Film Quest over in Provo, Utah, damn man, pe like festival people talk about building community. They're on a different level. They've built a family. Like everybody who goes to that festival is just so tight knit there. There's no other festival like Provo or sorry, film Quest in Provo. It is just, it's on another level. And how well they treat their filmmakers is fantastic.Some years ago I was invited to be a jury member at the Fair Film Festival, which is in Ferazi Kosovo. So that is in southeastern Europe. It's a landlocked country, just a little bit above Greece, a little bit north of Greece and north of Macedonia. And Fari is a small town. And I went to that festival and first off, wow.What a great festival. I strongly suggest you submit your film to fair film. It's so good. But the cool part of being in this European festival, and frankly a small European country, most of the films are international, obviously. And so there's filmmakers coming in from like Jordan and Spain and Germany and Slovakia and Slovenia and like all over the place, Greece, Turkey, you name it.And how interesting it is to have this incredible cross section of languages and cultures and peoples, but we're all united by this one singular thing. And that's our love for storytelling and our love for movies. It had to be one of the most incredible experiences of my life. And the next movie I make, taking it back to cosBEN: Fantastic.Just had a question. What was it? Oh okay. So with the huge caveat of besides making. A good film, a film that tells a story. Besides that, are there any tips or tricks, things on the margins that filmmakers can do when they're applying to festivals to be aware of? Sometimes festivals. Ask for a cover letter orRUDI: Yes.BEN: Press kit, things like that. Okay.RUDI: So with, sorry, my phone is loud. I should turn that down. So obviously with a huge caveat of make a good film or whatever, what's the easiest way to get it? All of the stuff on film Freeway, and I do have a video on this, on my YouTube page if you wanna check it out, where I give you a tour of film, freeway from the festival side of things like what the festival can see and how we see it and how we navigate it.On the festival end of things. We can see your cover letter, your screenings and awards your. Cast and crew information, your director's bio, your director's statement, your photographs, your EPK, that's your electronic press kit your trailer, all of that. All of that. As much of that as you can possibly make, you should make it.It's very important. And you never know which piece is gonna be more important to a particular film festival. For instance, here's something crazy. I was meeting with some of my programmers last night. They had a whole bunch of films that they wanted to recommend to go to the next level programming.And we require films. Tell us where in the world or where in the United States the film was made. And every single one of ‘em was California. California. California. California. California. Which fine, whatever. California has a big film industry. That's, it's a very big state, population wise. Makes sense, right?But I am sitting back thinking, okay. I don't want it just to be a bunch of California movies. We have a big country here. I would like to see something else. And something caught my attention. One of the filmmakers, their address was in Birmingham, Alabama, but the film was shot in California, so I am suspicious.I haven't dug into it myself. I'm suspicious either that filmmaker's from Alabama and they have moved to California, or that filmmaker lives in Alabama and they shot their film in California. So they're answering where it was shot correctly. But for me, I'm like, there you go. When everybody's from California.I want that unique perspective. I wanna see someone's from Alabama and what their perspective is now. I haven't watched the film yet. I don't know if it's what we're looking for. Obviously it's a good film if my programming team has recommended it, there's no doubt in my mind it's good film. Now there's other considerations we're gonna have, but.That alone was something, even my, like I myself did not know that I would be looking for. So filling out all of that data on film, freeway, all of your information that you possibly can, your cover letters your screenings, your awards, whatever it is, the more information you give us as a festival, the more we have to make our selections.And it only benefits you. It only helps you out. So filmmakers don't get lazy. Fill out all of that information. We need it. We use it. It's important. Just do it.BEN: You mentioned a meeting with your programmers last night. Take us inside that conversation. What does that look like? What do you discuss, et cetera.RUDI: So there's. There's a big programming team and it's divided up into two different groups. There's our kind of first round screeners and then there's our senior programmers and the senior programmers pretty much review the films that have gone through that first round of screening that are getting recommended to go onto the next one.So typically when I'm talking with my screeners and everything, it's a very different conversation on the bottom end of it where they're just sorting through all of the submissions versus a different conversation I have with the senior programmers who are on the top end of it. We're now trying to decide how to block films together, how we're gonna organize it, what's the schedule maybe look like, what's the overall tone and vibe of the festival going to be, okay.If we wanna have a sci-fi block, do we even have enough sci-fi films? If we don't. Where else can we find homes for ‘em? Stuff like that. So those conversations are a little bit more high end, if you will. And it tends to be less about the story of the film itself and more about how that film is going to fit into the festival.Whereas when I'm talking with the screeners, it's much more on the story end. Like what about the story did you like or you didn't like? Or what was the unique point of view? Or whatever. So depending on which group I'm talking to it, it's gonna be different. And then of course that divides out further on features and shorts and documentaries and narratives and music videos.So like obviously my conversation with the music video people are gonna be much different than my like short documentary people.BEN: Shout out to short documentary people as a documentarian primarily makes shorts I'll ask a question for us folks. In one of the videos, as I mentioned, you literally show here's what the scoring sheet looks like.Yes. And that was for narrative with, I think one of the categories was acting and so forth. So for a documentary or documentary shorts, what does that scoring sheet look like? What do those discussions entail?RUDI: Film freeway does not allow us to have more than one scoring sheet.So unfortunately, there's just this one scoring sheet that's for everything. What I tell my screening team, and we definitely double check everything, like there's multiple people who look at something. So it's not just one person's opinion. You have at least two, oftentimes three, pretty often four.So for something like documentary they skip over that. That's what they do. So if there's no acting in the film, they skip over that. They don't rate acting if there is no acting. But you'd be surprised. There are documentaries that have acting in ‘em. There are like docudramas or documentaries with recreation In the recreation is like actual scenes and performances and stuff like that.So in those cases, even though it's a nonfiction and a documentary, yeah, we'll still judge it for the acting ‘cause that's what it has. I get the question. I'm gonna hijack your question for a second, but it is applicable. I get the question, do we accept AI in our film festival, we do not have any official policy for or against ai, which scares some filmmakers.But we do rate AI on the same standards as we would anybody else. So when it comes to creativity and originality, guess what, you're getting a nothing. ‘cause AI didn't create it. AI is not original. AI just mashes together a bunch of information from other people. So that's no creativity and originality.Same thing for something like, I don't know, art design. If you have a AI character walking through a scene or whatever you're getting zero on your art design. Nobody built those sets. Nobody costumed that actor. Nobody was the makeup artist or the hair or whatever other art deck or, PD or anything on the set.So we will accept ai. We have accepted one single AI film so far because despite all of its quote unquote handicaps, and it was a music video. It still was successful in other categories that had a good enough score. We as a team sat down, said Yes, that it still is a good film. The audience is still gonna enjoy it.The filmmaker definitely had a vision with it. They wrote out a whole thing on like why they chose to use ai. ‘cause they're also an experimental filmmaker, so it made sense for them and everything. So we were like, you know what? That's legit. Let's put it in. But other AI submissions, like I got an AI children's animation the other day and I'm like they didn't animate it themselves.They didn't voice act it themselves. It's not getting good scores on any of these. So we'll see. We'll see. We'll see if it gets through or not, but already you're shooting yourself in the foot. So don't do ai.BEN: Okay. Couple little. I don't know, around the edges or micro questions. One of the things that you talked about in one of your recent videos was having a good poster and you talked about designing your poster for your film prudence.RUDI: Yeah.BEN: Talk, talk to me about,RUDI: I specifically gave my posters an example, not a great poster,BEN: But talk to me about that.For the no budget or low budget filmmaker that can't afford to hire a a designer to make a poster. Talk to me about poster design and how that impacts the presentation of the film for festivals.RUDI: So I strongly believe that a big part of filmmaking and marketing and packaging your film together, all of that is psychology.And as much as we want to sit back and say, Hey, don't judge a book by its, cover it, that literally goes against human psychology. People are not hardwired to do that. It, it is. In our DNA, it's not just a bad habit, it is literally a survival mechanism. So if you want to stand out, you do need to have everything put together.Your cover letter, your synopsis, your photographs, all of that, and of course all of your key art. That's your poster. That's any banners that you have, that's how you're going to be promoting the film. And you have to understand it's not just about making your film look pretty to get filmmakers to go, or sorry your programmers go, Ooh, and ah, it's a pretty film.We are looking at that as a mechanism for us to advertise the festival. You gotta understand if I have 150 films in the festival, I have to get an audience for those films. And the easiest way for me to do that is through your marketing materials. We don't have the capacity. To design marketing materials for 150 different films.We are relying on the filmmakers to do that so we can go out and promote the festival. So people show up to your screening, which I would presume is what you want if you're going to a film festival. So anything you're trailer, any photographs that you can provide, which some filmmakers only provide BTS photographs, BTS is fine.It's great. Give me some good key art I can also use, please. That's what newspapers, that's what the local news that's what podcasters, whatever, that's what they want to see. So that's what I can provide. And of course, your poster. Now, there are a lot of online tools to help in poster design, frankly, I don't have an excuse for making a bad poster like I did, which is one of the reasons I use it as an example is I am shaming myself being like, this could be better and it should be. But there's a lot of online resources that can help with poster design. And also for filmmakers who are a little bit strapped for cash, you would be surprised what people will do for in kind, service for service.So if you have a friend or if there's someone that you can find that's Hey, they'll design your poster if you can design whatever their website or whatever it is that your skills might be there, there's a lot of exchange that you can do on that part. So yeah your marketing, your packaging, all of that together is actually quite important.BEN: Such a great point. And I've written and published a memoir and through that, I've worked with other authors on, on. Both writing and marketing their books, editing and marketing their books. And I tell people the exact same thing. People judge a book by its cover all the time. And in this day and age, they judge it for listeners, I'm holding my thumb and forefinger part as a thumbnail on a computer screen.Yeah, that's the size. So even for a programmer or a festival director watching it on film freeway through their platform, they're not gonna see the poster like we see it in the movie theater. They're gonna see it as a thumbnail image. Yeah. So it has to work as a thumbnail image. And if you can't read the title as a thumbnail or can't make out what's on the image, what's on the poster as a thumbnail, then you've failed that part of the process.RUDI: One, one of the things that like really clued me into how important a poster is, I went to a film festival, I believe it was Kansas City Film Festival. Some years ago, and they had a bunch of posters of films out, but there was one that was like bright pink. It was like super bright pink and had like very eye popping design and everything on it.And it was like in a whole field of like dark drama posters that are all like gritty and everything. And I'm like that stands out. That really drew my eye to it. And I think that was like my big light bulb moment of like how important this stuff actually is. And one of the things that I've been saying for some years, I've said it on the channel, I think, I don't know, some, sometimes I record things and edit out.So I don't know what I've said on the channel sometimes but one of the things that I say is making a film is half of film making. The other half is marketing, the other half is getting butts in the seats. The other half is getting eyeballs on your movie. The other half is selling your film to an audience or a film festival or a distributor or a programmer or whatever you're trying to do with it.It's getting it out there. So making a film is half a filmmaking. The other half marketing, that's what it is.BEN: I'm just nodding along with everything you're saying and I've always felt both with films and with books, with art in general, you're trying to make an emotional connection from what's in your head and your heart to the audience.And if you don't do your job, getting your film out there and helping an audience come and see your film. Then you're not helping that connection. You're missing sort of the point of making this, unless it's just for yourself. It's for, it's to connect with other people and for other people to connect with your work.And that is marketing.RUDI: It's valid. If you're just making a film for yourself, that's absolutely valid. It's in art form. You can make a film for yourself, but if you're sending it to me at a film festival, you're not you're literally trying to find an audience. So these are the things you need to consider.BEN: I love it. I got two more just in the weeds detail questions.RUDI: Alright, let's do it.BEN: Let's talk description. And what I've seen ‘cause I'm in the middle of applying to festivals. And by the way just for. Listeners, this might interest you. So I discovered Rudi's YouTube page and I was like, this is so helpful.And then I went to the Wyoming International Film Festival page and all the transparency and statistics that, that Rudi puts out, that the festival puts out. And I realized, okay, so the short documentary I have is not a good fit for this festival. Exactly what Rudi's saying. So just for anybody listening, thank you for doing research.RUDI: Thank you. That's good. That's not a bad thing, right? That means it saves you time, it saves you money, it saves you heartbreak. It's so good. Do research before you submit. I'm sorry, but I, it's in, in almost every single one of my videos, I tell filmmakers, do your research before you submit. Find the festivals that gel with your film.And if it, if they don't screen the type of movie that you have, don't submit to ‘em. You're wasting your time, you're wasting your money. And the festival, like the programmer behind the screen, might love your film. They truly might love your film, but they're programming for a very specific audience and they know what that audience's taste is.So that's why they're driving specific films to that audience. So even if they love it, they might not include it, which is why you should always do your homework and do your research before you submit. I'm sorry to interrupt, but it's so importantBEN: And yes. And the flip side of that coin is now I also know what the Wyoming International Film Festival looks for.So in the future, if I have a doc or a film, I'm like, oh, this would be a great fit for this festival.RUDI: Yes.BEN: It helps both ways.RUDI: It does. And it helps you dial in. Which festivals you should target, which festivals are gonna help you with your specific goals. Whatever your goals are with the film it's gonna help you with your budgeting and your travel plans and your own personal calendar.It's gonna help with your mental health. It just, it helps on so many different aspects. And on the film festival side of things, I appreciate it when I hear from filmmakers say, Hey man, I looked into your festival looks good, but you don't have the kind of film that I have. And I'm like, not a problem man.Maybe I can point you in the right direction. Maybe I know some film festival programmers, I can make a recommendation, on your behalf too, that's not a bad thing. We love movies and we want to see them successful, but not every single fest or film and story is going to be successful in every single market.So it's very important to find your audience. And believe me, we are going to be cheering you the whole way.BEN: I want get back to my kind of in the weeds questions, but you've mentioned something that is big picture, that's so important. I feel like I've buried the lead here. And you mentioned this you've mentioned this multiple times in your videos.Is that a Phil, it's key. Maybe the most important part of this process is of the film festival submission process is a filmmaker needs to understand what are their goals in applying to a festival. Yes. So can you just talk a little bit about that?RUDI: So film festivals are a tool. And they can be a tool for many different things, but they are a tool.And just every single tool is not right for every single job, every film festival is not gonna be right for every film and vice versa. So before you go out to film festivals, you just need to ask yourself why? Why am I going out to film festivals? Why am I spending the money, the time, the energy, the effort?What do I want out of film festivals? And that's where you need to identify your goal. And the more specific you can be with the goal, the better it's going to be you going on your film festival journey. So for many filmmakers, a common reason they go out to film festivals is networking. So I'm gonna use that as an example.So let's say your goal is I want to network, I want to meet other. Filmmakers, I wanna meet, directors of photography and producers and other people that I can hire for my projects, or they're gonna hire me for their projects, and I want to build that network and I want to meet more filmmakers.Fantastic. Great. That's your goal. So the first thing that you need to do is you need to be looking at festivals that have networking events. And in this particular instance, you need to ask yourself two things. One, does it have networking? Is there in-person networking parties or networking events?And two, do the types of people that I want to meet actually attend those networking events. So us at the Wyoming International Film Festival, we have a pretty broad spectrum. We have filmmakers that are just beginning their journey. They're totally new, wet behind the ears. They're green they're just starting their journey.That's great. All the way up to every year we have multi Emmy award-winning filmmakers. Like people who do this professionally they're in unions or professional organizations, or they're a member of the academy, motion picture Arts and sciences or the TV Academy or sometimes like the Grammys and stuff like that.I, myself, I'm a professional editor, so there's people like me who professionally work, but they're like below the line. They're cinematographers editors, gaffers, what have you. So if your goal is to meet some like high-end producer that's gonna throw, a million dollars at your movie our festival is not the festival that's gonna help you with your goal.So you should skip over us because we don't have that kind of person in attendance. But if your goal is to meet other filmmakers at your level that you can collaborate with or get hired by or whatever. We're a great festival. We have tons of networking, and we bring in a ton of those filmmakers.We're a great event for you. So when you identify what your goal is and you're very specific about it, it's easier to identify which festivals you should start targeting. I take that one step further, and then once you've narrowed down which festivals are gonna help you with your goal, then you look into their history and see which of them have screened movies like yours in the past.So if you have a, you know I use the example, if you have a seven minute comedy coming of the age film, now you know which festivals have good networking, which festivals have the kinds of people you want to network with. Now you look at which ones have screened short coming of age comedy films in the past, and have a history of doing that.So that's gonna help you filter it even further. And by doing that, you're gonna really start to develop your film festival strategy. Now I do have some exciting news. There is something coming now, it's called Hike, H-I-I-K-E. It's hike with two I. And what Hy is doing, it's a submission platform similar to film Freeway, but among many of the tools that they're giving filmmakers, they're giving filmmakers customized festival strategies and they're scraping all of that data from film festivals, what they've programmed in the past.And when you as a filmmaker, join Hike, you take a little quiz, you tell them what your goals are, what your film is, you know how long it is, what the genre is, tell them about yourself. And they literally have. Data scientist who's built this like machine learning algorithm that pairs the data from the film festival to what the filmmaker provides.That literally gives you a compatibility score. So it's, it comes out and tells you, if you want to network with, professional filmmakers but not mega producers and you have a short comedy coming of age film Wyoming International Film Festival has that crowd screens those types of films and you would have a 90% compatibility.So it actually helps you develop your festival strategy for you.BEN: It's so needed. And Rudi has a great video on how to spot scam film festivals. Yes. That's something that is just prevalent these days. So for filmmakers who are getting ready to submit, I encourage you to watch that video. I'll link to it in the show.I'll link to everything that we're discussing in the show notes. The. So Rudi talked about one goal a filmmaker can have is to network other goals at various points in my, film festival my limited film festival career I've applied to festivals ‘cause I wanted to go to that city, new Orleans Fest, new Orleans Film Festival.TravelingRUDI: is totally legitimate reason to go.BEN: People apply because they want distribute, they wanna meet distributors or financiers for the next film. Although, that's what everybody wants. SoRUDI: you, you would be surprised. So in, in 2018, I had a feature film and my, my goal like most feature films was to land a distribution deal.But I was like, that's not specific enough. There are many steps to land a distribution deal. So what I need is I need good press on my film. So that was a goal. So I wanted to target festivals that had press. I wanted laurels. I wanted to win some awards with it, but I also knew my film was. Small and kind of small scale.So it wasn't gonna win laurels at big festivals. So I was like, okay, I need festivals with press. I need festivals that are legitimate and above board, but also small enough where I'm gonna be competitive. And then I wanted to actually meet distributors. And I know they only go to big festivals, so I actually had to target three different kinds of festivals.‘cause I had three, let's call ‘em conflicting goals with my own film. So that's what I did. I did a split strategy. I targeted festivals where I was gonna be this tiny little fish in a very big pond. And no one's really gonna notice me, but I'm just happy to be there. I targeted festivals where I know that I was going to get very good press and very good reviews on the film.And I targeted festivals that were small, still legitimate, but I was gonna be competitive and maybe bring home some trophies. And so that was my strategy and it worked, and I landed a distribution deal.BEN: That's so great. I, I'd love to do a part two at some point we can talk distribution deals and all of the, yeah.Things like that. But I think for people listening, the big takeaway is even with this multi-pronged goal, three different goals connected to each other. Once you identify what your goals are, then you work backwards and you create your strategy to Yes, to achieve those. Okay. Back to the two in the weeds.Two more in the weeds questions. Yeah. So description, and as I'm looking at other film descriptions, and I saw this at USC all the time as well, and we talked about earlier, filmmakers wanting to sit in emotion or sit in something traumatic and have the audience experience that I notice a lot of times in descriptions of short films.Can so and so come to terms with this? Can, and just as someone who has a little bit of experience marketing stories, where's the action? What's the active what's this person actively trying to accomplish, rather than can they just come to terms with something? Can you talk a little bit about film description, just three or four lines.What pops?RUDI: So just like your poster, just like your marketing and everything, a film description is your way to reach through the screen, grab the audience, grab the programmer, and pull them into your movie. Keep in mind, your whole entire goal is to get people to watch your film, get them excited about your film.And so if you just have a very drab, like description that's just yeah, has to face consequences for a decision they made or come to terms with something when I, that's a good V one, that's a good place to start, but that's not going to get an audience excited about your film.I saw film, I don't know if it was at my festival. It wasn't at my festival. We didn't screen it, but I'm saying, I don't know if it was submitted to my festival or if I saw it at another festival, but I remember one of the descriptions it was great. It was whatever the two character names were, John and Jane, I forget what the characters are, but like John and Jane are on a date, there's a bomb in the other room.I I hope the date goes well, or something like that. Let's hope the date goes well. And I'm like, what is this movie? That gets you really excited for it. You're. It, it creates so much mystery. And also just the cavalier way that it was written immediately tells me this is gonna be a comedy, or it's not taking itself too seriously.It's not some like gritty, dive into the underworld or whatever. Like just how blunt it was about the dis of the film and just that like small little description. I know I'm paraphrasing what it was, but it stuck with me for years at this point. ‘cause I'm like, that is how you write a description for a film.That is how you get someone excited to see what is this movie about? Let's jump in. Piggybacking off a description. Titles are another great way to do that. In, in my own repertoire of films I've had film called Prudence. Okay, fine, whatever. Prudence doesn't really tell you much about that film.I had a film that I'm very proud of. It's artsy, it's a little bit magical realism and it's called in this gray place, and it has that artsy mystique around it in this gray place. And I love that title. I did it, I did a film back in film school. It's terrible, but the title's great.It's called Back to Fort Russell. It was a Western and I, to this day, it's one of my favorite titles that I've ever had. But it tells you something. It clues you into what this film is going to be, what the journey of this movie is going to be. And some films do that better than others. And some films, yeah, it's not necessary.But I, I get more excited when I hear something like the Texas Chainsaw Massacre than I do something that's just like love. Or mom or something.BEN: I think this is the last question. So again, with all these little details, cover letter, talk to me about cover letters.RUDI: It's so interesting you asked me that question ‘cause hearing about four or five days, I'm posting a video on the YouTube channel about cover letters. It's short, it's only four or five minutes long, but cover letters are so important.Should absolutely write a cover letter. And a couple of days ago I was talking with programmers at dances with films, and if you don't know dances with films, look ‘em up. They are an incredible film festival. They are in the big leagues for sure. And I was talking with a couple of programmers and I asked them about covert letters and they said, it's so important it.How the filmmaker is going to put an audience in the theater is very important for their festival. How they're going to get people to attend is very important for them and they're like, a good indication in a cover letter is when they, the filmmaker indicates how they're going to market their film and they use the example of football.Let's say it's a movie about football. They're like, if it's a movie about football and you tell me in the cover letter that you're part of several like football organizations, or you're gonna be reaching out to sports organizations or youth organizations for sports or something like that, to attend the film.That's a very good indication for them in the cover letter. For me, I think a cover letter is very important in that it shows. You're going the extra mile to show the festival you care. You're not just submit and quit. We're not just one festival on a list of 50 that you're submitting to. There is a reason you want to screen with us, and that's a specific reason.Either you feel that your film is good fit for our audience, or there's something that you want to connect with. In Wyoming, I had one cover letter and we did accept this film and it was really funny. They put in their cover letter like their film was a comedy, so their cover letter was also very comedic, but they're like, honestly, we're just gonna go up to Yellowstone around that time and we would love to swing by and show the movie.And I laughed. I laughed so hard at that and I'm like. But that shows me they care. Like they want to be there. And the film was good and it was funny and we screamed it and they were there. So it's a way to show a film festival enthusiasm and it's way to inform the festival about yourself, about your film, and how that's gonna gel with their particular event and their audience.BEN: I love it. And that reminds me, I got one more, I got a bonus question. Yeah. Can you talk about applying early?RUDI: Yes. Statistically, when I look at our own data, statistically, it does seem to be that the earlier you apply, the better chance that you have. And so I don't want to give the impression that if you applied late.You have no chance. I think in the video where I literally broke down the data and the statistics, I think at our festival we had a one in five chance of getting in on the late deadline, which is about a 20% acceptance rate. But it was much higher the earlier it came in. So just with the raw data taking out my opinions, my emotions on it, whatever, just the data itself shows earlier is better.Now, here's where my opinions and my feelings towards it come from. I think it's a couple of things. One, when you get in early, you set the pace for the rest of the festival, you're telling us, okay, it's a drama. We're gonna compare your film against others. Like you have now become the benchmark that we're gonna compare other films to when it comes to like dramas or whatever.What it also does. It's something I'm going to discuss in my video and cover letters, but it also engages something, what's called mere exposure effect in psychology, which is essentially the more that you are exposed to something, the more preference you have towards it. Which means if you get in early, you are exposing yourself, your film, and your story to the programmers more often and more readily than late submissions are.So it's more likely that the programmers form some attachment to your film, and that's just human nature, that's just psychology. There's some practical reasons for it as well. Obviously, earlier submissions, earlier deadlines are cheaper, so it's better to get in. It's just gonna cost you less money to do and then lastly, there are many festivals that are developing their program as they go. So as films are coming in, they're shaping. We got a ton of dramas. Maybe we need two drama blocks, or, we, we don't have enough sci-fi for a sci-fi blocks, we gotta spread it out or whatever. So if you come in late, you're now trying to elbow some other film out of the way in order to find your screening slot.Which don't get me wrong, there are plenty of programmers that are absolutely gonna go to bat for you. They're gonna fight hard to get you in. Doesn't matter if you come in early or late or whatever, but the chances are just better. And the data shows that if you get in early. All that said, a couple of years ago, the very last film that came in with only two hours left in our deadline, we ended up programming it.So it, it is possible.BEN: Rudi, I cannot thank you enough. I can't tell you how helpful this has been. There's so much great information for filmmakers. Filmmakers submitted to festivals, people just interested in going to festivals. So thank you so much for taking the time.RUDI: Hey it's always a pleasure.I always love talking film festivals and for any filmmakers out there, head on over to YouTube hit up the Film Festival Guide. That's my YouTube page. I'm coming out with videos every two or three weeks. That's about what I put ‘em out there for. So if you need any guidance or any, I don't know, insight for film festivals that's where I am.BEN: Film Festival Guide. I'm a subscriber. I can't recommend it enough. Any other social media where people can find you?RUDI: Oh no, I'm terrible on social media. YouTube's enough for me right now.BEN: So Film Fest.RUDI: I will probably expand in the future and I'll probably make some announcement on the YouTube channel.Got it. But for right now, I'm just trying to get good information out there to as many filmmakers as possible.BEN: Thank you so much for doing that. It's such a huge benefit for film.RUDI: Thank you very much for the support and thank you very much for having me on. I enjoyed this. This was a lot of fun.BEN: Me too. This was great. Thank you. And that was my interview with Rudy Womack, director of the Wyoming International Film Festival and creator of the great YouTube page, the Film Festival Guide. Hope you enjoyed this episode. If you did, please forward it to one person. Thank you and have a great day. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit benbo.substack.com
What is Americana music? Is it a genre? A community? A refuge? Twenty four years after the founding of the Americana Music Association and thirteen years since the first Grammy was awarded for Best Americana Album, defining "Americana" remains tricky. In our experience, the most common answer has been "you know it when you hear it." However you define it, however, there is one thing everyone agrees on: Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell are Americana legends. In this episode, recorded in front of a live audience in Nashville, TN, Emmylou and Rodney discuss their musical careers, how they became associated with Americana music, and what Americana means to them. Bob too shares his musical journey both before and after joining the Avett Brothers and the ways that genre (Americana and otherwise) has been part of that story. This episode originally aired as RTN #284 on Sept. 25, 2023. This episode was originally edited by Gary Fletcher. Live audio recording and mixing by Adam Botner. This reair was edited by Ben Sawyer.
Number one Funkateer Bootsy Collins takes us to Funk University! From his days in James Brown's group, to his work with Parliament/Funkadelic and Booty's Rubber Band, to his recent single that raises awareness about domestic violence, "the world's only rhinestone rock-star doll" tears the roof off the sucker and breaks it all down for us. Songcraft wants the funk! PART ONE:Paul and Scott discuss particularly recognizable bassists and chat about their expectations of what they thought Bootsy would be like before he landed the mother ship on Songcraft. PART TWO:Our in-depth conversation with the legendary Bootsy CollinsABOUT BOOTSY COLLINS:Named among the top 5 bassists of all time by Rolling Stone magazine, Bootsy Collins is one of funk and R&B's most iconic musicians, singers, frontmen, producers, and characters. He started out playing sessions for King Records in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, then kickstarted his career with James Brown's backup band, The J.B.'s. He was credited as a songwriter on classic J.B.'s songs such as “The Grunt” and “These Are the J.B.'s.” In 1972, he joined George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic, and is a co-writer of classics such as “Up for the Down Stroke,” “Chocolate City,” “P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up),” “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker),” “Mothership Connection,” “Dr. Funkenstein,” and “Flash Light.” In 1976, Bootsy's Rubber Band captivated audiences with his flashy star-shaped glasses and bass, and hits such as “I'd Rather Be With You” and the chart-topping “Bootzilla.” Since then, Bootsy has launched Bootzilla Productions and Funk University to help mentor younger creatives to reach their full potential. His inescapable influence on pop culture can be heard in the music of Snoop Dogg, Outkast, Dr. Dre, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rick James, Prince, Daft Punk, Primus, Thundercat, and in Childish Gambino's Grammy-winning platinum hit “Redbone,” which paid homage to “I'd Rather Be With You.” Bootsy is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. His latest album is called Album of the Year #1 Funkateer. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
This week, the Supreme Court tells Kim Davis to get a life, the 2026 Grammy noms are in, and studs are making moves — 2K style.Shoutouts:Kris: DeAndré Upshaw - Content creator and producer. His Y2K and pop culture content is some of the best online. “Follow if you miss flip phones and TRL”. You can support him on IG @deandretheegiantShana: WAGS of Women's Sports - Celebrating the wives, girlfriends and couples of women's sports. They said “Think ‘The L Word' meets ESPN”. Follow and heart eyes @wagsofwomenssports on IGEpisode Notes:1:00 - Queer Urban Dictionary 3:16 - Category is: Supreme Court same sex marriage6:25 - Gov Shutdown Update14:25 - Category is: 2026 Grammy Nominations 28:16 - Category is: Sports41:39 - am I a bad queer?49:30 - Bad Queer Opinions56:00 - ShoutoutsShare your Am I A Bad Queer? hereSupport the showPATREON: patreon.com/BadQueersPodcast Subscribe to our Youtubehttps://www.youtube.com/@BadQueersPodcast The opinions expressed during this podcast are conversational in nature and expressed only for comedic purposes. Not all of the facts will be correct but we attempt to be as accurate as possible. BQ Media LLC, the hosts, nor any guest host(s) hold no liability over the conversations on this podcast and by using this podcast you understand that it is solely for entertainment purposes. Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, parody, scholarship and research.
We're back! Today we are talking Grammy Noms, Music Videos, the Steam Machine and so much more! Come join the conversation!
Toby Gad is one of the most successful pop songwriters of this era. His songs have gotten over 19 billion streams and have won 3 Grammys. His hits include “All of Me” with John Legend, and Fergie's “Big Girls Don't Cry”, both of which won “Song Of The Year”. He produced and wrote Beyonce's “If I Were A Boy”, and also albums for Madonna and Leona Lewis. He's worked with Demi Lovato, Nicole Scherzinger, Jessie J, Selena Gomez and Colbie Caillat. He recently served as a judge on German Idol. His newest album is “Piano Diaries - The Hits”.My featured song is “The Rich Ones All Stars”, my recent single that's also a track on my latest album What's Up. Spotify link.—-----------------------------------------------------------The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries!Click here for All Episodes Click here for Guest List Click here for Guest Groupings Click here for Guest TestimonialsClick here to Subscribe Click here to receive our Email UpdatesClick here to Rate and Review the podcast—----------------------------------------CONNECT WITH TOBY:www.tobygad.com—----------------------------------------ROBERT'S LATEST SINGLE:“MI CACHIMBER” is Robert's latest single. It's Robert's tribute to his father who played the trumpet and loved Latin music.. Featuring world class guest artists Benny Benack III and Dave Smith on flugelhornCLICK HERE FOR YOUTUBE LINKCLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS—--------------------------------------ROBERT'S LATEST ALBUM:“WHAT'S UP!” is Robert's latest compilation album. Featuring 10 of his recent singles including all the ones listed below. Instrumentals and vocals. Jazz, Rock, Pop and Fusion. “My best work so far. (Robert)”CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL VIDEOCLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS—----------------------------------------Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast:Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music:Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com
On this episode we talk about our thoughts on Outkast and Salt N Pepa entering the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We also discuss the 2026 Grammy nominations and predict who might take some awards. Hip-Hop facts include facts about Mary J. Blige, Mark Wahlberg, and many more. Fresh’s Unpopular Opinion is that Austin […] The post Will The Grammy’s Get It Right Next Year? appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.
Welcome back to another episode of Lucky View Podcast. This week talk about the Government Shutdown, Followers Not Matching Sales, Cardi falling off the Billboard, Grammys, New Music, and much more.
Family, this week on Queer News Anna DeShawn continues to bring you the stories that matter most to our community. In top news, we have an update on the Supreme Court's decision to toss out Kim Davis's appeal on marriage equality and Anna takes a look at future Supreme Court cases. In politics, Texas issued a partial drag performance ban because they can't stop thinking about us. In culture & entertainment, we recognize Transgender Awareness Week by highlighting some great work. The director of Balmain steps down and some of our favorite queer artists are nominated for Grammy's. Let's get into it. Want to support this podcast?
Season 63, Episodes 43-47, Spoiler Level MS (medium Spoilers) Right before beginning their caper to prove Dalton is testing on animals, Gio and Emma discover Ned after having a heart attack. Charlotte, Rocco and Danny take it on themselves to get the needed evidence. Rocco takes the fall to keep Danny out of more trouble and gets arrested. Kathy is sure Dalton is about to get murdered. Meanwhile Ric is auditioning to become Sonny's new lawyer and Justine is about to regret her choices. Willow is out of prison and WHY IS NO ONE RECORDING DREW?!?! Thank you for listening to our General Hospital podcast. If you enjoyed it, please subscribe and tell your friends. Drop us a review. And let us know your own musings and theories and fashion notes. Reach Stacy at Alexis@areweghing.com and Kathy at Felicia@areweghing.com. For more information, please visit us at www.areweghing.com Recorded 11-15-25, Music by Grammy award winning Alex Robinson https://www.musicbyalexrobinson.com/ and logo by the equally as amazing Jakob Evans.
This Week on New Rory & Mal, Kendrick Lamar will probably sweep the Grammy's, Kim Kardashain fails the Bar Exam so we try to take it ourselves, and Jhene Aiko addresses the rumors that her and Big Sean have called it quits #volume All lines provided by hardrock.betSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Welcome to the Vonyc Sessions Podcast.. 60mins of the very best new electronic music from around the world, hand-picked and hosted by Grammy award-winning producer and DJ Paul Van Dyk. For more info about the globally syndicated show visit www.paulvandyk.com -
Hello Wholigans! On today's episode of Who's There, our weekly call-in show, we talk about Us Weekly's obsession with Katie Holmes's street style before taking your calls about "Kia Ora," Jack Schlossberg's brand new political dreams, Leon Thomas III's pre-Grammys acting career, Dolores Catania's Apple Store propoas, Hilary Duff's pseudo-case of podcast mouth, and a whole lot more! Call 619.WHO.THEM to leave questions, comments & concerns, and we may play your call on a future episode. Support us and get a ton of bonus content over on Patreon.com/WhoWeekly. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices