Byta Presents:
HowWeListen Live: In Conversation with
Kevin Breuner – Senior VP of Engagement and Education at CD Baby
‘Release Planning: Building Your Streaming Audience’
September 27th 12pm PT / 3PM ET / 8pm BST
Live online via Zoom
Free registration here: https://byta.co/hwl-live-kevin-breuner
Our next guest is Kevin Breuner Senior Vice President of Engagement and Education at CD Baby. Previously VP of Marketing at CD Baby, Kevin’s new role reinforces what CD Baby is all about: making sure musicians are as prepared as possible when planning to release their music into the world. At the end of August, CD Baby hosted their DIY Musician Conference in Austin, Texas. Kevin created the DIY Musician brand, which has become the cornerstone of CD Baby’s strategy.
Doing It Yourself: better-educating musicians so they have the confidence and skills required to take their careers to the next level. Kevin helps coordinate that flow of knowledge. From getting your music onto DSPs to figuring out how to press vinyl, short-form video, and ultimately how to get paid, they try to cover it all in FAQs, Blog posts and podcasts. Kevin has spent over 17 years working in the music business, both as an artist and an industry professional. After college, he joined the Atlanta-based band Smalltown Poets whose self-titled debut album received critical acclaim, selling over 200,000 copies. They were even nominated for a Grammy.
CD Baby is an online distributor of independent music. Founded in 1998 the company was described as an “anti-label”. In 2020 the CD Baby music store was shut down in order to focus entirely on the tools and services that are most meaningful to musicians today and tomorrow.
This November CD Baby and Byta will partner on a one-day workshop: The Digital Launch Academy, stay tuned for updates.
#HowWeListen Live: In Conversation is a monthly online event that will be presented in two parts:
- A workshop: Tips & insights for tomorrow’s artists & music industry leaders with Byta founder Marc Brown.
- An in-depth interview with Kevin Breuner: He will talk about the best steps when getting ready to release your next batch of singles or a full-length album in a world where streaming dominates.
About the Event
This series is designed to deliver the knowledge to enable tomorrow’s artists and industry leaders to better manoeuvre their way through the music ecosystem. Providing fun and insightful Q&A along the way!
#HowWeListen Live: In Conversation is hosted by Byta’s founder, Marc Brown, whose deep music business background and digital audio knowledge have helped him deliver unique insights to audiences from Tallinn to Toronto. Marc is a former label owner, A&R, manager and radio plugger.
Key takeaways:
- The importance of mentorship, community and knowledge.
- Getting your music ready for DSPs
- Should I find a manager
- How to self-manage in the meantime
- Music marketing: Tools to build your audience
- What is a sustainable music career
- Releasing singles versus a whole album
- Short form video strategies
Event Format
#HowWeListen Live (part 1):
The workshop will introduce industry insights that Marc has picked up from his work in A&R departments, running his own radio promotion company, plus years of experience managing artists and significant large-scale projects. Some of the topics he will touch on include artists’ teams, timelines and connecting the web of the music industry. Plus, most importantly, tips on what you can do yourself to better increase the chances of your success.
#HowWeListen In Conversation (part 2):
Each event will feature an in-depth one-to-one conversation. This time around our guest is Kevin Breuner. He will discuss how to be best prepared when releasing your music into a streaming world. How to do it yourself, and bring on team members when it makes sense.
About Byta
Byta (“Bee-tah”: the Swedish word for exchange) is unrivalled in taking advantage of the unique properties found in audio files. By simplifying the reading and writing of file metadata, conversion of file formats and delivery of fast yet secure streaming, the platform enables everyone to send and receive digital audio in a clean, simple and secure way. Byta has also launched #HowWeListen, a not-for-profit organisation that complements the company’s ultimate goal: providing artists and their teams with the tools and knowledge needed to move their careers forward.
About Kevin Breuner
Former VP of Marketing at CD Baby, March of this year saw Kevin Breuner promoted to SVP of Engagement and Education. He also hosts the popular DIY Musician Podcast. Kevin has spent over 17 years working in the music business, both as an artist and an industry professional. A San Diego native, Kevin went east to attend Belmont University in Nashville, TN where he studied Music and Music Business. After college, he joined the Atlanta-based band Smalltown Poets who later signed a recording contract with a major label under the EMI umbrella. Their self-titled debut album received critical acclaim selling over 200,000 copies and landing the guys a Grammy nomination.
Kevin now lives in Camas, Washington, the “Best small town in the Pacific North-West”. In 2021 his band, Smalltown Poets (smalltownpoets.tv), released their 9th album, NWxSE.
About Marc Brown
Marc is the founder of Byta / byta.com. Run as a distributed team across three continents, Byta enables sending and receiving of digital audio in a clean, simple and secure way. Built for everyone working with music today.
His extensive music business background and considerable digital audio knowledge have helped him deliver unique insights to audiences from Tallinn to Toronto.
Marc got his start at murderecords, Canada’s premier artist-owned label, during the mid-90s. After working in A&R at the legendary London indie, Creation Records, and then at Alan McGee’s Poptones, Marc started his own boutique UK radio promotion company off the back of his success with The Hives. For over ten years, Marc worked with an impressive list of indie rock luminaries, including Wilco, Bloc Party, Conor Oberst/Bright Eyes, Spoon, and Refused as well as legends such as Tom Waits, Yoko Ono, Booker T and Mavis Staples.
Marc currently lives and works in Stockholm, Sweden.