Meet the Rock Producer with Over 100 BILLION Streams | a Conversation with Howard Benson

[@AdamSalaah]

This is a truly great interview

[@jimdukeproject]

I never knew Three Days Grace had collaborators. Looking at their credits I see that is true. Great insight to treat rock like pop. I may try to do that with my own material.

[@BrianEppMusic]

this was a fantastic interview with great advice.

[@progressionspod]

Glad you dug it!

[@davidallanmusic]

I really enjoyed this interview. Thanks to Howard for sharing his wisdom with everyone.

[@MariJu1ce]

Aboslutely agree, if you put 80% of the effort into the songwriting and arranging, everything else will fall into place much quicker and more effortlesly

[@progressionspod]

Always! A great song is always a great everything else.

[@rockboy360]

Marketing is even more important than good music these days.

[@rogergamon]

Great interview, thanks

[@toddkeller]

The music industry is fueled by HITS! Great video.

[@craigligman]

So much great content in this, absolutely excellent interview!

[@HubLocationSound]

Great interview, Travis! His words about delegating and putting his focus on the important stuff (quality of songs) was invigorating. That advice can apply to anyone's career/life. I would never dissuade anyone from making/releasing their art, but Howard's call-out on the quality of songwriting being paramount is brutally true. 'Disguising' pop songs as rock songs was a funny line. "Pop" is treated like a dirty word, but it is short for 'popular', and songs become popular when they resonate with a LOT of people.

[@progressionspod]

Thanks! And you're right, "pop" is totally a dirty word to so many people. The same way when I was in growing up bands that signed and got big were "sell outs". Lol. It's success and opportunity. You don't hear "sell out" as much anymore, but I think "pop" will always rub somebody the wrong way. 🤷‍♂️

[@quiubolecab]

Every musician should see this video. Such a must-see for any guy in the music business. Congrats.

[@eranddroory9987]

Thanks for a great video..😊

[@oosaxx]

Great insights in to the past and present. What made this interview special is how he understands art, business and human connection. Wish all aerospace engineers could have a similar impact

[@bartekpiwonskiofficial]

This is absolutely brilliant and very insightful. Thank you. :)

[@andriskissproducer]

Facts / harsh truth makes progress. It’s refreshing to hear someone who thinks like me 😁 Except when I say similar things to mixers or artists moaning, I’m told I’m too rough 🤭 I love every word of this one so far 🔥🔥🔥Wise words and tons of wisdom. Thank you for this video. 🤟Love all your podcasts. You need more attention.

[@progressionspod]

Thanks! Hope you enjoy the rest! There’s definitely plenty of great bits in this one. Howard shared a ton!

[@toddkeller]

The Beatles harmonies were all over the place.........and that's what made them cool.

[@djvoid1]

Any chance we could put out some rock disguised as rock?

[@Naafun]

19:20 if AI starts to overshadow all the “average” artists, won’t they be less likely to excel in the long run? Great interview and insight from a pro.

[@mickeyleemusic]

Hey man, loved the interview. Howard is a legend. Looking forward to next one. Btw, Beinhorn would be great.

[@progressionspod]

Thanks! And Beinhorn would be epic!

[@satch72]

This one had so much good stuff in it

[@progressionspod]

Thanks for watching!

[@epiphoney]

What song is a good example of his vocal harmony?

[@navasaband]

Well, you can take a year to create The Dark Side of the Moon, or take 6 weeks to make a butt-rock album. You pick.

[@preciseaudioblog]

The example of the KZbin guy opened my eyes. One thing is being an artist and the other an “influencer”. A&R will come back...

[@progressionspod]

A&R definitely needs to get off the data train and back on the music train.

[@preciseaudioblog]

@ It’s been off for 20 years... “listen” the result

[@mrfantastical]

This is Amazing!!!!

[@progressionspod]

Glad you dug it!

[@thetruthserum2816]

I ran into some old Elvis vinyl records, and after looking it up on Discogs noticed that he wasn't in any of the songwriting credits, yet he sold over 230 Million records.... @25:24 "Can you convince an artist to co-write?" Elton John is another artist that used co-writers extensively, as did Michael Jackson. Tons of electronica from the 80's was produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman (SAW). Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both wrote songs for others to perform... Most of the top selling artist use co-written songs. Which then also begs the question, why couldn't the songwriters themselves become the artist... It's because there is a magical formula of song, look, age, time and place, uniqueness that all have to line up to hit that .5% chance... The biggest long shot indeed.

[@jalapainyo]

Great interview with one of the greatest producers of all time, thanks! If you need more brutally honest perspective from Howard Benson check out his interview on From the West Barn Podcast "Rascal Flatts Kicked The S%@t Out Of Me, I'm Never Going Back To Nashville!!" - Howard Benson

[@progressionspod]

haha. That's a great quote!

[@rolandgreystoke5601]

Rich Men North of Richmond...

[@lwd_music]

I unfortunately believe that AI will eventually win the Super Bowl. In my opinion the thought that AI won't ever win is driven by our ego. Yes AI is trained on the past, but it has and/or will have the capability to crunch so much data on trends, analyze the variables between what is working and what will likely work in the future, it will be able to predict what we as fans want to consume - it will begin to look both backward and forward at a speed that we simply are not capable of. Yes, there will be a period of time beginning (NOW) when the winners will be those with that "secret sauce" of how to get the best out of AI current generation as a tool. I don't see it winning a Performer of the Year award in our life times, but who knows... This was an amazing interview though. Thanks so much for sharing!

[@RobertFairweatherLuvMachine]

Thanks for all the pontification. It really comes down to connections in the business. You can mix and master like a monkey and write/record the greatest/stupidest songs. You need connections to go big (and Payola). Turn the switch on/off. That's how it 'works'.

[@mendiapodaca]

OK, so basically, this would be the guy who killed rock by starting a pop factory with guitars back in the early 2000s. Correct?

[@GreenpointRemembers]

9:53 😂

[@thelolguy007]

A Billion Streams? What’s that,like 20 albums?

[@GregorPQ]

He is not stupid.

[@progressionspod]

Truth

[@GregorPQ]

​@@progressionspod I also think there would be much more to talk about, his stories.... that would fill a second podcast - I would listen. But please make him do a proper recording of his voice;)

[@progressionspod]

Haha. Yeah, I’m no longer allowing guests to use Bluetooth earbuds after a couple rough ones this year. Thanks for dealing with it on this one!

[@ESP77769]

Here's a statistic: zero musical integrity!!