Episode 406 – Nashville Home Studio Defender Lij Shaw

PLUS: why the CD sales increase was just a mirage, and the end of the smart speaker era.My guest this week is engineer Lij Shaw, who’s the owner of the Toy Box Studio in Nashville and host of the great podcast Recording Studio Rockstars. Lij has also been battling with the Nashville Metro Council since 2015 on behalf of home studio and home business owners in the city to keep their businesses open. The city of Nashville, which ironically has the moniker of “Music City,” had a zoning ordinance on its books claiming that a home studio or business is in violation if a customer comes to the house.In July 2020 Nashville finally made home studios and other home businesses legal, but the win also included a sunset clause that would cause the bill to expire three years later unless they vote to keep the law active in January 2023.In 2017, Lij and other Nashville home business owners filed a lawsuit in an effort to provide the right to work from home, which has now made it all the way to the Tennessee Supreme Court.During the interview we spoke about his legal battle with the city of Nashville, installing his new studio, auditioning the Phantom Focus system, selling his iconic console, and much more.I spoke with Lij from his studio via zoom in Nashville.On the intro I’ll take a look at why the CD sales increase was just a mirage, and the end of the smart speaker era. var podscribeEmbedVars = { epId: 82692478, backgroundColor: 'white', font: undefined, fontColor: undefined, speakerFontColor: undefined, height: '600px', showEditButton: false, showSpeakers: true, showTimestamps: 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/