Episode 518 – Production Expert’s Russ Hughes, Song Catalog Purchases, And Headphone Anxiety

My guest this week is Russ Hughes, who’s the founder of Production Expert, a group of blogs for music and post-production professionals. Over the last decade, Production Expert, Pro Tools Expert, Studio One Expert and Logic Pro Expert have become some of the leading industry websites with over 7 million visitors annually. Starting his career on the leading edge of music technology as a synthesizer programmer in the 1980s, Russ soon gravitated to Soho where he worked in commercial post, something that he still does. Eventually he became an expert in Pro Tools, which led him to create his popular blogs. On top of that, Russ is also the Managing Director of Sociatech, a global marketing agency for the audio technology sector, working with some of its biggest brands.  During our interview we spoke about the unusual way that Pro Tools Expert started, the pros and cons of using AI, moving from London to Ireland, the two character traits you need for staying in business, the gear changing moments in his life, and so much more. I spoke with Russ via zoom from his studio in Ireland.  On the intro I looked at song catalogue purchases, and how noice canceling headphones could trigger anxiety attacks.