<p>This week on the New Music Business podcast, Ari sits down with Ash Avildsen, founder of Sumerian Records. Ash shares the story of building one of the most influential independent labels in modern rock and metal, from booking DIY tours in the MySpace era to helping artists break into arenas.</p><br><p>During this episode, Ari and Ash dive into artist development, the evolution of touring, music video economics, social media virality, the ethics of tour buy-ons, and why building an artist brand matters more than ever. Ash also opens up about expanding Sumerian into film, the future of entertainment brands, and why he believes music videos deserve a better business model.</p><br><p>Instagram:<a href="https://www.instagram.com/redleathermusic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.instagram.com/sumerianrecords/</a></p><p>TikTok:<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@redleathermusic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> https://www.tiktok.com/@sumerianrecords</a></p><br><p>Check out Ari’s Take:</p><p><a href="https://aristake.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://aristake.com</a></p><br><p>04:21 - Ash’s Journey from Touring Musician to Founding Sumerian Records</p><p>08:04 - Why Ash Left Booking to Focus Fully on the Label</p><p>12:00 - MySpace, TikTok, and How Artists Break Today</p><p>17:30 - Scenes, Community, and the Evolution of Heavy Music</p><p>22:16 - Artist Development and Getting Bands to Their First 500 Tickets</p><p>25:22 - The Ethics and Reality of Tour Buy-Ons</p><p>31:49 - Discovering Artists in the Streaming Era</p><p>35:15 - Why Music Videos Still Matter</p><p>49:00 - Building Sumerian Beyond Music Into Film and Media</p><p>56:00 - Ticketing, Industry Frustrations, and What It Means to “Make It”</p><br><p>Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate</p><p>Music by Brassroots District</p><p>Produced by the team at Ari’s Take</p><br><p>Order the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: <a href="https://book.aristake.com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://book.aristake.com</a></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>