Keeping the Beat

A look inside the music industry

By Jacob Salas

The world of music creation and performance is constantly changing. For producers, more software and equipment is always coming out and being used. For tour organizers, there are always new and changing incentives for live performance.

Matt Noveskey, the bassist for the band Blue October and producer at Orb Recording Studios, is a longtime musician. He gave a look into the lifestyle of the music industry.

The idea began with a band mate at the time, C.B. Hudson. “At the time, there weren’t many options here for being such a musical city, there weren’t a lot of commercial studios,” Noveskey stated while talking about getting the studio setup. “So we said, ‘Well, why don’t we do something that

aesthetically fits Austin?’”

“Our old guitar player, and one of my closest friends, he and I started just putting a plan together,” he described, talking about the dream they shared more than a decade ago. “Because He had always wanted to build a studio, he had a lot of equipment. And he had a really nice setup in his old house.”

It would soon become a reality, as the two bandmates set up shop in Austin, Texas.

“Then we built it all from the ground up, man. It was a long, grueling process, but it’s been almost 10 years now that we’ve been open, which is insane to me,” Novesky said. “And it’s been very, very good. Very successful.“

Through his efforts with C.B., he would end up creating one of Austin’s signature studios and work with prolific artists.

“Just getting to be a fly on the wall with artists like Justin Bieber, just absolutely amazing. I can tell you firsthand, he’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever witnessed in my life,” he mentioned when asked about artists he’s worked with.

When asked how being a producer has changed over time, Noveskey said that the process has become more involved for people like him.

“It really was kind of more of a facilitator role where you hired the band, you made sure everyone was on time, he made sure that they had charts, because back then you were tracking a band live together in a big room,” said Noveskey. “The producer was kinda like the director.”

“What’s happened since then is that the producer sort of became the extra member of the band, who has the final say on decisions and things like that, and would essentially step in and become the person that ties everything together and helps the band make decisions as far as what songs we’re going to do. Is the structure correct? Have you finished the songs, you may think the song is finished, but should you rewrite a chorus, should you do this to change the key of the song, and then on for everything and anything in between there.”

Noveskey said that a more realistic idea of a modern producer is Phineas with Billie Eilish. Phineas is much more active in the creative process than producers in the past.

“That is an incredibly hands-on creative role. It’s become way more producing, engineering and controlling. I’m pressing buttons and making decisions, as opposed to back in the day when the producer could walk in halfway through the day.”

Strangely enough, as technology has improved, the job of a producer has become much more involved. In most positions, these advancements can make a job more efficient and easier; however, for a producer, the new tech has added more possibilities and responsibility to the profession. Noveskey spoke more on this change.

“The role of the producer has started to become this thing, where the producer is really what I call a bed maker, where you make the beats, you help make the whole music bed, you help with the song from scratch, and then you may have a singer come in and do what’s called a top line where they come in, and write and record their vocal to an existing melody and existing beat.” Noveskey said Along with the advancements in prestigious studios, we’ve also seen music software in recent years that can allow the magic of a studio to reside on a laptop. “I think it’s great,” the bassist said. “We used to record on tape. And it was a much different process, it was much more expensive, and it was much more time consuming.” He later talked about the initial resistance against the digital age.

“In the early days of Pro Tools, it had a kind of a digital sound quality to it that a lot of people resisted. So tape was the purest way to do it, and it sounds so good, and blah, blah, blah. There’s still a valid argument there. But I think that you can’t fight these things, you can’t fight these changes. And the fact is it when technology gets better and faster and easier to do, and easier to work with,” he mentioned, reflecting on what it was like seeing technology change.

While Noveskey talked to great lengths about the pros of the new software, he also mentioned the potential cons of being able to put out anything made from anywhere everywhere.

“I think that it is a good thing because it shouldn’t just be the elite that get signed to a record label and only they can earn the right to make a record and put it out. I think anybody should be able to do that and then let the best rise to the top.”

“The flip side to that is there’s so much music out there. Discovery used to be a different thing. When you used to discover music, it was usually on the radio, etc, etc. Now, you have playlists on Spotify, and you have all these other things where people are discovering music. And I think that as long as there are filters in place, I think that’s a good thing. The problem can be that there’s so much music out there, that there’s a lot of really not very good quality music, because it’s so easy to release now.” at any given time,” said Pannes. He went on to explain how selection begins to narrow by using predicted ticket sales.

Despite this, Noveskey still has a positive embrace for the new tech. He believes that there will always be a demand for studio spaces like his own in the world of music production. With the high quality of equipment and software, it’s a hard point to argue.

“Only a handful of bands can actually sell a stadium. The Rolling Stones, stadiums all day long Coldplay, arenas. Coldplay is going to sell 18,000, whereas The Stones are going to sell 70,000.” He said choosing the right band for your venue size is key.

Using factors like tour locations, local appeal, and stadium size, Pannes’ team can determine whos going to be on stage. “A band that can sell 18,000 is probably not doing a 10,000 seat amphitheater.” With these factors, a venue booker like Glen Wedgewood, who books for Germania, can decide who’s performing and when. “Part of Glen’s job is kind of crystal balling it to say who is going to be considered a marquee name, that’s gonna have a big, big mass appeal.”

After their music is finalized in the studio, an artist will most likely perform it on stage, usually as part of an album tour. But how does this get planned?

Mark Pannes, president for strategy and corporate growth at the Circuit of the Americas, works side by side with those that get artists on their stage, Germania Amphitheater. He described the details of getting larger artists like Billy Joel and Green Day.

“Part of the band selection is really who’s touring

Zach Ernst, a venue booker at the Paramount, has worked for around a decade on getting artists on stage. He spoke about the staffing needs of venues like Antones and the Paramount.

“Usually an artist will travel with at least one crew person who would be the tour manager even at the small club level. Definitely at the Paramount we are a union house and we hire crew so even if they bring a crew in we have somebody there with them on our side as well,” Ernst said.

He explained that a large part of the responsibilities of hosting a show falls on the artist. Any special audio set-ups, screens or light shows are to be brought in and built by the artists teams.

“If it’s a solo artist, maybe they come by themselves, or they come with just one other person. But then if it’s a big band, then they’ve got a crew, and as a result, we have to step up.”

When asked about his favorite part of the job, He talked about being a part of the performance. “I definitely love seeing legendary artists, I love to see people who are up and coming, you know. Any great music, I do love to witness in person. And that’s really something that we missed during COVID,” Ernst answered. “But I love these little moments of being a fly on the wall when an artist comes from the greenroom to the stage or being with the crowd when the artist decides to come out for an encore”

He also talked about helping out the artists he works with. ”This artist that I really love, they need cash and they need it before the show starts and I’m the one giving them the cash or I’m the one bringing barbecue to the greenroom,” Ernst said. “There are just a lot of moments and memories that you can make when you work in this business that I really cherish. The things that maybe the artists that the audience doesn’t see. Those candid moments are always really special.”

Over the past years, Ernst has worked with many of his favorite Austin artists and seen what they are like behind the scenes. “At the Paramount I hosted a few Allen Tucson shows. He’s a legendary New Orleans songwriter and piano player and producer. We just had Mavis Staples at Antone’s. She’s been around the Paramount on my watch a few times and got to know her. That’s all my favorite music is, you know, largely rooted in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Whether it’s Dr. John or Herbie Hancock or Paul Anka, there’s a lot of crazy stuff that I get to see at these venues.”

“I’m 36 now I started being really into music, probably 20 years ago, and so I just love to see the legends and, and I love to book them and bring, a lot of these artists, maybe haven’t played in Austin for a while or unfortunately, sometimes it’s their last show and that leads me to want to give everyone a really amazing experience playing at Paramount or Antone’s and taking great care of the bands. There’s just a lot of really good memories that come when you do this as long as I have.“ He reflected.

The world of music making and performance is constantly changing and adapting to our current world. Whether it be through new software to aid your creativity or new financial incentives to tour, People like Matt Noveskey, Zach Ernst, and Mark Pannes will always be finding ways to make the listening experience best for the consumer.