Max Gousse on Building Artists, Breaking Records, and Playing the Long Game

This week on Mixed and Mastered, Jeffrey Sledge sits down with Grammy-winning music executive, producer, and A&R Max Gousse — a Brooklyn-born music industry powerhouse whose career runs through some of the biggest moments in modern R&B and hip-hop. From learning the business at The Box in Miami to being mentored by legends like Cassandra Mills, Sylvia Rhone, David Renzer, and L.A. Reid, Max walks us through a career that includes working on Adina Howard, B2K, Dreamgirls, B’Day, I Am… Sasha Fierce, YG, and Saweetie. Along the way, he shares stories about building records from the ground up, navigating label systems, developing artists, and why work ethic still beats hype every time. They also get into regional music culture, brand partnerships, the future of artist management, and Max’s take on AI’s role in the music business — not as a replacement for real artists, but as a tool that’s here to stay. This is Mixed and Mastered with Max Gousse. Mixed and Mastered is a Merrick Studios podcast hosted by Jeffrey Sledge.