#33 Breaking Into Audio: the state of the Job Market

#33 Breaking Into Audio: the state of the Job Market

Our guest is Zach Kornhauser — Editor-in-Chief of our 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. He is also a Billboard-charting, RIAA-certified mastering engineer with more than fifteen years of experience shaping the sound of contemporary music. Formerly the head mastering engineer at Atlantic Records NYC. In this episode, we talk about: ✅ Navigating the Audio Tech Career Path How Zach navigated the professional audio space to his current role, and the key lessons learned along the way. ✅ The State of the Audio Job Market A deep dive into the current hiring landscape for professional audio product teams, and how the roles companies are hiring for are shifting. ✅ AI and Macroeconomic Factors The real impact of AI, tariffs, and supply chain shifts on product management and engineering roles in audio. ✅ Why did we start the Audio Products Newsletter? We discuss the vision behind the newsletter, what readers can expect from it, and why now is the perfect time to launch. You can sign up here 👉 https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr [https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr]

#32 Inside soothe 3 and oeksound’s product philosophy

Our guests are Hannes Andersson and Atte Karm from oeksound. Hannes is CEO and Atte is Marketing Director at the company behind Soothe, Spiff, Bloom. They have just released soothe 3, the newest version of their flagship plugin, loved by mixing and mastering engineers all around the world. We visited oeksound HQ in Helsinki before the official launch and had a great conversation about their products and business philosophy. We talked about: ✅ oeksound's product strategy We chatted about oeksound's history and how they came up with ideas for products and the process of launching them to the market. ✅ How a small audio team stays trusted oeksound has remained focused: a small specialist team, a tight product line, and tools that engineers actually use in real sessions. We discuss how that discipline shapes product decisions, positioning, and growth. ✅ What is new in Soothe3 and what comes next We also talk about what is new in Soothe3, what this release says about oeksound's current direction, and how the team thinks about the company's next chapter More about soothe3 👉 https://lnkd.in/gggpGXnM [https://lnkd.in/gggpGXnM] If you are an audio founder, product manager, UX designer, product marketer, or indie audio company building professional tools — this episode will provide a loooot of inspiration. Follow us:   ➡️ Join our Discord https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR [https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR]   ➡️ Sign up to our newsletter for audio job openings, articles and upcoming events https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr [https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr]   ➡️ All streaming links https://audioproductacademy.com/podcast/ [https://audioproductacademy.com/podcast/]

#31 Marketing Ethical AI in Music: From Hype to Trust with Varda Caspi

Our guest is Varda Caspi — VP Marketing at Aiode. Aiode is an Abbey Road -backed company building ethical AI tools for music creation 👉Learn about Aiode here: https://aiode.com/ [https://aiode.com/] In this episode, we talk about: ✅ What ethical AI actually means in music tech Varda breaks down what "ethical AI" should mean in practice: transparent training methods, clear consent from musicians, and business models where artists are not just data sources but participants in the value chain. We also discuss how royalties can work when models are trained on real performances and generate stems based on that material — and why compensation frameworks will be critical if AI music tools want long-term trust from creators. ✅ Marketing AI when the product is the controversy Aiode sits at the intersection of creative tools and generative AI — a space that artists, labels, and publishers are still actively debating. Varda explains how to build credible positioning and trust in a market that hasn't settled on the rules yet. ✅ The Product × Marketing handshake When founders build first and hand off to marketing at launch, they're already late. Varda shares how she structures early-stage collaboration between product and marketing at Aiode and what drives growth in an AI company. If you are a founder, product marketer, growth lead or PM building music tech or AI audio products, this episode will offer plenty of inspiration. ➡️ Join our Discord https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR [https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR]   ➡️ Sign up to our newsletter for audio job openings, articles and upcoming events https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr [https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr]

#30 Marketing playbook behind top audio brands with Amanda Whiting Gerstle

Our guest is Amanda Whiting Gerstle [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandagerstle/] — a strategic marketing leader in music tech and pro audio, who worked with iconic brands like Universal Audio, Splice, and Roland Corporation. In this episode, we talk about: ✅ How startups should build marketing from scratch We go deep into what early-stage audio companies should focus on first, how to avoid common mistakes, and when it makes sense to bring in external expertise ✅ Marketing funnels, channels and what actually drives sales We explore how funnels really work in audio, what channels matter in 2026, and why most companies struggle to convert attention into revenue ✅ How to build and scale marketing in audio companies From product marketing to branding — Amanda shares how marketing should work with Product and Sales, and where it should sit in the organisation We also discuss AI, market saturation, and what it really takes to stand out today. If you’re building an audio startup, Amanda can also help you through her work as a Fractional CMO at Synthesize Marketing → https://www.synthesize.marketing/ ➡️ Sign up to our newsletter for audio job openings, articles and upcoming events https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr [https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr]   ➡️ Join our Discord https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR [https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR]

#29 Make Hardware Great Again with Ross Totino

Our guest is Ross Totino — Product Developer, Sound Designer, and expert in audio hardware and DSP systems who worked on many iconic products we love. In this episode, we talk about: ✅ How to build a career in hardware product development Ross shares how he moved from technician roles into sound design and product development in Electro-Harmonix and Line 6 and how those helped me to further work with iconic brands Eventide Audio.  ✅ How analog gear is modelled in the digital world We explore DSP modeling, perception vs. accuracy, and how developers recreate character — not just circuits. ✅ Why Silicon Valley VC capitalist mentality severely impacted the economy and the music industry Can we get away from the totally software-focused, short-term profit-seeking, fake it ’til you make it” approach? ✅ The state of the industry today “𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘨 𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦… 𝘏𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺’𝘴 𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳.” ➡️ Join our Discord https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR [https://discord.com/invite/jd6Fgv5XTR]   ➡️ Sign up to our newsletter for audio job openings, articles and upcoming events https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr [https://tinyurl.com/ywjxwszr]   Ross's band   ➡️ Fans of Collision Bandcamp: https://fansofcollision.bandcamp.com/ [https://fansofcollision.bandcamp.com/]   ➡️ Fans of Collision Sounds on Gumroad: https://rtotino.gumroad.com/ [https://rtotino.gumroad.com/]     Products Ross worked on:   ➡️ EHX Holy Grail: https://youtu.be/tCXxuyu_N8g?si=6hLGibQaBsvERIsK [https://youtu.be/tCXxuyu_N8g?si=6hLGibQaBsvERIsK]   ➡️ Line 6 ToneCore: https://youtu.be/SKWbT6gbFeM?si=QpB8A7UFd40zMYHm [https://youtu.be/SKWbT6gbFeM?si=QpB8A7UFd40zMYHm]   ➡️ Umlaut Audio: https://youtu.be/Vc8nwi5Attk?si=3atLHm7XFCzhBJ28 [https://youtu.be/Vc8nwi5Attk?si=3atLHm7XFCzhBJ28]   The other mentioned gear   ➡️ Media Overkill: https://mok.com/ [https://mok.com/]   ➡️ Twisted-Electrons: https://www.twistedelectrons.com/megafm [https://www.twistedelectrons.com/megafm]   ➡️ Kawai K5000s: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawai_K5000 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawai_K5000]   ➡️ Korg DSS-1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korg_DSS-1 [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korg_DSS-1]