Episode #326 – Nielsen Mid-Year Music Report, Korg And Roland Get Fined, And Sweetwater’s Chuck Surack

NEWSNielsen's mid-year recorded music report has some interesting data pointsKorg and Roland get big fines in the UKGUESTSweetwater Sound's founder and CEO Chuck SurackChuck Surack supplemented his playing career as a sax and keyboard player with a makeshift recording studio in the back of a his Volkswagen bus. That mobile studio was the departure point for what was to become the largest online music retailer in the world - Sweetwater Sound. The company now ships over 3,300 guitars, 830 keyboards, 460 drum kits, and 5,300 microphones every week from its facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As successful as Sweetwater is, what you probably donât know is that Chuck also owns a dozen other business in the area, including a luxury car dealership SweetCars, private charter business companies Sweet Aviation and Sweet Helicopters, and optical retailer Longe Optical, in many cases rescuing the business from bankruptcy to save local jobs.During the interview we talked about the surprising history of Sweetwater, the musical instrument business before and after the coronavirus, how the company finds high quality employees, the big difference between buying from Sweetwater or Amazon, and much more.On the intro Iâll take the latest look at recorded music sales in Nielsenâs half-year report, and why both Korg and Roland got slapped with huge fines in the UK for their business practices. var embedVars = { epId: 47575511, backgroundColor: 'white', height: '600px', showSpeakers: true };Ad link: Explore The Mixing Engineer’s Handbook (6th Edition), the go-to guide for modern mixing.Thank you for tuning in to Bobby Owsinski’s Inner Circle, the podcast that takes you deep inside the music industry. Each week, Bobby shares insights, news, analysis, and conversations with the movers and shakers shaping today’s music world.📌 Explore Bobby’s best-selling books🎙️ Nail that pro vocal sound: clear, upfront, and mix-ready. Learn how in Bobby’s Vocal Mixing Mini-Course🎧 Discover more mixing and production courses📲 Follow Bobby for more tips, insights, and updates:FacebookLinkedInInstagramBluesky🎙️ New episodes release every Tuesday at 9AM Pacific on YouTube and your favorite podcast app.Music. Business. Creativity. Straight from the Inner Circle.Produced by APodcastGeekhttps://apodcastgeek.com/