The New Music Business with Ari Herstand

Breaking Hard Rock and Metal Bands with Sumerian Records 2026-05-27 05:14:12

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.

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.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sumerianrecords/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@sumerianrecords

Check out Ari’s Take:

https://aristake.com

04:21 – Ash’s Journey from Touring Musician to Founding Sumerian Records

08:04 – Why Ash Left Booking to Focus Fully on the Label

12:00 – MySpace, TikTok, and How Artists Break Today

17:30 – Scenes, Community, and the Evolution of Heavy Music

22:16 – Artist Development and Getting Bands to Their First 500 Tickets

25:22 – The Ethics and Reality of Tour Buy-Ons

31:49 – Discovering Artists in the Streaming Era

35:15 – Why Music Videos Still Matter

49:00 – Building Sumerian Beyond Music Into Film and Media

56:00 – Ticketing, Industry Frustrations, and What It Means to “Make It”

Edited and mixed by Ruben Zarate

Music by Brassroots District

Produced by the team at Ari’s Take

Order the THIRD EDITION of How to Make It in the New Music Business: https://book.aristake.com

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.